Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

backed by Gabl es H on da , a Miam i, Florida-based deal ersh ip, a t th e AMA National Championship Road Ra ce Series roun d in downtow n Miami , Jul y 21 -22 . Accordin g to M a r co R u e da, assistan t genera l manger o f Gables H onda, " Fredd ie wan ts to co me ou t o f retirem ent for 'this one ra ce. (Ame rica n ) Honda has asked us 10 su p p ly him with a bik e, and we're waiting to hear wh ether or not th ey'll p rovid e us with a factory superbi ke kit to. make Freddie's bik e co mpetitive wi th the other RC30s tha t will be there, a nd th e Yamahas. We're keeping o u r fingers crossed. " ccord ing to G a ry Mathers, American H on da 's racin g manager, th e AMA was contacted by th e Miam i promoter abo u t th e possibi li ty o f IOpna me riders suc h as Freddi e Spence r nd FredMerkel co m pe ti ng in Miam i, a nd th e AMA 's Bill Bo yce ca lled I a thers to obtain Merkel' s phone nu m ber. Asked if th e Spe ncer rumor was true, Mathers repl ied , " I don 't th ink that 's a rumo r. " H owever , Ma th ers did say th at American H on da oes n' t have th e necessa ry bu dge t for such a venture: " It wo n 't happen we're not in th at bu siness. T here wo n ' t be a ny pa rts unless someone in top manageme nt gives it his okay." Asked a bo ut the rumored Spencer oomeback, AMA racin g co ns u lta nt Bill Boy ce said, " We're workin g o n that. I've fou nd a m o torcycl e (fro m Gabl es Ho nda), I've found a tuner (said 10 be Mik e Velasco ), a nd I th ink we ca n get a race kit from American Ho nda . I' ve contacted Freddie a nd he's int eres ted. Right now it's ha ng ing on the promo ter a nd Fred di e working out the financial a rra ngeme nts." Boyce added, " CBS wants to sta rt a big push for their TV coverage (o f th e Miami race), a nd they wa nt so me top-name riders . There's a lso the possibi lity o f Mike Baldwin rid ng a Ka wasak i, a nd we're trying to contact Fred Merkel to see if he' s interested." The A mateur Supercross sch edul ed for Foxboro, Mas sachu setts, June 3, has had a sched u le cha nge. The new sche d ule will see the gates o pen at 7:00 a.m., wi th a riders meet ing at 8:30 a.rn., a nd practice beginning at 9:00 a.m. Ro swell H on da/Su zuk i in Ro swell , Georg ia, is host in g an open house in conj u nc tio n with " The Ride for Ki ds" o n J une 9- 10. Former threetime AMA G rand Nati onal Cha m p io n Bub ba Shobe rt wi ll be o n-ha nd 10 sig n a u tograp hs a nd to lead the ride , whi ch will ben efit the Bra in T u mor Fou n da tio n for Ch ildren, Inc. Mot ocr osser Ron Lech ien recentl y underwent su rgery to rem ove a pi n from th e leg he brok e lat e last season a nd pl ans to return to rac ing for th e 500cc Nation al series wh ich begi ns August 12 in Washougal, Wash in gt on. Lechien has been talking with Ka wasak i race team man ager Ro y T u rner a nd says, " No th ing is o n paper yet, but it so u nds like we'll work so meth ing out. I want 10 ge t o ut a nd show everyo ne I ca n do it aga in ." Lechien says he will start rid ing aga in wh en released from his doctor. The H o ll ister H ill s O ff-Road Associa tio n is sponsoring an O ff-R o ad Jamboree for motorcycles a nd fo urw hee le rs a t north ern Ca li fo rn ia's H ollister Hills OHV, June 24. There will be dem os, displays a nd live music with free ad mission ; co ntact 408/63 73874. Ch eck o u t next week 's Cycle N ews for th e first installment of a three-part look a t Ch ina th rough th e eyes o f a motorcycle j ournalist. Cycle News fou nder a nd p reside nt Ch uck Cla yton and h is wife, Sharon, just ret urned 'fro m a three-week stay in the wo rld 's mos t popu lo us co u ntry - over o nebi ll ion - and th ey'll tak e you the re i n word s ( C h u ck ' s) a nd p ic tures (Sha ro n 's). W him from 0HV Commission a e ousted ld he Ca liforn ia O££-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, which dealt mo torcycli sts a good hand by appoint ing AMA District 37's Road and DualSport Committee President Ed Waldheim to its ranks six years ago, has decided it still ho lds all the cards. On ~ ay 24, ~a ldheim was informe,d ~ y California Governor George Deukmejian that h is a p pom tmen t to the co rnrm ssron would not be ren ewed. Waldheim, a cha mpion of th e off-highway vehicle (O H V) com mu nity, had served on th e . com mission as its grants cha irman since 1984. In fact, Waldheirn 's term was up a t th e end o f 1988, but he cont in ued servi ng at the pl easure o f the California governor. The com miss io n's main purpose is to oversee th e sta te's Off-Highwa y Motor Veh icle Recrea tion program, but it also controls OHV recrea tion areas owned by the Slate a nd adminis ters grants for improvement p rojects with in those