Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Due to th e ca ncelation of the So u th African Gr a n d Prix, a r o u nd o f the World Champ ionsh ip Sideca r Road Race Series will be run a t the Czech GP , in Bmo on August 22,Jn ad d ition to th e Czech round, the sidecars will compete at the British GP at Doni ngton P a rk on Au gust 1, at the Swed ish round of t he Wo rld C ha mpionsh ip Superbike Series a t An dersto r p o n Au gust 8, and at th e Ita li an G P at Misano on September 5. Te a m Obsolete's 19 67 ex- Re n z o Pas olini Benelli 350cc four will re turn to the Isle of Man on September 1 for th e Manx GP 350 Classic race and i t will be piloted by New Yorker Dave Roper, winner of the 1984 Historic 500 TT. Jimmy Gaddis, the recen tly cro wned AMA Western Reg io n al 125cc Supercross Series Ch ampion, crashed on Thursday, Jul y 22, while par ticipating in a press d a y pra ct ice session ' b efo re th e AMA N atio na l Cha m pio n s hip 125 cc MX round at Kenwor thy's MX Pa rk in Troy, Ohio. Gaddis clipped a ju mp with hi s rear tire and w as tossed ov er the handlebars, landing ches t firs t on the face of ano t he r jump . Ac cording to Mik e Hooker of Pro-Circuit Racing, Gaddis' spo nsor, he was knocked unconsciou s and suffered a bruised heart. "He was ta ken to a hospit al in Dayton (Ohio) for obse rva tion, " sa id Hooker. "There was some bleed in g around th e heart, but he wa s released in good condition on Sunday (july 25)." . Damon Brad..haw sho uld re tu rn to actio n for the fina l rou nd of the AMA , Na tio n a l Champ ionship 250cc MX Series at Glen Helen OHV Park in San Berna r di no, Ca l ifo r n ia , August 1, acco rd ing to Team Yama ha 's La rry Griffis. "He bruised a bo ne in his wrist when h e cras hed a t th e Unad illa Na tional (Iuly 12):' said Griffis at the 250cc' National at Tr o y, Ohio. "We tho ught he might be able to ride here, but he jus t wasn' t ready yet." At the conclusion of the 250cc Nationals , Bradshaw will compete in the final four rounds of the 'AM A National Championship 125cc MX Series. J eff S tanton , t h e three-time 250cc National MX Champion, also decided to ski p th e Kenw ort hy ' s National to give his sore back one more week of rest before re turning to action at the final round of the series at Glen Helen in southern California on August 1. Stanton developed soreness in his back just prior to t he Hangtown National last June. Privateer John Dowd, who is cu rrently fo u rth in the AMA Na tional Championship 250cc MX Series po int standings, also plans to compete in the 125cc class when the 250cc Nationals are over. "I like riding 125s and I think I can do p re tty good on them:' said Dow d at Troy . "Besides, the 500cc class just isn' t as big, or as p restigious as it used to be . I thin k I'd get better experience in the 125cc class." Dowd, who hails from Chicopee, Massachusetts, scored his' only National overall win in th e 250cc class at Sacramento, California , in 1991. Robb ie Reynard ret urned to racing at the Troy Na tional after b reaking his wrist in his firs t-ever Supercross race in San Jose, California, June 5. The 16yea r-old Oklahoma n was a fro nt-ru nner in the first 125cc moto until pulling off the tr ack late in the race. "I was running sixth and the heat got to me:' said Reynard. "I was on the verge of passing out. I had to stop because I got so d izzy." The Kawasak i Team Green ri der came ba ck to finish 13th in the second moto. Larry Brooks, of' Te a m N o lee n / Yamaha, injured his ankle in a crash du rin g th e s eco n d 25 0cc N a t ional moto a t Troy. " I really don' t know what the actual injury is, but I w ouldn't be su rprised if it' s br oken:' said Brooks. "A s soon as I ge t home, I'm go ing to see my doctor and have him check it out. I'm bummed because I don't want to miss the last round of the se ries at Glen Helen next week." Brooks is currentl y 11th in the Nation al Champ ionship 25 0cc MX Series point standings . A su rprise non-qualifier for the 250cc N a tion a l a t Tro y was Tuf Raci n g ' s M ike Healey. The night before the r a ce, Healey b ecame sick and ' "...couldn't h old any thi ng down ." He su ited up on race morning and tried to ride but called it a day after a few laps of practice. Jeromy Buehl, w h o fini