Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

T he Am eri can Federation o f Mo torcyclists (AFM) has a n nou nce d a new road race series , 't h e F o r m ula P a cifi c Grand Prix Serie s . T he six-rou nd ser ies wi ll be co nducted at Sears Point and is rest ricted to riders who are ab le to run I m in ut e, 55 second or better lap ti mes at the northern Ca lifornia track. Mach in ery is u n limited , but ni trous oxide or methanol is n o t a llo wed . Each race wi ll offer a minimum pu rse of 1000, a nd Trave lCraft ha s p ost ed a co n tingen cy prize o f 100 which will go to th e winner of eac h ' race. For mor e information, ca ll j oe . Montoya a t 5 10/53 7-8208. Desp ite th e co n fl ict ing AMA Na tio na l Champions h ip R o a d R a ce Se ri es rou nd at Laguna Scca, the AFM wi ll host a race m eet at Sea rs Po in t on the April 25-26 weeke nd . " We had a lready beg u n d istribu tin g schedule info rmatio n by . the ti me the Na tiona l was a n n o u n ced ," said Jo e M ontoya, AFM North p resid en t. " We still expect a good weekend , a lthough ma ny o f our fastes t rid ers wi ll be a t Laguna. 'It will g ive those wh o do a tten d our first race qui te a jump in the ,cham p io ns hi p poi nts race." The Sears Point meet w ill feat ure a new rid er s schoo l a nd sp rin t races. By ea rn ing 121.000 in Camel Pro Series awards la st year 100,000 for Iwi n g thr- seri es ' cham p a nd $21,000 in Camel Ch allen ge p urse money Sco tt P ark e r bu mped hi s to ta l Ca mel wi n n ings up to a whopp ing $ 5 9 5 .00 0 . Th e fou r-t ime ch a m p scored the first o f a record 43 Grand Nationa l Cha mpions hi p Ser ies win s as a rooki.. Expe rt in 1979 a t the DuQu o in (Ill ino is) Mile. Seco nd o n the a ll - tim e Ca m el a wards li st is B ubb a S hobert wi th 465.700. Perennial series runner -up Chris Carr is th ird wi th S2HO.000. In th e 18 sea so ns tha t R.j . Reyn ol ds ha s been invo lved wi th th e AMA Grand Nat io nal Cham p io ns hi p Series , a IOta l o f $3,720.000 h a s been a wa rded, at fir st through the co m pan y's Ca mel bra nd , th en Win sto n , and no w Ca mel. T he latter br a nd is un der fire fro m the su rgeon ge ne ra l who has req uested tha t they sto p u sin g th e ca rtoo n ca me l - Old J o e - in ad verti sin g. T he govern me nt cla ims th e cartoo n figu re. is inf l u en cin g youngsters to smoke Camels. The rep resenta tives o f twel ve Europea n co u nt ries wi ll ga the r next week to di scu ss ta ki ng steps to collectivel y ban tobacco p roduct adv e r t is ing in con nection wi th a ll sporting and cu lt u ra l events. TRIVIA Q UESTION: As reponed last week, by wi n ni ng th e Daytona Sh ort Track, th e opening round of th e '92 AMA G rand Na tiona l Ch am p ion ship Seri es, Chris Carr joined a selec t group o f riders who have sco red wi ns in all four disciplines of Nati o nal dirt track raci ng: mile, half m ile, TT a nd short track. Since the seri es began in 1954. II o th er rid ers have sco red at least o ne win in eac h o f the four d in track di scipli nes. H ow many ca n yo u name? (Yo ul l find th e answer elsewhere in th is sect io n .) T he 24th Annual Hangto w n M X Classic has had a date cha nge. T he Di n Diggers No rth M.C. even t wi ll ta ke p lace J u n e 12-14 a t Prai rie City O HV Area just east of Sacram ento, Ca lifo rnia. T eam Honda 's J e an -M ich e l Bayle