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IN THE W DB
IN
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Ita li an Giancarlo Falappa (Du c) won
both legs of the World Championship
Superbike Series round in Misano, Italy,
June 27. Falappa topp ed Mauro
Lucchiari (Due) and Fabrizio Pirovano
c...
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Belgian Stefan Everts (Suz) scored his
first overall win of the year in the World
Championship 250cc MX Series at the
Irish GP at Vernon Mount, June 27.
, Everts finished second to series points
leader Greg Albertyn (Hon) of South
Africa in the first moto but came back to
win the second and third motos. After
winning the first rnoto, Albertyn posted
2-2 moto finishes. Thirdoverall with a 43-7 tally was Sweden's Peter Johansson
(Yam). Defending champ Donny Schmit
(Yam) , of Bloomington, Minnesota,
recorded 13-11-8 moto finishes, despite
riding in pain foll ow ing a mid-week
practice crash that tore muscles in his rib
cage. Californian Tallon Vohland (Suz)
turned in a 5-7-12 mo to tally, while
Georgian Billy Liles competed but was
far from 100% as the result of injuries
suffered in a pile-up at the previous '
round in England. Liles record ed 10-6-5
moto finishes in Ireland, but is out of the
title chase. Albertyn now enjoys a 93point lead over Everts, 463-370; Schmit is
still third with 314. Five rounds remain
in the IS-round series.
Joel Sme ts (Hbg) of Belgium recorded
the overall win in round six of the World
Championship 500cc MX Series a t
Teutschenthal, Germany, June 27.
Consistency was the key to success for
Srnets, who carded 2-3-2 moto finishes.
Sweden's Jorgen Nilsson (Hon) finished
second overall and moved back into the
series points lead aft er posting 4-4-1
moto finishes , and Italian Franco Rossi
(KTM) landed third with a 1-7-6 tally.
Rounding out the top five overall wer e
Bel gian Gera ld Delepine (Hon) and
German Karl Sulzer (Hon). Nilsson now
leads the form er po ints leader Jacky
Marte ns of Belgium (Hus), who finished
sixth overall in Gennany, by 12 points,
215-208. Smets is third, with 193.
In the Italian round of the World
Championship 125cc MX Seri es in
Baldasserona , June 27, Andrea Bartolini
(Hon) scored a home country overall victory via 3- I -2 moto fin ishes. Fell ow
Itali an Alessio Chiodi (Hon) was the
runner-up via 1-2-4 moto finishes, wh ile
a 4-3 -1 tally gave Fre nc h ma n Yves
Demaria (Suz) th ird ove rall. Swed en 's
Joakim Karlsson (Suz) and series points
lea der Holland ' s Pedro Tragter (Suz)
ro unde d out the top five. After eight
rounds, Tragter still leads the championship poin ts chase with 306 points,
while Demaria is second with 272. Third
is Holland's Dave Strijbos (Han) with
265 points. Four rounds remain in the
series.
Rodney Smi th (Suz) scored the overall
win at the Trask Two-Day Na tional
Reliability Enduro in McMinneville,
Oregon, June 26-27.Ty Davis (Kaw) was
second overall ahea d of Da nny Hamel
(Kaw) , Chris Smith (Suz) finished third
and Steve Hatch (Suz) was fifth. The
event was the final round of the National
Championship Reliability Enduro Series,
and the win - Smith 's fourth of the sixround series - sewed up the series championship for the motocrosser-turned cross-eounty racer from Californi a.
2
Tea m Suzuk i Endurance II (Suz) won
the WERA six-hou r end urance road race
at Gr at tan Raceway in Gra nd Rapids,
Michigan, June 26. The team topped
HNS Racing (Yam) by 36 seconds with
, Virginia Breeze Racing (Suz) finishing
third.
Immed iately after leaving Devil' s Bowl
Speedway in Dallas, Texas, on June 20
following the an nounceme n t tha t th e
Dall as Gr and Na tion al Championshi p
Half Mile was rained out , Ryan Fisher,
brother of Grand Nati onal Championship Series competitor Rex Fisher, was '
involved in a hit-and-run car accide n t
that totalled his car and sent him and
three passengers in his car to the hospital.
