Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AMA Special Projects Manager Bill Boyce. "There was a need on both sides of the fence to get together. Every rider thinks he can become the next Sam Ermolenko. We needed to provide him w ith a stepping stone to hav e that opportunity." Along those lines, there will be an American Qualifier on the schedule for '94. The race is tentatively scheduled for May 21 at the Ventu ra County Fa ir grounds. For the past two years , the AMA has been forced to see d the top overseas-based American riders into the Overseas Qualifier; leaving the American-based riders with no chance at the World Championship. The last American Qualifier was held in 1991 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Bea ch, California. The San Jose Speedway will be active for the r em ainder of the m onth w it h indoor m in i-bike sho rt track events on February 12, 19 and 26th and with twoman Endu ro-thons on February 13, -20 . and 27th. The 1994 Team Obso lete lineup for Daytona is an impressive one. Dave Roper will race the ex-Jim Redman/Mike Hailwood 1964 Honda RC 164/5 250cc sixcylinder for the first time on American soil during the 350cc GP class during AHRMA action on Monday, March 7. Roper will also race a Matchless G-SO in the 500cc Premier class. John Cra nshaw will debut the ex-Giacomo Agostini 500cc MY Agosta in the 500cc Premier class and will also ri d e a G-50 Matchless in the Classic 60s class. Yvon D uH amel wi ll race a Ducati short-stroke 750 in the Formula 750 class; Don Vesco will compete in the 500cc Premier class on an ex-Hailwood Manx Norton; Pat Moroney will campaign a G-SO and a 1956 AJS 7R; and Jeff Elings will ride a G-SO Matchless dirt tracker in the 500ccPremier class. Silkol en e will post over $90 ,000 in Silkolene Lubricants road race product certifica tes d urin g the 1994 road racing season. Included in the program are the WERA Sp rint Series, AMA /CCS Sprint Series, AF M North , CRA, MRA, O MRRA, THRRA, WMRRA and WSMC. Payouts are as -follows: $50 for first, $25 for second and $15 for third . For more information contact Garry Gallagher at 206/485-7610. The AMA has opened the AMA Travel Desk, a full-service travel agency operating from the AMA's headquarters in Westerville, Ohio. Air travel, motel - reservations, vacation cruises and vehi cle rentals, as well as special tour pack- ages to major AMA even ts, will be among the services offered to association staff, members and racing teams. The agency is being run by Archer Travel Services of Glendale, California. The Motoring Press Association held its annual awards banquet on January 15. AMA 250cc National Champion Jimmy Filice was honored as the "Motorcycle Rider of the Year on a Roa d Co u rse." Ricky Graham accepted the "Motorcycle Rider of the Year on an Oval" award. Ke n n y Roberts was awarded the "Motor Sportsman of the Year" award, for b ringing the United States Grand Prix back to Monterey, California. Road racer-Brian Gib bs will join Todd Ha rringto n and Mike M u rp hy on the American Flyers-backed team for the 1994 racing season. The three will ride Honda CBR600s in the AMA/CCS 600cc Supersport Series. King Hussein of Jo rdan recently purchased two Harl ey-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glides wi th sidecars, an H-D 1200 Sportster, an H-D Dyna Low Rider, an H-D Heritage Softail Classic and a BMW R1100RS from Rockville HarleyDavidson in Gaitersburg, Maryl and, on January 24 . Hussein and h is wife, Queen Noor, we re escorted to the dealership by a motorcade which fea tu red six Washington D.C. police bikes wi th sidecars and 10 other security vehicles. Queen Noor also purchased some Harley-Davidson Motorclothes. The Women's International Motorsports Associa tion has announced tha t their 1994 WIM SA Ladies' Motocross World Cu p will be held Sunday, May 29, at Motorcycle Raceway in.Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Acco rding to the WIMSA, the Pro class will have a purse of at least $1000, and the field w ill consist of top women motocrossers from around th e world . Jamie Pamin tu an, Mercedes Gonzalez a nd Gale We b b will be on hand and ESPN will cover the event. The day before the race, WIMSA and Go nzalez will h o ld . a women ' s mo toc ross school. Pric e has yet to be determined, but reservations should be - made by April 29. For more in formation, contact WIMSA at P.O. Box 3472, Idyllwild, California 9254 9-3472, 909/659-4754. The opening round of the 1994 AMA Wis ec o/Y a ma h a/ Du nl op Grand National Cross Country Series will take place Tuesday, March 8 in Ocala, Florida, as part of Daytona Bike Week. The day before the race, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p .m., the park will be open to AMA announces its biggestever TV acka e ver 17 hours of 1994 television coverage, on four national cable networks, will bring AMA race action to more homes than ever before, according to the AMA. Under agreements outlined by AMA Vice Presi dent of Sports Marketing Tom Mueller, there will be coverage of every event in the AMA U.S. Superbike Championship Series, AMA Cam el Supercr oss Series, AMA 250cc National MX Series and AMA 12Sec National MX Series. In ad dition, the 250cc U.S. MX GP and 10 rounds of the AMA Grand National Championship Series will be telecast to national audiences. - Coverage will be spread amo ng ESPN, Prime Sports Channel, The Nashville Network and ESPN2. "We're extre mely pleased with our unprecedented lineup of televis ion coverage for 1994," said Mueller. "We are committed to providing the best in sports entertainmen t, and believe that the American public is just beginning to realize the tremendous ap peal of AMA road racing, dirt track and motocross." For more information regarding telecast schedules, contact-the AMA at 614/ 891- O 