Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1992 02 26

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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eINTHEWIND ~ B Papa Wealey y Chuck Clayton, the fo u nder a nd ow ner of Cycle News, suffere d a stroke last week . H e is listed in u nstab le conditio n at Twin Ci ties H osp ital in T em p le to n , Ca liforn ia. Ca rds a nd letters can be sent to hi m , c/o CN Pu bl ishin g, P.O . Bo x 498, Lo ng Beach , CA 90801. Minneso ta 's Donny Schmit (Yam ) scored the overa ll win a t the first majo r interna tio nal warm-u p race for th e World Championsh ip MX G Ps in Beaucai re, Fra nce, February 16. Schmit won th e' firs t of th ree mot os, th en fin ish ed third a n d second i n the' re m ainin g races . Bel g ian Stefan Everts (Su z), the 125cc MX World Cham pion, fin ish ed second overall, winnin g two mot os. Ameri cans co m o' pl eted the top five overall pl aces wit h Tallon Vohland (Suz) ea rn ing third a head o f Bob Moore (Yam) an d Mike Healey (Suz). Jimmy Gaddis (Suz) was th e big wi n ner a t ro u nd five o f the AMA Na tio na l Arenacross Series in Den ver, Co lorado, Febru ary 14-16. Gaddis wo n th e 250cc Pro main event on Friday then swep t the 125 and 250cc P ro mains o n Sat urday ni ght. Cliff Palmer (Su z) won Friday ni ght 's 125cc Pro main a nd leads th e point sta ndings in bo th divisions. Brian McElroy (Yam) swep t the 125 a nd 250cc P ro classes at th e Febru ary 16 o pen ing round of th e Carolina Spring Series a t Ca m p Cok er MX Park in Society H ill , So u th Caroli na. Jim Neese (Kaw) was th e runner-up in th e 125cc Pro class a nd Chad Lough (Suz) finish ed th ird overall, whi le in th e 250cc division Todd Bennick (Suz) finish ed second overall ahead of Hank Moree (Hon). The fin al ro u nd o f th e GFI California Winter MX Series North a nd th e North -South Showdown, which were to have tak en pl ace Februar y 1516 a t so u thern Ca lifo rnia 's P erris Raceway, were postpone d du e to th e heavy rai ns th at plagued th e reg ion. Both events have been resch edul ed to Fe b rua ry 29 -Ma rc h I at P erri s Raceway. T he Ca lifornia Racing Clu b's Mar ch I MX origina lly sche du led for sou th ern Ca lifornia 's Perris Raceway has been moved to Su nr ise Cycle Park in Adelanto. Guy Cooper, the 1990 AMA 125ccMX Nati o nal Cham p ion, will serve as a g uest instruc tor a t th e firs t Tony D Motocross School of th e year. T he school will be co nduc ted in Cooper' s hometown , Still wa ter, Oklahoma. For mo re informati on and a co m p lete sc hed u le o f T ony D Mo to cro ss Schools, call 410/676-7978. WorldSp orts h a s a n nou nce d 'th a t Honda will be th e pr esentin g sponsor o f th e opening ro u nd o f the AMA Nationa l Ch am pi onsh ip 125/250cc MX Series, th e Mar ch I 16th An n ual Gatorback National a t Gaines ville, Flor ida. ' The February 23 Lo di M.e. ro ugh scra mbles race will be held a t Oakdal e, Ca li forn ia's Pi on eer Arena, not a t Lodi Cycle Bowl. 2 T he opening ro u nd o f the AHRMA Nor-Cal Vintage MX Series wi ll ta ke pl a ce at Sa n d h i l l Ran ch in Brentwood, Ca liforn ia , on February 23. Su bsequen t ro u nds will be held a t Sandhill on April 12; Dixon, Ca lifornia, o n May 17; Carson City, Neva da, o n july 26; Fernl ey, N evad a , o n Sep tember 27; and at H ollister , Ca liforni a, o n Oc to ber 25. Fo r more informatio n, call 715/842-9699. A vintage short track demons tration will be held in co nj u nction with the Februa ry 23 AH R MA MX at Sa ndh ill Ran ch . T hen , on Sunday , Febru ary 23, a fu ll p rogram of vintage short trac k racing w ill be p resented at Sandh i ll, sponsored by Rod La ke Racing. For more in form a tion o n eit her event, ca ll Bill Spe ncer a t 408/ 436-8228. Spe ncer can also fill you in o n th e Ma rch I Sa n j ose Endu ro thon, an event that mak es up for a recent ra in -ou t. T he West Coast Vintage Cycle Rally, a com bi natio n of a sho w, swa p meet , a uc tio n and run, wi ll tak e p lace at th e Tular e Co u nty Fairgrounds in T ulare, Ca lifornia, over the Ap ri l 2426 weekend. The show, swa p meet a nd auction will tak e pl ace o n Saturday with th e run being held o n Su nday. For m ore in fo rm at ion , ca ll W ill Dickey at 805/ 772-2038. Prime Network will