Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ IN THE WIND By Papa Wealey physically, bu t my confide nce isn' t all there. I feel really hesitan t. I just wa nt to ge t comf or ta ble again w it ho u t doin g any thing stu pid ." Ch andler firs t raced in a Roberts B-team in 1991, on a production Yamaha without signific a n t sp onsorship . e Mat Mlad in wa s even wo rse affe cted by the un e xp ect ed rec r u it men t o f Kocinski, hi s s ta tus in th e team qu ite dear as th e Am eri can go t bot h h is bikes, and he was left wi th just one, as rid den to four th place by Carl Fogarty in Britain. Mlad in had to an exten t lost his way, but instead of being abl e to count on th e he lp and su p po rt of h is team he ins tead fou nd hims elf pushed to one side. The GP ne wcom er had a highside cras h on Friday, but commen ted drily afterwards: "I'm getting quite good a t it no w afte r d oing it twice in Britain . I didn' t get hu rt at aIL" Fre d di e Spencer copied Michael Doohan 's "alternative" rear brake opera tion after his low-key re tu rn at Brno found him una ble to use th e ped al. It was the . A m e r ic a n for mer W o rl d Champion's first ou ting in al mos t five months, after he injured his righ t hand and right knee in a heavy p ractice crash a t Suzuka, and he found himself well below fo rm . "T he bi ggest problem is lack of m ove m ent in my ri ght le g . I can't bend it fully, and can' t use the rear br ake at aIL" His team lowered the righ t footr est by IOmm after the first pr actice session, and a furt he r lOmm that night, but Freddie's leg was sti ll too stiff to allow him to u se th e brake pedal. "I may try some sort of alternative operation," he said. Spencer has always used the rear brake heavily as pa rt of his rid ing con trol techniqu e rather than just to slow th e bike, and is likely to look to Doohan 's example of a left-thumb lever. Wayn e Rainey also tried an alternative lever this season, operated by his right calf, after he injured his ankle in a testsession crash. French youngs ter Jos e Kuhn, who ha d been riding Freddie Sp encer's factory Yamaha du ring the superstar 'sp ro long ed ab sen ce, was back on a Roc at Brno, But it was a Roc with a difference: fitted with Kayaba forks in place of the usual Ohlins. It is all part of a proposed sales drive to Japan, for the All-Japa n 500cc championsh ip, currently supported by all the factories, but with a lack of privateer bikes rest ricting en tries to little more than 10 per race. Rosset hopes to p ro vide would-be Japanese s ta rs w ith machines to bolster the class in the same way as has happened at GP level. Thi ngs were different fro m the us ual run of mod em GP racing at Brno. There were big crowds, low ticket prices, and a su p port Germ an Pro Superbike race in between the solo and sidecar race . It a ll s how ed a n umb er of s p eci a l arrange me nts to ensure the existence of .the only East ern Bloc race of the year. Admission prices at the first GP of the Czech Republic were way below the norm of Eccleston e-insp ired mo d ern ,GP racing, with the thr ee main tobac co sponsors picking u p the tab to ma ke sure the only Eas tern Bloc race of the ye a r w o uld go ahead . Three w ee ks before, Donington Park fans ha d stayed away in droves, mainly beca use of the hefty adm ission p rice of $60 or more. It was th e same st ory at Hocken he im , where em p ty g ra ndsta nd s wer e th e pa yoff for the p rice hi ke. In the Czech Re p ub lic (Czechoslova kia ce as ed to exist at the beginning of this year) fans pa id $10 or less to get in - a big attraction for fans from nearby Germa ny and Aus tri a, w ho were expect ed to make u p some 60% of the crowd. "The three main spo nsors - Lucky Strike, Marlboro and Roth mans - ha ve mad e a sizeable co n t r ib u ti o n to m a ke s ure this race went ahea d. It was importan t for all of us w ith the emerging Eastern European ma rkets, a nd Hungary w as ano ther cand idate for the r ace," sa id Bert Kremer, Lucky St ri ke s po nsors h ip Ermolenko's World Speedway Champion A 2 long and sometimes painful q ues t by Sam Erm olenko produced the ultima te reward as the 32-year-o ld Californian won the World Individual Sp eedway Champions hi p in Pocking, Germany, on Sunday, August 29. Ermolenko took a narrow victory over three- time World Ch ampion Ha ns Nielsen of Denmark, who