The collision occurred on the access road
jus t outside of the race track, and
involved a tractor-trailer truck and another car. Fisher reports that the truck didn't
, stop, and asks that anyone who saw the
accident contact him at 405/685-3141.
American riders interested in competing
in the 1994 Internatio nal Six Da ys
Enduro which will be held in Tu lsa,
Oklahoma, need to act now. The organizing group, the Tulsa Trail Rider s, is
preparing a waitin g list that will be used
to fill any available openin gs for the
event. Th e event attra ct s top-level
enduro riders from around the world .
However, after commitm ent s to foreign
teams a nd th e offi cial V .S. squad are
filled , the or ganizer s expect to have
some remaining entries that will go to
other riders. To put your name on the
waitin g list, contact Harold Compton of
the Tulsa Trail Riders at 918/446-2431.
Special con sid e rati on will be given to
riders located in areas of the country
where no qualifiers, which are used in
selecting the official American team, are
held . In addition, there will be a Senior
class for riders over the age of 40.
Refunds and transfers will be allowed
prior to the entry closing date.
App roximately 2000 motorcycles a re
expected to be ridden in the 100-mile
Beach Ride '93, a charity ride that starts
at Bartels' Harley-Da vidson in Santa
Monica, California, on July 11. The ride,
wh ich benefits the Exceptional
Children's Foundation (ECF), ends at
San Buenaventura State Park and Beach
in Ventura. A barbecue and beach party
will highlight the post-ride activities.
Music at the party will be provided by
former Jefferson Starship/Starship lead
guitarist Craig Chaquico and the Classic
Rock All-Stars, a group featuring singers
a n d mu sicians from legendary roc k
bands. Ad vance registra tion is $25 per
person; event day registration is $35. All
registrants receive a free Beach Ride Tshirt and there are many pled ge priz es.
ECF is Los Angeles' old est and larg est
pro vider of trainin g and services to individuals with mental retard ation and
other developmental disabilities. For
event informa tion, call the Beach Ride
hotline at 213/298-8238.
While WERA usually requires participation in a minimum of two WERA Pro
Series races in order to qualify for the
Grand Nat ional Fin al, th ey have
announced that all ride rs who participate in the Cal ifornia Cycle [arne at
Willow Spr ing s Interna tional Raceway
on July 10-11 will qu alify.
Traveland V.S.A., the world 's largest
recreational vehicle center which is located in Irvine, California , will host the 3rd
Annual Wink's Bike Show on Saturday,
July 3. Wink Eller, producer of the show
and owner of Wink's Custom Cycle in
Santa Ana, California, says the show will
feature a varie ty of American mo torcycles, from vin tage Ind ians and Ha rleys
to the latest custom show and race bikes.
Eller is well known in custom motorcycle circles, having prod uced special bikes
K sk b~ Luck Strike Suzuki
ocin ifired
F
ormer 250cc World Champion John Kocinski
(right), who has been at odds with his Lucky
Strike Suzuki team for much of the season, was
d ismi ssed following the Dutch TT, accord ing to a
statement issued Monday, June 28 by the team. But
the d ismissal may not be valid since it is in violation
of the team 's contract with the Interna tional Racing
Team 's Association (IRTA) and may therefore be
voided.
The statement, sent from Suzuki 's race headquarters in Edenbridge, Kent, England, reads: "After the
Grand Prix in Assen this weekend, John Kocinski
and Team Lucky Strike Suzuki 250 have decided to
p ut an end to their mutual agreement for the 1993
250cc World Championship and to pursue their own
objectives.Team Lucky Strike Suzuki wishes John
Kocinski every success for the continua tion of his
racingcareer."
Suzuki team manager Garry Taylor said the decision was the result of "an accumulation of thing s," though he didn't want to elabora te, deferring to Herve Poncharal, the
Frenchman who manages the 250cc Lucky Strike effort. Poncharal could not be reached
on Monday, bu t is known to have been frustrated with Kocinski in the recent past.
New Zealander Simon Crafar, who finished ninth in the 500cc Grand Prix at the
Du tch TT on a Peter Gra ves Racing Team Yamaha, will replace Kocinski in th e
Europ ean Grand Prix this coming weekend at Catalunya in Spain.
