Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

('t') 0\ 0\ ~ N ~ ........ ~ joined on the victory podium by fellow Dutchmen Remy Van Rees (}(aw) and Dave Strijbos (Hon), who finished second and third, respectively, at the British GP at Cadders Hill, May 2. Tragter scored the overall ~ffil via a 5-12 moto tally. Strijbos won the first moto and Van Rees topped the third moto. Tragter moved back into the lead of the series point standings with 125 points, followed by Strijbos with 120 and Van Rees with 98. ~ National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins (Suz) scored the overall win at the Sawmill National Enduro in Navarro, California, May 2. Steve Hatch (Suz) was the runner-up, while Jeff Russell (KTM), Ty Davis (Kaw) and Larry Roeseler (Kaw) rounded out the top five. The win was Hawkins' second in the four rounds run so far this season. Scott Plessinger (KTM) was the overall winner of the AMA Grand National Cross Country Series round run in Boyer, Tennessee, May 2. Czech Jan Hrehor (Yam) was second, and Fred Andrews (yam), Doug Blackwell (}(aw) and Craig Jones (}(aw) rounded out the top five. Defending series champ Scott Summers did not compete due to a neck injury. Gordon Ward (Hus) won the Open Pro MX class at the White Bros. Four Stroke World Championships at southern California's Perris Raceway, May 1-2. Willie Surratt (Hus) was the runner-up, and Buddy Antunez (Suz) was third. Surratt won the Open Pro IT class, besting Terry Fowler (Hus) and Willy Musgrave (Ave). Team America (Hon) won the 90minute AMA/CCS GTO Endurance Challenge round at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 1. Team America's Fritz Kling and Andy Deatherage combined to turn in 60 laps to top Tommy Lynch and Nick lenatsch of Two Brothers Racing (Hon). N2 Racing (Kaw) finished third with Jim Sabin and John Ashmead handling the riding chores. In the one-hour GTU event, Southwest Motorsports (Yam) took the win over Fastline/MCM Racing (Suz) and American Flyers (Hon). 2 The silent auction that was conducted at Laguna Seca Raceway the weekend of the recent AMA National Championship road race meet raised nearly $16,000 for the Jimmy Adamo Benefit Fund, which was created to provide financial assistance to the widow and children of the Ia te road racer. The idea for the auction came about when Cycle News Associate Editor Paul Carruthers offered to sell a set of Wayne Rainey Team Honda leathers to the highest bidder with the funds going to Adamo's family. When Carruthers asked Rainey for permission to sell the leathers (which he had borrowed several years ago), Rainey said he approved plus he'd throw in a set of his 1992 Marlboro Team Roberts Yamaha leathers. Next Mary Wright, Laguna Seca Raceway's publicity director, got wind of what was going on and offered to host a full blown auction during the AMA National weekend. Bill Spencer, owner of Mountain View Distributing and a man who it is rumored attends a motorsports event every day of the year, then stepped in and offered to coordinate the auction. Rainey's GP leathers brought the auction's top figure, $3100. A double doff of Papa's helmet to all, both organizers and bidders, for a job well done. crash during the 1991 New Zealand National Championship Road Race Series, informs us that funds raised at the June 13 3rd Annual Tom Walther/Shawn McDonald Challenge Race for Safety at Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Washington, will be donated to the Clayton Foundation. Walther suffered fatal injuries in an international superbike race in Japan in 1987. McDonald, who is an engineer employed by the Boeing Corporation in Everett, Washington, and the Walthers family started the event in 1991 to promote motorcycle safety. As in the past, booths will be set up at the track to provide attendees information on safety equipment and insurance. "We're not telling people you need to get this, we're saying here's the information if you're interested," McDonald said. "I'm kind of a big slap in the face to the racers, because I'm not what they want to see. Things can happen to them that are not necessarily their fault, and if something does, I want them to be prepared. Having medical insurance and accident insurance has helped me greatly. For someone who is not as well insured it would (paralyzing injuries) be devastating, fOT them and their family." The Clayton Foundation was founded by the owners of Cycle News, the late Chuck Clayton and his wife Sharon Clayton. The foundation's purpose is to provide financial assistance to injured racers. Mrs. Clayton matches all donations dollar for dollar - to the Clayton Foundation. George Holland, the 1988 125cc National MX Champion, was seen wandering through the pits at the Sacramento Mile. "I've always liked dirt track, the speeds are incredible," said Holland, who was a member of the Suzuki and Honda factory MX teams. Since retiring from professional MX at the end of the 1989 season, Holland has been tending to his almond farm in Kerman, California. "That's about all I've done. 1 can probably count the number of times I've ridden since retiring," said Holland. "I was just so burned out when I retired that I haven't really had the urge to get on a motorcycle." At the request of the Spanish federation and the promoters, considering the low number of entries, the FIM has announced that the 24 Hours of Calalunya, a round of the World Championship Endurance Road Race Series which was scheduled 10 take place on May 22-23, has been GIlceled. The Harley Card, a credit card good only at Harley-Davidson dealers, will become available this summer. The card is being offered by Harley-Davidson Credit, a division of Eagle Credit Corporation which is 49% owned by Harley-Davidson, Inc., 32% by Conseco, Inc., an Indianapolis-based insurance company, and 20% by Eagle's management. The card can be used for the purchase of Harley MotorClothes, collectibles, jewelry, parts and accessories, service and repairs, insurance, extended warranties and membership renewals for Harley OwnersGroup (H.O.G.) members. The Harley Card is scheduled for distribution by late June, and it will be offered automatically to Harley customers who are approved for