telecast three G ra nd Prix road races live with the remaining ro u nds o f th e World Champi on sh ip Road Race Ser ies bein g shown on a ta pe-de layed basis. just wh at G Ps will be a ired live has yet to be decided. Mu lti-time National MX Champion Rick Johnson will mak e hi s lon gawai ted off-road tru ck rac ing debu t o n Februa ry 22, in th e Mickey Thompson Off -Road Ch am pionship Gra n Prix a t Sa n Diego 's jack Murphy Stadiu m. j ohnson will drive a factory -bac ked Ch evrol et in th e Grand Nati onal Sport T ruck class. The 27.'year- old Sa n Diego-ar ea native has legi ons of local followers. " I couldn ' t be more exci ted a bo u t starting my new career righ t here in San Diego, " j ohnson said. "Even th ough th ere'll be th e added pr essure o f performing in my hometown in a n event sponsored by Ch evrol et. T he n, too, my wife Stephanie and I are expec ti ng our first chi ld a nd the du e dat e is February 23, th e day after the event. " Mot e-journalist Alan Cathcart o f Engl and wi ll once aga in ca mpaig n a Bimot a T esi su pe rbike in international ProTwins a nd Superbike events th is seaso n. Cathcart will com pe te at Da y ton a a board th e fu el- inj ec ted Du cati -pow ered Tesi, now th e on ly facto ry-bac ked Bim ot a su pe rbike. The 5th Annual Daytona Antique & Classic Motorcycle Auction will ta ke pl ace o n Sa t urday, March 7, during Ca me l Motorcycle Week at th e Dayton a Beach Armory. Sta rt ing on Wednesday, Mar ch 4, a nd running th rough Mar ch 7, the ar mory will be th e site o f a vintage bik e meet which will fea ture a swap meet , trad e show, vintage movies, a nd th e bikes th at will be au ction ed Saturday evening will be ' on display. For more informati on on the a uc tio n, ca ll 904/ 795-8895. Harley- Davidson deal ers recently received a letter fro m Richard Teerlink in which the co m pa ny's presid ent and chief execu tive o fficer addresse d th e drop in th e va lue o f H arley's com mo n stock foll owing th e release o f its th ird quarter sales and earni ngs rep ort. " Althou gh net in come was u p 38% co m pa red wi th the 1990 th ird quarter," T eerl ink said, " we fell short of Wall Street's sho rt -term q ua rterly expec ta tio ns . As I have sta ted numerous tim es, we do not ru n H a rleyDavid son for q ua rterl y resu lts. All of us are dedi cat ed to ac h ieving engi neer - SouthernCalifornia hosts Ride fOfKids T h e rain stor ms th at h ad caused millions o f dollar s in da mage to sou thern Ca li for nia o bviously cu t down o n th e nu m b er of participa nts w ho turned ou t for th e first 1992 Ride for Kid s in Dana Point, Ca lifo rn ia, . on Sunday, February 16. Alt ho ugh little rai n fell durin g the ri de fro m Dan a Point to the Del Mar Fa irgro u n ds, predi cti on s o f m o r e storms dro p ped th e expected particip ati on by 1000 or more mo torcycl ists to less than 200. T he Am erican H on da -spon sored events are fu nd rai sers for resear ch on pediatric brain tumo rs. The rides benefit the new Nati onal Brain T umor Registry and th is particu lar ride ra ised fu nds for th e U ni versity o f Southern Ca lifo rnia Brain T u mo r Resear ch Program . . " We kn ow th e rain or predi ctions of ra in hurt attendance," sa id Ameri can H onda 's Ga ry Christo p her. " We ended up with jus t under 200 participants and jus t over 100 motorcycles. But th e a ma zing thing is that we collected nearly $27,000 a t th e rid e and expect tha t by the time so me promised donations come in we will exceed $30,000." A $35 minimum don at ion pe r participant was required. Since the ina ugura l Rid e For Kids took pl ace in Atlanta in 1984, over $1 million has been rai sed fo r research on pedi atric brain tumors, th e most fat al ai lme nt for children in th e U.S. Mik e T ray nor, an Atl anta resid ent. is th e founder of Ride For Kids and th is year he'll orga n ize a total of 10 events nati onwid e. Ride for Kid s events will be held in Kno xville, T ennessee, in April; Atl anta a nd Denv er in june; Chicago, Detroit, Dubuque, Iowa, a nd Mar sh vill e, Wisconsin , in july; Ma rysvill e, Ohi o, in Au gu st; a nd Washington , D.e. in Septe mber . ing, ma n ufactur ing a nd m ark et in g excellence a nd running th e com pany for th e long-term benef it of all of our sta keho