2425. entered ride rs for practice on a special course. Racer Productions will also hold a ba rbecue for riders and teams on March 7. The second round of the series will take place Sun day, March 12, near Su m p ter, So u t h Caro lina. For more information, call 303/594-1157. Raci ng En terprises is gettin g d o wnright romantic. The southern California prom o ter called to inform us that in hon or of Valen tine's Day, gate fee will be half-pri ce for riders' wives and girl friends at the February 12 motocross at Carlsbad Racewa y in Carlsbad, California. For more information call 619/4841441. In his 250cc supercross d ebu t, privateer Lance Smail dis located his elbow at the Anaheim Supercross on Ja nuary 29 when he came up sho rt on a do uble in a preliminary q ualifyin g race . Sm ail underwent surgery and hopes to be back in action in six to eigh t weeks. Dan iel Boon e Motocross Park informs us that due to the arctic conditions that have gripped much of the eastern U.S., their January 30 poker run had to be cancelled. Promoter Jerry H eb el said tha t ru n ning the event would not be wise env ironmen tally, but th at he will continue to work with the United States Fores t Servic e to h ave events in the future . ~ I I As we repor ted las t week , fo rmer Nationa l End u r o C hamp ion Kevin Hines will import end uro-conver te d Honda CRs from Italy in !94. Hines has joined fo rces with Kevin Davis and Dave Burke to form CRE imports. The trio will import "end u roized " bikes in seve ral different displacements, including SOcc (in a 125 chassis), 125, 250, 260 and 500cc, as well as a rally-ready 500cc ve rs ion. With secondary sponsorship fro m Manchester, Connecticut's Manchester Honda, Hines will ride a Honda in the National Enduro Series, selected National Reliability Enduro and NETRA rounds, and the ISDE. For more information, call 303/465-2848. With the Nevada Rally' still half a year away, an air date has already been set for coverage of the event on the Prime Network. The one-hour show will run on Sep tember 15. According-to event promoter Acerbis Adventure, most of the top rally riders will compete in the event wi th American Honda set to field two riders. Italian Davide Trolli, who led much of last su m mer 's Nevada Rally, recently spe nt sev eral da ys at the house of offroad racer D arren San fo rd in San Diego, California. The reason? Trolli wants to race desert in the U.S., so Acerbis USA flew him across the pond to hunt for financi al support. Trolli spoke w ith Kawasaki Team Green, and the discussions repo rtedly went well . Trolli says th at if things go well, he could spend several years in the States. Th e 14th Annual Pre-Da ytona AMA Half-Mile Flat Track will be held Sun da y, February 20 at Devil's Bowl Speedwa y in Dallas, Texas . AHRMA vintage races will be included, as wil l a special 883 Harley-Davidson class and amateur and you th competitions. For more information call 214/216-5520. New Zealand road racer Simon Crafar will rid e a Honda RC45 in thi s yea r's World Championship Superbike Series . Crafar, who competed in portions of the World Superbi ke Ser ies, 500cc Gra nd Prix and 250cc Grand Prix Series in 1993, will ride for Team Rumi . The SageRiders Motorcycle Club' s Na tional Hare & Hound scheduled for April 9 in Jericho, Utah, has been designa ted by all club members to be a benefit race for club secretary Marilyn Tipton and her daughter, Megan, who were both injured on January 30th when their vehicle was struck by a train. The day after receiving her number one plate in the Beginning Womens class, Marilyn Tipton was unable to stop her car at a railroad crossing near Mapleton, Utah, because of icy road conditions. The car struck a passing train and Megan Tipton was ejected 80 feet and has been unconscious since the accident. Marilyn Tipton, m eanwhil e, suffered a broken ankle . Sage Rid er s MC is asking for donatio ns to help offset th e Tipton's medical bills. Donations can be sent to SageRiders, a tte ntion Allen Ge rber, 12717 S. 125 East, Draper, UT 84020. Kohj i O h ka wa ra, the Japanese motocrosser who broke both his arms at the Las Vegas Supercross last year, was supposed to return to action for this year's AMA Supercross Series but, so far, has been a no-show. According to Ji m Holley, who helps sponsor the Yamaha rider while he is in the U.S., Ohkawara suffered another injury to his arm at the Tokyo Supercross in December . He is expected to return to action soon. BORN: Christopher Wayne Mertens, son of former Grand National Champions hi p Series con tender Tim Me rte ns and his wife Margaret, in Bellevu e, Illinois, Jan uary 7. MOVED: Race West Productions, Inc., to 1200 North Bars ten Way, An ah eim, CA 92806, 714 / 632-7 070 (p h o ne ), 714/632-1060 (fax). Race Wes t Prod uctions is promoting the LA Superbike Championship, the third round of the AMA U.S. Superbike National Championship scheduled for April 10 in Pomona, California. CORRECTI ON: In our coverage of the opening round of the AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Series at Lucerne Valley, we incorrectly listed Billy Fullmer as the winner of the Four Stroke A class. Honda's Jeff Capt officially won the class. Fullmer finished second. BO RN : Grayson Stone Quay, to Pro Action Suspension's George Quay and his wife Julie, on Januar y 4 in Bea ver Falls, Pennsylvania. APPOINTED: Dean Swims, as account executive for Extension Express, a receivables management company based in Chamblee, Geo rgia. Swims, a two-time WERA National Champion, will be concentrating his efforts in servicing motorcycle rela ted industry accounts. For more information call 800/742-8799. BORN: Sarah Marie Moore, to Thomas Moore and his fiancee Cathy Hoff, on January 12 in Santa Monica, California. "

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