Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _--"-By_Papa Wealey Timmy Ferry (Yam) topped the 125cc and 2SOcc Pro classes at round two of the 23rd Annual Florida Winter AMA MX Series at Orlando MX Park in Orlando, Florida, January 10. Jeff Curry (Ka~) finished second in the 125cc class, and Mike Treadwell (Yam) was third. Fred . Andrews (Yam) and Brian McElroy (Yam) were second and third, respectively, in the 250cc division. Tallon Vohland (Suz) racked up four overall victories in the 125 and 250cc Pro classes at rounds two and three of the CMC Golden State Nationals, held at the Marysville E Street MX Track in Marysville, California, January 9-10. Roy Snellingen (Suz) was Saturday's runnerup in the 125cc class ahead of Shane Esposito (Kaw), while Cory Keeney (Kaw) and Rudi Van Leeunen (Kaw) followed Vohland home in the 250cc class. On Sunday, Lance Smail (Hon) and Snellingen rounded out the top three spots in the 125cc class, and Van Leeunen and Keeney did likewise in the 250cc class. Americans Erik Kehoe (Hon) and Mike Healey (Suz) and South Mrican Greg Albertyn (Hon) each scored a win at the Westfalenhalle Supercross in Dortmund, Germany, January 8-10. Kehoe won Friday's main event, and was followed across the line by American Mike Jones (Suz) and Dutchman Edwin Evertsen (Kaw). Albertyn won Saturday, with Kehoe and Jones rounding out the top three On Sunday, Healey scorecj the win, Albertyn finished second and Kehoe was third. Jimmy Gaddis (Kaw) was the big winner at the Cow Palace Arenacross in San Francisco, California, January 8-10. Gaddis topped both the 125 and 250cc Pro classes on Friday. Robbie Reynard (Kaw) was second in the 125cc class, and Dennis Hawthorne (Kaw) was third. In the 250cc division, Jeromy Buehl (Hon) and Hawthorne finished second and third, respectively. On Saturday, Gaddis won in the 125cc class, finishing ahead of Reynard and Hawthorne. Reynard scored the 250cc class win with Gaddis second and Buehl third. Amateur races were run on Sunday. Scott Summers (Hon) won the opening round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series in San Antonio, Texas, January 10. Rodney Smith (Suz) was sec- ond overall, and former 250 and 500cc National MX Champion Kent Howerton (Hon) was third. Defending champion Scott Plessinger (KTM) crashed during the first loop and was not able to finish the race. Round two of the GFI Winter Series, which was scheduled for southern California's Perris Raceway on January 10, was rained out and has been rescheduled for February 13. Round five of the San Jose Speedway Enduro-thon Series, which was scheduled to be run at the northern California dirt oval on January 9, was rained out. The next round is on January 24. The Del Mar Mile round of the AMA Grand National Championship Series that was scheduled for April 4 has been canceled. Promoter Chris Agajanian said there is a possibility of the event taking place in the future at the southern California facility, but that it had to be canceled at this time due to environmental questions that the fair board couldn't address until they meet in late February. In addition, Agajanian has announced that the spring running of the Sacramento Mile will take place on April 17 rather than the originally scheduled date of April 10. Futhermore, the Pomona Half Mile has been rescheduled to May 8, a week later than originally scheduled. The October 2 Sacramento Mile and October 9 Pomona Half Mile rounds of the series will take place as originally scheduled. Tickets are now available for the September 12 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. A three-day pass costs $65, with tickets available for individual days at $15 for Friday, $20 for Saturday, and $45 for Sunday. To order tickets, call Laguna Seca's toll-free ticket line at 800/327SECA. Tickets for the event, which is being promoted by Kenny Roberts (KR Sports Promotion Corp.), will be "generally" $10 more at the gate. Camping information is also available from the ticket line. Updating our editor's answer to a letter writer in last week's Voices section, former Triumph and Yamaha factory team dirt track and road racer Don Castro, who will take part in the BMW Battle of . the Legends at Daytona in March, is now Russ Sanford, 1928-1993 ne of California's earliest motorcyclist political activists, Russ Sanford, passed away quietly in his sleep in his Sacramento-area home January 9. Sanford left a secure job in the private sector in 1%9 to devote his full time activities to running Motorcycle Owners, Riders and Enthusiasts (M.O.R.E.). During the early days of M.O.R.E., Sanford almost singlehandedly sheparded the legislation which created California's state off-road vehicle program. That program now consists of seven staterun OHV parks totalling some 70,000 acres, and provides grants to a number of local and federal agencies to enable them to make areas available for ORV use. In 1983, thenGovernor George Deukmejian appointed Sanford to the position of Deputy Director of the State Department of Parks and Recreation to oversee the ORV program. Road riders also prospered from Sanford's efforts. During the 1970s he fought for and won the right for motorcycles to use some of the HOV lanes which were then being created to encourage car-pooling. He also fought against several attempts by the legislature to enact mandatory helmet legislation during that period. For at least a decade, Sanford was the pre-eminent spokesperson for motorcyclists in the State Capitol. Besides being the registered lobbyist for M.O.R.E. from 1970 to 1983, he also served as the first lobbyist for the California Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA). Prior to becoming a full-time political activist, Sanford served as president of the Trail Bike Sportsmen Association of Northern California. His dedication to the rights of motorcyclists of all stripes was legendary, and his work will continue to benefit us for a long time to come. He will be greatly missed by those who knew him and worked with him. Sanford is survived by his four children, Gary Sanford, Rick Sanford, Terry Ward, Carol Williams, and his former wife Doris who still lives in Sacramento. Memorial services will be held at Eastlawn Sierra Hills Mortuary on Wednesday, January 13, at 2 p.rn. O IN THE WIND Colorado senator is newest AMA member B en Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado joined two exclusive clubs within minutes of each other in Washington, D.C., on January 5. Campbell was sworn in as the newest U.s. senator from Colorado before a crowd of 700 people at Washington's Union Station that day. But just moments before, in front of the same large crowd, he became a member of the American Motorcyclist Association. Campbell received his AMA card from the Association's Washington representative, Jim Bensberg, during a special swearing-in ceremony that was attended by public officials from Colorado, along with campaign workers and supporters. The 59-year-old senator is no stranger to motorcycling, but his riding had been on hold until he took delivery of a 1992 Harley-Davidson FLHTC last November 3 d.uring his election victory celebration in Colorado. He has since announced that he hopes to purchase a second Harley to ride in Washington, and perhaps another bike for his wife. Bensberg had planned to present Campbell with his AMA card prior to the swearing-in ceremony, but the new senator suggested that the presentation take place on stage, with outgoing Colorado Sen. Tim Wirth and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White looking on. "I am honored," Campbell said, "to be a member of the nation's oldest and most respected association of motorcyclists. I look forward to riding in my home state of Colorado and in Washington." Campbell also has announced plans to host a motorcycle rally over the Labor Day weekend in the Four Corners area of Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. working in the service department at Honda of Gilroy in northern California. Castro, who is now 43, definitely remembers the get-off at the 1970 Oklahoma City National Half Mile that the writer wrote about. "Yeah, my Triumph's flywheel let go coming down the front straight in time trials," Castro recalled. "I remember it was turning around 11,500 (rpm) when it happened. And I certainly do remember that I had my hands on top of my helmet but I also remember waving at the crowd as I was sliding!" Team Suzuki's Guy Cooper, Jimmy Button, Phil Lawrence and Damon Huffman will sign autographs at Suzuki of Tomball during the Texas dealership's open house on Friday, January 15, at 5 p.m. The riders are in the area for the following night's Houston Supercross. Suzuki of Tomball is located at 2233 Snook Lane in Tomball, Texas. Call 713/255-8137 for more information. The following week, Cooper- and Huffman will be joined by Team Suzuki teammates Jeff Matiasevich and Phil Lawrence as well as Bob Hannah at Anaheim Suzuki in Anaheim, California, to sign autographs, beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, January 22. They'll all be in town for the following night's Anaheim Supercross. Anaheim Suzuki is located at 1125 S. Anaheim Boulevard in Anaheim. For further information, call 714/7746621. Finally, Cooper, Huffman and Lawrence along with Team Suzuki teammate Brian Swink will sign autographs at Seattle's Aurora Suzuki on Friday, January 29, the night prior to the Seattle Supercross round of the Camel Supercross Series. The riders and Hannah will make their appearance at 6 p.rn. Aurora Suzuki is located at 7409 Aurora Avenue in Seattle. For more information, call 206/783-2323. DeAnza Cycle Park in southern California's Riverside County will be closed from late January until late July. In a letter to park concessioner Doug Hall, Riverside County Assistant Park Planner/Project Manager Matc Brewer, said, "The (Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space) District has completed its review of the allocated State grant monies issued for the extended operation of the DeAnza Cycle Park faci1ity. There are sufficient funds in the account to keep the park open through Sunday, January 17. At the close of business on that day, the DeAnza Cycle Park will close to the general public and will not reopen until the completion of construction in late July 1993." Hall has been given just two days, January 18-19, to remove his equipment from the park. Low key as usual, Doug Chandler reports that things are going well with . his new Cagiva 500cc Grand Prix ride. The northern Californian tested the bike most recently at the Kyalami Circuit in South Africa where he turned times within a half second of the lap record set during the '92 South African GP. "Yeah, it's not bad," Chandler said. "We're getting there." Noted four-stroke tuner Merlyn Plumlee is returning to Italy to again run Oscar Rumi's Honda team in the 1993 World Championship Superbike Series, with Georgian Tripp Nobles the most likely candidate to ride the team's RC30. "We thought we had a sponsor to do an American program," Plumlee said. "We couldn't get a commitment and Rumi finally decided that he didn't want to do something poorly. Now we've decided to do the World Superbike Series and to maintain Honda's face in World Superbike. Oscar will continue to try and find sponsors for a U.S. effort in '94 and we'll probably be doing some selected AMA races this year. Oscar flew Tripp (Nobles) over to meet everybody, but Honda of Europe still have to give their approval and we're waiting for them to decide. I think it would be a good deal for Tripp and I'm hoping we can get it worked out. We know the bike is not really competitive, but it would give Tripp a chance to learn his way around." Nobles rode a Muzzy Kawasaki last year in the AMA/CCS 750cc Supersport Series. . According to team manager Bubba Shobert, it is not definite that road racer Don Hough will join Jimmy Filice on. the Wayne Rainey Otsuka Electronicsbacked Yamaha team for the 1993 AMA 2SOcc Grand Prix Series. "We're going to be trying him out at a few tests, but we haven't committed to anything," Shobert said. "We've got a test scheduled for later this month at Laguna so wel1 see where he'sal" International Championship Events (ICE) has announced that the Special Risks Insurance Company of Belgium is sponsoring the $10,000 Triple Crown Award which will be up for grabs in the three-race ICE World Cup Ice Speedway Series. The first round of the indoor ice race series, the Budweiser Speedway Ice Racing World Championship IV, will take place on January 30 in Tucson, Arizona. Round two, the Speedway Ice Racing National Championship, gets the green flag on February 6 in Phoenix. The 1

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