"We haven't made any ,decision after that," Taylor said. Taylor added that among
the riders they were consid ering for the future was AMA 250cc Grand Prix
Championship contender Jimmy Filice, who rides a Wayne Rainey Racing /Otsuka
Electron ics-backed Yamaha TZ250. ,
What precipitated Suzuki's action was Kocinski's failure to show up on the podium
of the Lucky Strike-sponsored Dutch TT after he finished a thrillin g, and close, third to
Loris Capirossi and Tetsu ya Harada. His machin e broke a countershaft sprocket on the
cool-down lap at one of the farthest poin ts from the finish line and Kocinski decid ed to
walk back. There is a great deal of specul ation about how he could break the coun tershaft sprocket on a cool-down lap, especially after his strong perfonnance in the GP.
But he said it had been shifting badly much of the race and he couldn't get it into gear.
That he could n't have nursed it back with out jamming it into gear, thereby breaking
the sprocket, is a question that will be asked repe ated ly in the days to come. A course
car was sent for him, and the pod ium ceremony delayed, but he chose to walk the
entire way, ent ering the paddock with his helme t still on.
,
Kocinski, who is in Spain awaiting a decision on his future, and the race this week- .
end, has been advised no t to d iscuss the matter.
As things now stand , Lucky Strike Suzuki is under contract to John Kocinski and
they're in breach of their IRTA contract which puts IRTA in breach of their TWP contract for full grids. A Dorna official expressed surp rise that the move could be mad e
unilaterally all'!. not through proper channels. "Right now, we don't know anything
official about it. Unti l (Two- Wheeled Promotio nsj .Richard Golding can spea k with
(IRTA's) Paul Butler or Mike Trimby or Michel Metraux we can't find out what' s going
on," he said. '
The team mu st show IRTA cause for the d ism issal and if Kocinsk i accepts the
release, then IRTA wou ld have to accept it. With the Spanish GP upcoming, and much
,promotion centered around Kocinski, who makes his European home in Spain and '
very popular there, there was some question as to whether Lucky Strike would b
forced to supply him with bikes . But if Kocinski could find an acceptable ride wit
another team, there would be no que stioning the dismissal.
.
Currently, speculation cen ters on Sito Pons ' Ducados Honda Pons team. Ride
Alberto Puig, who finished ninth in Assen, is no threat for the championship and is
suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. He will need an operation to fix the condition,
but may wait until after the season to have it performed. Riders can be replaced for
medical reasons and if Puig agreed, and if HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) agreed, .
Kocinski would be able to take over the Kel Carruthers-tuned Honda NSR2.5tJ. Another
possibility would be for Pons to build a separate bike for Kocinski and allow Puig to
contin ue racing . There is also, however, so me specula tion that Kocins ki is trying to
secure a 500cc GP ride for the rest of the season.
Gary Howard, director of International Racers Inc., the mana gement company that
handles Kocinski 's affairs, had no comment on the si tuation when reached via telephone at his sou thern California office.
.
Telk or- Yamaha Va les i's Tetsu ya Ha rad a cu r re n tly lead s th e 250cc Worl d
Championship with 135 points, 39 bett er than HB Honda's Doriano Romboni, who suffered a broken leg at Assen. Many believe Kocinski, who is currently fifth, two points
behind third-placed He lmut Bradl and one po int behind Marlboro Ho nda's Loris
Capirossi, wo uld be Honda's best hope of catching Har ada if a deal with Pons could be
reached.
By Henny Ray Abrams
for the likes of rock musician Edd ie Van
Halen and pro grappler and underarm
deodorant endorser Hu lk Hogan.
Bill "Bigtime" Sp en cer tells us that a
motocross track has been built in the
area of tu rn s on e and two of the mile
ova l a t th e Santa Clara County
Fairgr ounds in San Jose, California. MX
races will be cond ucted there on July 4
and July 11. The mystery of wh en the
reported /proposed/ rumored paving of
the famed dirt oval will take place con-
tinues . Spencer ""0",,,
that subject.
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comment
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Californian Bob Moore was one of man y
injury-related no- shows at th e Iri sh
250cc MX GP . Moore suffered br oken
bon es in his left foot in the pr evious
round in England and will be out action "
for a t least four week s. He hopes to
return to action a t the Swedish GP on
August 1.
1
Southern
Ca liforn ia 's
Temecula
