Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

By PapaWealey Danny LaPorte (Yam), the former 250cc MX Worl d Ch ampi on , sustained facial a nd a bdomi nal injuri es and lost conscious ness in a crash in the ParisDa kar Rally o n Thu rsday, j anuary 10. LaPorte, w ho was tw elfth in th e motorcycle division , fell o n th e stretc h from Agadez to T illia in Niger. H e was tak en by helicop ter to a hospital in Agad ez wh ere he regained conscious ness a nd was the n flo wn to Pari s where he is, accordi ng to reports in .L'Equipe , th e leading Fren ch spo rts daily newspa per , doing fin e. L'Equipe reported , " H is co ndition is abso lutely no ca use for concern ." T he da ): following LaPorte's accident, a truck driver died of g u nshot wounds in Mali. According to th e o rga nizers o f the Paris-Dakar R ally , Charles Caba nnes, 34, of Fra nce, was drivi ng a su p port/ truck for th e rallylead in g Ci tro en tea m when he was g u nn ed dow n in a village co ntrolled by the Mal ian a rmy. At the end of th e Mo nday, Janua ry 14, leg of th e Paris-Dakar Rally, Stephane Peterhansel (Ya m ) was lead in g in th e - mo torcycle divisio n . Fellow Frenchman Thierry Magnald i (Yam ), Peterha nsel 's teammate o n th e Sonauto Yamaha tea m, was ru n n ing seco nd . Span iard Jordi Arca rons (Cag) was in third pl ace. Steve Lamson (Hon ) won both th e 125 a nd 250cc Pro classes at ro u nd three of the C MC Gol den State Na tional s in Marysville, 'Ca lifo rn ia , j a nuary 13. Rodney Sm it h (Suz) a nd T yson Voh la nd (Ka w) fini shed second a nd thi rd, respec tively, in th e 125cc class, while T o m m y Cl ow ers (Ka w) a nd Sm ith went 2-3 in th e 250cc division. Mike H eal ey (KT M), Will ie Surratt (Su z) and R yan Ca rli sle (Kaw) ro u nded out th e top three in th e 500cc p ro class. B r oc Glover (H on) wo n the Vet Pro _ division . , Reign ing 1 25c~ MX World Champion Donny S chmit (Suz) won bo thmot o s in th e 125cc Pro class a t th e third ro u nd o f th e G FI Winter MX Series South at P erris, Cal if orn ia, J anuary 13. Runner-up was Phil Lawren ce (Ka w) and third was Kyle Lew is (Ya m) . P h il , Law r e n c e topped th e 250cc Pro class, ahead of Schmit and Ch ad Pederson (Ya m ). Greg Zitterkopf (H o n) topped th e 500cc Pro class, followed by Bill y Frank ( H o n) a nd W i ll y Musgrave (AT K). Charlie Venegas wo n th e J anua ry 12 LC. E.-pro m oted Budweiser Indoor Speedway Ice Racing World Championships II at T ucson , Arizon a. Fell ow southern Ca li fornian Mark H a n nah fin ish ed seco nd a nd Canadian J an j ens en was thi rd. Venegas a lso won the J an uary I I Bo b H etr ick Memoria l ra ce, which like th e World Championsh ips II mee t, was held in th e Tucso n Convention Center Aren a. Accord ing to h is manager Gary Ho ward , fo ur -ti m e World Ch a mp io n E ddie Lawson has not yet inked a co ntrac t with Cagiva, a lt ho ugh the sig ning is expected. " We're worki ng on it , bu t th ere's been no signing thus far," H o ward said on Monda y, J a nua ry 14. "There will be an excha nge o f paperwork this week, but I'm not s ure h o w q ui ck ly thi s ca n be expedi ted." According to SCR AM P 's Lee Mo sell e, every th ing appears to be set for th e a pproval o f Laguna Seca International Raceway by th e FIM for this year's V.S . G P on April 22. The FIM 's J o sef Zegw aard visited th e Mo n terey, Ca li fo rn ia, ro ad raci ng faci lity o n Monday, January 10, and was a p pa ren tly p leased w ith the cha nges made to the tra ck. Wor ld Cha m pio n Wayn e Rai ney has also okayed th e changes which incl ud e the removal of a co nsiderabl e amo u nt o f ba nking from th e cres t of th e hill kn own as turn one; the p laceme nt of a gravel bed on th e outside of tu rn two (the site o f Eddie Lawso n's cras h last year ); the extensio n of th e existi ng gravel bed in turn four; the wid ening of the run-off area in turn five; ex tended run-off in turn six and th e pl acem ent of a gravel bed; th e extended run-off area a t th e top o f th e Corkscrew and th e addi tio n o f a gravel bed; the removal o f a large , port io n of th e dirt em ba n kment on' th e o uts ide o f turn nine, a nd th e wid ening of th e exi t o f turn I I. In addition, so me 800 feet o f th e track wi ll be overlaid in th e tu rn II area . " We ha ve reason SUDerbikes to fi1l500cc GP g.:.:. . :. . :crid-=- =- -s?