Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Championship Hare & Hound Series in Murphy, Idaho, March 21. The defending National Hare & Hound Champion M is unbeaten in series competition this 0'\ year. Larry Roeseler (Kaw) finished sec0'\ ond and Brandon Gerber (Kaw), Dan ~ Richardson (Hon) and Curtis Dice ... (KTM) rounded out the top five. ~ M ...c= ~ C\S ~ Defending champ Scott Plessinger (KTM) was the overall winner at round two of the AMA National Championship Hare Scrambles Series in Cadiz, Kentucky, March 21. Finishing a distant second w,as Rodney Smith (Suz). Third went to Robert Patterson (Kaw), fourth to Czech Jan Hrehor (Yam), and opening round winner Scott Summers (Hon) finished fifth. Kyle Lewis (Yam) won the third round of the MTEG Stadium Off-Road Series 250cc Ultracross in Seattle, Washington, March 20. Lewis finished just ahead of Jim Holley (yam), while Larry Linkogle (Hon), Rob Drew (Kaw) and Lowell Thompson (Yam) rounded out the top five. Team Suzuki Endurance (Suz) won the opening round of the WERA PowerMist/Performance Machine National Endurance Series at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, March 20. Team Suzuki's Michael Martin and Kurt Hall combined to complete 133 laps on the 2.25mile circuit, beating the Royale Racing (Hon) team of Doug Henry and Jim East. Team Pearls Suzuki (Suz) finished third in the four-hour race with Marty Lentz, Tony Barchetti and Darryl Taylor handling the riding chores. Robbie Reynard (Kaw) swept both motos in both the 125 'and 250cc Expert classes at the Grand National Championship MX Final at Lake Whitney, Texas, March 19-21. Kevin Windham (Kaw) was also impressive, winning seven of the eight motos he competed in and topping the 250cc Intermediate and 125 and 250cc Stock Intermediate divisions. Other big winners included Chris ,Wheeler (Yam) in the 250cc Stock Novice and 125 and 250cc Novice classes, Johnny Marley (Kaw) in the Mini Mini Senior (9-11), Minibike Stock (7-11) and Minibike Junior (7-11) classes, Casey Johnson (Kaw) in the 125 and 250cc Open categories, and Charley Bogard (Suz) in the Mini Open (7-16) and Minibike Stock (12-13) divisions. The opening round of the WERA Pro Series that was scheduled to run on Sunday, March 21, was postponed due to flooding at Morose Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Florida. The race has been rescheduled for May 29-30; both spectator tickets and rider entry fees will be honored on the new date. Qualifying heat races for both the WERA F-USA and F-II races were held on Saturday, March 20, with Craig Caver (Yam) and Rich Oliver (Yam) earning the pole positions in those classes, respectively. 2 After earning the win at the March 5 opening round of the AMA Continental Tire 883 National Championship Series in Daytona, Florida, Garth Brow was fined $250 by the AMA for using a nonstandard valve keeper in his Tom Cummings-prepared Harley-Davidson 883. "It's not like we wanted to cheat, Tom and I are not cheaters," said Brow. "We blew the bike up a couple of times and had to keep replacing the top end. All they had at Robison's (the Daytona Beach Harley-Davidson dealership) were the Screamin' Eagle valve keepers. We would have bought and used a stocker if they had one. The part didn't offer any performance advantage anyway, I think it's just a little stronger and doesn't break as easily." And what does part-time racer Garth Brow have planned for 1993? "After all that happened with the valve keeper, my sponsor (Tom Cummings of Cumming's Harley-Davidson) was about to scrap the whole project. Daytona was supposed to be a vacation for him, but then it ended up like that," said Brow. "But after we talked it out, we decided to try to hit all of the 883 races, I think we have a really good chance at winning the title." After failing to qualify for the second round of the AMA Continental Tire 883 National Championship Series - the March 7 Harley-Davidson Twin Sports final at Daytona International Speedway - due to a blown engine, Brow is third in the series point standings behind Jay Springsteen and round two winner Mike Hale. After a meeting with the AMA's Roger Edmondson, International Cycle Events' plans to completely change the race track layout at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the May 1-2 AMA National Championship Road Race Series round have been scrapped. The new plan called for the race to be held almost entirely on the infield portion of the race track, using only the front straightaway of the banked oval. According to International Cycle