Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

tor. That chass is, as everyone knows , is a 1991 Yamaha . If somebody is a bona fide entry from the beginning of the season, that's how it stays. I can understand wh y there's a little bit of confusion and that's why it will be more clea rly defined next year." The title was once used prominently in advertising, especially in Japan , but it has los t so me of its cachet. The recipient gets a mock vellu m certificate. "It used to be a real vellum certificate," Butler joked. Beginn in g on April 24 , 1994, MRA Ra cing will begin ope ra tion of Delta Raceway in Michigan. The racetrack, formerl y opera te d b y the Gla s s City Motor cycle Club, will feature motocross racing on Sa tu r day nights. The 1994 MRA Racing program w ill also include weekly racin g a t Milan Cycle City and Leamin gton Raceway. The ina ugu ral Golden Cup Supercross will ta ke place on November 6-7 in Fukuoka City, Japan in the newly-buil t, 52,000-seat Fukuoka Dome. Forty American riders are expec ted to compete, along with 80 top Japanese riders, for a $200,000 purse, accord ing to M}D Spo rts Entertainmen t, the promoters of the event. Frank Zlock , a road racing enthusiast and a Charter Life member of the AMA, died on September 25 from injuries suffered in a crash during a vintage road racing practice session at Portland In terna tion a l Race wa y in Portland, Oregon. Zlock is survived by his wife Shirley and sons, Dan and Dale. Among th e en tries fo r the ,M aca u Motorcycle Grand Prix , scheduled for Saturday, November 20 in the southeast territory of Chin a, a re roa d ra cers Michael Barn es, Chuck Graves, Fritz Kling, Dave Sadowski and Steve Crevier. The north Ame rican con tingent w ill go up against the likes of New Zealand er Andre w Strou d , and Europeans Sean Emmett, Peter Rubatto and Jerem y McWilliams. The promoters of the final round of the World Champion ship Superbike Series scheduled for Nov ember 5-7 in Mexico City, Me xico, are o ffe ring ai rfare/ hotel/VIP pac kages for fans wish ing to make the trip from the United States. The race is exp ect ed to decid e th e World Championship between the two top contenders, Georgian Scott Russe ll and Brit Carl Fogarty. Two-time World Champion and current AMA Superbike National Champion Doug Pol en will also be racing in the final round of the series. For more information, contact Loyal Truesdale at 213/ 464-5720. Will riders winning 500cc Grands Prix on Cagivas soon be accepting Lamborghinis ins tead of Ferrarris ? Acco rd ing to AutoWeek, Chrysler will accept nearly. $60 million to sell Lambo rghini to a partnership involving the Cas tiglioni brothers, owners of ~giva. Four-time World Champion Edd ie Lawson fini shed second in the Indy Lights car race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Ca l ifornia, Oc tober 3. Lawso n, in his best finish of his rookie season of racing, was topped by ser ies champion Bryan Herta. More ex-motorcycle racers making good in car racing. Many readers may remember the name Gregg Han s fo rd . The Australian won four 250cc road race GPs on a factory Kaw asa ki in 1978, and finished second in the 250cc World Championship in 1978 and 1979, before a . leg injury cut his career short. Now a successful car racer in Australia, Hansford and his team won the Bathurst 1000 endurance on October 3; former 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner finished third in the same event. Du ring the 25 th running of the U.S . Na tio nal Speedway Cha mpionship in Costa Mesa, California, October 2, the American flag was at half mas t in salu te to Bob Inman, 55, w ho d ied on Sep tember 29 after a length y battle with cance r. Inm an, an emp lo yee of Ci rello Racing and father of helmet painter Kelly Inman , served as a liason betwee n the rid ers and the Speedway Racing Association. "There wasn't a rider in speedway that Bob hadn't helped at one time or another," sa id 1987 Nation al Champion Brad O xley. "Every gu y in the pits would go over to the van to see Bob wh ether they need ed parts or hot. He was always there for spee dway. He loved it. All the guys will miss him." The riders circulated throu gh the stands wit h their helmets d uring intermission to collect d onations which will he lp cover funeral costs. Nafl trail-funding bud _ a et tstake A ccord ing to the AMA, millions of dollars in funding for America's trails will be at stake in an upcoming Congressional Conference com mittee, and they are urging motorcyclists to express their support for this important measure. On September 29, a U.S . Senate commit tee voted to a ppropriate $15 million to the National Recreational Trails Trust Fund for fiscal 1994. However, a House version of the same ap propriations measure does not include any money for the trail fund . Once the bill designated H.R. 2750 - passes the full Senate, the two versions will go to a conference committee charged with wo rking out the diffe rences between them. The trails fund, passed in 1991, is authorized to receive up to $30 million per year for construction and maintenance of off-hig hway trails for motorized and non-motorized recreation. But the fede ral government has refused to spend the entire amount on the program in the past. The AMA, working with Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (D-Colorado), lobb ied for full fundi ng for the program, while the Clinton administration