_ R oad racing's Grand Prix ch iefs a re co nsi dering open ing th e prem ier 500cc class to fo ur-strok e su pe rbikes a nd TT Form ul a One m achines, in a n effon to bo lster sh ri n king grids. At p resent , th ere a re likely to be at most 14 wo rks V-Iour 500s on the gri ds in 1991, th e same n um ber as on a good da y in 1990. The race-savi ng move is . in ten ded to so lve what is seen as a short -term problem , and rep resen ts a n a bo ut face for th e team s' associa tio n, Intern a tiona l Road Racing Tea ms Associ ati on (IRT A). They had ea rlier been opposed to lettin g fo ur -stro kes ta ke ( 0 th e sa me road surface as th eir' G P two-strokes, beca use o f th e risk of o il sp illa ge as a resul t of engine blow -ups. T he cha nge o f hea rt ca me recent ly at a su m m it meeting in Gen eva, Sw itzerland, between the FIM , IR T A a nd the track owners' bod y, Race Orga nizers and Pro mo ters Associa tio n (RO PA). ROPA was behi nd the sugges tio n to o pen th e 500cc class to 750cc fo u r-stro kes. . " T he most im portant thing is tha t we have to give the spec tators a show," sai d Paul But ler, IR T A chief execu tive a nd ma nager o f T eam Ma rlb o ro Rob erts. " T he sma ll n umber s o f 500cc bikes is essentia lly a short-term problem . In 1992, Yam aha ha ve p rom ised to ma ke eng ines a vaila ble, a nd I' ve just hea rd th a t Suzu ki will do ,th e sa me." Bu tler expec ts new team s to ta ke adva nt age o f th is low ercost op tion to bui ld their o wn cha ssis, buildin g u p the n u mber of bik es o n th e grids. , Assum ing th e decis io n goe s through . th e expec ted " 15 oI so" four-strok es wou ld be seen ru n ning arace w ithin a race, not fast eno ugh to cha lle nge th e V-fo u r G P bikes, b ut lik ely to sta ge a better seco nd- level tussle tha n the ha nd fu l o f p rivate thr ee-cyli nder Hondas did in 1990. H o wever, th e 500cc ri ders may no t be pleased abo u t the po ssib ility o f so many mob ile chica nes, even when th ey a re no t d roppin g oi l. In 1990. a pr e-qua lif icat ion system ,-"as introdu ced specifical ly to keep slow rid ers o ut, on grounds o f safety. Michael Scott to believe he (Zegwaa rd) was satisfied, " Mosell e said. " And we've met the expectatio ns of the World Cha mpio n (Ra iney)." Wayne Raine y will run hi s o wn 250cc road race team in the WERA Pro Series this year, according to the 500cc Wo rld Champion. Rainey's rider wi ll be Kenny Roberts, Jr. and th e tea m wi ll use Yamaha TZ250s spo nsored by Otsu ka Electro nics, a Japanese co mpany. "It's just litt le Kenny as th e rider right now, but I'm sti ll lookin g for o the r sponsors a nd if we ca n get mo re money we ma y add a nother rider. The deal just ca me together last night (J anua ry 10)." T h e team will be managed by Chuck Aksla nd, who managed ' Ken n y Robert s' Ma rlboro 250cc tea m in th e V .S. in 1990. WERA has anno unced th a t a full sched ule o f F o rmula II (250cc) races will be he ld th is year in 'conj u nctio n with the F-VSA events durin g WERA Pro Serie s ra ces. Three o f th e races (Willow Springs, Shannon vill e, Ca n ada a nd Road Atlanta) will be ca lled the Air Tech Formula II Triple Crown a nd will be sponsored by Air T ech Strea mlining, a manufacturer of sport bike fai rings and body par ts. Wayne Rainey o n the safety changes made to Laguna Seca: " If those changes don' t make th em happ y, th ey shoul d stay a t home." On havin g J ohn Koc in ski as a teammat e in th e 500cc class in 1991: " I think it's going to be ok ay. I expec t j ohn to go real well o n th e 500. It's a no the r bi g name in th e 500cc class and I'm excited abo ut it. On La wso n go ing to Cagiva: " Eddie's a World Champio ns hip-winning guy. I think it's really good for Ca giva. If a nybo dy ca n get it (the Ca g iva ) to work, he ca n. It will be good for th e sport." On what tires he will be usin g in '9 1: " I do n 't kn ow yet. We sho u ld kn ow mo re after our Phillip Island (Austra lia) test a t th e end of th e month. I'm stayi ng ou t of th e ti re deal. " Former Nati'o na l En duro Champ ion K e vin Hines has inked a deal with Am erican Su zuk i after ' a th ree-yea r term wi th KT M. Hines joinsdefending National En du ro Cham pi on Randy H a wki n s a nd d efending Natio na l Rel iabil ity Enduro Ch amp ion Da ve Bert ram on th e official Suzu k i o ff-road team. Hines will co nce n tra te on th e Wi seco Grand Nationa l Cross Co un try a nd Natio na l Cha mp io