Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

GIN THE WIND ByPapa Wealey American Dan Ashcraft (Hon) held the overall lead after the first of six da ys of competition at the Nevada Rally, which started in Las Vegas on August 22 and ; will conclude there on August 28 . Frenchman Alain O li ve r (Kaw) was second and Italian Davide Tr olli (Hon ) was third. American Charles Halc omb (KTM) and Austrian and former World , MX Champ ion Heinz Kinigadner r l (KTM) rounded out the top five . The $-( rally covered 165 miles on its opening Q) da y and in cl u d e d one special test before the fi eld reached Me squ ite. !=i Ashcraft completed the just-under-l0oQ) mile test in one hour, 54 minutes and .... 24 seconds. Ol iver wa s 45 seconds off ~ th e pace. A total of 64 rid er s from 12 Q) countries, including Russia and Israel, Cf) started the rally. ..g Brita in ' s Carl Fogarty (Duc) swept to victor ies in both legs of the Malaysian round of th e World Champi on ship Superb ike Series in [ohor, Mal a ysia, Aug us t 22. Fogarty topped Georgian Scott Russell (Kaw) in both leg s to close to within five points in the champ ion ship point s tandi ng s, 231.5-226.5. Third place in both ra ces in Malaysia went to Fabrizio Pir ovano (Yam). A major change in the AMA Superb ike rules for th e 1994 racing season was announced last w eek. Th e minimum we ight limit for tw in-eylinder moto rcycles com pe ting in th e Su perbi ke class has been raised to 335 pounds, effective Ja n uary 1, 1994 , and the min imum weight for four-cy linder Su per bikes has been low ered to 355 pounds. The minimum weight for tw ins was 309 pounds while the four-cylinders carried a minimum weight of 363 pound s. The Fast By Fe r ra cci Ducati rid d en b y Doug Polen wei gh ed in at 328 pounds during his champion ship-winning season this year. 2 Chris 0' Aluisio suffered a broken left foot in the Formula II race at the WERA Pro Series round at Pennsylvan ia ' s Pocono International Racewa y on Au gust 15. Southwest Motorsp ort ' s D'Aluisio was tucked in behind Rich Oliver on the front straightaway at the completion of lap one when a piece of track debris was kicked up by Oliver's ma chine . The obj ect impa cted 0 ' Aluisio's left foot with eno ug h force to bend the foo tpeg. The result wa s a three-inch gash in th e top of th e foot and seve rely broken metatarsal bones involv ing the m iddle th ree toes. 0' Aluisio und erwent surger y that night and three pins were placed in the fool. H e r ema in ed in the h ospital throu gh Wednesday, August 18, primarily to reduce the risk of in fection . Accordin g to Southwest Motorsports, D' Alu isio ha s been worki ng w it h Dr. Lionel 'Brow n, who ha s d eve lop ed a special cas t that will allow him to ride his Yamaha TZ250 w ith so me mod ificatio ns at th e fi na l round of th e AM A Na tio n al Champ ion ship Road Race Series at Sears Point on August 29 and in t h e U.S . GP a t La guna Seca on September 12. H is tuner, Bruce Maus has re -engin eered th e shifter m echanism to enable D' Aluisi o to shift the transm ission on th e righ t a nd he has installed a special footpeg bracket on the left s id e to ac commoda te 0 ' Alu isio's cast. D' Alu isio tra ils Filice in th e 250cc Grand Prix point standings, 285-271, and is the only rid er who has a mathema tical chan ce of overtaking him. Accord ing to Ha rold, in case D' Aluisio can 't rid e at Laguna Seca, h is wild card spot in the 125cc GP would be taken by WERA Formula III points leader Tommy Hayden of Owensboro, Kentucky, on a Southwest Motorsportsprepared Honda RSl25 . If Hayden does compete in the GP , it will be the 16year-old rider 's fir st international event. . Due to circumstances beyond our control, coverage of the August 14-15 Pocon o WERA Pro Series round failed to reach us in time to be included in this issue. The Bra ndyw in e Enduro Riders have been forced to cancel the East Coast Enduro Association and District 6 har e s cra mbles that wa s scheduled fo r September 5 at the Fort Indiantown G a p Military Re serv e in A nnville, Pennsylvania. After all the trails were prepared, the Na tional Gu a rd of Pennsylvania revoked the club's land privileges withou t a written reason. Er ic Lindqu is t, of the AMA go vernment relations department, contacted the base commander and a familiar theme of environmental problems was given, even though the cou rse was in and around an active tank range. The event will not be resched uled. Okay, all you tiddler bike riders, it's time to send in your entries for the 12th Annua l True Grits Invitational 50cc Fun Run. The annual rid e in the scenic north Georgia mountains is limited to street-legal mo torcycles of 50cc or less. This yea r's run will cover app roxim ately 80 miles and as is tradition, it will s tar t a n d end at th e T .W.O.