Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

EDITOR'S MEGAPHONE By Donn Maeda irt track fans across the nation are guaranteed at least one thing in 1993 - a bit of confusion! Changes, changes and more changes abound this season, and after numerous calls to the AMA, we finally have everything sorted o.ut. We think... Let's start with the changes to the Grand National Championship Series. James Hart will go down in history as the last-ever Junior National Champion, as the Junior class has been dropped. Instead of three separate professional classes - Pro-Am, Junior and Expert - the AMA has "streamlined" the program by dropping the Junior classification and adding a lower-division Expert class. Say what? Yes, Virginia, the,re are still three professional classes - Pro-Am, Standard Expert and GNC Expert. The Pro-Am class will remain unchanged, but the Junior and Expert classes have been "combined." Juniors who have accumulated 80 or more D "Changes, changes and more changes abound this season, and after numerous calls to the AMA, we finally have everything sorted out. We think. .. ". transfer points are now classified as GNC Experts, joining the ranks of the already-established Experts, while Juniors who didn't have the required 80 points have become Standard Experts. GNC Experts are allowed to compete in all forms of Expert competition (Grand Nationals, 600cc Nationals and Regionals). Standard Experts, however, are not allowed to compete in Grand Nationals, but may race in 60Occ· Nationals and Regional events. If a Junior-turned-Standard Expert has considerable documented race experience aboard a 750cc twin-cylinder fourstroke, though, he may apply for a provisional GNC endorsement and compete in Grand Nationals as well. Whew! "We eliminated the Junior class to help thin out some of the paperwork," said Roy Janson, the AMA's director of professional competition. "When reviewing the Junior class, we found that it was serving as an alternate Expert class rather than a training ground for future Experts like we intended it to be. To advance from Junior to Expert you needed 80 points. We found that almost 70% of the Junior field had more than that, and a few riders had as many as 900 points. Between 200 and 300 points was the norm." Well, there you have it. Instead of a Junior National sharing the billing with the Grand Nationals, either a 600cc Support or Harley-Davidson 883 race will take its place. The 600cc Support races will not, repeat, will not be rounds of the 600cc National Championship Series - that's a different series altogether. Instead, the 600cc Support races will be just that - support races, and they will be open to both GNC Experts and Standard Experts. Additionally, GNC Experts may not compete in both the Grand National and 600cc Support race on the same day, they must chose one or the other. Standard Experts may only compete in the 600cc Support race. Confused yet? The Harley-Davidson 883 races are a different story. An l1-round AMA 883 National Dirt Track Series will be run most in conjunction with Grand Nationals, and a few in conjunction with 600cc Nationals. At the Grand Nationals, GNC Experts may compete in both the Grand National and 883 races, while Standard Experts may enter only the 883 race. An 883 Dirt Track National Champion will be crowned at the end of the series. That's not all. There's also an AMA Harley-Davidson TwinSports Road Race Series. Each reund of the 13-race series is held on the same day as the rest of the AMA National Road Race Championship Series. A TwinSports Road Race National Champion will be crowned at the conclusion of the season. That's pretty straightforward, right? Well, now comes the confusing part. Within the 883 Dirt Track Series and 883 Twinsports Road Race Series is yet another 10-race series, dubbed the AMA Continental Tire 883 National Championship Series. Five races from each of the other two series will also serve as "Continental Cup" races, resulting in a half-dirt track/half-road race series (who says history doesn't repeat itself). An AMA Continental Tire 883 National Champion will be crowned at the end of the series. When the 883 Dirt Track class was introduced at last year's Pomona