Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127685
Kawasaki Team Green's Danny Hamel and Ty Davis combined efforts to win the Tonopah Best in the Desert off-road race in Nevad a, September 10. The duo completed the ra ce in six hours and 10 minutes, finishing 25 minutes ahead of the runner-up team of Darryl Folks and Danny Anderson (KTM) . Kawasaki riders Jason Kawell and Steve Hengeveld completed the top three teams. Championship event of th is caliber in less than a month is a formidable task, , but it is the best ever year of the Superbike Wo rld Championship and this could well be the title decider," Donington's Rober t Fearnall said . Donington hosted the opening round 'of the series in May and also held a round of the World Championship Road Raci ng Series in August. Team Suzuki Endurance (Suz) w on its 99th motorcycle endurance race during the W ERA Sunoco /Performance , Machine Endurance Series race at Mem phis Mo to rsports Park in Memphis, Tennes see, on Sep te m ber 10. Team Suzuki beat Arcli ght Racing (Suz) by three lap s with Northwest Honda Racing (Hon ) finishing third. Superbike World Champion Scott Ru ssell and 1992 Gran d Na tional Ch am pion Chris Carr have been confirmed as en tries at the lOOcc National Championships, to be held at Lodi Cycle Bowl in Lodi, California, Oc tober 23. Car r, the defending 100cc Na tion al Champion , reports that he's "had all sorts of tr ick stu ff" done to his bike since th e last National, and has every. intention of retaining his crown. Racers compete aboard Honda XR100s - some stock, and some highly modified. "We'll have classes for just about everybody," said event promoter Frank Nye . "We're ex pec ti n g a huge turnout, and it should be a lot of fun ." For more information contact Engines Only at 408/371-6871. Paul Pinsonnault (Hon) and Lou Gerencer Jr. (H-D) won the 540 and 800cc classes, respectively, at the September 11 National Championship Hillclimb round in Steel City, Pennsylvania. Second in the 540cc division went to Ted Wilkens (Rt x), w ho was followed by Rick Soter (BSA), Michael DeBusk (BSA) and Scott Everett (Tri). Harry Schreiber (H-D) was second in the BOOcc category, with Tim Frazier (BSA), Randy Gabriel (H-D) and Jimmy Dingee (H-D) rounding out the top five. Road racer Tray Batey (Suz) won the . Michelin noocc and 750cc Superstock races at Memphis Motorsports Park to wrap up the title in both classes. Batey beat David Stanton (Suz) in both races with Steve Patterson (Suz) third in the lloocc race and Daryl Saylor (Suz) third in the 750cc race. Brian Gibbs (Hon) . won the 600ccSuperstock race. Donington Park in England will replace Jerez, Spain, as the site of the October 2 round of the World Championship Superbike Series. The revised calendar shows three rounds remaining on the schedule: September 25 - Mugello, Italy; October 2 - Donington Park, England; and Phillip Island, Australia, on October 30. "To promote and organize a World It appears as if multi-time Women's MX Champion Mercedes Gonzales has made a successful transition into the world of mountain bike downhill racing. At the August 28 NORBA National Championship Series finale, held in Big Bear, California, Gonzales blasted to the win in the Women's Expert class, besting the runner-up by over 30 seconds. Had she competed in the Pro/Elite class, Gonzales would have finished ninth. "After the race, mountain biking was all I could think about," said Gonzales, who is currently negotiating a factory contract with GT Bicycles. "1 can't believe that this might turn into something that I can make money at - I got into mountain biking so I could do something with my boyfriend." During the week, Gonzales works as a District Manager at Axo Sport America. Special advance tickets for the October 8 Pomona Half Mile at the Fairplex in Senate to Debate Alternative Desert Bill T he fight to p reserve off-highway motorcycling opportunities in the California Desert isn't over yet, according to the AMA. Although both the U.S. House and Senate have passed versions of S.21, the California Desert Protection Act, which would shut down motorized recreation on millions of acres of public land in the desert, significant differences rem ain to be resolved between the two versions of the bill. And now Sen. Bennett Johnston, chairman of the Senate Ener gy and Natural Resources Committee, has introduced a substitu te desert bill that could replace the House and Senate measures with a less restricti ve plan for managing off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The Johnston bill, which could come before the Senate when it retu rns from summer recess on September 12, conta ins all of the hard-won amendments the AMA successfully incorporated into the bill that passed the Senate in April. Those amendments would pr eserve off-h ighway motorized recreation in the 62,000-acre expans e of the South '<;j'l Algodo nes Dunes, an d along 82 miles of roads and trails leading to and throug h the ~ desert. In addition, the Johnston bill w ou ld keep open the Saline-Eu reka corridor ~ . through the proposed Death Valley Nationa l Park, the Box Canyon route in the Rodman Mou ntains, and Choco late Mountain Pass, among others. .If passed by the Senate, the Johnston substitute bill would be sen t to the House of Rep resentatives for consideration. With Congress scheduled to adjourn on October 7 to prepa re for this fall's elections, it is possible that time may run out before both hou ses of congress can consider the substitu te measu re, effectively killing the desert bill for this year . AMA Washington Representative Jim Bensberg noted, "This recen t turn of event s is the result of OHV enthusiasts keeping the pre ssure on their elected officials. We ha ve to keep up the effort to ensure that the AMA's amend ments will remain part of any final desert legislation. Motorcyclists are encouraged to call their sena tors and congressmen at 202/224-3121." 