Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Rodney Smith (Suz) scored the overall win in round two of the AMA National Championship Hare Scrambles Series in Hollister, California, February 6. Smith finished approximately two minutes ahead of his nearest competitor, defending champ and series points leader Scott Summers (Hon). Third overall was local rider Eric Mashbir (Hus), whileRon Naylor (ATK) and Pat Garrahan (Hon) rounded out the top four. ' Jimmy Gaddis (Kaw) was the big winner during round 11 of the AMA/Prolite National Arenacross at the Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska on February 4-5. Gaddis finished second to Billy Whitley (Hon) and just ahead of Chad Pederson (Yam) in the 250cc class on opening night, but headed Whitley and Pederson in the 12Sec class. Gaddis then cleaned up in both classes during the second night of racing, topping Whitley and Doug Stone (Kaw) in the 250cc class, and Grayson Goodman (Hon) and Shawn Morga (Kaw) in the 12Secclass. AMA Superbike National Champion . Doug Polen will definitely compete in the Daytona 200 on March 13, according to sources close to the Texan. The race will mark Polen's debut on the factory Honda RC45. Following the Daytona 200, Polen will compete in the World Championship Superbike Series which begins on May 1 in England. According to reports from our correspondent in Australia, Bernie McGuire, the Marlboro Roberts Yamaha team of Luca Cadalora and Daryl Beattie have returned to testing the 1993 Yamaha YZRSOO after running into problems with the '94 model during their recent Malaysian test. Cadalora told the Italian magazine MotoSprint that the new electronically monitored chassis, "leaves the rider with less feeling than the traditional chassis." Cadalora's best lap at the Shah Alam circuit was a one minute, 26.2 seconds; nearly a second slower than those turned in by Kevin Schwantz during the Lucky Strike Suzuki test. Beattie's best lap was just two tenths 'of a second slower than Cadalora's. Italian road racer Doriano Romboni tested the new Honda NSR250 during HRC's tests at Eastern Creek in Australia. "The new bike is good," Romboni said. "The engine is still much the same and the power is much the same as before. I cannot really tell exactly what HRC has done with the new bikes, bun know they have been working on cylinder and cylinder head modifications and ignition for the new lower octane fuel." Romboni, who was suffering from the flu, turned in a best lap of 1:33.6, almost a second off the lap record set by last year's Australian GP winner Tetsuya Harada. West GermanRalf Waldmann made his testing debut on the Honda NSR250 at Eastern Creek. Waldmann, who finished fourth in last year's 12Sec World Championship, was almost two seconds off Harada's lap record. -.:ti 0\ 0\ rl 2 Australian Michael Doohan made an impressive return to the race track on February 4, just weeks after having the external fixator device removed from his badly broken right leg. Doohan and the Honda team completed three days of testing at Eastern Creek with the 28year-old turning a best lap of 1:31.6, just two tenths of a second slower than the lap record held by Kevin Schwantz. In June of 1992, Doohan broke his leg during practice for the Dutch GP in Assen. After the U.S. GP in September of 1993, the Australian underwent surgery to straighten the leg. "I've only been walking for a couple of weeks, but I probably feel physically fitter now than I've ever been since the crash in Assen," Doohan said. "We've been doing a lot of basic testing at the moment, but we haven't got our heads down too seriously yet." Michael Doohan will be joined by his brother Scott on the starting line at the Australian Grand Prix on March 27. Scott Doohan has accepted a "wild' card" entry for the race at Eastern Creek and will compete aboard a Harrisbacked Yamaha YZRSoo. Scott Doohan will spend the rest of 1994 trying to win the Australian Superbike National Championship on a Ducati. Two-time Canadian National Dirt Track Champion Steve Beattie made his ice racing debut at an event held in Toronto, Canada, recently, but assured us that he wouldn't return to the ice anytime soon. "Man, it was the most miserable thing I've ever done," said Beattie. "With the wind chill factor it was 75 degrees below zero. I had my van running for 12 hours straight - I'd stay in there with the heater on until it was time to race. As soon as I finished on the track, I'd ride straight back to the .van and load the bike. We had to keep a portable heater on the engine cylinder otherwise it wouldn't start up." . And speaking of Steve Beattie, the 21year-old Burlington, Ontario, resident will return to the states to contest the 1994 AMA Grand National Championship Series aboard a Harley-Davidson XR750 backed by Deeley H-D/Tucker Rocky / MSR/Shoei/Tsubaki/IM Leathers /Protomax / Nemco / Motion Pro/Body Double/EBC/Champion and K&N. Beattie finished the '93 series 13th overall, posting a career-best fourth: place finish at the Lima Half Mile National. "We made a lot of progress last year," said Beattie. "This year we're looking to break into the top 10." Andy Tresser, the winner of the 1993 ' Bellingham (Washington) 600cc dirt track National, will ride a Fast By Ferraeci-prepped Ducati in the 1994 AMA Grand National Championship. The Ducati engine will be featured in a frame designed and built by Harry Hoffman. Alice Roberts, 65, the mother of threetime World Champion Kenny Roberts, died after suffering a massive heart attack on February 1 at her home in Modesto, California. Roberts was in Malaysia for a Marlboro Roberts Yamaha test session at the time of his mother's death, and he returned home on February 4. "She wasn't sick," Roberts said. "It was really sudden. She went in for a minor operation on her elbow and the next day she had the heart attack." According to th e Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), Jim' Baca resigned his position as the director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on February 3 after coming under pressure from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. The action ended a week of uncertainty