finished second. Brit Chris Louis was thir d. An elite field of 16 riders was on ha nd for the even t; ha vin g ad vanced fro m qu alifying ro unds througho ut the world. Each rider compe ted in five fou r-ma n heat races on the 400-meter di rt oval. It was Ermolenko's sixth appearance in the event, wit h his best pr evious finish a third in 1985. As the highest scoring rid er in the highly competitive Briti sh Sp eed way Leagu e, Ermo lenko wa s a pre-race favorite. And by the time three rou nd s were completed, Ermolenko and Nielsen were the ride rs to beat, Ermolenko with three win s and Nielsen with two win s and a second. Their only head-to-head confrontation came in the 15th heat, and Nielsen des perately needed a win to avoid falling further behind, however, the Dane was judged at fault when he collid ed with Ermolenko while attempting a pass. Nielsen was d isquali fied and Ermolenko dusted himself off for a restart. After yet another res tart, Ermolenko won the hea t to gain an insurmountable lead. Nielsen rebounded with a win in his final ride to salvage a tie with Louis for second in points, and then won a runoff to claim the runner-up po sition over the British rider. Ermolenko's superb 1993 season caps a career marked by persistence. He took up speedway racing after a severely broken leg stalled a career in motocross, and was a major force throughout the '80s unti l another broken leg threated his racing caree r. But he battled back , finishing seventh in the Final in '91 and eighth in '92. Sunday, he became America's third World Speedway Champion, join ing Jack Miln e (1937) and Bruce Penhall (1981 and '82). Sunday's race marked the fmal time that the traditional one-day pr ogram will be used to determine the World Speedway Championship. Beginning in '94, a six-race Speedway Grand Prix Series will be established. The top 10 riders on Sunday earned automatic bids to the inaugural series. American Billy Hamill earned his ticket to the '94 series with a 10th place finish, but Greg Hancock fmished 16th and failed to qualify. . chief. "W e worked with Dorna from . the s ta r t o f the year to put th e race togeth er. It is just a one- year de al - and part of th e de al was th at they would keep ticke t prices down. We want to see people in the grandstands and by the trackside . It could possibly create a preceden t for putting races together outside the finan cial framework created by TWP (Ecclestone's racing prometions com p a ny, now co-owned by Dorna). But it's a good precedent, that is mutua lly beneficial." Th e race was promoted by forme r AMA road rac er and one-time World Superbike backer Steve McLaugh lin, who was already r unning a televi sed German Pro Superbike race at the track. Italian 125cc racer Daniela Tognoli was at Brno, an d she is expected to race for the rest o f the sea so n in p lace o f Mau rizio Vitali, who broke his leg at the British GP. Lucky Strike Su zuki rid er Alex Barros had another temper tantrum during pra ctice for the Czech Republic GP after being slowed by a backrnarker while on a fast pra ctice lap . He tried to kick away the fr ont wheel of Belgian Roc ri der Laurent Navea u, fo rt una tely w ithout s uccess. The Brazilian, -n orrnally very mild -mannered and friendly, lost third p lace in the Au strian GP to Wayne Rainey after pausing on the last lap to try and punch Juan Lopez-Mella, Among a n u mber of co ntract rumors was one that Massimiliano Biaggi will r eplac e Pi er-F r a n ces co Chili in the Val esi-Telkor Yama ha team next season, ridi ng alongside Tetsu ya Harada. Biaggi rod e for Valesi-Aprilia las t season, and won the final GP, then ran in to legal trouble this year after sw itch ing to Team Kan em o to Ro thm ans Hond a, allegedl y breaking an exis ting contract wi th Ap rilia. He is understood to have had o ffers fro m Ap rilia, Su z u ki and Yamaha for next season, but would prefer a Honda if he could get one. Racers pl an ning to co mpe te a t the Sep tember 9-12 Mammoth Mountain MX in Ma m mo th Lak es, Ca lif ornia, may want to do ubl e check their condo minium reserva tio ns . I-BOO-MAM MOTH, a rese rva tions b u rea u owned by W ill iam Jo h nson of Temecu la, California, is undergoing an embezzlement investiga tion by the Mono County Distri ct Attorney's office. According to Mark Moore, a racer who ha d made reservations through the bureau