motorcycle financing. Applications are available at Harley dealers and by calling Harley Credit at 800/544-1137. Harley-Davidson Credit will support the AMA's Harley-Davidson 883 racing series with special cash awards that will ucky Strike Suzuki's Kevin Schwantz (Suz) moved to within four points of 500cc World Championship leader Wayne Rainey with the 21st win of the Texan's career at the Circuit de Jerez in Spain on May 2. Schwantz took over the lead in the closing stages of the race when his teammate Alex Barros crashed while leading. It was the second 500cc Grand Prix win of the season for Schwantz, as he topped Marlboro Yamaha's Rainey by 1.884 seconds after 74.041 miles of racing at Jerez. Third place went to Marlboro Honda Pons' Alex Criville, the Spaniard finishing some 10 seconds behind Californian Rainey., Fourth place went to Rothmans Honda's Michael Doohan, with Rainey's teammate Luca Cadalora turning in the best 500cc result of his career in fifth place. Californian Doug Chandler was forced out of the race after 23 laps when his Cagiva seized. Although Rainey and Schwantz both have two wins apiece in the four-race-old season, Rainey continues to lead the championship point standings by four points, 90-86, thanks to his two second place finishes compared to Schwantz's second and third place finishes. Rothmans Honda's Daryl Beattie, sixth in Spain, is third in the standings with 59 points, 13 clear of fellow Australian and teammate Doohan. Japan's Tetsuya Harada and the Telkor-Yamaha TZM250 won their third 250cc Grand Prix of the season with a 4.717-second victory over Rothmans Honda's Massamilliano Biaggi and and the factory Aprilia of Jean-Philippe Ruggia. Lucky Strike Suzuki's John Kocinski finished fourth with HB Honda's Helmut Bradl fifth. Former multi-time MX champion Jean-Michel Bayle scored the first World Championship points of his road race career with a 14th-place finish. Harada now leads Tadayuki Okada, seventh in Spain, by 40 points in the championship point standings, 95-55. Nobuatsu Aoki, a non-finisher in Jerez, and John Kocinski are tied for third with 49 points apiece. For the first time this season the 125cc GP was not won by German Dirk Raudies. Instead, the race victory went to Kazuto Sakata on the FCC Technical Sports Honda. Sakata topped the Marlboro Aprilia of German RaIf Waldmann by a scant .606-0f-asecond, with Sakata's teammate Takeshi Tsujimura finishing third. With his win, Sakata of Japan takes over the championship points lead from Raudies, who did not finish the Spanish GP, 85-75. Tsujimura is third with 55 points. The Spanish Grand Prix was marred by the death of Noboyuki Wakai, a 2SOcc GP competitor, on Saturday, May 1. Wakai struck a pedestrian on the entrance to pit lane and died of head injuries. The pedestrian reportedly suffered a broken leg. L be paid out to racers who finish ou t of the money. Harley Credit Awards of $50 each will be made to the 17 semifinalists at each National 883 dirt track round and to up to 20 semi-finalists at each National 883 road race round. In the continuing saga of who'll be the first (if indeed anyone will) to revive production of Indian motorcycles comes word that the plans to produce Indians in an East Windsor, Massachusetts, factory have fallen through, according to Philip Zanghi, president of the Indian Motocycle Co. Inc. As reported in the Journal Inquirer, Zanghi's company has forfeited deposits on the 277,llOO-squarefoot building to the Bank of Boston through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston. Although Zanghi says he's looking at a site in another state, this latest move prompted Wayne Baughman, president of the rival Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Indian Motorcycles Manufacturing Inc., to say, "The man (Zanghi) is just in fantasy land 99 percent of the time." Baughman says he expects to start manufacturing his Indian motorcycle at the rate of five per day in late August or mid-September. The Midwest Racing Association (MRA) has announced the Suzuki International Motocross Challenge, a 22-race series sponsored by American Suzuki and Suzuki Canada to the tune of $105,600 in contingency money which will can be earned by Suzuki riders. Milan Cycle City in Milan, Michigan, will host 12 races, 10 races will be held at Leamington Raceway in Leamington, Ontario, Canada. In a deal worked out by American Suzuki and Suzuki Canada, both American and Canadian racers will be paid contingency money at both tracks. For more information, call the MRA at 313/289-2100. Dunlop has endorsed the 2nd Annual National Ride To Work Day that takes place on Wednesday, July 21. The ride began last year as a fun way of promoting motorcycle awareness, enthusiasm, and safety. With a large turnout riding their bikes to and from work, promoted by. T-shirts, buttons, hats and other materials, riders across the country demonstrated to the non-riding public the popularity of motorcycling. In addition, the ride helped to send a message to both the public and the government that motorcyclists come from all walks of life and are an important, moving and productive part of our population. The 4th Annual Northern California Motorcycle Festival will take place in Casa De Fruta on Sunday, June 13. The festival features a vintage, classic and custom bike show, field events, a fashion show featuring the Girls of Summer, two bands, 'and a swap meet. The festival is a family event and benefits Child Quest International, a non-profit organization devoted to the recovery and protection of missing, abused and exploited children. For more information, call 408/972-8063. The 7th Annual Wegman Benefit Auction will be held on Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Rockton, l11inois, on Saturday, July 24. The event is held each year to raise money for injured road racers. To date the Wegman Benefit Fund has paid out over $13,000 to AMA racers. In the past year $1000 was sent to the families of both the late Larry Schwarzbach and the late Jimmy Adamo. The Wegman Benefit Fund is a non-profit organization and donations are tax deductible. Anyone wishing to donate items for this year's auction should contact Gordon Lunde Sr. at

• Cover