areas. In a recent interview, Waldheim expressed his frustration by sayin g, "The commission 's staff exercised undo press u re in an effort 10 pers ua de the members of th e com mission to vote against an 'adeq uacy study' wh ich represented the concerns of OHV users. It was my d uty to set the record stra igh t by ur ging the com m ission to vote in favor of the study. And that was th e stra w that broke the camel's back." . According 10 Wal dh eim , the commiss ion ci ted numerous com plain ts from the staff over his actio ns as th e major factor in hi s dismissal. But in stead of folding hi s cards, Waldheim says he will cont in ue fighting for the rig h ts of California's motorcyclists. " I 'm not going to bow under, " says Waldheim . " I'Il cont in ue to bring the OHV comm u nity's concerns to the public's a ttent ion." The AMA enco urages riders in California to protest th e decision to remov e Wal dh eim from th e comm ission. AMA members may mak e their views known by wri ting to: The H on orabl e George Deukrnejian, Office of the Go vernor, Slate Capitol , 1st FI., Sacramento, CA 95814;and to H enry R. Ago nia, Director, Parks a nd Recreat ion Depa rtment, P.O . Box 942896, Sacramento, Cal ifornia 94296-0001. T CO R R E CTI ON: The phone number printed in o u r Ma y 23 issue for Kevin H ennessy, wh o is handl in g th e Gary Cowa n ra££1e at N ew H ampsh i re Internati onal Spe edway, was in correct ; th e co rrec t number is 718/ 358-9245. ying a ma p o f th e U.S. T he Sp ringfield H a lf Mile took p lace in Spri ngfield, O h io, a nd th is past weeke nd 's Springfield Mile in Ill in o is. BOR N : Broc Ed ward Barnes, son o f longtime Cycle N ews co n trib u to r a nd Wash ou gal Ra ceway publ ic relations/ advertisi ng director-Brian Barnes a nd h is w ife, Juli e, i n Van cou ver , Was hingto n, Ma y 24. Forme r multi-t im e S u p er cross a nd Na tional MX Champion Bob H ann ah has lined up a rid e for the 1990 Bud L ight Pow erb oat Series. H annah will run a Formula One boat spo nsored by G illma n Racing a nd Bo yesen Reed s in the series, which begins Ju ne 10 in Augusta, Geo rg ia. MARRIED: ATK o wne r/ p residen t Ken 'Wilkes to Ell en Harris on in Los Angeles, Ca liforn ia, April 14. NAME D: Terry Rezek as edi tor o f Aero tech News & Review , a n aerospace trade journal publ ished in La ncaster, Ca li forn ia ; Rezek has been a Cycle News co ntrib u tor for 18 years and p la ns 10 co nti n ue reporti ng o n m otocross events in th e Ca liforn ia high desert. CO R RECTION: T he phone numb er pri nte d in last week 's issue for International Mot or cycle Racers Assoc iation, Inc. , th e rider s o rgan iza tion fo rmed by road racer Da ve Sado wski, was incorrect; the correct number is 404/ 27 1-0453. HosPITal STO P: Road racer Ma rk Drucker su ffered head in j uries in a rac ing accident at Will ow Spri ngs International Ra cewa y in Rosam ond , Ca lifo rn ia, Ma y 20. As o f Tuesday, May 29, Drucker, 23, was still listed in serious conditi on in th e inten sive care unit of Antelope Vall ey H osp ital in Lancaster. B O RN : Am y Eli zabeth Ad am s , dau ghter o f off-road racer Cra ig Adams and h is wife, T erri , in El Toro, Ca liforn ia, May 9. BORN : Rose Co rn el ia Kaleonahen a h eakamanu Ko ver , daug h ter of Ra ceD esign o w ner Do c " Ro bert " Kover a nd h is wi fe J ean Kunis, o n March 30 in H on ol ul u , H a waii. OPE N ED: Peuersson Pro Suspension, b y Stig Peuersson wh o wa s fo r m erl y wi t h Ohlin s Ra cin g o f Sweden a nd Nol een Racin g o f Ca liforni a; 817 Lakeview , Unit B, Placentia, CA 92670, 714/ 970-2423. CO R R ECT I ON: Our coverage o f th e Apri l 29 Sprin gfield Ha lf Mile referred to th e event as bein g the Sp ri ng field Mi le. T he motocro ss-oriented edi tor who edi ted th e sto ry was forced 10 spend a da y running around th e nearby Asco t half-mil e ova l and a da y stud- CORRECTION: The 1938 HarleyDavidson to be auctioned by ACS Internation al a t the Sturgi s Vintage a nd Classic Mo torcycle Au ction in Sturg is, South Dak ot a , August 10, was restored a nd put up for a uc tio n by Black H ill s C lassic spo nsor Cu stom Ch rome, not th e J ackpin e G yp sies as was reported in th is_secti on last wee k. MOVED: T he Internati onal Mot or cycle After market Expo (IMA E), sponsored by Deal ernews magazine a nd formerl y held in Ren o , Nevada, 10 th e Palm Spri ngs Co n vent io n Center / Wyndham H ot el & Resort in Palm Springs, Ca li forn ia , Sep tember 7-9. t:N HIRED: An dy Fen wick , a me mbe r o f end urance roa d racin g 's Human Race T eam, as a sa les rep by Inter Link Distribu ting Co. of Ranch o Co rdova, Ca lifornia; Fen wick wi ll cover W iscons in a nd northern Ill in o is. . 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