shed eighth overall in the 250cc Na tional at Troy, experience d that "sick" fee ling in his s to m a ch w he n h e re alized shor tly be fore the first morn ing practice ses sion t h at h e hadIeft h is gea rbag at hom e . The Lond on, O hio, resident d rove an hou r and a half round trip to retrieve the gearbag, bu t by the time he got ba ck to the track, he ha d miss ed practice. The AMA allowe d Buehl to take one fam iliarization lap just before his qualifier. Jeff Glass, who has been sponsored by Surf, the laundry detergen t, for a number of years, was ordered by his doctor , to take a bre ak from racing after it was discovered tha t the Ho nda rider from Duncansville, Pennsyl vania, has two infla med discs in his lower back. Glass says th at his back fee ls good and he wa nts to race, but the doctor told him to res ta little longer. He expects to return to action soon. Jus t prior to this issue go ing to press, Papa recieved word that there are still plen ty of spots open for the July 31 Team Du al Dogs D u al Spo rt Rid e, w hich is bei ng he ld in conj unction with th e following day's 125/250cc Na tional MX in San Bernardino, California. Sign-up is Saturday morning from 6 a .m . to 8 a.m . For more information, call 818/701-1913. Va nce & Hi nes Ya maha's Co lin Edwards II recently took delivery of a Yama ha WaveBlaster personal watercraft and the yo ung Texan took advantage of a br eak in the schedule a t the recent Road Atlanta National to take the craft for a spin on nearby Lake La n ie r. Danny Walker has also ord ered a WaveBlaster and he's hoping to talk Edwards into joining him in a water craft race or two. Sp e ak in g of D a n n y Wa l ker, the Colorado native who now lives in Hou ston, Texas, is planning to race in his first -eve r AMA G rand National Championship dirt track race . Walker will ri de a Honda RS750 at the Indy Mile on August 21. Like ma ny of his rivals, Wa lker grew tip rac ing dir t track. In addition, fellow 250cc Grand Prix rider Jonathan Cornwell will also be on h and a t the In d y M ile after rebuilding his tru st y Harley-Davidson XR750. Un lik e Wal ker , Cornwell is a grizzled veteran of the d irt track wars. Do you recall our telling yo u about six Cambo dians bei ng ' a r reste d n ear Bars to w , C aliforn ia , on Ma y 7 for unlawful possession of desert torto ise tha t they said were to be consumed as p art of a we dding ceremony? Well, tw o of the six - Tacoma, Washington residents Sok Phet and Sa Urn Phon we re fined $5000 each and each received a one -yea r sum mary probation for violating Federal endangered ' ' species laws in their July 14 trial in Barstow . Tw o other members of th e group wer e fo u n d not guil ty , one fa iled to appear, and the final member's court date has not yet been scheduled. Off-road motorcyclists in Illino is have w on an important victory in a U5 . Fo res t Serv ice ' de cis ion reg ard ing motorized recreation in that state's Shawnee National Forest, reports the AMA. Th e ch ief of the Forest Service has u pheld a pla n for the 256,000-acr e fo res t tha t co ul d incl ude u p to 286 miles of motor ized road s a nd trails. The AMA p ushed for those recreational routes, wh ich will ,be open to offh igh w a y b i kes and ATVs . Se ver a l p reserva tionis t gr o ups , includ ing th e local Sierra Club organization, sough t to have a ll m oto ri zed recrea tion banned from the forest . However, th e Fores t Ser vice rejected the arguments of those g roups, saying tha t th e prop osed moto rized trails would occupy on ly 173 acres, less than on e-tenth of 1% of the fo rest. Fo rest Se rvice officia ls noted tha t th e, p lan re presented the "best mix of recreational opportunites. A bill to stop the federal government from coe rci ng s ta tes in to pas sin g mandatory helmet-use laws has p icked up powerful support in the U.S. House of Representatives . The bill, des igna ted HR799, gained its 100th cosponsor July 1, and that sp onsor is on e of the mos t po wer fu l m emb ers o f Congress , H o use M inority Le ad er Robert Miche l (R-Illinois). The bill was introduced by Rep. Olympia Snowe (RMaine) in February. lt would repeal a federal plan to impose pena lties on sta tes failing to pass mandatory hel met laws affecting all mo torcyclists. Under that