Half Mile series finale, Harley-Davidson executives and AMA officials declared that the series was intended to "bring new riders into the sport of dirt track." Rather than spending well over $10,000 on a 750cc twin-cylinder four stroke, potential racer~ could field a 883 for roughly over $5000. So far, the 883 racers have also been well-received by spectators. "All of the Grand National promot- . ers want 883 support races at their events, rather than the 600cc support races," said Janson. "The 883 races appeal to the crowd because they can go out and buy one right off a dealer's showroom. You can't easily do that with a 600 dirt tracker." To compete in an 883 dirt track race, you must be a licensed Pro-Am, Standard Expert or GNC Expert rider. But how can an enthusiastic spectator obtain a Pro-Am license? According to the AMA Rulebook, "A rider must have a minimum of two years experience in Amateur competition and be currently A-level rated." Now how many members of the general public have that? And besides, is.a 4S0-pound street bike the machine you would want to learn the art of slidingon? Perhaps flat track veteran Garth Brow, winner of the Daytona Short Track 883 National, summed it up best when he said, "These heavy SOBs are too heavy to be diving into corners." So, you ask, are these changes good or bad? We'll have to see how well the season goes before answering tha t question. _ But one thing's for sure - with three different National Championship dirt track series going on, a dirt track fan could ask for little more. Whether or not he or she understands what's going on! CN SUZUKI 125·250 cc MOTOCROSS 1'ie()~ CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND Featuring America's Top Motocross Champions! Saturday, May 1st • Technical Inspections, Special Events cSt Displays Sunday, May 2- • A.M.A. NATIONAL MIA SOUTHWICK SAN C T ION E-D MOTOCROSS 38 • GENERAL ADMISSION. TICk•• $20.00 Sa...,.,• IundQ Tlc:ktt $25.00 p_ SunlI8y - NO Satutdlly Only Tldeets - (411) Fo< ...... . . . -••1.., coli: DC (413) 569·6635 or (413) 569-0777 56~1 YCLE COMPETl710N 1'1101"" SU"'UIU .. KIMtl '"'........ "" ADVANCED SALES DISCOUNT COUPONS. TICKETS Gel ,...-d....... '""po.......... w,,1lawl TkkclaOnly•• ,p.rtld~tb1cSa:mklDaienta~lU,ConMcUm "'w.d.""'NewKuapshln.(OIJapd ... aU April 2... I.99JJ 01 take.d.ftDUlIt 01 our ~ tltktt,.b d ~ YOIl mI'l.mr: '''.00 on JO'lr.dmbMoe. by Kndlaaln JO'Ir,.ymcnt chec:lr.orlDOlll£7' orderlo MOTO-X lle. P.O. Box 3)8. So.urwtr:k, MA 01077 bdoft-April 14, 109). Participating Dealers Connecticut New London County Motorcycle Sales 1416 Gold Slar Highway Groton, CT 06340 (203) 445-9746 New England Cycle Genter 73 Liebert Road Hartford, CT 06120 (203) 527-Q822 Sippin Cycle Sales 234 Main Street Monroe, CT 06468 (203) 261-5066 Suzuki of Western Massachusetts 43 Slate Street, Route 202 Granby, MA 01033 (413) 467·3131 Sky Cycle, Inc. 402 Electric Avenue - Lunenburg, MA 01462 (508) 345-7360 Lowell Honda-Kawasaki·Suzuki 170 Tyngsboro Rd. North Chelmsford, MA 01.863 (508) 251-4440 Cycle Design Ate. 2A, Slate Road Phillipston, MA 01331 . (508) 249-2244 Central Sports Route 12, P.O. Box 171 Plainfield, CT 06374 (203) 564-4014 Freddy's Cycle Genter 94 Franklin Street Quincy, MA 02169 (617) 84HlOOl New Hampshire Cycle WoMd, Inc. 168-170 Rockingham Road .Londondeny, NH 03053-2111 (603) 437-Q290 Nashua Suzuki Cycle Center 283 Main Street Nashua, NH 03061 (603) 889-0028 Gilly's Cycle Rama, Inc. . 107 Plaistow Road Plaistow, NH 03865 (603) 382 5808 Scott Motorsport 362 Flat Roof Mill Road Swanzey, NH 03466 (603) 357·9999 NIWVork Moroney's 813-817 Union Avenue Newburg, NY 12550 (914) 564·5400 MIIHChul8ttll Cycles 128 107 Brimbal Avenue Beverly, MA 01915 (508) 927·3400 Bettencourt's Honda-Suzuki 31 South Main SI. W, Bridgewater, MA 02379 (508) 587·1701 Rhode Island Dynamic Motors, Inc. 210 West Avenue Pawtucket. RI 02860 (401) 727-Q510 Parkway Cycle 1865 Revere Beach Parkway Everett, MA 02149 (617) 389·6999 Wareham SUZUki, Inc. 2667 Cranbeny Highway Wareham, MA 02571 (508) 295-5392 Suzuki WoMd, Inc. 250 oakland Beach Avenue Warwick, RI 02889 (401) 73lHl488 "Official Publication OfMotocross 338" 2

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