a nd J eff S tan ton will be appearing a t H o nda -Su zu ki West 's open h ouse ' in T ampa o n Friday eveni ng, Mar ch 27, in co nj u nc tio n with th e fo llowing e ve n i n g' s T ampa Super cro ss. On Sa turday morn ing, "la rch 28, m u ltiti me Nation a l :\IX Champio n Bob Han na h wi ll be a t t h e shop to a u tog ra p h pos ters . T he shop is located a t 13521 ' . Florida Aven ue in Ta m pa. Fo r more in forma tion , ca ll 8 13/9687888. Ce ntra l Cali forni a ' s Bakers fi eld Spe edway has expa nded its dirt trac k o va l fro m one- q ua rter m ile to o nethird mi le a nd will kick o ff its S prin g Cha m p ionship Se rie s o n Frida y night, Ma rch 20. In add it ion to th e len gthen ing o f th e ova l, a n ew lighti n g system ha s been in stalled a nd o ther improvements ha ve bee n made to the faci lity. Foll ow in g th e o pen ing n igh t o f a ma teu r a n d pro sho rt track rac ing, series rounds wi ll take place every o the r Frid ay n igh t through May 15. T he track will a lso host a su m mer a nd a fa ll ser ies. T he Trailb lazers, a fraternal organ izati o n o f p io neer motorcyclin g ent h u s ias ts , are ce le bra ti ng th e ir 50th a n n iversary this year. T he ir a n n ua l U.S. to'hostround of.World Chamnionshin Sunercross Series he FI:\I Managemen t Council recent ly approved a Worl d Championship Supercross Seri es schedu le tha t includes an event tentatively sched u led for Octo ber 3 1 in Atl a nra -Fulton Coun rv Stad ium. " We' ll ha ve to wa it a nd set' if the Atla;lta Braves ma ke th e Wor ld Seri es," sa id Bill West o f SupezSpo ns . whi ch ha s .been chosen by th e AMA 10 promote th e even t. SuperS pons is a lso th e p ro moter of the O rla ndo. At la nta , T a m pa , a nd Cha rlotte ro u nds o f th e Ca me l Su percross Series. ' If , the Atlanta Braves can repeat th eir appeara nce in th e Wo rld Seri es, the supercross co u ld be mo ved to Novem ber 14 or to a nother stadiu m. "Th ree o ther stad iu ms wa nt the event, bu t they have to wa it for the Nat iona l Footba ll Leag ue's sched u le to be released, " sa id West , who wou ld n 't ela bo rate 0 11 which sta di u ms a re interested in hosti ng the race. Alt hough the FIM 's sched u le does no t denote a tenta tive sta tus for th e Oc to be r ~5 Ca nadia n ro u nd in Toro nto, that city, 100 ', co u ld po ssib ly be hosting th e Wor ld Series. Baseb all ins id ers p red ict a divis io n wi n for the T oro nto Blue jays, a ru n ner u p div isio n fin ish fo r th e Bra ves. . T he FIM form ed th e Wor ld Champio nshi p Su pe rcross Series 10 repl ace th e Roehl Wor ld Su pcrcros s Series a nd Ma sters o f Mo tocro ss Se ries . On ly the o peni ng ro u n d o f th e Wo rld Supercross Ser ies co n fl icts wit h a n AMA Na tio na l, th e Bin ghamton, New York, ro u nd . The co m plete sched u le is as fo llow s: Augus t 29, C on-borg , Sweden : Sep tember 13, Paris, France: O ctober 17, N ij rnega n, H o lla nd ; October 25, Toronto, Ca nada: O cto ber 31, At la nta, Georg ia (tent a tive); Novem ber 8, Bar cel o na , pa in: November 29, T ok yo . j apan; December 4, Geneva, Switzerla nd ; Decem ber 6, Gen ova , Ita ly. ' T ge t-tog ethe r wi ll ta ke place o n Saturday, Ap ril .j a t th e Seq uoia Ath letic C lub in Bu e n a P a rk , Ca l ifo rn ia. Act ivi ties wil l" get u nderway a t I p.m. wi th a n exh ibi tio n o f vintage bikes and a lo t