for the Augu st 28- 29 O ver the Hill Gan g Mammoth MX, the office is closed and r eservatio ns will not be 'h o n o r e d . Pendin g th e investig ation , p repaid fu nd s m a yo r ma y not be refund ed. Complaints agains t th e co mpany may be sent to the Mono County Dis tric t Attorn ey, P.O. Box 617, Bridgep ort, CA 93517, At tn: Scott Pollock. Include your name an d address, the d at e for w hich the reserva tion was made, the date on which the reservation was pl aced, the a ~ o unt s p ai d , a daytime tel ephone number and any other information that you believe to be pertinent. For th ose of you seeking reservations for the wee k of the Mammoth Mountain MX r the Mamm oth Mou ntain Reservations Bu re au tells us that there are still qui te a few condominiums available. For re servations, call 619/9342528. And speaking of the Mam m ot h Mo u ntain MX, this year's Pro class action should be as exciting as ever. Pre-entered riders include H onda's Steve La ms o n, Kawasaki 's Ry an Hughes, Suzuki's D a mo n Hu ff m a n , Yamaha's Doug Dubach and Kawasaki Team Green off-reader Larry Roes eler. Racers can also look forward to a few track changes. "The faces of the jumps are much steep er and riders can expect to fly higher a nd farther, " sa id High Sierra Spo rts' John Armstrong. "We've also added in some new fencing after the horseshoe section tha t will take the rid ers through a few new turns." And ladies, don't forget about the 4th Annual Miss Mammoth Mountain MX contest , held in conjunction with the rac es . Entries are still open but you 'd better hurry, because they fill up fast. For more informa tion con tact Debbie Chapman at 619/934-0642. Jim O' Neal, owner/president of O'Neal USA, s u ffered a broken left foot in a practice crash last week. He underwent surgery on August 23. O'Neal says he'll miss the Mammoth Mountain MX for the firs t time in 25 years. He w ill, however, be at the event to lend su pport to hie son Jimmy, who will be competing in three classes. Fo r mer Grand N ational Champ ion Gene Romero tells Papa he's involved with the promotion of the Glen Helen Gran d Prix that will take place at th e Glen Helen OHV Park in San Bernard in o, Californ ia , October 2 73 . "It 's an even t that we feel will remind th e old tim ers of th e great GP even ts li ke the Els ino r e Grand Pri x that Maureen Lee br ou ght back to life in her recent article (August 18 issue). on the othe r hand, and most impo rtan tly, it'll prov id e a chall enge and a t th e same time provide some kicks for those who may be too young to remember the legen da ry Elsinore, H opetown and Grea t Bear r aces b ut w is h they had been aroun d to race them. The course, wh ich was designed by Malcolm Smith, is 10 miles long and will use parts of the part th at h aven ' t been u sed fo r a ra ce before." Romero says he interested Dr. Bud Feldkamp in puttin g on the Grand Prix and they are working with the prese n ting m ot o rcycle cl u b, the Pr a ir ie Dogs, in organizing the race as an AMA District 37 event. Th irty-five-yea r road racing ve teran Kurt Liebmann w on the Masters race du ri ng th e 15 th A n n u a l Vi n tage Challeng e Weekend a t Mos p o rt in Cana da , Aug us t 21-22. Liebmann rode his Kar l Brew er / Bill Antho ny -prepped Honda CR750 and CR450 to a win, two second-place finishes, tw o th ird-pla ce finis hes and a fifth-place finish. It was Lieb ma n n's first visit to the Canadian road race circuit since he shattered his ankle there in 1973. The Cha pa rra ls M .e. has announced the canc elation of th e dual sport ride they had planned to host in Hesp eria, Ca lifornia, on Septemb er 19. According to Bill Adams, the club 's p resident, the eve n t was canc eled due to "time constraints." The G e o rg i a Dirt Bike Training Instit ute is conducting an off- road training program at the Honda Rider Education Center in Alpharetta , Georgia. The one-day classes for youths and adults caters to beginners and the course fee is $85. Students can use their own bike or rent one from the institu te. The first class will be held on Saturday, September 11. For more informa tion, call 404/667-9682. Ken Ma ely, who's perhaps b e tt er kn own as Mr . Steel Shoe, will close dow n his steel shoe business/speedway practice track at his Coron a, California, Continued on page 3

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