Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eINTHEWIND e B Papa Wealey y Belgia n Dirk Geukens (H on) was the overall wi n ner a t round seven o f the World Championsh ip 500cc MX Series at H aw kstone Par k, Engla nd , Ju ly 7. Georges J obe (H on ) fini sh ed seco nd o verall and Jacky Martens (KT M) · was third. Am eri can Billy Liles (Kaw ) fin ish ed th ird in th e fir st rno to b u t dropped o u t o f th e secon d mot o du e to mech anica l problems. J ob e lead s Marten s in th e point sta ndi ngs , 179-164. T he July 7 ro un d o f the AMA 600 Nationa l Championship Dirt Track Ser ies at Wisconsin's Hales Corners Speedway was rained ou t midway . th ro ug h th e program. Along with th e qualifyin g h eat races in the J u nior an d Expert clas ses, th e $5000 Dash for Cash took p lace before th e rain struck a nd Rodne y Farris (H- D) won that even t, earni ng $2000. Jay Springsteen (H -D) a nd S t e v e M orehead (H -D) sha red wins in two dirt track events run a t th e Pa lau Sant J ordi in Barcelona, Spai n , on Ju ly I 2. Sp ri ngs teen won Monday night's short track main event wi th Moreh ead fi nis h ing second a nd Spa niard Juan Bulto (Cag) thi rd. Tuesday n igh t' s TT main event saw Moreh ead co me h ome the winner , but mu ch to th e deligh t o f the crowd, Spaniard A lex Llobert ( KT M ) fin ished seco nd , h oldin g o ff t hird pl a ce fi nis her Sp rings teen. Ezra Lus k (Suz) swep t th e 125 a nd 250cc P ro classes at th e C ha rlotte Stad iu m MX , held o n July 3 as parr o f Ch arl o tt e Moto rcycl e Week in C ha rlotte , No rth Ca rolin a. T odd DeH oop (Suz) was th e runner-up in th e 2S0cc class a nd Mik e Andrews (Su z) finish ed second in th e I 25cc division. Brian Anderson (W-R ) wa s the o vera ll winn er in the m oto rcycle d ivisi on a t th e Pikes Peak Hillcl imb in Colorado Springs, Colorado, J u ly 4. Anderson, a resident of Colorado Springs, co vered th e 12.42-mi le co u rse in 13 minutes, 24.82 seconds. H e was com petin g in the Open P ro class. Dave DureUe (W-R ), who was al so an Open Pro class entran t, finished second, less tha n fou r seco nd s down o n And erson's wi n n ing time. Arlo Englund (KT M), the 250cc class winner, wa s third overa ll , 500cc Pro class winner Larry Roeseler (Kaw) wa s fourth ov era ll, and Tony Donahue (W-R) fini shed fift h overall , third in the Open Pro class . Th e resch edu lin g of th e Texas World Speedway round of the AMA Na tiona l Cha m p ionship Road Race Ser ies to Octob er 4-6 occu rred due to th e promo ters requesting the da te ch an ge to accom modate sponsors. T he resch edul in g al so a ll o ws for a ny further de lays in co ns tructio n a n d paving , part o f a $5 mill ion renovatio n proj ect , as a result of unseasona bly wet weather tha t has pr evailed th is yea r in Texas . According to th e promoter , Ish in Spe ed Sp ort Corporatio n, th e Texas Motorcycle Deal ers Associatio n will be a maj or spo nsor for t he National, and th e deal er group preferred more lead tim e to put effecti ve p romotions in place. T he event was origina lly scheduled for August 9-11. " We will not com p ro m ise quality on any area of this facil ity," said Dr. Dick Respess, Ish in 's pr esident. "We ar e strivin g to crea te a top notch faci lit y a nd to deliver a quality sho w for th e spec ta tors. T he cha n ges we have made thi s year will a llow us to do th a t." The Tom Walther/ Shaw n McDonald Can-Am Challenge R a ce for Safe t y will tak e pl ace on Jul y 28 a t Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Washingt on , in conj u nc tio n wi th a Washingt on Motorcycle Road Ra ce Association (W M R RA) m ee t. T he 600cc Production class race wi ll offer a $1500 purse su pplied by the Tom Walth er Mem o ri a l Fund, S ha w n McDonald , Seattle Cycle Center, Metzeler Ti res, WMRRA, 1-90 H onda, L ynn w o od Yam a ha and Bell vu e Suzuki. T he race is being held to help promo te tra ck a nd rider safety a n d displays by spo nsori ng dea lers h ips, th e Washington Stat e Mot orcycle Sa fety Foundation , th e Walther Mem orial Fund a nd o the rs will be set u p in a spec ia l area. Walther was a to p Canad ia n road racer wh o lost h is lif e in a race in Japan in 1987. McDonald suffered paralyzing injuries in a race in New Zea land last year. McDona ld is coordina ti ng th e Can-Am Challenge and will a lso an nou nce the races. Proceeds from the event wi II go to the Walther Memorial Fund, which is dedi ca ted to rider sa fety, and the McDona ld Fund for Quadraplegi a. Scott Parker came u p one sp ot short of scori ng a record 41st Gra nd National Championship/Camel Pro Ser ies wi n a t th e J une 29 L ima Half Mile. Th e 29 -year-old rid er fro m Michigan will get his next sho t at breaking o ut of a tie with Jay Springsteen on th e a ll -tim e wi n list a t ihe Jul y 13 Hagerstown H alf Mil e at Maryla nd 's Hagerstow n Sp eedway. Parker , who has won three of th e seven Safety award to California M 2 o tor cycle Safety Fo undation President Alan Isley (rig h t) presents Ca lifornia High way Patrol (C H P) Commissioner M.]. Hann ig an (left) and Sgt. Mik e Nivens with the 1990 Outsta n di ng Sta te Pro gra m Award for th e Ca li fornia Motorcyclist Safety Program (CMSP). T he CMSP, ad m in istered by the CH P , has been operationa l for four years. T he CMSP has received th is p restigi ous a wa rd in three o f th ose four yea rs. " Ca lifo rn ia's program is a model of efficienc y and effectiveness ," Isley sai d. " It is well -structured , methodica l, staffed with a n excelle nt managem ent team, su p ported by top professionals, and backed by o u tsta nd in g monitoring a nd quality con trol systems." The C MSP · is charged with en ha nci ng dr iver a wa reness of mo torcyclists an d in creasing the number of trained motorcycli sts stat ewide. Since 1987, more th an 26,000 motorcycli st s hav e succes sfu lly co m p leted a CMSP training co urse. Californians interested in taking a CMSP training co ur se sho ul d ca ll the toll free informati on and referral number: 800/CC-RIDER. New'Heritage Museum exhibit ORen . T h e Motorcycl e H erita g e ~ Museu m, located a t the head quarters of th e Am eri can Mo to rcycl ist Assoc ia t io n , h a s open ed a new ex hi bi t celebra ting 50 yea rs o f th e Da yton a 200. Included in th e disp lay a t th e m use um , located in Westervill e, O h io , a su b urb o f Co lu mb us, are the Indian motorcycle on which Ed "Iron Man " Kretz won the very first Daytona 200, held on th e sa nd o f Dayton a Beach in 1937; th e Indian piloted to th e 1948 victory . by Floyd Emde; the Harley-Davidson tha t Roger Reim an rode into wi nner's circle in 1961, th e fir st time th e race was held at Daytona Internatio nal Speedway; and a 1972 350cc Yamaha, th e smallest motorcycle ever to wi n the ra ce, ridden to victo ry by Don Emde, so n of the 1948 winner. Also included in the exh ibit are photographs and o the r mem orab ilia traci ng the 50-year hi story of the race. The museum , no w o ne yea r o ld, als o will u n veil a n additio na l exh ibit, " T hose Fabu lous Fours," in Jul y. T his display, fea tu ring more than 50 motorcycles, will trace th e development an d evolu tion o f th e four-cyli nd er motorcycle fro m 1907 to th e present. Both exh ibits will be ope n extra h ours during H eritage H omecom in g 1991, a celebrat io n of motorcycling sla ted for August 14-17 on th e ca m p us of O hio University in Ath ens , Ohio , 80 miles sou th eas t of Westerville. For mor e informati on ab out th e new museum di splays, co n tac t Museum Director J im Rogers. Those interested in a tten d ing H eritage Homecoming 1991 sho u ld co ntact Andy Show, AMA associa te director of touring and tra nsportati on. Both ca n be reac hed a t th e AMA , P.O . Box 6114, Westerville, OH 4308 1-6114; or by ca ll ing 614/ 891-2425 during weekday busin ess hours. . ro u nds o f th e Camel Pro Ser ies run thus far this season, is no s tra n ger to the reco rd book. H e's th e all-time wi n n inges t rider o n mi le tracks with 26 wi ns a nd he' s won 19 of th e last 23 Cam el