· (Tw o Wheels Only) motorcycle reso r t in Su ch es , Geor g ia. Accoj dlng to the event's host , Ben Cheatwood, "You r $24 entry fee, which ma y include gas tax hikes, farm su bsid ies, en titleme n t taxes, excise tax, luxury taxes, surtaxes, value- added ta xes an d o ther fee s, assess men t ' sa crifices ,' d onations, licenses, permits, environmental impact statements, import duties, contributions, po ssible political payola and miscellaneous political PACs but may not be deductible on your federal, state and local taxes, and will enable you to travel a long distance to ,Suches for a ride . on your street leg al 50cc motorcycle upon a public highway to ea rn a used trophy, plaque and /or a homemade momento to commemorate this galaxy event." The entry deadline is Octob er 1. To obtain an entry blank, write: FART (fun and reliable tiddler), c/o Ben Cheatwood, 5104 Bowers Brook Dr., Lilburn, GA 30247. For more informati on or to enter the e vent's Stupid Question Contest, ca ll Bob Lenk at 404/963-5477. The 19th Annual EI Camino Vintage C y cl e Rall y will take place at EI Camino Jr. Colle ge, wh ich is located on Crenshaw Boulevard between Redondo Beach Boulevard and Manha ttan Beach Boul e vard in Gar d e n a, C aliforni a , October 2. Presented by the Frien ds of the West Coast Rallies, the even t w ill feature a judged show of vin tage bikes plus a sw ap meet . Frid ay , Octob er 1, will be d evoted to set up for pre-registered show and swap mee t participan ts only. General admission opens at 8 a.m. on Satu rday, Octob e r 2. For sh ow , swap meet and general info rma tion, call 805/ 772-2038. The 10th Annual MS Challenge, a moto rc ycle tour that b enefits th e Multiple Sclerosis Associa tion of King County, Washington, w ill take place over the Sep tember 11-12 weekend. The ride will start early Saturday at Federal Way (south of Seattle) a n d en d Saturday evening in Wenatchee where an awards banquet will be held . On Sunday, participants ar e free to head home at their leisure or spe nd time seeing the sights around Wenatchee such as Ohrne Gardens or the Rocky Reach Trail fund faces test in Senate A crucial decision by the U.S. Sena te in earl y September could decide the fate of a funding plan for America's trails next year, reports the AMA. At stake is a fiscal 1994 appropriation for the National Recreational Trails Trus t Fund. The trails program, passed in 1991, is aut hori zed to receive up to $30 million a year for construction and maintenance of motorized and non-motorized trails over six years. However, the U.S. House didn't include any funds for the program in its versio n of the 1994 transportation appropriations bill. As a res ult, the last chance to get money allocated for trails next year is in the Senate. The appropriations process in that bod y could start as early as September 7, when the Congress returns from a summer recess. If any of these members of the Senate Appropriations Committee represen t your s ta te, w rite a letter, u rging them to allocate the full $30 million to th e National Recreatio na l Trails Trust Fund in next year's federal spend ing measure. Write to Sens. Robert Byrd (WV-Chairman), Daniel Inouye (HI), Ernes t Hollings (SC), J. Bennett Johns ton (LA), Patrick Leahy (VT), Jim Sasser (TN), Dennis DeConcini (AZ), Dale Bumpe rs (AR), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Tom Harkin (lA), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Harry Reid (NY), J. Robert Kerrey (NE), Herbert Kohl (WI), Patty Murray (WA), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Mark Hatfield (OR), Ted Stevens (AK), Thad Cochran (MS), Alfonse D'Amato (NY), Arlen Specter (PA), Pete Domenici (NM), Don Nickles (OK), Phil Gramm (TX), Christopher Bond (MO), Slade Gorton (WA), Mitch McConnell (KY), Connie Mack (FL), or Conrad Bums (MT). In addition, if you're not represented by one of Th e sena tors listed above, you sho uld write your own senators and ask them to pass along support for trail fund ing to members of the committee deciding next year's appropriations. Contact senators at the United Sta tes Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. Dam . For overnight