Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.TEARDOWN . By Paul Carruthers . : ' . t didn't really surprise me m u ch w hen one o f the European soccer teams mandated a no-sex rule for its players during th e upcoming World Cup that will be played 'th rough out the US. After all, the theory that sex weakens the legs has been around for a long time - and there's really nothing of mo re importance to a soccer player than having strong legs. If I was a budding soccer s ta r and someone told me that no sex equals stronger legs, then I'd be prepared to go w itho ut for a few weeks. No w there's new s from Europe that the Italian Ducati team has banned their mechanics from partaking in the use of alcohol during World Superbike weekends. Again; that's fair enough. After all, the last thing you need is a hungover mechanic trying to fig u re out which computer chip to put in your fuel-injection management system. "Pardon me , Luigi, zee en gine, she seemsa to bea running a bit richa." The latest news to come from the World Superbike circuit is that the Castrol Honda team has banned the w ives and girlfriends of its mechanics from the races. So this becomes th e case of the sex-less mechanics. Hmmmm. My question is this - do these guys at least get to drink? The Ducati guys have it bad enough. I No wine w ith lu nc h. No vo d ka w ith dinner. Not even a beer with their afternoon sna ck. But the Honda crew - that's a no ther s to ry entirely. No sex a t the races: before, during, or even after. So what we have is this: In one corner of th e paddock sits the d ru nk-less Du cati team from Italy, and in another corner w e ha ve the sex-free Ca stro l Honda team from England . Both are battling for the ru nner-up pos ition in th e World Su p erbi ke Champ ionship. Mean while, those drunk and sex-erazed Ame rican guys on the Muzzy Kawasaki team are well on their wa y to their second-straigh t title. Oka y, the soccer thing I can unders tand. You know, s tro ng leg s, lottsa go als, bl ah, blah, blah. But these mechanic s don't run . ' I know , I' ve watched 'em. The only time these guys need strong legs is in a downpour five minutes before the first practice session - when they realize they don't have any rain tires mounted. And they're 250 ya rd s from the Dunlop or Michelin truck. There are other ramifications to this no sex thing with mechanics. This is a s u bjec t that hits me pretty hard . If there's such a thing as the trickle-up theory, then I really have to start worrying about my father. Since he works for an Italian Grand Prix team, th e d rinkin g thing will likely hit his team firs t. Tha t won't be a problem because he's a defi- nit e prac tice r of teetotalism. The sex thing? Well, that could end up making him a bit grumpy after a whil e. And then there' s th e matter o f my m e r e ex is te nce. Way back w hen, mecha nics and rid ers were one and the same. You wo rked on you r own bik e, and you raced your own bike. Dad fell right in to this catagory . So th er e' s an extremely good chance I was conceived at a motorcycle race. Think abou t that for a minute. No sex at the races. No tittle Paul. And somebody else is w riting the drivel that you ' re reading now. Maybe the w ho le idea of not allowing women in the pits isn 't abou t sex at all. Maybe it's just the distraction factor. After all, just how competen t can youn g Tre vor .be if he' s staring at Elizabeth while he's polis hing the top of a piston? And you can bet this whole thing w ith illegal fuel could have been av oid ed if there were no distractions in the pits. "Pardo n me, old boy, you seem to be addi ng a tad too much diene to young Aaron's petrol tank . And you over yonder, Stuart, you appear to be lopping off a bit too m uch from the crown of th at piston ." Okay, so at least one team has effec- ti vely ruined the sex lives of its m ech an ics w h il e making certain th at they are the most focused group of wrench turners in the world. I'm certa in all involved will survive and this will give us an opportunity to find ou t what the long- term effects of s tro n g-le gged, keenly fo cuse d mechanics w ill be. So now that we've es ta blis hed a tr end that m ay see all fu tu re racing mechanics sober and screwing onl y via a flat-head or a Phillips, what's next? Will teams requi re riders to remain sex-free for the entire season? This may not be so bad for a short series, perhaps the WERA Pro Series or even the AMA U.S. Superbike National Championship, but a 15 or 16 round series might prove to be a bit tough. The motocross guys would have it the toughest - with 15 supercross and 12 outdoor events. Not to mention the off-season s u percr oss races in Europe and Japan. That's a whole lot of no sex. And those guys are young and in their prime... At least these motocross guys need strong legs, but road racers? Since when do they need extremely strong legs? The key body part to controlling a road racer is the right wrist. Whoa, wa it a minute. Maybe they are on to something... ~ .> ....· ···IN H fromIN3..'