Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1 ,· : :.I N·;jH·~:W·IN[f·: ,.'·,. According to the AMA, Idaho has become the last state to require a motorcycle operator's permit, thanks to legislation recently signed into law by Idaho Gov . Cecil Andrus. Senate Bill1450 also provides for a state-wide rider education system. The new law goes into effect on September 1. After that date, Idaho motorcyclists wishing to obtain their operator's pennit must pass a motorcycle test before their current licenses expire. "The passage of S.B. 1450 goes along perfectly with the AMA's long-standing philosophy that the key to safer motorcycling is a combination of proper licensing techniques and quality rider education," said Robert Rasor, vice president of government relations for the AMA.,"We believe the passage of this law will provide a great benefit to current and future Idaho motorcyclists." Shirley Grigsby, 56, pa ssed away on March 24 after a long bout with cancer. Grigsby was a fixture at Southern Californian motorcycle races in the early 70s and is the mother-in-law of three-time World Champion Wayne Rainey. Grigsby is survived by her husband Don, a son, Don [r., two daughters, Sherry and Shae, and four grandchildren. According to a press release from White Brothers, the Benetton Formula One car racing team has signed an exclusive contract to use WP Suspension for the 1994 World Championship Series. World En durance Champi on D o ug Toland ha s bec ome a sp okesm an for PowerBar sport s energy bars and h is Moto Sport Couruevien motorcycles will be sponsored by the PowerBar. Toland will begin defense of his world title at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on April 16-17. Toland isn't the only racer receiving backing from PowerBar. According to a press release, PowerFood, Inc., w ill also back Team Roberts ' Sete Gibernau and Jose Baresi as they contest the Ducados Spanish Open series in Spain. TravelCraft has been named an associate member and official travel agent for the American Motorcycle Racing Teams Association (MRTA), the AMA superbike tearns owner's group. Two of the horses th at won races a t Sportsman Park in Chicago, illinois, on March 24 have familiar names to motorcycle racin g fans . The winner of the sixth race was Ron Wood, while F1yin' Flea won the eighth race. As part of a major reorganization at the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group, Danny Thompson has become the new president of MTEG, succeeding G ary Campbell, who will now serve as chairman of the group's board of directors. Thompson , the son of the late Mickey Th ompson wh o founded the company, has resigned as a driver for the factory backed Ford Rough Rider off-road racing team to devote his efforts to th e da ily op erations of th e Anaheim, Californi abased company. Ca mpb ell replaces his wife, Coll en e Thompson Campbell, as chairman of the board , allowing her to devote more time to her growing responsibilities as mayo r of San Juan Capis tra~ no , Ca lifo rnia . MTEG has also "" announced th at it has d issolved its in cr l hou se mark eting d ep artm en t and has contracted the Morgan / Frey Ag en cy wh ich will handle all marketing, advertising, media buying and special promol-< tions beginning April 1. -... ~ 2 Brattin Moto rs of San Diego, California, will offer demo rid es on the new BMW RllooGS on Saturday, April 16. Larken Wright w ill be on hand along w ith the BMW he will use to compete in this year's Nevad a Rally. For more informati on call 619/286-1971. Representatives from Vans on Leat hers will be on hand at the AMA U.S. Superbike National Championsh ip round in Pomona, California, on April 8-10 to perform free crash-damage repairs to Vanson racing suits. The repair sta tion w ill be located in the pits, close to Dale Quarterley's Team Mirage pit. According to Don Amador, the vice president of the BlueRib bon Coalition, 8500 white fir and suger pine seedlings were planted at the site of the 1992"Cleveland" fire near Placerville, California, on April 2 "This event was co-sponsored by the BlueRibbon Coalition, AMA 0-36, California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the California Enduro Riders Association," Amador said. "This family-oriented event gives us a chance to give something back to the great outdoors that we