Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Belgian four-stroke riders took the top two positions at the World Championship SOOcc Motocross Series round in Hawkstone Park, England on May 15. Jacky Martens (Hus) won both motos, while Joel Smets (Ver) went 2-3 for second overall. Swede Marcus Hansson (Hon) and Belgians Ronny Weustenraed (SVM) and Johan Boonen (Kaw) filled out the top five overall. South African Greg Albertyn (Suz) won both motos and the overall at the World Championship 250cc Motocross Series round in Gdynia-Kolibki, Poland on May 15. Finishing second behind the defending champion was Swede Joakim Karlsson (Kaw). American Donny Schmit (Yarn) was third ahead of Belgians Werner DeWit (Suzjand Stefan Everts (Kaw). At the fifth round of the World Championship 125cc Motocross Series in Bellpuig, Spain, on May 15, Italian Alessio Chiodi (Hon) scored the overall win ahead of Frenchman Mickael Pichon (Hon) and -italian Mauro Del'Lago (Hon). American Bob Moore (Yarn) won the second moto, but a moto-one DNF held him to fourth overall. Italian Giorgio Grasso (Yarn) wrapped up the overall win at round two of the World Championship Enduro Series in Servieres Ie Chateau, France on May 1415. Grasso just barely led horne defending 125cc title-holder Paul Edmondson (G-G), after the final loop of the enduro was thrown out when it was discovered that the Italians had helped each other through the tough mud sections. England's Edmondson was not impressed, as he had won the loop and held the overall lead before the decision. Class winners included Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel (Yarn) in the Heavyweight division, Slovakian Jaraslov Katrinak (Hus) in the Lightweight Four-Stroke category, and Finn Kari Tiainen (Hus) in the Heavyweight Four-Stroke class. 1992 World Champion Tommi Ahvala (Fan) was the winner in round three of the World Championship Trials Series, held in Bilstain, Belgium on May 14-15. Angel Garcia (G-G) was the runner-up, followed by Marc Colomer (Bet), Jordi Tarres (G-G) and Takumi Narita (Bet). ' Tarres continues to lead the series point standings with 48. Colomer and Ahvala are tied for second with 47. Defending champion Rodney Smith (Suz) won round four of the AMA National Reliability Enduro Series at Tillamook, Oregon on May 14-15, outlasting Ty Davis (Kaw) and Danny Hamel (Kaw), who unofficially finished second and third overall, respectively. The brutal two-day event saw less than 33% of the Letter-of-Intent riders finish . Honda's Scott Summers, who was corning back from a broken arm, was one of the DNFs after he re-broke the arm on day two . He expects to be out for anothe~ five to six weeks . Series leader Steve e ~ rl Hatch sat out the event with a broken foot and finger, the result of a midweek practice crash at his home in New York. Meanwhile, Coloradoan Kelby Pepper, who has ridden a KTM for the past few years, was back on a Moose Racingbacked Kawasaki at the event. Mikey Dent (H-D) and Paul Pinsonnault (Hon) were the winners in the 800 and 540cc classes, respectively, at the opening round of the AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series in Middlebury, Indiana on May 15. Second in the 800cc class went to Randy Gabriel (H-D) , who was followed by Greg Williams (Hon), Lou Gerencer Jr. (H-D) and Tim Frazier (BSA). In the 540cc division, Ted Wilkins (Rtx), Mike DeBusk (BSA), Alan Hoskins (Hon) and Paul Lowe (Kaw) filled out the top five. . Greg ZiUerkopf (KTM) and Ryan Hughes (Kaw) topped the Pro classes during the Racing Enterprises/Xtreme Commotion by the Ocean 7 at Carlsbad Raceway in Carlsbad, California, on May 14-15. Zitterkopf defeated Mike Young (ATK) and Shaun Kalos (Hbg) for the Sound of Thunder four-stroke crown on Saturday, and Hughes headed James Dobb (Kaw) and Mike Fisher (Kaw) in the combined Pro class on Sunday. Shaun Kalos (Hbg) was the big winner at the White Brothers Four-Stroke World Championships held at Perris Raceway in Perris , California, on May 14-15. Kalos beat Greg Zitterkopf (KTM) and Dave Coupe (Hus) for the overall win. Defending Four-Stroke World Champion Gordon Ward (ATK) suffered mechanical problems and finished 21st overall. I·Filice to race in Austrian GP, , then S anish series A MA 250cc Grand Prix Champion Jimmy Filice (righ t) had more bad luck in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on May 8, where he crashed out of the race after struggling all weekend to find the proper setup for the Marlboro Rainey Yamaha TZM250. But the Californian has been given the opportunity to try again as he will continue to fill in for the injured Kenny Roberts Jr. in the Austrian Grand Prix on May 22. Following the Austrian GP, Filice will race in the Spanish Ducados Open 250cc Series on a Yamaha TZ250 owned by Rainey. "It's good that I'm getting another chance," Filice said from his horne in Modesto, California, on May 16. "We tested for two days in Barcelona (Catalunya) after the Grand Prix and we got the bike sorted out a lot more. The bike's a lot better for me now and hopefully we can go out and do better. Jumping in and trying to do those races was tough. We needed some time to test because the bike was never ridden during the winter. We were playing catch-up and the bike was drastically different every time I rode it. I'm having a lot of fun. Things are going good, and Wayne (Rainey) knows the situation we're in and he has confidence in me. It's tough. You've really got to be prepared." Roberts Jr. is taking longer than anticipated to return from his broken arm, mainly because the break is close to a nerve, and doctors have advised him not to race until he is