. . ·Continued D ·T E.W :: motocrosser Scott Myers and Jason Ack of the Racer's Edge, for an evening of fun at the LaSierra Restaurant and Cantina, June 24. Myers and Ack are introd ucin g a new line of casual a p p a rel dubbed Pain Wear, and are sponsoring a "not-so-dry T-shirt contest." A live band will provide the atmosphere, and there .will be no cover charge . For more information call 805/582-9495. will run separately. For more information, call 909/ 985-1287. Ru ss Wageman's Pit Pro will b e on hand at the Mammoth Mo untain MX track from June 17-26, and w ill have a complete line of tires and accessories for sale. Wageman reports that he will hav e a large inventory of carburetor jets available. For more information call 805/2555101. Mik e You ng called to let us know that Pro-elass riders in his Sound of Thunder Four-Stroke Series will run against the O pen Pro division at th e Mammoth Mountain MX. "They said they wanted to, so I called thei r bluff," said Young. "We took a vote, and the decision was to ru n with the two-s troke guys . They wan t to show that four-strokes can compete heads-up against the big boys."The Open Pro race is sched uled for June 24. As usual, the Four-Stroke Amateur class If you are a present or former member of the Cal Poly Penguins Motorcycle Club, and you' d like to see some worldclass trial s competition, give a ca ll to Kelly Sh ane in Truckee, Ca lifornia, at 916/587-6065. A former presid ent of the club, Shane is ho sting a Pengu in reunion in conjun ction with the June 1819 World Championship Trials round that wi ll be held at nearb y Donner Pass, California. 2S Y SAGO... EAR July1 ,1969 Just how hot was the Jun e 11 Las Vegas Su p ercross? Well, Me ta ge nics had a booth set up in the pits, and they wen t th r ou g h 100 gallons of thei r Endura sports drink. CORRECTION: We inadverta ntly listed an incorrect ph one number for N-Style, the number, graphics and casual wear company, in ou r Ho nda CR250 Project Bike article. The correct phone number is 805/294-1118. ished second to Rodney Sibl ey in the 68 year-old, five horsepower class at Sad dleback Park... ~ ~ =, . ike and Ste ve ' ffI -;"'~ 'lie .' Bas t swept '- .itthe Expert '''~ div ision at the Bay . ,Ma r e Scramblers '. ' . TT, held at Ba y "i~''''' ' Ma re Raceway in ~I -'- -'''-"''''; Sou th ern Califor- . J,." "..•."""" "......:,,-:;;:;' ni a, A few Open-elass . . ........ . race rs m issed their race because the promoters hadn't marked the race lineup sheet correctly. To make up for the mistake, the Scramblers refunded the riders' money and gave them plenty of free track time to play... Don Emler p ilo ted his #347 Suzuki to the 100cc Sp or ts m a n class win at Sadclleback . Park... Bill Cody topped the Handicap main at Cos ta Mesa Speedway, notchu g his first-ever win... Jeft Wa rd fin - M r r.. ::· A UTOGRAPH SIGN ING : At Plano Fun Center in Plano, Texas, on Sa tu rda y, June 18 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Team Su zu ki's Da mon H uffman and Jim my Bu t ton a re sc heduled to a p pea r. For mo re information call 214/422-4111. BOR N: Bradley Jame s Wri gh t, to Clymer Publications tec h nical writer a nd former Suz uki racing servi ce supervisor " Every thi ng 'S coming together," w as the headline; Sun was contest in g hi s first full season of 500cc World ChampirT;7;T:r.-a""';~_ onship MX . Sadly, Crippa broke his knee w hile playing tennis just 1S YEARS AGO... before the interview went to press... June 27,1979 Rick Joh nso n wo n th e 125cc Pro clas s at OCIR MX ab oard a Su zuki k i p Aksland, Ri ch RMl25... An ad for the Carerra liqSchlachter and Ge ne uid Energy System pictu red Jimmy Ro m e ro stood atop Elli s wearing a helthe podium after round 10 m e t and Carerra ! -!Jj~ ; . « - t , of the AMA Grand Nationgoggles, w ith the ,' - ' - ' - . .::.L:J..Jj al Championship/Winston Energy System face ,; ;;;;0;:;;;;.-. ... " ..::.: Cup Pro Series 750cc Expert final a t mask attach ed to the 1::;;:;," : Loudon Raceway... Marty Tripes and goggles. A w ater- j ..... Gaylon Mosi er swep t the 250 and 500cc fi lled bla d d e r was i . classes, respectively, at the Sears Poin t s t r a p p ed to the !. National MX... Bern ie Sch reiber ba lrider's chest, with a .-::.,:;:;.;;; .. .. anced his factory Bultaco to the Wagner h o se r outed up ~.;:::: ..-::::::. . _, Cup, U.S. round of the Wor ld Champith r o ug h the neck .. _ -..,.. onship Trials Series... An interview with .. of his jersey an d attached Team Husqvarna's Chuck Sun and his to the facemas k. Nice... mechanic, Eric Cri p pa, was featured . S .... _ Ron Wright and his wife Penny in Clovis, California, on May 24. CHANGED: The ride hea dquarters for the Countdown Mammoth 300 Nationa l Dual Sport Rid e, June 25-26, has been changed to the Motel 6 (800/437-7486) in Mammoth Lakes, California. Also, event promoter Jerry Counts is requesting that if you are planning to post enter, he would appreciate a phone call to let him know; he needs to get a head count for Saturday's lunch and dinner. For more information call Countdown at 818/348-8381. AUT OGRAPH SIGNING: At the New England Cycle Center in Hartford, Connecticut on Jun e 24 from 6:00 p.m to 8:00 p .m. Tea m Suzuki' s Brian Swink, Phil Lawrence, Damon Huffman, Jimm y Button and Ezra Lu sk are sched u le d to a p p ea r. For more info rma ti o n ca ll 203/527-0822 . ~ SYEAR G ... SA O June 21,198 9 eff Sta n to n capped o ff his first supercross championship-winning season in style by racing awa y with the w in at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while his Honda team ma te Mike Ki edrowski took home $10,000 for winning the 125cc Camel Shootout... Raym ond Roche upset the Americans at the Brainerd World Superbik e. Series round, topping Fabrizio Pirovano and Fred Merkel. Rich O li ver top p ed the 250c c GP cla ss aboard a Ra n d y Mam ol a-sponsored Yam aha TZ250 ... Kevin Sch w an tz won the Austrian 500cc GP abo a rd his Pepsi Suzuki... Jean-Michel Bayle sw ept both motos at the 250cc MX GP in Holland, stretching his moto-win streak to five. Bayle rode' most of the second moto with a flat rear . tire. Broc Glover finish ed 12th overall aboard a KTM....~ J

• Cover