Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Tarres tops at Donner F ive-time World Champion Jordi Tarres earned his 51st career win at the seventh round of the World Championship Trials Series, held at Donn er Ski Ranch in Norden, California, on June 25-26. The Gas-Gas-mounted Spaniard was easily the top rider of the weekend, as his 18-point score was eight better than those of Joan Pons and Tommi Ah va la. Gas-Gas rid er Pons and 1992 World Champion Ahv ala ended the w eekend tied with 26 points each, but Pons was awarded the runner-up position by virtu e of his better Day-One score. . Tarres' win allowed him to pull even further clear in the series point standings. He now enjoys a comfortable 35-point lead over Fantic rider Ahvala, 128-93. Tarres' oth er early-season title rival, Marc Colomer, faltered at Donner, dropping 32 points and finishin g sixth overall . Colomer sits third in the standings wi th 85, whi le Pons has 81. Geoff Aaron was the top American finisher, carding 108 points aboard his Beta to earn 16th overall. Much to the disappointment of the American fans on hand, multitime National Champion Ryan Young did not compete. o . . Foundation, and tickets can be ordered by sending $2, for every ticket, to Tom Norton/Team Mirage, 38 Leland Rd., Norfelk, Massachusetts 02056. Scottish road racer Niall Mackenzie broke two bones in his left wrist during a recent test crash at Donington Park in England. Mackenzie, who rides the Bob MacLean-owned Slick 50 Roc Yamaha in th e World Championship Road Race Series, crashed when the radiator hose came loose on the Yamaha, coating his rear tire with water. Mackenzie rode in the June 25 Dutch Grand Prix despite the injury, but dropped out after completing just two laps. Ducati's number one World Superbike rider Carl Fogarty has been confirmed as a 500cc Wild Card entry for the British Grand Prix on July 24 at Donington Park. Fogarty will ride a factory Cagiva C594 in the race, and the Brit tecently tested the team's new fuelinjected bike at Mugello in Italy. The AMA will be testing electronic laptime transponder units at the AMA D.S, Superbike National Champ ionship . round at Mid-Ohio on July 15-17. The units, developed by AMB Products of Holland , weigh approximately 12 ounces and will be tested by the entire superbike field. Similar units are currently used in the World Championship Road Race Series and also in the SCCA Trans-Am Series. "The system is primarily designed to provide immediate live sco ri ng for AMA officials, race team members, and journalists in the facility's pressroom," AMA director of Pro Racing Roy Janson said. "It can also be expanded by ind ivid u al teams to provide an on-bike readout of a rider's individual lap time s." The test will be performed by AMB technicians under supervision of AMA officals. The system features a ba ck-up ci r cu it that would continue to score bikes which have lost the transponder unit due to a crash or a failure of th e transponder unit itself. Standard AMA scoring practices will be' observed during the test, Janson said, and would continue during subsequent races as a redundant system in case of a computer failure with the AMBsystem. Hansson, Demaria score MX GPwins S weden's Marcus Hansso n (right), aboard a Honda CR500, and Frenchman Yves Dema r ia, of th e Pepsi Hond a Team, earned overall wi ns in the 500 a n d 250cc ; World Championship MX GP rounds in Blargies, France, and in Helice, Czech Republic, June 26. . At th e 500cc GP in Helice, Hansson finished second in moto one to New Zealand's Darryll King, who logg ed a DNF in the second moto on his Honda. Hansson came back to win the second moto and take the overall vic to ry o ver series points lead e r Ja ck y Martens and Honda's former champ Georges Iobe, both of whom are from Belgium. Martens, on the works Husqvarna fourstroke, recorded consistent 4-5 moto finishes . topping Iobe's 10-3. Holland's Gert Jan Van Doom, on a Honda, finished fourth overall via a 6-6 tally, while King ended up fifth with a 1-DNF. By winning, Hansson moves into the series points lead over Martens, 209-198. In Blargies, France, Demaria notched his second consecutive 250cc GP win with a 13 showing, while the defending champ from South Africa, Greg Albertyn, of the Johnson Suzuki team, stayed close by posting 2-2 moto finishes for second overall. Belgian Stefa.ot Everts on the JHK Kawasaki was third overall via a 4-1 tally, while fellow countryrnan Marnicq Bervoets, 5-4, and American Tallon Vohland, 3-9, completed the top five. Forthe second GP in a row, American Donny Schmit, of the Chesterfield Yamaha team failed to score any points. In the series point standings, the series leader going into the French GP, Albertyn, gained one point on runner-up Everts and now leads the Belgian by three points, 255252. Demaria moved into third with 192 points, while Bervoets climbed one notch to fourth with 173. Schmit, who was third in points going into the French GP slipped back two I:laces and is now fifth with 168.. Hurricanewatch in New Eng,Ian_d_ T hree-time Supercross Champion and three-time National MX Champion Bob "Hurricane" Hannah - the newest addition to Team Yamaha was back on a bike at the Na tional MX in Southwick, Massach usetts. Hannah is serv ing