Pro mi le events. He's th e a lltime leading money w i n n er with $474,000 in Camel bonuses a lone. His 10 wins in 1989 gave him th e single seaso n reco rd. If that 's not en ough , Parker hol ds the qua lifyi ng record at three tra cks (Li ma, Sacramento a nd San Jose), th e ra ce records at fou rtracks (Li ma , Sacramen to, San J o se and Indi ana pol is), a nd the track record for most vi ctories a t Sacramento (7), India na pol is (5), Sa n J ose (5) and Lima (3). But the th ree-time Grand Natio nal Champion doesn 't dwell on reco rds. " I never th in k abo u t records until reporters sta rt ask ing me about th em ," Scott -P ar ker sa id . " My main goal every time ou t is to win th e rac e and build up points towa rds th e $100,000 Camel pays o u t to win th e championship. The records just co me with it. I kn ow so me day a fter I'm retired I' m goi ng to be si tt ing a t home in the ho t tu b th ink in g , 'Wow, loo k wh at I was able to accompl ish.' Bu t righ t no w, I' m just thinking abo ut raci ng a nd everything else wi ll ta ke care of itself." Professio nal dirt tra ck racer , and soonto-b e race promoter, Ronnie Jones says there are still a few rooms left a t th e Best Western Saddleba ck In n for th e J uly 27 ru n ni ng of the Oklahoma City H alf Mi le, round nine of th e AMA Grand Nat ional C hampio nship / Camel Pro Series. For reservat ions, call 800/228-3903 a nd as k for the spe cia l, di scount race rat e.' Jay Springsteen is th e only rider who has a shot a t scoring a seco nd National win at the Oklahoma Sta te Fairgrounds tra ck on J ul y 27. Springs teen won at O klaho ma City in 1977, th e last time a G rand Natio nal Cha mpi onsh ip race was ru n there. Other Oklahoma City Nationa l wins were scor ed by the late Fred Nix, a na tive Oklahoman wh o logged ba ck-to-ha ck wins in 1967 and 1968, Jim Rice in 1969, Mark Brelsford in 1970, Gene Romero in 1971, and Hank Scott in 1976. Three-time Grand National Champion Bart Markel holds the one-lap track record ' of 24.84 secon ds whi ch he set in 1970. T he 20-lap race reco rd was set by Sp ringsteen at 8 mi nu tes, 18.86 seco nds in '77. The 7th Annual Over The Hill Gang get- together will take place J uly 27-29 at three-time Dayton a 200 winner Dick Kla mfoth's home a t Honda Hills in L in n vi ll e, Ohio. Lin n vill e i s app ro xi mately 40 mi les east of Co lumbus. Memb ership in th e O THG is open to anyone who race d motorcycles 25 or more years ago . The weekend ga the ri ng is open to anyone who is interested in th e raci ng o f yesteryear. For more informati on, ca ll Bobby H ill a t 614/ 875-5582, Dick Klamfoth at 614/ 228-0690 o r Butch Baer a t 413/2673343. The Motorcycle Safety Founda tio n has a n nou nced th at in 1990, 87,566 students graduated from Motorcycle Rider Courses in th e U.S. The figure rep resen ts a n increase of 15,186 students, or 21%, over th e previous year an d br in gs th e total n umber of riders tra ined to over 823,000. AMA Expert class d irt trac k rac er Tim Best o f Fairborn , Ohio , suffered fat al inj uries in a street bike acci dent on T ues day even ing , June 25. Best, 19, was a sophomo re a t Wri g ht State U niversity wh ere he was twi ce named the most val uable runnner on th e school's cross country team. A 1989 gradua te of Greenville Hi gh School, Best was the school's wi n ni ngest career wrestler with 82 victories. According to the Dayton Da ily News, the acci dent is being investigated by the Miam i County She riff's Depa rt m ent. " He rode professi ona lly th e last three yea rs," his father Do uglas Best told th e Da ily News . ' 'I' m not buying a nything abo u t his being o u t o f contro l." ESPN reports favorab le ratings for th e first th ree even ts of its tape-delayed Camel Pro Series broad casts. Identical .8 ratings were reco rded for the series ' premier race, taped on May I I at th e Pomona (Ca lifornia) Fairgrounds, a nd the event ta ped o n May 26 in Sp ri ngfield , Ill ino is. That represen ts a udien-

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