Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127388
begin , during which th e Na tio nal Anthems o f alI th e participat in g rider s' cou n tries are pl ayed. Occasio nalIy the rider s wi ll co m e out for pre- race int erviews with a n no u n ce r La rr y Maiers. The fans a re always kep t wel lin form ed by Mai ers, wh o o ften enjoys a friendly rapport with th e cro wd. T hose fam il iar with his a n nou ncing style, kn ow th at he's as o ften as not mak ing lo ngue-in -chee k co m me nts. There is noth ing lik e th e Unad ilIa cro wd a t a ny o ther U.S. event. T wotim e Unadilla winner Ri ck J ohnson, a crowd favorite before his retirement, has said th at th e crowd ' a t UnadilIa is more charged than at other races in the co u n try. Bayle fo u nd th e crowd to be nice in h is only G P visit. "They're different than from anywh ere else, they come to see a race: ' o f Norwich is fairly close to th e track, a nd Bingh a m ton, si te o f a 125/ 500cc Na tional lat er in the year, is a bo ut a n ho u r away fro m U nadilla. T here ar e a lso several public ca m pgrou nds in th e vicini ty. Fo r in form ati on, call Central Lea th er stoc king Co un try, th e local tourism age ncy, a t 8001233-8778. Regardless o f where you stay, there is a lot of beautiful scenery in th e region. A dri ve down one o f the ma ny back roads tak es you th rough sm a lI forests, past elega nt o ld farm houses a nd barns , and a quaint littlevillages. If yo u 're a baseball fan , be sure to take the drive to Cooperstown, which is less tha n a n hour from the track, a nd check o ut the BasebalI HalI of Fame. If you're in town early and want to try and meet so me of the rid ers a way Race Schedule (times may vary) Saturday Registrat ion and Tech Inspection Riders Meeting' 250cc practice (first session ) 250cc practice (second session) l 25cc p ractice Grou p " A" 250cc qualifying practice (if necessar y) Gro up " B" 250cc q ualifying practice (if necessary) 8:00 a.m . to 11 :00 a.m, 11:45 a .m, 12:00 p. m. to 1:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m . 2:30 p .m , to 3:15 p.rn, 3:15 p. m, to 4:00 p.m. 4:15 p. m. to 5:00 p.m. Be sure to arrive ear ly on Saturday to watch the riders trans form the grassy U na dill a hilIsides in to a first-class mo tocross course in the firs t p ractice session. • videotape alI th e actio n. The tape wi lI th en be edi ted for a one-hour TV program scheduled for broadcast ' on cab le sports network ESPN o n August 10. Wh en th e ga te d rops on th e first GP mot o a t 1:30 p.m. , th e favorite to win shou ld be J eff Stanton. The Tea m Honda rider walked away from th e field in bo th rnot os o f last year's event, and if he sho uld wi n aga in this year Sunday 250cc practice l25cc prac tice 250cc time p ractice Riders Meetin g Opening ceremonies First moto (250cc) First moto (l25cc) Second moto (25Occ) Second moto (l25cc) 9:00 a.m . to 9:30 a .m, 9:40 a.rn, to 10:20 p.m . 10:30 a.m, to 11 :30 a.m, .12:00 Noon 12:30 p .rn, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m . 2:30 p.m. to 3:10 p.m . 3:50 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. 4:50 p.m. to 5:30 p.rn, ; Tickets Full Weekend Sunday only (no sellouts) ' Children 12 and under when accompanied by ad ult $30.00 $26.00 Free : Additional information Parkin g Additional informa tion No Camping says th e Frenchman. "T hey don 't care where th e riders co me from . T he y lik e the Am ericans, but they lik e th e spo rt and lik e to see a go od sh ow ." Som e of the fans ar e a part o f th e show. It 's not unusual to see th eir faces painted red, wh ite and blue. They wa ve th e Americans o n with Old Gl o ry, a nd so me unfurl ela bora te banner s to su p port their favorite rid ers, T hey're also loyal to th eir favorite viewing spots, with fri endly choruses of "The other side sucks" and o ther deba tes o ften shouted between hill sid es. U nfo rt unately, a few unrul y fa ns in the pa st have force d U nadi lIa o wne r Ward Robinson to insti tu te several restr ict io ns to help ma ke the U.S. G P mo re enjoyable for everyo ne. No gl ass cont ai ners ca n be broug ht into the facil ity, and