accommodations in Wenatchee, call 800/426-0670; for ride information, call 206/838-9636. The Georgia-b a sed So u the astern Sportb ike Associatio n is hos ti ng an open practice sessio n for roa d rac ers and aspirin g r oad ra cers a t North Carolina Motor Sp eedwa y in Rockingham on Saturday, Octob er 9. The track will be open to two alternating gro ups - one made up of stree t rid ers with no track experience necessary, the other consist ing of racers. Pre-registration is mandatory. For info rm at ion, call 404/984-2606. Castaic MX Tra ck in sou th ern California's Los Angeles County ha s reopened after being closed for three weeks due to env ironmental concerns. The county wanted track operator Shan e Trittler to s ub mit an environmental impact report. Trittler, in turn, requested assistance from the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Ant onovich. They interceded and following an on-site inspection of the facility , permission was granted to resume opera tions at the facility. Th e track will be open for practice, starting August 24, from 2 p.m. until d usk. For more information, call 805/294-0020. The retu rn of the Castle Rock TT to the AMA Grand National Championship Series sched ule wi ll be celebra ted with a reunion of past winner s as well as racing on September 18 at Castle Rock, Washington. Circle Bell's Bob Bellino says the only past winner they' ve been una ble to contact is Dave Palmer, who won the 1965 Castl e Ro ck Nat ion al. Palm er was fr om Bakersfi eld, Californ ia . An yon e know ing th e whereabouts of Palmer s ho u ld call Bellino at 415/366-3335. Donnie Hansen , the 1982 AMA National and Supercross Champion and the 1981 Motocross d es Na tions World Champion, is off ering private instruc tion session s during the practice days prec ed ing the September 9-12 26th An nual Ma m moth M X at Mammoth Lakes, California. To reserve tim e, ca ll th e Donn ie Han sen Motocross Acad emy at 916/338-2888. The Baltimore /Wash ington area will be the site of its second Ride For Kids, the 10th of 12 rides nationwide this year that raise fund s for childhood bra in tumor research . Th e Septemb er 12 even t in Mar y land s ta r ts at the Columbia Mall a nd conclud es at the fairgrounds in Frederick, where awards including a Honda motorcycle w ill be distributed , and checks will be pr esented to Johns Hopkins University and the Central Br a in Tumor Reg istry . Last yea r 's Balt im ore /Washin gt on eve n t rai sed over $30,000. Now en teri ng its 10th year.T he Rid e For Kids program was s ta rte d by A tl a n ta native Mike Traynor and th e p rogr am ha s rai sed ove r $1.8 million to date with every d olla r goi ng to research thanks to the s up port o f Honda an d other bu sin ess sponsors. Tom Klpp, Honda's defending 600cc Supersport Champion, will take part in the rid e. Riders who had to contend with the infamous Gatorback Cycle Park wash rack at the Florida track's round of the AMA Nat ional Champ ionship MX Series earlier this year, will be pleased to know that the Ala chuh a Coun ty Environmental Department has rescinded th e order tha t requ i red World Sports to build the rack and will now pe rm it bike washing at the rid ers' pit area. If you d idn't w itness the mad ness of 800-p l us riders taking turns stand ing kn ee deep in a mud tank, you missed the event of a lifetim e. At least of a motocrossin g lifetime. According to World Sport's Jerry Wes t, the wash rack will be left s tand ing "as a monument to th e go ve rn men t officials who woul d hav e us beli e ve th at th ey are wa tchi ng ou t for us." A Public Lands Day p roject within the Cow Mountain OHV Recreation Area n ear U k iah, -Ca li fo rni a, ha s .bce n planned by the BLM and vo lunteers are invited to participate. Building sha de s tr u c tu res a t th e Oakw ood Springs Staging Area is one of the man y projects sc hed u le d for compl eti o n o n Saturd a y , September 11, the 10 th a n n ive rsa ry of Public Lands Day, a nationwide event aimed at mak ing the public more aware of op portuni ties on public lands. When complete, the staging area will include water and shade stru cture s, a practi ce tr ack, s ix overnight camp sites, and a network of multiple-u se trail s. The first in a series of volunteer work da ys wa s held on Cow Mountain in early July. Fourteen volunteer s from the Mend oci no Dirt Rid e rs, Son oma Coun ty S po rt cycle Ass ociati on and the No rth Bay M.e.

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