recommended $15 million for the fund in its 1994 budget. Lawmakers were expected to have a new appropriations package in place by the time the old plan ran out on September 30. Instead, Congress has approved a resolution tha t essentially extends the fund ing d ead line. That delay gives moto rcyclists an op po rtunit y to help keep the Sena te's ver sion of the transporta tion appropriations package inta ct. Mot ori zed recreation en th usiasts interest ed in su p porting the trails program are urged to contact two key members of the House-Sena te conference committee, asking them to vote in favor of the Senate's $15 million approp riation for th e Nationa l Recrea tional Trails Tru st Fund. Those committee members are Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jerse y) and Rep. Bob Carr (D-Michigan). Motorcyclists can reach Sen. Lau tenberg a t 506 Hart Senate Buildin g, Washington, D.C. 20510 or by calling 202/224-4744 . Contact Rep . Carr at 2347 Rayburn Ho use Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515, 202/225-4872. T henewest Beemer MW's latest on/off-road model - the GS - is all new for 1994. As expected, it features BMW's new ll00cc air / oil-eooled two-eylinder eight-valve Boxer engine that was introduced las t year on the spo rt/touring R1100RS street bike. It d iffers from the RS motor in that it has been tuned for more bottom-end power and torque, and less top-end power. The GS also features BMW's unique Telelever front suspension system and a single, centrally located rea r shock desi gn. Dual d isc brakes (instead of a single disc) are now used up front, and a single rear disc brake replaces the drum design of the past; ABS is also now available as an option on the GS model. The larg e gas tank holds 5.5 gallons. Other features include an ad justable seat and windshield, integrated ign ition and handlebar lock, a nd p lastic cyli nder head protectors. The ne w BMW R1100GS will be available in the U.s. sometime next sprin g. B Six former National Speedway Champions ma y ha ve been racing in the U.S. Na tional field on October 2, but there were actually seven in attendance as twotim e National Champion Kelly Mo ran spectated at the event. The retired Moran said that he hopes to return to Europe to resume his racing career in February of 1994. "I've just taken some time off, but I want to get right back in it," Moran said. "I want to ride over there, bu t I want to ride here too." Moran feels he could still be com pe tit ive. "I th ink I could do it again," Moran said. "It's all in the gating." Though the American speed way season is finished for the year, Bobb y Schwartz has racing to do elsew here. Schw artz is scheduled to leave for England to compete for Team USA in the next test match against Team Engla nd. Sch wartz may also head to Australia to compete on the Ivan Mauger to u r. Billy Hamill was scheduled to re turn to Engla nd on Thursday, October 7 an d will also compete in the test match aga inst England. Ha mill rides fo r th e Cradely Heath Heathens in the British league. Though all the riders in the U.s. National Speedway Championship a re serious about winning the title, so me are mo re serious than others. Brad Oxley, Russell Racing's only rider, had four Weslakes in the pits, one of which had $10,000 worth of engine work. Oxley said that he hoped he didn't have to use th e all-titani u m motor as it is too powerful for the tiny Costa Mesa ova l. "Five ye ars ago this motor could have won the World Final," Oxley said. " Bu t over here on the small tracks it's too hard to gate on. You either wheelie or dig a trench ." No t to b e ou td o ne by Ox le y, Sam Ermolenko had a PPT 500 in the pits to back up his GM. Manufactured briefly in England by Phil Pratt during the early '80s , the motor, which is essen tially a highly refined Weslake, is extre mely rare, as are spare parts. But Ermolenko, who runs hi s own motor shop in England, has no worries shou ld anything ever go bad . " If anything blows up we'll just m a n u factu re it ourselves," Ermolenko said. Steve Johnson has left hi s position as team manager for Van ce & Hi nes Yamaha. Johnson will likely be replaced by crew chief/ engin e builder Jim Leonard. Neither team owner Te rr y Vance or Johnson were a va ilable for comment. PU RC H ASED: R.M . En g in ee r ing, a Chicago-based compan y that manufactures high-performance header systems for Harley-Davidsons, by Brad Shubert. For more informa tion contact Shubert at 618/758-2663. CANCELLED: The final two 1993 o ffro ad events sched u led for Ve nt u ra Rac ew a y in Vent u ra, Cali fo rni a, on October 16 and November 13, due to scheduling changes and track repairs. All cha mpionships will be declared official based on standings after the Sep tember 18 event. For more information con tact Ventura Raceway at 805/656-1122. BORN : Bria n Joseph Nasto n, to Supe rcross/MTEG announcer Larry Naston and his wife Terri, September 28, in Palmd ale, California. CO RRECTI O N: An item we ran las t week regard ing Ricky Graham's plans to co m p e te in the AMA/ CCS Race of Ch ampions at Daytona International Speedway gave an incorrect d ate for the road race. The actual date of the Race of Champions is October 22-24. CO RRECTION: In a story on the Gran Carrera de San Felip e in B.C., Mexico, w h ic h took place September 18, we Continued on page 4 3

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