plan, states that d o no t pass helmet laws fo r motorcyclis ts and seat belt laws cover in g automobile drivers by September 30 wo uld esse ntially lose some of t hei r fe de ral h igh w a y cons truction money . Ins tead of sp end ing tha t money for its intended p urp ose,of imp rov ing roa ds , sta tes wo uld have to co mmit a percentage of the funds for safety programs. RETAINED: By the AMA, the services of P M C ommun ication s , the Sacramento-based marketing and public relations firm owned and opera ted by Pat rick Mu rphy, for the balance of the 1993 AMA National Championship Road Race Ser ies. Murphy w ill re presen t the AMA a t all remain ing events (he bega n at the Jul y 16-18 Road Atlanta Na tional) and will work with the AMA staff, even t prom oter s a nd media between the even ts . Murp hy w as an AMA me dia re p resen tat ive from 1986 to 1991, has ha ndled sales and administra tive functions for the AMA's Co ntingent Awards Program, and also pe rforms ma rketi ng and p ublic rela tions services for the AMA-affilia te d C ha mpionship C up Se r ies. Murphy replaces Glen Campbell, w ho w as hired by for mer AMA vice p res ident Dick Maxwell just one Na tional road race prior to the Road Atlanta round . CORRECTION: Con tra ry to wha t we reported in ou r July 21 issue' s coverage of the J u ly 3-4 Lo u d on Vintage Celebrat ion at New Hamp shire ' In te r n a tio n a l Spe edwa y" Dav id Aldana's second-place finish in the 500cc Premier cla ss and third-place fin ish in the Formula Vintage class came aboard a Matchless G50 owned by Ice N in e Racing, n ot Team Obsolete. Team Obsolete services and transports the b ike for Ice Nine . Likewise, the Velocette KTT ridden to victory in the Pre-1940 and Class C races by David Roper belongs to Ice , Nine Racing. STOLEN: A 1986 Ford F-150 pickup truck (VIN 1FTCF15N2GNP11622) containing a Formula USA road racer that co nsis ts of a Suzuki GSXR e ng in e m ounted in a 1988 GSXR750 frame (#JS16R778) with a on e-off bolt-on sub fr ame, and a m in ib ike and a la rge assor tmen t of s pa re parts and too ls, from Fred-and Jim Penningto n on July 11 in West Pa lm Gardens, Florida. In addition to th e bik es and equi pme n t, Jim Penningt on's new Vans on leathers we re in the truck. The w h it e, neon o ra nge and b lu e lea t h ers hav e "Pennington" and "Keystone No rthstar Racing" across th e back , plu s an assortment of sponsor patches. If yo u ha ve a ny in form ation on th e abo ve, call 407/686-1295 or 407 /4711449. BORN: Su mm er G race Mit c hell , da ughte r of Cycle News advertising sa les manager Greg Mitchell and his wife Beth, in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 2. ' MOVED: H onda-Su zu ki of Po mona has moved to Ontari o, Ca lifornia, after 14 years in Pomona. Th ey com pleted the move on July 27 and are opera ting und er a new na m e, Mounta in Motorspo rt s, at 1025 N. Mountain in On tari o. \ AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Mou ntain Motorsp o r ts in On ta ri o, Ca lifo rnia, Tea m Honda's Jere my McGra th, Jeff Stan ton, Steve Lamson and Doug Henry; on Friday, Ju ly 30, from 5 to 6 p .m. BORN: Zachary Daniel Mitchell, son of AHRMA ro ad racer Mike Mitchell and his wife Mar y, in St. Paul, Minnesota, July 19. MO VED: Pe tersen Motorcycle Gro up (Motorcyclist, Dir t Rid e r and Sp o r t Rider magazines), to the fift h floor of the new Petersen Publishing building at 6420 Wilsh ire Blvd., Los An geles, CA 90048-5515. ' FORMED: Spree Boy, a spor ts wea r co m pany, by mo toc rosser Ti m McLaughlin, at 3128 100th St. N. W., Oronoco, MN 55960; 800/577-7773, Fax 507/ 367-2406. AUTOGRAPH SIG NING: At H ales - Spo rt Center in Mansfield, Ohio, Team Vance & Hi nes memb ers Jamie Jam es and Colin Edwa rds, on Friday, August ' 6, fr om 6 to 7:30 p .m. Info: 419/5228602. BORN: Jeremy Philipp Johnson, son of Too Tech Raci ng's Rick Joh nson (no , ,not racer Ricky Johnson) and his wife Susa n, July 26 in Torrance, Califo rrtia. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Mid Oh io Suz uki-Honda-Yamaha in Mt. Vern on, Ohio, Team Suzuki's Britt Tu rkingt on and Dona ld Jacks, on Frida y, August 6, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Info: 614/3975272. c:N 3

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