lders. " T eerl ink also co untered rumors regarding sto ck sa les by H arley officers and di rectors short ly before it too k a drop from a high of $55-$60 per share. "T he truth o f th e matter is th at on e co m pa ny o fficer a nd o ne director sold stock way ba ck in August, more than two months befo re th e Octob er 23 a n nou nce me nt a nd a nother officer so ld stock a full six weeks before th e sales a nd earni ngs an nou nce me nt. T hese stock sales were duly rep orted to th e Securi ties and Exch an ge Commis sion, as required by law , a nd th e selli ng prices were a ll in th e $40's ra nge. Furth er , th ese ind ividu al s contin ue to hold substantia l bl ocks o f H arl ey-David son stock." T he 1992 G ran Prix de Baj a Series ge ts u nder way February 29 with the running o f th e Mexicali Gran Prix. The eig h t-m ile cou rse nea r Mexica li, Baj a Ca liforn ia, Mexico, will tak e com pet itors in side th e mouth o f th e Cerro Colorado volca no! The volcano has been dormant for 75 yea rs a nd p romoter Lou Peralta o f Baja Promotion s a nd, of co urse , th e com pe titors ho pe it stays that wa y - a t least until th e race is over. T he new H otel Col on ial in Mexical i is race headquarters and re g is tra tio n w ill be o pen F rida y, February 28, from 3 p .m . to 8 p .m . Race da y regis tration will tak e pl ace a t th e start/ fi ni sh line, locat ed 16 miles south of Mexicali off Hwy. 5 to San Felipe. Foll ow the pink directi on al a rrows and ribbons. For more info rma tio n , ca ll 818/340-5750. Ne w Engla nd's T o m m y Norton, winner o f th e 1990 Blackwat er 100 Na tio na l Cross Co u ntry a nd for mer factory KTM ri der, will compete on H ondas for th e 1992 seaso n. Norton's maj or spo nsors will be Vall ey Motorsports Yamaha/Honda in Northam pton, Massachusetts, and Mirage Stud io, crea tors of th e popular T een a ge Mutant Ninja Turtles. Norton 's H ondas a nd riding appar el will be decked o u t w it h th e li ttl e g ree n turtl e characters. Accordi ng to Yam aha Mot or Corpo rat ion 's Tom H alv erson, recent order ca nce la tio ns have mad e avail abl e four 1992 Yamaha T Z250D roa d race rs. The price tag for eac h bike is $15,000. If you 'r e interested, ca ll H alverson at 7141761-7311, or Dennis Cra ne a t 714/ 761-7578. If D a m o n Bradshaw can ex tend h is Cam el Su pe rcross Seri es wi n streak to five straig h t at ro u nd six in Atl antaFulton County Stadiu m on February 22, he will move into a three-way tie for fifth on the all-tim e su pe rcross win list. Jeff Stanton a nd Jean-Michel B a yl e are currently tied for fifth with 13 wins . Damon B r a d s h a w wo n th e Atla nta even t last year, a nd if he ca n repeat he will join Mark B a rne tt a nd B o b Hannah as multi-time winners at Atla nta-Fulton Co unty Stad iu m. Bar - ' nett a nd H annah both have th ree Atl anta victories, a ltho ug h none came in consec u tive years. J e ff St a n t o n , th e 1989 winner , and J e ff War d , wh o wo n in 1990, a lso have a ,;;hance of joining Barnett a nd H annah on th e m ult i-time winners list. Both H annah a nd Barnett will be at th e Februar y 22 Atla nta Supercro ss, th e last on e to be held in th e o u tdooo r stadiu m , to tak e part in special ceremonies. The 1993 Atlanta Supercross will be held inside the new Georgia Dom e. Defending Nati on al En duro Ch ampi on J e ff R u s s e ll has inked a n a p pa rel contrac t wi th Fox Racing. Russel l is the first o ff-roa d factory team rider to be sponsored by Fox . Mo to crosser Mike Fisher is still side line d with th e sho ulder injury th at prevented him from com pe ti ng in th e Sea tt le a nd San Diego Supercrosses and doesn 't expec t to return to act io n until th e Mar ch 7 Daytona Supercro ss by H onda. " My sho u lder is ge tt ing bett er, but th ere' s still some p roblem s with tendoni tis," said th e KTM factory rider on Febru ar y 18. " I ro de hard yesterday a nd found o u t it 's not stro ng eno ugh. I co uld race right now a nd do decent, but I don 't want to ride like th a t. I 'want to co me back as stro ng as possible a nd be able to win." Fish er suffered th e injury in 1985 a nd reinjured it last year in a post -season European su pe rcross race. H e further

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