completely healed. Following the Austrian GP, Filice will stay in Spain for the next two rounds of the Ducados Open Series - May 29 in Jerez and June 5 in [ararna, Those rounds will be done on the production Yamaha TZ250 that Filice won Daytona with. In addition, Filice will be helping out the Haydens, Tommy and Nicky, who are scheduled to compete in the 12Sec class of the Ducados Open series at Jerez and Ja~ma on Yarnahas owned by Rainey. The MSF, along with Iowa motorcycle dealers and operators, opposed the bill. minute. For information, call 619/5621440. Road racer Owen Weichel (Hon) scored his first-ever Canadian National win in the Brampton Cycle Pro Feature race in round two of the 1994 Motoplan Super Series at Shannonville's Motorsport Park's Nelson circuit. Weichel topped Linnley Clarke (Yam) and Neil Jenkins (Yam). The Radisson Hotel and Best Westernl Gateway-Utica have been designated the official race headquarters for the AMA 125/250cc National Motocross round scheduled to run at the Unadilla Valley Sports Center in Edmeston, New York, on June 24-26. For more information call 6071965-8784. The city of Temecula has approved the construction of a quarter-mile banked dirt oval at the Temecula Motorsports Park. The oval will open on May 28 with a dirt-track motorcycle race. For more information call 9091698-4800. According to the event promoters, the , Saturday Night Lightning dirt track series at the 1/5th-mile concrete oval at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis, Indiana, will be televised live on ESPN2. The raceswill be held every Saturday - from May 7 to September 24. Following the recent unveiling of this fall's National Football League schedule, the Mickey Thompson Stadium OffRoad Racing Series has seen two changes. Round six of the eight-event tour, originally set for August in the Pontiac, Michigan, Silverdome, has been cancelled due to unresolvable scheduling conflicts. The event will be held again in early '95. In addition, an October 8 date has been set for this year's season finale, to be held at Denver's Mile High Stadium. "We were anxious to get back to the Silverdome for the first time in several years, but things just didn't work out for an August date," sa id Danny Thompson, who moved from the driver's seat of his Grand National Sport Truck last month to take over as president of MTEG, founded by his late father some 15 years ago. "We'll have to temper our enthusiasm for just a while longer and open up the 1995 season in the 'Motor City' style." CMC will be hosting a free motocross / practice at Sunrise Valley Raceway in Adelanto, California, on Monday, May , 30. The track will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For more information call 619/246-7262. , According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), Iowa Governor Terry Branstad recently signed controversial mandatory rider-education legislation into law last week. The bill will require all first-time applicants for a motorcycle operator license to successfully complete a rider-education course. Blackwater in jgQpardy...again! W hile the Blackwater 100 appeared to be a sure thing just one week ago, the infamous event has already run up against yet another hurdle. The race was first put in jeopardy when the Monongahela Power Company - owner of the normal race site - barred vehicle traf fic on the land. Race promoter Racer Productions had reached a tent ative agreement to hold the race - round eight of AMA's Grand National Cross Country Series - at the Timberline Ski Resort near Davis, West Virginia, but negotiations have reached an impasse since last week. Organizers still have the event scheduled for June 18-19,and are currently seaking a new race site. Stay tuned. The inaugural Kickstart Your Heart charity ride will be held in San Diego , California, on June 26, to raise money and awareness of Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, a non-profit organization that provides surgery to children and young adults afflicted 'w ith congenital birth defects, or deformities that are a result of accidents or abuse. The ride will begin at Harley's House of Harleys in Oceanside, California, and will go to San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium. San Diego Charger place-kicker John Carney is the honorary chairman, and all brands of motorcycles are eligible to participate. For more information call 619/944-1729. Acerbis Adventure called to let us know that they are rapidly approaching their self-imposed l20-rider limit for the August 13-20 Nevada Rally, which will start and finish in Las Vegas, Nevada. The BLM allows 200 riders to compete, but in ord er to all ow adequate hotel space, Acerbis Adventure only accepts 120 entries . They expect to reach that limit soon, so those who plan on entering are advised not wait until the last A congressional subcommittee"considering a highway authorization bill late last week voted to not penalize states that have not implemented mandatory helmet laws, reports the AMA. The last major highway bill, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, included mandates that required states to enact helmet laws by October of last year or face the prospect of hav- . ing some of their highway construction fund diverted. During markup of H.R. 4385, a new highway authorization bill, the House Surface Transportation Subcommittee voted 20-19 to delete the penalty for noncompliance with the federal helet law mandates. As introduced, the bill would have given states an additional year to comply wi th the federal helmet law requirement, but Rep. Tom

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