Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ PREV WGlen Helen U.S. 500(( MX GP IE e The Man puts it all on the line Schedule of Events By Nate Rauba ive-time 500cc MX Worl d Champion Roger DeCoster will be putting his reputation on the lin e when he pr esen ts the Motul 500cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross on August 26 at Gl en Helen OHV Park in San Bernardino, California. Working as promote r of the U.S. GP and as a consu ltant for American H on da has left the 45-year-old native of Belgium with precious little if any free time. DeCoster admits tha t maybe he's in over his head, even with Arizona- based Motolink hel pi ng to organize the even t. Bu t it was a commitmen t DeCoster felt he had to make in ord er to preserve a 500cc GP in the United States. " It loo ked like the event was going to di e after last year, nobody was goi ng to put it on ," says DeCoster, who spent 14 years on the GP circu it. Indeed last year's U.S. 500cc MX G P in Holl ister, Californ ia, seemed to sound the death knell for the even t. After several years of declining attenda nce and different promoters, the problems encountered at the Hollister Hills SVRA last year assured that the GP wouldn 't return to the facility. With California in the midst of a drough t and the well providing Hollister with water pumpi ng only a trickle of moisture, the riders faced a dusty track when they showed up for Saturday 's practice. Some even th reatened to p ull their en tries. Water was trucked in during the night, turning the dusty course to mud. Two-time Cam el Supercross and 250cc National ch a m p l eff Stanton ca lled i t an embarra ssmen t. DeCoster felt tha t it was important for the U.S. to keep the 500cc G P, and with a little per suasion from Moto- F 6 Saturday, August 25 Registration: Rider's Meeting: 500cc Practice: 500cc Practice : 125cc Practice : Kerry Day Show': Vintage Practice: 8:00 -11 :00 (at track) 11:30 12:00-1 :00 (1 st session) 1:30- 2:30 (2nd session) 2:30-3:15 3:15 -3 :40 4:30 -5:00 link's Greg and Yvonne Bauman n, who are also motocross enthusiasts, he decided he would host the U.S. 500cc MX G P. " It makes the World Championship more legitimate," says DeCoster. "You must have a GP in the country (U.S.) with the highest level of riders ." He also wanted to keep the GP in California, parti cularly southern Californi a where there's a large number of peop le and a ll of the major ma n ufacturers and man y aftermarket companies have headq uarters. " In southern Cal iforn ia there are no big outdoor races," DeCoster said. " For th e health of the sport we mu st keep th e ou tdoo r event s, we can't survive on just supercross." So DeCoster bega n loo kin g for a faci lity to hold the G P. Ca rlsbad Racewa y, site of the 500cc U.S. GP for many years before it moved to H ol lister, was the first place that came to mind, but it's lon g-term availabil ity was q uestio na ble p lus it needed a lot of wor k to make it worthy of a GP . Sunday, August 26 500cc Free Practice: Vintage Practice : 125cc Practice: 500cc Timed Practice : Riders' Meeting: Autograph Session : Opening Ceremony: 500cc Moto One: 125cc Moto One: Vintage Iron Moto: Kerry Day Show: 500cc Moto Two : 125cc Moto Two : Awards Ceremony: 9:00-9:30 9:40-10:00 10:00-10:20 10:30-11 :30 12:00 12:30 -1 :00 1:00 1:30-2:20 2:30 -3:00 3:10 -3:30 3:35 -3:50 4:00 -4 :45 5:00-5:25 5:30 -5 :45 Roger DeCoster stands at the edge of a newly-fanned spectator terrace overlooking Glen Helen OHV Park. Gl en Hel en was chosen because of its close proximity to Los Angeles and major facilities. The track is located approximately 2.5 miles from In terst ate 215 a t th e base of the San Bernardin o Moun tains, just outside of the city of San Bernardino. Ontario Airpo rt is 15 minutes awa y, and Los Angel es In tern at ional Airport can be reached in abo ut on e hour (double that in weekda y rush hour traffic). The Maruko Hotel in downtown Sa n Bernardino will be th e race headquart ers, with mu ch more lodging available in the vicini ty. At the Former U.S. 500cc MX GP winners Year 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Site Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA . Carlsbad , CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad. CA Carlsbad, CA Carlsbad. CA No U.S. 500cc GP due to MX des Nations Holl ister, CA Hollister. CA Winner/ country Machine Willy Bauer , West Germany Gerr it Wolsink, Holland Gerr it Wolsink. Holland Gerrit Wolsink; Holland Gerr it Wolsink. Holland Heikki M ikkola. Finland Gerr it Wolsink. Holland Marty Moates, USA Chuck Sun. USA Danny Chandler. USA Hakan Carlqvist, Sweden Broc Glover, USA David Bailey, USA Rick Johnson, USA Ma ico Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki Yamaha Suzuki Yamaha Honda Honda Yamaha Yamaha Honda Honda Er ic Geboers. Belgium Ron Lechien. USA Honda Kawasak i

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