2 England beats U.S. in MX des Nationshe Briti sh team of Ku rt Nicoll (rig h t), Paul Malin and Rob Herring used quick starts and strong riding to end the United States ' 13-year domina tion of the Motocross des Nati ons at the 1994 running of the eve n t in Roggenburg, Switzerland, Sep tembe r 11. In front of 22,000 fan s on a h ighspeed, rock-s trewn, chalk y, hilly cou rse, England won by a slim two-point margin over the runner-up U.S. team, 9-11. France was third another two points bac k, whi le Belgium was fourth with 18 and Germany was fifth with 28. The hero of the British squad wa s Paul Malin, who won the 125cc class with a perfect 1-1 score, d espite having not raced a 125 for se veral years. Malin was using the factory Yamaha motor that recently took American Bob Moore to the World Championship. Kurt Nicoll rode a Honda 500 to 3-2 scores, while Rob Herring went 2-6 in the 250cc class aboard another Honda. The American team was led by Mike LaRocco, who won the 500cc division with a 21 tally. Teammate Jeff Emig went 2-2 in the 125cc category, while Mike Kiedrowski turned in 4-5 moto scores in the 250cc class. "We didn't lose - we just got second," said U.S. team manager Bevo Forti. "I'll take one of those every 14 years." Greg Albertyn, the South African who was recently re-crowned 250cc World Champion and who is heading to the U'S, in '95, was leading the first moto when he hit a deer at high speed and crashed out of the race. T Pomona, California, are now available at your local Harley-Davidson dealer for a $2 discount. Road racer Scott Gray has sold his majority interest in Starsport Michelin, the West Coast distributor of Michelin road and off-road racing tires, to Brian Percore of Santa Rosa, California. Tim Smith plans to stay with Starsport as its customer representative and trackside support manager and Starsport will continue to provide trackside support at all AFM races at Sears Point and Thunderhill and at all WSMC events at Willow Springs as well as all major West Coast road races and selected off-road events. Starsport Michelin's new address is 937 Piner Rd ., Santa Rosa, CA, 707/5429544. The 1994 Michigan State Dirt Track Championships for both hall mile and short track will be held at the 1-96 Speedway on September 24-25 in Lake Odessa, Michigan. The championships are open to anyone who competed in a District 14 dirt track event in 1994. AHRMA vintage road racing will be part of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days in 1995. The venue for the July 21-23 event, which includes an auction, swap meet, demo rides and more, will move to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Chris Agajanian announced that a limited number of Luxury Sky Boxes an d Luxury Suites will be avail able for rent a t the October 16 Del Mar Mile in Del Mar, California. The Luxury Sky Boxes seat up to 200 spectators each, while the Luxury Sky Suites seat up to 20. Indoo r lou nge areas and ou td oor patios come com ple te w ith each space, and catering a nd full bar service s are av ail able as well. "Th ese bo xes and suites ar e the ultimate way to view the Grand National Championship Ser ies finale," sai d Agajanian . For m ore information contact Don Henry of Chris Agajanian Presents at 714/533-4444. The on -ag ain, off-again Perris Speedway is off again. Promoters Bill Manley and Scott Bell, who took over when for- mer promoter Brian Church bailed out in June, have thrown in the towel after only six nights of racing: Citing poor attendance as the main reason, Manley said that he and Bell were losing approximately $2000 per ,nigh t at the venue, the Thursday night stop on the Southern California speedway circuit. Manley wouldn't speculate as to whether or not the partners will re-open for the 1995 season. Multi-time Catalina Grand Prix Champion, Greeves distributer, James distributer, Daytona 100 winner, Isle of Man racer and ISDE rider Nick Nicholson died from a heart attack over the September 10-11 weekend at his home in Lake Isabella, California. Nicholson was also an avid road racer, flat tracker and off-road racer. If you happen to be a KTM 'rider, you might want to participate in the AMA Fall Classic MX Series, which gets under way September 18 at the Red Bud Track 'n Trail in Buchanan, Michigan. If the series champion rides a KTM, he will receive a $500 bonus and an apparel package, from KTM . Otherwise, the highest-placed KTM rider will receive a $250 bonus. KTM is also offering $500 per race in contingent awards available for finishes among the top three in the featured Fall Classic competition. Plus, the series' top privateer - a rider who is not spons ored by a motorcycle ,manufacturer - will receive free use of a KTM motorcycle for the 1995 racing season, along wi th a parts allowance and technical support. Speaking of the Fall Classic Series, the ser ies cha mp ion w ill receive a $3000 cash bonus from the $10,000 Dirt Shirts and Honda of Troy bonus fund, with lesser awards d istribu ted throug h the top eight positio ns in the final poin t standings. The AMA Board of Tru stees has allocated $100,000 to de velop and imp lement a s tr a tegy to co m ba t di scriminatory health insurance policies that tar get motorcyclists. Recent surveys conducted by the AMA ha ve indicated that this type of health insurance discrimination