of ben ch raci ng, a nd th e evening will fea ture a cocktail hour a t 6 p .m . a nd dinner a t 7 p.m . Banq ue t tickets a re 24. For mo re in formation, ca ll Ed Kretz; Jr. a t 8 18/ 285-6666. It was feared tha t defendi ng National E nd uro Champi o n Jeff R u s s e ll broke hi s foot wh ile co m petin g a t th e March 14 T ecat e 250 En d uro. Accordin g to KT M ' s Scot H a rd en , who fin ished sixt h in th e even t, " Jeff (R ussell) ca ug h t his foot o n somet hing a nd it swe lled up real bad, 'a n d we th o ught for sure it was broken. Bu t X-ravs showed no broken bones a nd he p la ns on co m pe ting at th e next Na tional Enduro round in Ill ino is (Ap ril 5)." Western States Racing Associa tion a n d Ka wa saki Tea m Green a re o ffer ing a $ 1 000 b oun t y that will go to a nyone wh o ca n beat Larry Roeseler ai th e 22nd ru n ni ng o f th e WSRA Virginia City Grand Prix in Virgi ni a City, Nevada , Ma v 9-10. T he ride r who ca n beat Roesele'r wi II tak e home two 100ounce silver bars, worth a p p ro x imatel y 1000. Roeseler has won th e event six times . For more de ta ils, ca ll 702/9i2-3130, or 358-5005. Dirt track ra cer John Carl, 23, wa s kill ed in a n acc id ental shootin g March 5. Carl, from Po m ero v, Ohi o , is survived by hi s wi fe Susa n', hi s parents. th ree sis ters a nd o ne brothe r, Ivan, who is a lso a Pro -Am d in track rac er. Ca rds a nd letters can be sent to: iv an Ca rl, 2009 County Road 165, Ca rd ingto n. Ohio 433 15. Trivia a nswe r: Scott Pa rker, j ay Spri n gsteen , Bubb a S ho be rt , Ba rt Markel. Steve Eklund, Randy Goss , Men Lawwi ll , Kenn y Roberts, Dick Mann , Alex jorg ensen , an d Do u g Cha n d ler. Na tiona l H ar e Scra m bles a n d Cross Co u n try Ch a mp ion Scott Sum mers will be a t Sloan 's H onda in Murfreesboro , T en nessee, o n Ma rch 28 fro m II a .m . to 1 p.m . to sig n au tographs a nd a nswer q u estion s a bou t sett ing up a nd rid in g four- stro ke o ff-road bikes. For . mor e in forma tion , ca ll 6 15/893-0150. 'T he fa llo ut fro m th e h elmet b lackmail p lan adop ted as part o f la st year's federal highway fund ing b ill h as fall en o n Marylan d motorcycli sts. A measure tha t wou ld require h e lm et use by mo to rcycl ists o f a ll ages was passed by th e Ma ryla nd leg isla ture in Februa rv. And now, a ll th a t remains is for G'ov. Willia m Do nal d Schaefer ' to sign it int o la w, a n d since th e go vernor ha s endo rsed th e measu re, swi ft approval is antici pa ted. U nder th e terms o f th e law, which wo u ld ta ke effect o n O cto ber I , th e fi ne for a moto rcyclist no t wearing a hel met will be $50. The AM A, worki ng with o the r motorcycli st groups like ABATE o f Maryl and a nd the Mo torcycle Ri ders Fou nd ation , lob bied agains t th e p ro p osa l d urin g its jo urney . throug h th e legisla tu re. J e ff Ward will m iss th e April 4-5 U.S. 500cc MX G P a t G len H elen O H V Pa rk in Sa n Berna rdi no , Ca lifornia . H e's sche du led to undergo arth rosco p ic surgery 10 rem ove ca rt ilage from h is sho u lder ear lie r th at week. Acco rd ing to Ka wa sa ki MX , Team Manager Roy T u rn er, Ward w ill atten d th e G P to p er for m pub lic rela tions d ut ies for Kawasa ki. Three-time Na tio na l En d uro Cha mpion Randy H a w kins will never for get what happened to h im March 6 in Green vi ll e, So u t h Ca ro lin a. H awkin