Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Factor y Yamaha mot ocrosser Damon B r adshaw will be at H onda East Yamaha in Bear, Delaware, Ma y 17, to sig n a u tog ra p hs and visit with race fans prior to the Meadowlands Supercross, May 19. Scott USA 's Bevo Forti will be th ere, too. H onda East Ya ma ha is also providing b us transp ortation and tickets to the Meadowlands Su percross at di scounted prices. For more information ca ll 302/322-4120, or 800/ 322-4120. Former I25cc MX National Cha mpio n Ron Lechien is well o n th e road to recovery followin g a brok en femur in his leg, wh ich he suffered iri a cras h at th e Steel Ci ty 500cc National MX on October I, 1989. "The leg is feeling 100 %," sa id L ech ien i n a phone conversation April 16. " I've been doing a lo t o f J et Skiing, so me snow ski ing a nd (motorcycle ) riding, but I still hav e to have a n o peratio n to get th e pin ou t. I'll probably have tha t done in two- to-four weeks. As far as raci ng, though, it (racing) is still up in the air. I'll have to loo k for a ride when I'm ready to race, although Kawasa ki said I should talk to th em after I ge t th e pin ou t. I would like to ride th e 500cc Na tionals and the chances ar e good th a t I'll be read y." Road racer Scott Gray returned to raci n g b y win n in g th e ARRAsa nc tione d Formula I m ain event a t sou thern California' s Willow Springs Internati on a l R acewa y, Apri l 15. R id ing a Yoshimura S u zu ki GSXR IIOOsuperbike, Gray turned lap times in the 1:27.15-range, less than a seco nd o ff the existi ng lap reco rd (1:26.33), which he set in 1988. Gray fini shed fourth in th e 1988 AMA Supe rbike Ser ies, but hi s o nly appearance in '89 was in th e AMA/ CCS 750cc Supersport National a t Sears Po int, where he fin ished fifth. R o ad race r Robert D e Witt was killed in a racing accident at Wi llow Sp ri ngs Internat ion al Racewa y, Ap ril 15. DeWitt, 35, of Northridge, California, was p ronounced dead, as the resu lt of a ru ptured ao rta, a t Antelope Valley H o spita l a fter rid in g hi s Ya maha T Z250 o ff th e track directl y into a d irt em ba n kme nt o u tside o f tu rn one. DeWitt was a p rofessional 250cc GP class racer with 15 years 'raci ng experience; he is su rvived by hi s brother a nd former tu ne r, Bil l. "The ARRA lost o ne of its favorite riders," said club president Ear l Smi th , '.'Bob wa s a gentlem an racer." Entries ar e still open fo r the first Team S uzuki Advanced Riding School at Willow Sprin gs International Raceway in Ro sa mond, Californ ia , Ap ril 26. If you 've p u rchased a n e w 1990 Suzuk i G SXR750 or GSXRIIOO, you r entry is free. For more in formatio n , see you r loca l Suzuki dea ler . Cornerworkers are needed for the Ap ril 28-29 WE RA Pro Series event at Willow Sp ri ngs. Ca ll Renard Fiscu s at 818/365-8038. Papa didn' tsee it, but an nou nce r Dave Despain told him th at S cott Parker . wore a specia l "s teel" shoe in pr acti ce a nd tim e tr ia ls a t the Sacrame nto Mile. After the race, P arker to ld . P apa , "Y eah, it's made of ti tanium and i t th row s up a shower o f sparks. I di dn 't use it in th e race because I didn't think it'd be fair. I wouldn 't wa nt to follow a rider into a corner a t o ver 100 m ilesper-ho u r a nd see a sh ow er o f sparks. Road racer Magee still critical u s tr a li a n road r acer Kevin Magee , 28 , remained in critical bu t sta ble co nd ition as Cycle N ews went to press on Mo nda y, April 16. Mage e, who was inj ured during the U nited Sta tes Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, underwent surgery on April 8 to remove a blood clot from h is brain. According to Sa n J o se Med ical Center spokesperso n Christi Welter, Magee is being kept heavil y sedated while doctors wait for th e swe lling in h is brai n to go down. " We've a tte mpted to tak e him off th e medication, but his brain has continued to swe ll," Welter said. "So he's back in a med icine-induced coma a t this point, but th is is not terribly unusual for th is typ e of injury. It's a way of giving him time to heal. Cards and letters can be sent to Magee, c/o San J ose Medi ca l Center, 675 E. Santa Clara St., San J o se, CA 95112. A Leno slated for museum ogening_ C o med ia n a nd mo torcycle enth us ias t J a y Len