alcohol is str ictly p roh ibited, as welI as fireworks. T he re will be one designated beer sta nd a t th e track, and it wi lI o n ly be open for a lim ited ti me on race day. So th a t everyo ne can get a good view , no scaffold ing is alIo wed . P er h a p s th e bi g g es t restric tio n Robin son has been forced to impose is el imina ting ca m pi ng in the fields just across the road fro m U nad illa. And if yo u' re headed to U nad illa , be su re a nd ha ve m ot el reserv ations. U tic a , th e closest m aj or c i ty to Unad illa, will be hosting a n an nua l mara thon foot ra ce an d nea rl y alI the lim ited n u mber of mot els in th e area are a lrea dy booked. T he smalI tow n Free 607/965-8784 ' from the pressure of th e race track, 1I1 visiti ng th e Radisson Inn in U tica. T he motel has been designat ed as th e race headquarters , so th e rid ers can often be found hanging out as th ey register for th e race and pi ck up credentia ls. There will als o be a pr e-P rix celebratio n o n Frida y evening a t th e Radisson lounge th at is o pen to the pub lic. For th ose wh o can ' t a ttend the G P, Seal s Communicat ions, th e prod ucers o f Mo toW orld, will be at Unad illa to The Unadilla fans are part of wha t makes the U.S. GP unique. Former Winners Year Site Winner 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Unadilla Unadilla Unadi lla Unadilla Unadilla Unadilla Unadilla Unadilla Unadilla Hollister, CA Unadilla Unadilla Unadilla Marty Tripes, USA Ken t Ho werton, USA Kent How erton , USA Neil Hu dson , Great Brit ain Kees Van der Ven , Holla nd David Bail ey, USA Ron Lechien, USA J ohnn y O' Mara , USA Bob Hannah , USA Rick Johnso n, USA Rick J oh nsol1, USA Rick J ohnson , USA Jeff Stanton , USA Machine Hond a Suzuki Suzuki Yama ha KT:\I Hond a Hon da Honda Suzuki Hon da Honda Honda Honda he will jo in Kent Howerton a nd Rick J ohnson as th e only two-time U nad illa winners. J ohnson has actualIy won the U.S. 250cc MX GP three times, but his first win in 1987 was when th e event was moved to HolIister HilIs, Ca liforn ia, since Unadilla hosted th e Motocross des Na tio ns th at year. Sta nt o n 's o nly 250cc Honda teammat e, J ean-Mich el Bayle, wilI pass up th e GP so th a t .he ca n try to win the U.S. 500cc MX GP in Au gust, thus acco mpl ish ing the feat o f win n ing a Grand Pri x race in a ll th ree MX cla sses. FIM rules sta te th at a rider ma y only co m pete in on e class during th e year, thus Ba yle wilI on ly com pe te in th e 500cc event. H onda 's P eak/Pro Circuit 125cc rid ers Brian Swink and Steve Lamson will com pete in the Support class. Am eri can Suzu ki will field Mik e L aR o cco a n d Larry Ward in an a tt em p t" to sto p H onda 's Stanton. La Rocco had a very strong run in last year 's event th at was sp oiled by a 'mecha nical br eakdown in the second m oto. Ward will be attem p ting to salvage a win from hi s injury-p lagued season. Buddy Antunez, Denny Stephenson a nd Ta lIo n Vohland are scheduled to co m pe te for Suzuk i in t h e 125cc Support class. T uf Racing, wh ich su p plies several top pri va teers with Suzukis, will field Keith Bow en in th e GP while Ron Tiche no r and T od d DeH oop will use th e Su pport clas s to get tra ck tim e in prep ara tion fo r the seaso n-en d ing 125cc Nat ional at UnadilIa. KTM is th e only o the r tea m that has en tere d a n Am erican sta r as both Ka wasa ki and Yama ha ha ve elected to ente r their riders in the 500cc G P. to h elp t he m p re pa re fo r th e 500c<: Nationals. Mik e Fisher wilI ca rry the KTM banner in an a tte m p t to score h is first maj or win. Mi ke Kied ro wski w i l l rep resen t Kaw asak i a nd Je ff Em ig will co m pe te for Yamaha in the Support class. For several promi ne nt Am eri cans, U nad illa is a time fo r coming ho me. Lousiana 's T rampas Parker . the 1989 125cc World Cha mpio n wh o has been liv ing in Ital y, wilI return to the U.S. o n his H RC -ki lted H on da, supp lied by the Ita lian Honda importer. La st yea r, Park er' s h om ecom i n g wa s marred by a shoulder injury, b ut this tim e he co mes back in co nte ntion for th e 250cc World Ch ampio nship.