enjoy so much." The Daytona Su pe rcross by Honda will air on The Nashville Netw ork's American Sports Cavalcade on April 10 at 12:00p.m. (all times are Eastern) and again on May 29 at 5:00 p.m. The Daytona 12Scc Eastern Regional Supercross will air on April 23 at 4:00 p.m., with a repeat showing on May 8 at 12:00 a.m, The lOOk 600cc International Supersport Challenge will air on April 17 at 12:00 a.m. The re will also be tw o rep lays of the Daytona 200 by Arai in May. The race will be aired on May 1 at 5:00 p.m., and again at 12:00 a.m. on May 15.Check your local listings. For those wh o plan ahead, Camel Motorcycle Week '95 in Daytona Beach, Florida, will be held on March 3-12. Dan Mah ony, whose Class C racing photography has graced the pag es of nearly every major motorcycle pub lication in the country, will host a "motel picture party" during the weekend of the Pomona Half Mile in Pomon a, California, on May 13-15. On tho se three days, thousands of flat track, TT, short track and road race ph otos taken over the past four decades by Dan and his famous father, Walt, will be displayed. A selection of vintage NASCAR and sprint car racing ph otos will also be on hand, along with drop-in visits by racers past a nd present. For informa tion, reques ts and reservations, call Mahony at 800/277-5037. Acerbi s Ad ventures has anno unced the entries of two of Russia's top rally riders in th is year's Nevad a Rall y. Alex Nifontov and Sergi Povarov will race Cagiva Elephants in the rally which will be held on August 13-20 in Las Vega s, Nevada. Randy Slaughter, 53, suffered a fatal heart attack on March 30. Slaughter was a longtim e motorcyclist and father of Tea m Am erica end urance team owner Frank Slaughter . Randy was also a past p resident of the Nati onal Capitol Moto rcycle Club, formed in 1903 in Washington D.C. Ca r d s a nd lette rs may be sent to the Slaughter family at 8410 Rose Marie Dr., Fort Washington, MD 20744. Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, West Virginia , will host open tune an d test days on April 28, June 22 and July 21. Pre-registration is required along with a valid road racing license and race-wired motorcycles . For more information call Roger Lyle at 301/933-2599. TravelCraft is now accepting hotel reser- Ferrac Ducatis okay'd by ci AMA; Muzzy plans appeal and secon d T R ----=-ro--=--=-te--=--::.st _ he protest filed by Muzzy Kawasa ki' s Takahiro Schwa against the Fast By Ferracci Ducatis of race-winner Troy Corser and his teammate Pascal Picotte at the Phoenix Intern ational Raceway round of the AMA U.S. Superbike National Championship has been denied by the AMA. The protest questioned the legality of the Fast By Ferracci team's use of the kits sold by Ducati to update its 88&c motorcycles to 955cc superbikes . "We ha ve concluded that all parts are proper," AMA national technical manager Merrill Vanderslice sa id on Monday, April 4. "The cases , the cylinders...my understanding is that the referee Gerry McHale) will deny the protest. We're waiting right now to receive a fax from Jerry. After Mr. Sohwa is notified , he will have 48 hours to file an appeak.He'll be notified as soon as the denial comes through from the referree. "All the parts on the Ducati are made by Ducati. They can be bought, either completely assemble~ piece by piece, to make an 888 a 920 or a 955. It's an upgrade r package, a kit. Peo e are looking at the rule book for things tha t aren't there. They are living back in the ea Iy 80s when homologation on superbikes was like it is in Supersport now. That's no the case - it's more open now in Superbike. This is the prernier class in U.S. road racing and it requires different homologation these days. " Immediately folloWing the Phoenix round of the series, the AMA impounded Corser and Picotte's engi nes and the following day issued a pres s release that stated that the bore and stroke of th~ two engines were legal accord ing to AMA rules. The AMA had to wait until late last week, however, to get production engine castings to verify the legality of the cylinder and crankcase castings on the Ferracci bikes. Muzz y Kawasa ki' team owner Rob Muzzy says he will file an appeal to prevent the Phoenix results from becomin g final, and will also file another protest after the AMA U.S. Sup erbike Series round in