ns hi p Enduro Series. Quiz tim e answer: Last week we as ked you to name the four riders (we sh ould have said five) who have scored win s in both AMA G rand Na tio na l Champion ship dirt track even ts and Wor ld Champion shi p road races . The y a re Gary Nixon , Kenny . R o b e rts , Jim Filice a nd D ou g Chandler . In addi tio n to th eir m u ltiple Grand National Championship di rt track wins, Nixon wo n World Ch a mp io n shi p F-750 r o a d ra ces , Roberts topped F-750 ra ces and 250 a nd 500cc G P races, Fil ice won the V .S. G P 250cc ra ce in 1988, a nd Cha nd ler wo n World Championship Superbike Ser ies races last year. After we posed th e q uesti on , Kenny Rob ert s sa id we should have asked for th e names of the "five" rid ers who have pulled o ff th e feat. T he Kin g 's right seein g as how Skip Aksland won th e 1977 World Champ io ns hip F-750 road race a t Laguna Seca and the Sa n J ose Mile th e sa me year. Quiz time: Wha t fea t d id L e e Humiston acco m p lis h th a t ensures IN THE WIND h is nam e in m o torcycl in g history? The answer will appear in thi s section next week . H ey, V-Hau l. Pa pa here. Ca nce l th e reservation on tha t big truck I wanted th e first couple weeks of March . Wh y? Well , D a y t o n a International Speed way h a s annou nced th a t beginning with the 1991 raci ng seaso n , "any truck or a ttachment affixed to it taller th a n T I0" (o ther than a recognized R V) will not be admi tted to the in field." The folks at Daytona say th e new policy has been instituted "to en hance th e view ing capabi li ties o f fans wa tchi ng raci ng events." In light of th e size of tra nsporte rs used by some o f th e ra cing teams, the new policy obvious ly applies to spectator viewing ar eas o f the in field and not th e garage area . e e "Throttle for the Gold" is Madison Square Garden H o me Video 's seco nd in a series o f supercross racin greleases and it will be available in video stores nationwide February 7. The video will be di stribu ted by Param ount H ome , Video and th e suggested retai l pr ice is $ 12.95. The com pany's first supercross video release was the popular "S u per cross: Thrills, S pi lis a nd .Chills." According to James ]. Cavazzini, president ofMSG H o me Video, " This la test release will go beyond the surface of the Camel Supercross Series, a nd give viewers a n inside look a t the com pet ito rs and a t th e challe nges they face each week o n the circuit. " Yoko h ama has pulled its su pport o f the AMA Cha mpionsh ip Cup Series 600 a nd 750cc Su perspon Seri es for th e 1991 raci ng season, according to AMAI CCS. The classes will no w be offered separately to sponsors wishin g to ge t involved in a title righ ts package. The AMA/CCS has crea ted the Top Expert p ro gram fo r the 1991 600 and 750cc Supersport cla sses. T he program is o pe n to a ll CCS roa d race license hol der s who ha ve no t held an AMA p rofessio na l licen se' p rior to the cu rrent seaso n. T hose r id ers w ill be eligible to earn , special con tingency a wa rds a nd cha m p io ns hi p bonuses of $5000, $3000 a nd $2000 to th e to p th ree finishers in th e program. Those ri ders will a lso be recognized throu ghout the season through a p ub licity campaign generated by the AMAlCCS. EBC B rake s a nd AMAlCCS have sig ned a n agreement to ren ew th e EBC sponsorship of th e AMA/CCS Endurance Road Ra ce Seri es for '9 1. T he awa rd program will offer $1000 to th e winner of eac h GTO a nd GTU race in th e 10-ra ce seri es if th e win n ing team is using a nd endorsi ng EBC brakes. If th e winning team , is not using EBC products, a 500 award will go to th e highest fin ishing team in that cla ss that is using EBC p rod uct, T he AMA/CCS and Harley-Davidson ha ve a n nou nced th a t the Harley D a vidson Twin Sports Series will have a Nationa l Cham pio ns hip format Io r 1991. A seri es cha mp ion will be cro wned based on points ea rned in the 10-ro u nd series. T he series will open with a $7000 purse, payabl e through 20 p laces , a t Dayto na in Mar ch and a minimum of $5000 will be offered a t th e rest o f th e ro u nds, payable th rough 10 pl aces. Moto- G u zzi is set to com pe te in the World Superbi ke Series a i so me point in 199 1 wit h a fue l-injected, four-valv epe r-cyli nder 1000cc twin, based o n th e Da ytona 1000 Dr. j oh n rep lica that is I

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