Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

and operated by the Skip Barber racing organization, is a 12-race series that features racing between drivers in equal, open-wheel race cars. Harley-Davidson Twin Sports Rookie of the Year Joe Winston has inked a contract with Skip Ford yke Harley-Davidson in Riverside, California, for the 1994 Harley-Davidson Tw in Sports Seri es. Winston will compete in bo th the road race and dirt track series aboard Kent Truman/ Bob Merrick-tu ne d Ha rleys. Winston will also compete in the AMA 600cc National Championship aboard a Shell Racing/Shell Thuett-tuned WoodRotax. Long-time dirt track photograp her Vic Ebbutt die d on February 7 after a long bo ut with cancer. Ebbutt, 72, of Seattle, Washington, was a fixture at race tracks in the Northwest. The Europ ean Parliament again rejected the prop osed 100 horsepower limit for motorcycles, in a vote held on February 9. This time the rejection was even more clear cut: 300 v o tes for rejection, 34 agains t the rejection, and 13 absten tions. The third an n ua l Ride For Kids will take begin in Dana Point, California , and will end at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California, on March 27. The ri de raises money to fight pediatric brain tumors. The ride will also feature a vintage mo torc ycle exh ibiti on at the Dana Point Plaza on Saturda y, March 26 from noon to 5:00 p.m. Road racer Michael Barnes will rid e a Team Moto Uberty Honda RS250 in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series this year. The Floridian will also ride for Moto Liberty in the AMA /CCS GTU Challenge Series abo ard a Honda CBR600. Moto Liberty won the GTU Championship in 1992 and 1993. According to a press release from Moto Liberty, the team will ha ve official support from American Honda from both the endurance and 250cc effort. In addition, American Honda and HRC have enlisted the services of Moto Liberty to promo te and de velop 125cc GP racing in the United States. For more information contact Moto Liberty at 214/242-6440. Doma ha s announced it s permanent officials for the 1994 FlM World Champ ionship Road Race Series. Roberto Nosetto will continue as race d irector; technical director Jack Findlay, safety officer Hans Baumer and press officer Dennis Noyes have all be reappointed for a third season in their respective posts. Dr. Claudio Macchiagodena will replace Dr. Peter Richards as co-medical director along with Giancarlo Caroll, Paul 'Butl er continues for a third season in his position as IRTA delegate to the permanent Event Managment Committtee chaired by Nosetto. Dorna press officer Dennis Noyes has confinned that the United States Grand Prix will again be held at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, in C1. September. Accord ing to Noyes, Dorna 0\ and KR Sports Promotions, the Kenn y ~ Roberts-owned company, will soon be signing a three-year contract with the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) that will guarentee the continuation of the event. 2 The Glen Aelen Grand Prix, scheduled for March 27 at the Glen Helen OHV Parkin San Bernardino, California, will feature an expanded 12-mile cours e that. features new pavement, sand was h and fire road sections. In addition, a night race will be run on a sho rtened course on March 26. For entry information call Mike Parrott at 714/990-0193. There w as an alterca tion in th e p it s between AMA's pro racing director Roy Janson and Kawasaki's race team manager Roy Turner foll owin g th e 250cc main even t at the Tam pa Supercross on February 12. A question over the legality of Mike Kied rowski's Kawasaki was the top ic of a heated discussion between the two. Evidently, Kiedrowski's KX250 weighed in under the AMA's mini mum weig ht allowance - following a routi ne tech ins pection fo ll ow ing the ra ce despit e th e fac t th at both bikes we re dee med legal before the evening's pr ogra m. Accord ing to Turner, Kiedrowski's Kawasa ki tipped the scales at 217.5 pounds before the race but was under the 216-pound limit after the race, raising questions as to the accuracy of the AMA's scales. "We've been using the sa me bike a ll season and haven't changed anythin g, so I knew the scales weren't righ t," said Turner. "We d idn't cha nge a nything d uring