Pomona, California, on April 10. "It's just begun." Muzzy said on Monday, April 4. "Now the AMA has established what the mo torcycle is. They've said it's a homol ogated motorcycle - a '94955 Corsa. Now we'v e got the gro und rules , and now we're going to protest that they did n't meet th e (accepted) homolo gation procedure, (which) requires that the motorcycles are licensed somewhere in the world with lights for street use. That motorcycle does not meet tha t requiremen t. We've contacted nearly every Ducati dealer in the North America. Sixty percent of them had no id ea what we were talking about, and 30 percent stated that it was a one-off motorcycle hand-built by Ferracci. Right now we're contacting other countries. If it's ava ilable in an y country with that bore and stroke for street use and there are 50 of them, then it's legal. There is no country, including Italy, where that machine is street legal. Now that we know wh at it is, we 're trying to buy one . "If I had enoug h money, I'd by 43 of them, because there's no wa y he (Eraldo Ferracci) could p roduce them. He cou ld probably build three or four of them. I knew what they (the AMA) would do, and they've done that. They've said that it is a 1994 Ducati 955. Now there has to be 50 of them - sold for street use . The seven that he's already sold don't count becau se they weren't sold for street use . Everybody knows it's a oneoff bike and it's stupid to not do anything abou t it. As far as I'm concerned, when I protest it, the burden of proof will fall on Ducati . The paperwork they submitted is not for a moto rcycle. Ducati told them it's a kit, but the rules don't allow kits to be homologated . You can 't change the stroke of a homologated motorcycle. There is no 888 Corsa with a 66mm stroke. If I was him (Ferracci), I'd go back to using a 926, back to using a motorcycle that's really a motorcycle; either that, or homologate the 916." vations for the United States Grand Prix, scheduled for Laguna Seca Racewa y in Monterey, California, on September 9-11. TravelCraft claim they have hundreds of rooms, though very few of those are in the economy category. For more information call 800/24 1-1223. Superrnono races will be held at five of th e 12 ro u nd s o f the World Champion sh ip Superbike Series, accord ing to the Flammini Group, promo ters of the series. The races for single-cylinder fourstrokes will be held at the opening round at Donington Park in England on May 2, the Italian round at Misano on May 29, the Austrian round at the Osterreichring on July 17, the Dutch roun d at Assen on Sep tember 11 and at the second Italian round in Mugello on September 25. Noted motorcycle artist Hector Cademartori has cr ea te d th e a rt work for th e AMA's 1994 membership incentive band an a. The bandana is ava ilable only to those who join the AMA or renew their me mb er ship at selecte d ro unds of th e AMA U.S. Sup erbik e National Championship during the '94 season. This year's bandan a de picts 1993 AMA Superbik e National Champion Doug Polen lead ing Dale Quart erley and Miguel DuHa mel, the finishing order in the '93 series poin t standings. The bandanas will be available at the Laguna Seca (May 20-22), New Hampshire International Speedwa y (Iune 17-19 and Mid-Ohio (luly 15-17) rounds of the series. Austrian road racer Andy Meck lau will ride an HRC-supported Honda RC45 in the 1994 World Championship Superbike Series, according to a press release issued by his team. As motocross teams and riders continue to search for that elusive outside-ind ustry sup po rt, Bob Luketic, 'a local p ro from Ohio, has landed a rather uniqu e sponsor. Luketic, 22, receives assistance from the Oregon Mint Snuff Company, manufacturer of a tobac co-less s n uff th a t is designed to help "dippers" kick the habit. Luketic has been contesting selected east coa st s u percr osses aboard a Su zu ki RMI25 that is decked out in the company 's g re e n, white an d yellow color scheme. If you're interested in kicking the snuff habit, Luketic suggests giving his sponsor a call. Their number? 1-800-EATMINT, not to be contused with that of the Honda team's sponsor, 1-BOO-COLLECT. In the World Cha mpionship MX Series manufacturers points race, Honda will not be ea rning any poin ts fr om Belgian

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