stemming from Baca's refusal to accept a new position as a deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Interior, which oversees BLM. Though characterized as a promotion, many observers saw the job offer as an ultimatum to oust Baca from the sensitive BLM post, according to MIe. A minimum purse of $5000 will be paid to the top 10 hand-shift racers in Ca iva secretive in Aussie tests T he Cagiva Grand Prix team of Doug Chandler and John Kocinski (right) unveiled an innovative new chassis on their 1994 Cagiva 500cc Vfours during testing at Eastern Creek in Australia on January 3D-February 1. The dramatic new chassis is constructed of carbon fiber and aluminum and is a first in GP motorcycle racing; the combination of carbon fiber/aluminum being first launched in Formula One car racing. Chandler, who finished 10th in last year's. 500cc World Championship, indicated the '94 chassis was a lot more "user friendly" than the '93 equivalent. "The new chassis has been built to stiffen the overall frame and at the same time keep the weight down," Chandler said. "When I rode the '93 bike for half a day on the first day of testing, I could feel the bike moving. The new bike is perfect, with little or no movement. Eastern Creek has always been a track where I had a lot of trouble with the bike flexing, especially up the hill, going right then quick left. The '93 Cagiva seemed like it wanted to pivot around the steering ann. But the new bike is a lot easier to ride and holds the line better. The new bike is also a lot more predictable when it starts to slide. When it does start to slide, it's easier to handle. You know when it's coming - there's no longer a quick snap;" Chandler started his maiden season with a third-place finish at Eastern Creek in the opening round of the series last year. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to better that as his season turned into a disappointing one, "Last year was a year I would rather forget," Chandler said. "I learned a few things, but everything I tried - stuff I thought I was doing right - just turned the opposite and dropped me on my face. It was a real tough year. Now it feels good to get on a bike and start fresh. I'm really happy with our progress so far. It's going to be good having KeI (Carruthers, Chandler's new crew chief). Kel's a pretty open-minded person and he's easy to get along with. He has plenty of experience, so I don't think we'll have any problems." Chandler was joined at Eastern Creek by Kocinski, who lapped near the lap record on the final day of testing. ' "We've made a lot of progress and we didn't have any problems," Kocinski said. We know that we just have to keep working hard, if we are to make progress." Unlike last year, Cagiva raised a veil of secrecy around their Australian test sessions. No photographs were allowed to be taken of the new bikes and a cover remained draped over one of the machines when journalists were present, leading to speculation that this "secret" bike was using fuel-injection. Bernie McGuire AHRMA's Pre-1940 and Class C classes in the AHRMA National Championship ' Historic Cup Series. According to AHRMA executive director Jeff Smith, pre-entries for both classes have risen significantly for the March 4 round at Georgia'a Roebling Road and for the March 7 round at Daytona International Speedway. "Clearly, the incentive of a nice payday is helping people bring out those magnificent hand-shifting Indians and Harley-Davidsons," Smith said. "We arevery happy to see more of these crowd-pleasing machines on the track." Atlanta Braves outfielder Ron Gant broke his leg in an off-road motorcycle accident on February 3 in Woodstock, Georgia. Gant is expected to be out of action for three months. The 18th Annual Italian Bike Owners Party will be held on March 11 at the Daytona Recreation Island Auditorium, located at 109 Orange Ave, in Volusia, Florida, Admission is free and the party will feature display tables for Italian clubs, Italian bike part sellers, and people wishing to show off their bikes. For more information call 305/226-4216. The Sheraton Suites in Pomona, California, will serve as the official race headquarters for the L.A. Superbike Championship, the third round of the AMA U.S. Sup erbike National Championship, . sched u led for April 8-10 at the LA County Fairplex in Pomona. Sheraton Suites will offer special rates for those attending the race. For reservations call 800/722-4055, for ticket and race infer. mation call 714/632-7070. David Aldana will teach the Team Suzuki Endurance Advanced Riding School in 1994. Beginning with the September 16 date at the Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, Tennessee. For more information contact Team Suzuki Endurance at 909/245-6414. The class is free to purchasers of 1994 Suzuki GSXRs and a $125 discount is offered to purchasers of other 1994 Suzuki sport bike models. Regular tuition is $250 and classes are open to all riders on a firstcome, first-served basis. The CLASS Motorcycle School is offering 34 sessions in 1994, beginning with a March 21 class at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey-California, and winding up with a November 14 session at laguna Seca. In between, the school visits such famous race places as Road Atlanta, Heartland Park Topeka, Watkins Glen and Willow Springs Raceway. The school is taught by former AMA Superbike National Champion Reg Pridmore and his son, current AMA road racer Jason. For more information on the BMW-sponsored school call 800/235-7228. . The AMA will sanction speedway racing in 1994. Speedway has been racing under the jurisdiction of the Speedway Racing Association for the past two years, but the promoters and the AMA have reached an agreement regarding licensing and insu r a n ce which will allow the promoters to choose their own carrier. Furthermor e, riders will n o , longer have to carry a pro license, bu t will only be required to be AMA members to compete. "I've already gotten sanction applications from Costa Mesa, Glen Helen and Auburn, and I expect to be getting the others in soon," said

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