as a team consultant for Yamaha, and he put in some hot laps on Jeff Ernig's factory YZl25 during Friday's practice session. "1 was just doing some tes ting," said Hannah, who looked right at home on the bike. "What did you think - I don't know how to ride anymore?" Hannah didn't compete on Sunday, but he foun d other ways to satisfy his competitive urge. On Friday,Hannah and Emig challenged team truck driver Pat Muras to a running race around the MX 338 track. "If they could lap me before I completed one lap, I was supposed to owe them dinner," said Muras, who won the bet (though not by much) . On Saturday, Hannah bet double or nothing tha t he could complete four laps to Muras' two. Hannah won, thus avoiding the need to buy a meal for Muras, who was too tired to eat anyway. The AMA will also test glow-in-thedark number plates in round nine of the AMA Grand National Championship Series at the Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, on July 2. Pro Plates ' Paul Crumling has been working on a phosphorescent number plate and has developed a special coa ling process that he hopes will imp ro ve the visibility of riders' numbers for scoring officials, specators and for those night events which a re included in the ESPN televis ion package. Riders who will test the plates include Kevin Atherton, Davey Camlin, Rodney Farris, Scott Parker and Crumling, himself. WERA has reached an agreement with two new sponsors for WERA Pro Series ·e ven ts . According to the WERA , the Indiana Suzuki Dealers will sponsor the Indy Cycle Jam at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Jul y 22-24, and the Portland round at Portland International Speedway in Portland, Oregon, will be backed by Dunlop. "We are fortunate to ha ve great sponsor support th is season," WERA's Doug Gonda sa id. "The Indiana Suzuki Dealers' and Dunlo p Tire Corporation's support of these events will help these events grow and becom e popular with s pec ta tors a nd rid ers alike." Broome-Tioga Sport Center in Bin ghampton, New York, the site of the 11th roundof the AMA National MX Series on August 26-28, has joined forces with Tom Hurd, the owner-operator of Hurricane Hills Sports Center in Clifford, Pennsylvania. Hurd ha s acquired 50% of Broome-Tioga Sport Center Inc.'s stock and will work as a partner wi th Jack Skutnik. For more information call Hurd at 717/222-9290. Th e Calgary Motorcycle Road Racing Association hasstarted a fund for Jas on Scraba, who was killed in a racing accident at Brainerd International Speedway on June 18. According to Scraba's friend Roger Brassard, the fund is to help with the cost of flying Scraba back to his home in Calgary. For more information call Iris McCall at 403/285-4421. Donations can be sent to CMRA, Box 61039, Kensington Station, N.W., Calgary, AB TIN 456, Canada. Japanese motocrosser Kohji Ohkawara has been missing in action since the San Jose round of the Camel Supercross Series, on June 4. According to Jim Holley, who helps support the Yamaha rider, Ohkawara suffered a groin injury . at the San Jose Supercross but is expected to return to action at the July 3 Red Bud National MX in Buchanan, Michigan. The third round of the CMC AGV-RX Summer MX Series scheduled for July 3 at Hungry Valley OHV in Gorman, California, has been moved to Sunrise Valley Raceway in Adelanto, California. Guy Cooper will be a guest instructor at several upcom ing Tony D. Motocross Schools. The first one .will be held at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, on July 11. For more information call 410/676-8234. KTM public relations manager Scot Harden celebrated Father's Day Weekend and his 38th birthday by taking part in a German National Supermotard race, simila r to the old Superb ik ers events held in Carlsbad, California . Harden was visiting the Austrian KTM factory and staying in Innsbruck with former World MX Champion Heinz Kinigadner, who in vited Harden to take part in the race. Called the "Supermo tard Grandau," the event cons isted of about one-half pavement and oneha lf di rt. H arden rod e Kiniga d ner's spare factory KTM LC4 630 four-stroke. " It was th e fastest th ing there ," said Ha rden, "bu t it was set up for Heinz. The seat was about a foot too tall and the suspension didn't mov e when I sat on it. I've never done an ything like it. It was ha irball as hell!" Still, Harden finished an impressive 14th out of 30 in the main event, despite starting on the back row . Kinigadner finished fourth in the event, which was won by Husabergmounted French off-road hero Laurent Pidoux. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Maple City Cycle in Goshen, Indiana, on July 1 from 5:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m. Kawasaki's Mike laRocco, Mike Kiedrowski, Ryan Hughes and Robbie Reynard are scheduled to appear. For more information call 219/533-0518. . MARRIED: Motocrosser Jim "Hollywood" Holley, to Melisa Edwards, in Chatsworth, California, June 18. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At North --D Ridge Yamaha/Suzuki in Geneva, ~ Ohio, on July 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 ;:j p .m. Yoshimura Suzuki's Tom Kipp is - . scheduled to appear. For more informa- ')".,......... tion call 216/466-2712. ~

• Cover