Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ePREVIEW u.s. 500cc MX Grand Prix Race Schedule I More than agood race ........ SATURDAY, AUGUST 24 Rider. Regi stration & T ech In specti on (a t track) Rider's Meetin g 500cc Free P ractice (1st session ) Gale Webb Freesty le Sh ow _ 500cc Free Pra ctice (2nd session ) Support Classes Practice 500cc Qualifying (if necessary) By N a te Rauba Photos by Kinney Jones he only thing five-time 500cc MX Wor ld Champion Roger DeCoster wanted o ut of last year 's V .S. 500cc MX G P was a " good race." The transplanted Belgi an put hi s name on the lin e to bring the G P to southern Ca lifornia. DeCoster got more than a good race on the trac k as th e entire Motol in kpromoted event tu rn ed out to · be a spectacular success . After severa l years T 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a. m. I I:30 a.m. 12:00 p .m . - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p .m . - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p .m. - 2:30 p .m. 2:30 p. m. - 3:15 p .m. 3:15 p .rn. - 5:00 p .m. SUNDAY , AUGUST 25 other to reduce tra ffic this year," said Baumann. Motolink also seems to th ink that it was a mistake to keep the p ublic out of the grandstands that provide a view. of nearly the entire Roger DeCosterdesigned cou rse. Last year th ose sta nds were reserved on ly for VIPs from the many in du stry sponsors of the event; bu t this year a section will be opened up to the publicApprox ima tely 1000 500cc Free Pra ctice Support Classes Practice , 500cc' T imed Pra ctice Rider's Meeti ng Autograph Session (Exh ibit Area ) Opening Ceremony 500cc Moto One 125cc Moto One Wh ite Bro s. 4-Stroke Ra ce Ga le Webb Freestyle Show 500cc Mot o T wo I25cc Moto T wo Awards Cerem ony 9:00 a.m . - 9:30 a .rn. 9:40 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 12:00 p .m. . 12:30 p .m. 1:00 p .m. 1:30 p .m. - 2:20 p .m. 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. 3:00 p .rn, - 3:15 p .m . 3:15 p. m. - 3:45 p.rn. 3:50 p .m . - 4:35 p .m. 5:00 p .m . - 5:25 p.m. 5:30 p .m. - 5:45 p .m. U.S. 500cc MX Grand Prix entrants 16 o f dec lini ng attendance, th e V .S. 500cc MX GP resu rged with a p proxima tely 17,000 specta tors cra m m ing th e hillsides and infields of Gl en Helen OHV Pa rk in San Bernardino, Ca li forn ia. The V.S. GP hadn' r seen th a t m uch glory since the days whe n thousands jam med Carlsbad Raceway, about 100 m i les so ut h o f G len H el e n , and thousands mo re watched at home on.~ _ ABC Television's Wi de World of Sports. DeCoster a nd Motolink ar e once again working together and will try to make the August 24-25 500cc Shoei . Helmets V .S. Mo tocross Grand Prix even better. Bu t how do you improve . an event that was so successful in its first year at a new venue with a new p ro mot er? " We' ve learned from last year's mi stakes," says Greg Baumann , who wi th his wife Yvon ne fou nded Motolink, the Scottsdale, Ariz ona , firm promo ting th e event. DeCo ster will direct all ac tivit ies of th e GP. Mistak es? Last year 's GP seemed to go 0(( without a hitch. Except for th e massive traffic ja m crea ted wh en 17,000 people tried to funnel 0(( the freeway onto the 2.5mile, two-l ane road that leads to Glen Helen. Another jam occurred as spectators left the GP. " Last year, the law enforcem ent agencies didn't take us seriously," said Greg Baumann. "They didn 't attend our meetings and were caught with their pants down." This year , expect to see pl enty of law enforcement officers directing traffi c in and out of Glen Helen. " They are all cooperating with each Dirk Geukens jacky Martens Billy Liles , Kees Van der Ven j o Martens Georgesjobe Marc Velkeneers Ano Panttila Giovanni Cavatorta j ohan Boonen j eff Matiasevich Brian Wheeler Carlo Hulsen joel Smets FredAndrews FredVan Loon jeremy