the day; we migh t' ve lost some coola nt during the race, but w e're all owed to replace coolant and oil if any had been lost dur, ing the race. We relocated the scales five or six times and each time we got a different reading. One or two times it was over the limit, and three or four times it was under. In front of the other tea m managers and mechanics, Roy Ganson) kept saying that our bikes were illegal. , but he said it in a derogatory way: he was talking down to me and was getting bo isterous. All of th is sho ul d've been handled in private instead of ou t in the open. Thin gs started getting emotional. I knew I was right and the only imp act I . had was to get back in his face; no diffe re n t than he wa s t rea ti ng m e. I stepped up, put a finger in his chest and backed him up three steps. That scared everybody, but I had to make my point. I was just as confident on my end as he was on his. I popped a gasket; I was pissed. He sat down; then we decided to relocate the scales to the exact same spot that we had we ighed our bikes in the morning, and both times they came out above the limit. Afterwards we both apologized. We were both wrong in how we acted , but I just knew we were leg al and I didn't know what else to do." "Th ere really w as no incident," said Roy Janson when questioned about the a rg um en t . ~' W e had some problems with the scales. He (Turner) didn't like a comment that I made and th ings got vocal. He stepped ove r, got close, and spoke. I backed up and we dealt with the scales. Things got emotional, it was a tense situation. He was doing what he had to do. It was no big deal." The newest Roberts to take to road racing is the youngest son of three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts - Kurtis. The 15-year-old Californian will race a Yamaha TZl25 in the Open Ducados Serie s in Spain, beginning with the opening round of the series in Albacete, Spain, on February 27. Kenny Roberts Jr. suffer ed a broken ann while riding a Honda XR100 at the Roberts ranch in Hickman, Cali fornia, last week. Roberts Jr. was preparing for his assault on the 250cc World Championship w hi ch beg ins in Australia on March 27. At press tim e, it wa s not known how long the injury would keep . n , ~ , ,, Roberts out of action. . At the February 5 San Diego Supercross, word was circulating in the pits that it would be the last supercross the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group would be promoting at Jack Murphy Stadium. MTEG director of press re lations Tony Gardea ca lle d to inform u s that th e ru mors we re jus t tha t - rumors. "The race was great, just like it always is," 'said Gardea. "It's a great stadi um, we ha d a good track, the fans are enthusiastic. Why wo uld we wan t to stop having a supercross in San Diego?" As we reported last week, Davide TrolIi recen tly underwent negotiat ions wi th Kawasaki Team G ree n . Th e talks apparently went well, so well tha t the Italian off-road sta r ha s signed a deal and will ri d e Kawasakis in se ve r al major races in the U.S. this year. Tro lli has returned home , but will be back in tim e to ri de the March 26 Teca te En d uro in Baja Californ ia, Me xico. Speaking of Teca te, fo r me r 125cc National MX Champion Guy Cooper is planning to ride the event. Chris Young, who last year raced a very trick Honda XR in the Sound of Thunder Four-Stroke MX Series, has signed a deal with ATK for '94. Young will ride a 605cc four-s troke. If you enjoy this week's story on the Tampa Su percros s. : thank Davey Coombs, who agreed to cover the even t for Cycle New s at the last minute. Contributor Henny Ray Abrams had originally intended to cove r the event, but his flight was cancelled due to snow, and Coombs stepped in to fill the void. Thanks, Davey (even if you did push our dead line to the limits). Multi-time CMC n umber-one p lateholder Pe te Murray sustained a seriously broken lower right leg in a practi ce crash on February 6, and und er w ent s u r ge ry to ha ve se veral metal pl ates and multiple screws ins tert ed later that night. " I wa s practicing at a secret track and some goon T-boned me out of nowhere," said Murray, who is unsure when he will return to action. Cards and letters may be sent to Murray at 13791 Milan St., Westminster, CA 92681. BORN: Cole Shane Shobert, to former Grand National Champion Bubba Shobert and his wife Tara, in Monterey, California, on February 8. CORRECTION: Last week's issue incorrectly said that the AMA 's new telev ision ,package would include over 17 hours of coverage. The package actually includes over 70 hours of coverage. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Moore & Sons Motorcycles in Santa Cruz, Californi a, on February 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 p .m . Off-road racers Jeff Russell and Scott Harden are schedule to appear. For more infonnation call 408/475-3619. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At the Internationa l Motorcycle Show in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 25 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Team Honda/I-800 COLLECT's Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Stanton, St eve Lamson and Doug Henry a re .scheduled to appear at the Roswell Fun Machin es d isplay. In addition, Roswell Fun Ma ch ines will be raffling off a three- fo ot by s ix-foot banner autographed by the Team Honda ride rs. For more infonnation call 404/442-8460. MARRIED: Fastline / MCM Racing team owner an d part-time road racer Je ff Stern to long-time girlfriend Paul Meyer, on Febru ary 5 in Los Angeles, California. APPOINTED: Sudco International of Los Angeles, California, as a new distributor of GaUer Braking Systems. For more infonnation call 213/ 747-5173. OPEN HOUSE: At West Coast British/ West Coast British Racing in Livermore, Ca lifornia, on March 20. West Coast British will be joined in the open house by HI< Cycles and Valley Machine. For more information call 510/606-8301. STO LEN : A 1984 Hig h Po int trail e r (Florida tag BX859V) and a 1994 Suzuki RMI 25 (#JS1RFI4A6R200162) from the Tamp a Stadium Holi day Express on February 12, 1994. For more infonnation call Kyle Myers at 904/ 732-8531. MOVED: Sou th we st Mo torsp or ts, to , 233 1 W. Hampden Ave., Unit 119, Englewood, CO 80110. The new phone numbers are as follows: 303/781-4483 and 303/781-4 599 (fa x). Southwes t Motorsports speciali zes in two-stroke engine development and performance prod ucts for road race, street, off-road, personal watercraft and other two-cycle applica tions. Southwest Mo torsports also fi el d s a successful AMA 250 cc Grand Prix team, which will featu re Danny Walker in 1994. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Kawasaki of Bloomington in Bloomington, Indiana, on March 18 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Team Kawasaki's Mike Kiedrowski and Mike LaRocco are scheduled to appear. For mo re in for ma ti on, call 812/3390199. Kiedrowski and LaRocco.are also schedule to sign autographs at Charlotte Honda Yam aha Kawasaki in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 25 from 6:00 to 8:00 p .m . For information on the _ Charlotte signings, call 704/394-7301. CORRECTION: In last week's coverage of the San Diego Supercross, we incorrect1y reported that Dino Keyes was the track's designer, when in fact it was Glenn Scott who laid out the cou rse. Scott builds all of ,the supe=oss tracks for MTEG-promoted events (Anaheim, 5an Diego, Seattle and-Las Vegas), as well as the Ultracross tracks in the MTEG Off-Road Grand Prix Series. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At SLO City Cycles in San Luis Obispo, California, on Febrary 18th from 6-9 p.m. Kawasaki Team Green riders Larry Roeseler, Danny Hamel and Ty Davis are scheduled to appear. CORRECTION: We published the wrong phone number for infonnation on the Racer Productions-sponsored trail ride that will take place in conjunction with the March 8 Grand National Cross Country in Ocala, Florida. The correct number is 304/594-1157. APPOINTED: Rich Walsh, as operations manager of O'Neal USA, the Chatsworth, California-based off-road apparel company. Walsh most recently served as the company's director of purchasing and international sales manager. CHANGED: The name of the Women's Motorsport Association to the Women's International Motorsport Association. The group is now a non- pro fit, mutual benefits organization. Contact WIMSA at P.O. Box 3472, Idyllwild, California 92549-3472,909/659-4754) 11\ .nloom C'

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