Events, the race will now be held on the same race track as last year -'with some changes. Those changes include a plan to use plastic barriers on NASCAR tum two, the bilCk straight, and NASCAR turn 3 to force racers to run on the apron of those high-speed sections rather than on the high bankings. The plan to completely change the track, using the infield section run backwards, was scrapped mainly because Edmondson and the promoters found there were a lack of run-off areas in the infield section when it was run counter-elockwise. The Charlotte, North Carolina, race track came under scrutiny last year when Mike Harth was badly injured after suffering a tire failure in NASCAR turn 2 during the AMA/CCS EBC Brakes Endurance Challenge. Lucky Strike Suzuki's Kevin Schwantz was the fastest of the 500cc Grand Prix riders during the IRTA test at Eastern Creek in Sydney, Australia, on March 20-21. Schwantz led the field in the final shakedown before this weekend's opening round of the World Championship Road Race Series at Eastern Creek, posting a one-minute, 31.38-second lap on the 2.43-mile race track. Rothmans Honda's Michael Doohan, who missed the test because of a broken wrist he suffered during a recent test session in Malaysia, qualified for the pole position at last year's Australian Grand Prix with a time of 1:30.736. Doohan is expected to race in the GP on March 28. The second fastest lap was turned in by Rothmans Honda's Daryl Beattie, who will compete in his fjrst full season of GP racing this year; Beattie clocked a 1:32.05. Defending three-time World Champion Wayne Rainey was third quickest on his Marlboro Yamaha, stopping the clocks at 1:32.10. He was followed by Cagiva's Doug Chandler (1:32.48), Marlboro/ Repsol Honda's Alex Criville (1:32.60) and Rothmans Honda's Shinichi Itoh (1:32.8), Others included Yamaha France's Freddie Spencer (1:33.47), Marlboro Yamaha's Luca Cadalora (1:33.81) and new Cagiva recruit Mat Mladin (1:33.62), Off-road leaders ush for desert access O ff-higl:).way recreation leaders have taken a major step towards modifying the controversial California Desert Protection Act. On March 17, representatives of the AMA and other groups presented a detailed list of suggested changes to the staff of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, sponsor of the latest version of the act. Those suggested changes would save some areas of the desert that would be closed to motorized recreation in the measure, designated as Senate Bill 21. The group, which included Dana Bell of AMA District 37 and AMA representatives Robert Rasor and Jim Bensberg, was acting on an invitation they had received from Feinstein's staff during a previous trip to Washington. The proposed changes, outlined in maps and detailed descriptions, would allow continued use of motorized vehicles in 15 areas of the desert identified as important corridors in providing access to recreational opportunities. Under the group's proposal, developed after consultation with several groups in the state, those corridors would be removed from the areas where motorized travel would be banned under the bill. As introduced, Feinstein's plan would ban all forms of motorized recreation, even on existing roads and trails, in an area that is larger than the entire state of Maryland. That area, encompassing 8 million acres, would be designated as wilderness or national park land. The off-highway recreation community's proposal asks that a small portion of that 8 million acres be removed from the plan so outdoor recreation enthusiasts can continue enjoying some of the areas that have always been open to them. "This proposal represents our best chance to preserve some access to areas of the desert that have a long history of vehicle use," said Rasor. "The desert bill is almost certain to pass during this congressional session, but Senator Feinstein has indicated that she is open to making changes to her plan. We're workirig hard to save some of the desert before the bill goes any further." , At the same time Feinstein's staff was receiving the suggested changes, other legislators were being approached on the issue as well. Off-highway recreation groups also are presenting the same proposal to desert bill co-sponsor Senator Barbara Boxer and to Representative Richard Lehman, who had introduced similar desert legislation, House Bill 518, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The coalition has received a commitment from Feinstein's staff to respond to the proE

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