Whatley jim Owens jean-Marc Blanchy Olivier Perrin jean-Michel Midey Belgium Belgium USA Netherlands Belgium Belgium Belgium Finland Italy Belgium USA England Netherlands Belgium USA Netherlands England Luxembourg Switzerland France France Hon KTM Kaw Hon Hon Hon Hon Hon Hon KTM Kaw KTM Hon Hon Kaw KTM Kaw Kaw Kaw Kaw Kaw grandstand seats will be ava ila ble on race da y o n a fir st-com e basis for a n addi tional $10 over th e $25 ge neral admission fee. · Adva nce-sale gen eral ad m issio n tickets a re ava ilable at a $5 d is count at parti cipating Honda, Suzuki and Yam aha deal ers, a s well at Ticketmaster outlets. There will be no advanced grandstand tick et sales . For those who want to get clo ser to th e track, there ar e spectator terraces on th e hillsides as well as fenced -in viewing areas in the center of the co u rse. The hillsides also provide a good view of the entire tra ck, alt ho ugh some hiking may be required to find th e best spots. Once again the re wi ll be many industry sponsors, and many of their WilliamWopken Rene De Rodde Todd Sinclair Darrell Martens Steve Friesen Roberuo Costa Soren Mortensen j ean-Michel Bayle jeff Ward Damon Bradshaw Walter Banolini Doug Dubach Keith johnson. _ . Andy Stacy ~ jason Buule Greg Zillerkopf Chris Young Ron Lechien Shaun Kalos jeffGlass Netherlands Netherlands Canada Canada Canada San Marino Denmark France USA USA Italy USA USA & USA USA USA USA USA USA USA Hon Hon Kaw Kaw Kaw Hon Kaw Hon Kaw Yam Hus Yam KTM KTM Kaw Kaw Hon Kaw Kaw Hon products will be on displa y at an expa nded Moto Expo. These di splays in a ten t-covered, carnival-li ke atmosphere will include all th e new dirt bikes from several manufacturers as well as clothing and other products for sal e from man y a ft er m a r ke t co m pa nies. Besides having their bikes on display, Suzuki will offer demonstration rides on their dual sport models, and other manufacturers may offer demo rides as well. Dual sport enthusiasts can also participate in a special ride . through the nearby San Bernardino mountains on Saturday. That is being put on by California Trail Rides. The entry fee for the ride also includes a barbeque at Glen Helen on Saturday night a nd special ca mping - for ride participants only - a t th e track. The Maruko Hotel in downtown San Bernardino is the race headquarter s and is offeri ng specia l ra tes to V .S. GP attendees. There are also severa l motels less than 15 miles away near th e Ontario airport and on H ospitality Lane at th e so u th end of San Bernardino a t th e intersecti on of Interstate 10 and 215. Hospitality Lane also offers an asso rtment of restaurants a nd entertainment. Whi le Mo tol i n k can work to o improve the atmos p he re ill th e GP, one thing they can 't do is con trol the action that will take p lace on virt ually th e same DeCoster -designed tra ck as last year. Last year the racing turned ou t to be close and exciting, even th ough Eri c Geboers had already wrapped up the World Championship. On ce a gai n the titl e h a s been cl inc hed prior to the V.S . G P, this ti me by Belgi an Georges J ob e, but th ere shou ld sti ll be so me close racing as th e riders com pe te for the bronze medal and a top-eight pl acing in the final sta ndi ngs. J acky Martens had kept the title rac e close until he encountered problems at the penultimate GP in Luxembourg, but he has clinched second in the standings. (See In the . Wind for results of the Luxembourg GP, the last 500cc GP before the V.S. round at Glen Helen.) . Points are awarded based on a rider's finish in each of the two 40-minute plus two- lap motos at the GP, with an overall winner determined by the rider who scores the most points that day . The first place finisher receives 20 points, second 17, third 15, fourth

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