o will serve as grand marshal a nd ' gues t of ho nor at th e !ira nd open ing o f th e Mo tor cycle H eritage Fou nda tio n Mu seum in Wester vill e. O hio, on Aug us t 16. T he m useu m openi ng w ill be part o f th e America n Moto rcycl is t Associat io n 's (A MA) H er it age H om ecomi ng nat ion al co n vent io n, slated for August 15-18 in Athens , Oh io. Len o w ill lead a delegation of riders from th e H om ecomin g si te o n th e cam p us of. O hio Universi ty in Athens to th e Mo to rcycle H er itage Mu seum in Westerv ille, a su bu rb of Co lu mb us . There, he will serve as gues t of honor at th e grand o pe ni ng celebra tio n o f th e museum. Len o, a L ife Mem ber o f the AMA , o w ns many clas sic an d vintage mo torcycles. In add itio n to traveling arou nd the cou ntry perfor m ing h is comedy routin e, he is a perma ne nt g ues t host o f the T onight Show. H e was a recipient o f th e H azel Kolb Br ighter Ima ge -Award in 1987, the AMA 's hi gh est public relatio ns award. Publ ishing tycoon Malcolm Forbes, wh o passed away o n February 24, was orig ina lly sched uled to serve as gra nd mar sh al a nd gues t of hon or. Would you?" Papa said he wouldn 't want to go into a corner o n a d irt ova l a t over 100 m iles-per-hour - wi th o r without a sh ower o f sparks. BORN: Anthon y Sco tt Gl eck l, so n of Mark and Mar ia G leck l, in Mission Viejo, California, Ap ril 6; du e to th e lat e a rr iva l o f h is son , G leck l, who wi ll p roduce NBC's coverage of th e U.S. GP, was la te arr iving to Lagu na Seca. A P P O I NTE D : Bill Smi th as ge neral manager of H eartland Par k Tope ka : duties to incl ude marketing and p u bli c relati ons activities and facility operation s; Sm ith has been invo lved in th e development of th e race trac k si nce 1983. N AMED: By Ka wasaki Mo tors Corp., U.S .A.: Kenichi Komaya ,47, execu tive vice p resid ent, finance, trea su rer, a nd co nt ro ller.S usu rnu " Sa nd y" Sa to , 50, vice presid ent, plan ni ng; Hiromich i Kosat o , 49, exec u tive vice p resident , legal ; J oe Fio R ica , 58, exec u tive vice pr esid ent, sa les a nd o perations; Bob She pard, 49, sen ior vice p res ide nt, ad mi n istra tio n a nd in formatio n system s; Don Pru itt, 38, d irector , na tional sales: Barry Beehler , 49, director, sa les services: Roger H ag ie, 40, di rector, p u blic affai rs; Jod ie Muden , 42. p ub lic rela tions manager; Steven Fischer, 30, marin e prod uc ts manager. BORN: Co dy Ro me, son o f en durance - road racer T on y Ro me and hi s wife Toni , in Bo ise, Idaho, Apri l 9. N AMED: Coca-Col a as the offic rat soft dri nk of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, site o f th e Augus t 3-5 AMA Nationa l Ch ampionship Road Race Ser ies ro u nd; th e agreeme nt ca lls for Coca-Cola Bo tt ling o f Ohio to pro vid e ex te ns ive advertis i ng support; in addi tion , Mid -Oh io specta to rs ma y redeem a Coca-Co la p roduct ca n for a $ 1 di scount o n a ge ne ra l adm issio n ticket a t a ny 1990 Mid -Ohio event: p roceeds from the r ecycl in g w i ll benef it the Alu m inum Ca ns fo r Burned C hild ren Fou nda tio n wh ich is organized through th e Cha mp ions hi p Dri vers Association . M OVED: Spec ll/ T elefix , th e accessory di stribu tor/manufacturer , t09812 G lenoaks Blvd. , Su n Vall ey, CA 91352; phon e number rem a ins the sa me, 818/ 842-5187. C H ANGED: Two dat es a nd locat ions for A MA / Ho n da Amateur M X Na tio na l Qu a lif ier e ve n ts: Fro m H uron Cycle Pa rk , Huron, Ca lifornia, May 20, to Las Vegas MX Par k, La s Vegas , Nevada , Ma y 19; fro m Perri s Racewa y, Per ris, Ca li fornia, June 17, to S u nrise Cycl e Par k, Ad e la nto , Cali forn ia, J u ne 9. CORRECTION: O ur rep ort on th e March 25 Wood la nd MX Park scra m bl es at Woodla nd, Wash in gt on, listed Just in Ruth as th e 50cc Seaso n Champion ; it should've read Mich ael Todd. CORR ECTION: Voig h t Bro th ers Racing won the Light weight class in th e WERA Six -Hour at Talladega Grand Pri x Racewa y on a Ya ma ha FZR 400, no t o n a FZR6 00 as was p rinted in last week's p hoto caption.ex . . . I ~~------------------------------------------------------------------I SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM . 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