s was golfi ng a t th e So u the rn Oaks golf . co urse near hi s h ome in Tra velers Rest, S.c., whe n h e shot a ho le-in-one. : " It was a I50-yard par three, a nd I u sed a seven iron ," said H awkins. " The ball la n ded 10 feet in front of the hol e and ro lled right in ." H awkins a dded that he takes golf quite serious ly. " My p lan is when I turn 30 a nd my racing career is o ver, my goa l is to compete in the PG A Seniors T our. f figu re when I q uit racing serious ly, I'll have 20 yea rs 10 practice my golf. Rig h t n ow , I u su ally shoot a bou t a 7880. " An noun cer Bruce Flanders wi ll be a busy man in Ap ri l. H e'll stan th e month by an nou ncing the U.S. 500cc MX G P , and the following weekend he' ll be a t the mi crop hon e for the In dy car race a t Long Beach. T h e nex t wee ken d h e's set to a n n o u n ce th e Sacra me nto Mile, a nd h e'll close out th e mo nth b y annou nc ing a t th e Laguna Seca Natio nal Championship Road Ra ce Seri es round. Is thesouth ern Californian excited? " Excited? No , it's more lik e thrill ed ," Flanders sa id . "Th is is some o f th e fin est co m pe titio n in the wo rld a nd I don' t even have to lea ve my h o me sta te to see it a ll." Dayto n a m e r c h ant s sai d business was "great" du rin g Daytona Cycle Week. Many expected a tte n da nce a nd th e resu ltant n o w of doll a rs into th eir cas h regi sters to drop following the tu rnout for la st yea r's 50th ed itio n of Cycl e Week, but th e Daytona B e a c h News Journa l sa id th e crowd o n hand for th is yea r' s a n n ua l ga the ring o f motorcyclists appeared to be as large as last yea r's. W hee ls of Ste el ' 9 2 is wha t the promo ter, Yea r on Wh eels, is ca ll ing the speedway ra ces they ' ll host in the n ew Mem oria l Co lise u m Annex in Wi n ston-Sal em , Nort h Caroli na, April 17-18. Several o the r events a re tenta tively sch edu led for lat er in the yea r. For more in fo rm ation , ca ll 704/ 8926747. Fou r-time 600cc National Din T rac k Cha mpio n Chris Carr tested a n antifog device sim ila r to th ose seen o n road race he lme ts during Ca me l Motorcycl e Week. Ca rr's Arai h elme t wa s h andfitted with a special ai r diffuser th at worked in co nj u nct io n wit h severa l h ol es drille d in th e she ll , whi le a n add itiona l br ea th g uard was mounted ins ide . "T he race rs have a terrible prob lem wi th th eir sh ields fogging a t Mu n ici p a l Stadi u m ," said Arai Racing Coord ina tor Bruc e Porter . " Hope full y th is wi ll comba t the p roblem ." Alt hough the device di d work, it was determ in ed tha t th e spee ds reach ed o n th e shon trac k weren' t grea t enough 10 make th e system as effective as hoped. BORN: Sabrina Marie Webb, daughter o f N at io n al C ha m p io ns h i p Observed Tria ls Ser ies co mpetitor Kip Webb a nd h is wife Fran , o n February 17 in Watsonvi lle, Ca lifo rn ia. . BORN: Ma rk Casey McPerry, son of JT USA Sa les and Marketing Director Mark McPerry and his wife, Kat h leen , in Sa n Diego , Ca lifornia. After hi s birth , little Mark experienced health p rob lem s and remai ned in the hospi tal for a few weeks, but is now home with his parents. " I didn 't want 10 call Papa Wealey earlier, just in case so meth ing bad hap pened," said the senior McPerry. " Bu t he's ho me and heal th y now." 3

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