Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1994 11 09

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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I:INtHE WIND' . I Michael Martin, Dave Stanton a nd Tray Batey teamed up to give Team Suzuki End urance (Suz) a victory in the fi nal WE RA Su n oc o / Per fo rm ance Machine four-hour end urance ra ce of the series at Road Atlan ta in Braselton, Georgia, on October 29. The trio comp leted 152 laps to win b y four la ps, carding th eir ninth win of th e l1 -ra ce series an d 101st career w in ; the team had clinched their 10th title at an earlier race. Second place in the race and the series went to the Team Pearls Suzuki (Suz) pa iring of Darryl Saylor and Glenn Wilson, who also won the Heavyweight Supersport class. Greg Abbott and Gordon Miller led Northwest Honda Racing (Hon) to third place, two laps behind Team Pearls. Thomas Wilson Jr. (Yam) was the biggest winner in the Metzeler Grand National Final sprints at Road Atlanta, taking three wins and nearly winning two others. The 26-year-old won the C Superbike Expert on a Yamaha FZR600, then rode his Yamaha FZR750 to wins in the A Superstock Expert and B Superstock Expert.Wilson, who had to start from the second wave in most of the races, nearly caught Valvo line Suzuki's Chuck Graves in the B Superbike Expert class when the race was red-flagged on the fifth of eight laps while Wilson Jr. was a close third. He also crashed out of the lead of the C Superstock Expert while running in the lead on the third lap . Team Suzuki Sports' James Randolph won the 750cc Suzuki National Cup Series Final at Road Atlanta on October 30, getting the better of Valvoline Suzuki's Ch uck Graves in a race that was red-flagged on the 10th of 12 laps with scoring reverting to the ninth lap . Mark McDaniel was third, about nine seconds behind the leaders when the red flag flew . McDaniel won the l100cc Suzuki final after the disqualifica tion of ontrack winner Kevin Ren tzell; Rentzell was disqualified for illegal cylinderhead modifications. Graves ended up second in the revised results with Curtis Adams third. Six-time World Champion Jordi Tarres (G-G) has been cleaning up in the offseason indoor trials meets . Tarres emerged victorious at the October 23 event held in Sevilla, Spain, topping Marc Colomer (Bet) and Joan Pons (GG). Tarres roll ed on at the October 30 event in Valen cia, Spain, easily besting Colomer and former World Champion Tommi Ahvala (Fan). And speaking of trials, Amos Bilbao has left th e factory Montesa team and will contest the 1995 World Championship Trials Series as a member of the Beta factory squad. Insiders expect Marc Colome r to lea ve Beta a nd fill the s pot left vacan t by Bilbao on the Montesa team. Georgian Mike Smi th has signed a contract to ride a Fast By Ferracci Ducati in the 1995 AMA us, Sup erbike National Champ io nship. Sm it h, w ho ro d e a Smokin' Joe's Honda in the 1994 series, will ride alongside former Daytona 200 winner Dave Sad owski in the two-man team . With Miguel DuHamel expected to resign with Harley-Davidson for the 1995 AMA U.s. Superbike National Championship, the only opening is the numberone slot on the Sm okin ' Joe 's Honda team; and Honda is currently courting former 1990 AMA Superbike Na tional Champion Doug Chandl er for the ride. If Chandler signs, the factory team lineup for 1995 would be the following: Smokin' Joe's Honda - Doug Chandler/Mike Hale; Muzzy Kawasaki Steve Crevier/Pascal Picotte; Team Harley-Davidson - Miguel DuHamel/ Chris Carr; Yoshimura Suzuki - Thomas Stevens/Fred Merkel /Donald Jacks; Vance & Hines Yamaha - Jamie James/Tom Kipp; Fast By Ferracci Ducati - Mike Smith/Dave Sadowski. According to the AMA's vice president of sports marketing Tom Mueller, the AMA road race promoters meeting, held October 26 in Chicago, Illinois, was a success. " I think it went rea l well," Mueller sai d. "Having Cary Agajanian along provided a whole different flavor. We went over our marketing plans and other things and there were really no questions. Ron Barrick is following up the meeting with phone calls this week and we 've set a November 10 deadline for promoters wishing to use our directmail package. We received letters from all the major manufacturers who have commited to running the AMA road racing series next year. Honda's letter also said that they would be competing in our Sup ercross Series." Mue ller said that some of the supercross promoters have requested another meeting with the AMA regarding the 1995 Supercross Series. "They want to get back together and talk," Mueller sa id . "It's all re al op en right no w and Cary (Agajanian) will be handling that from now on." Ricky Johnson, Brad Lackey, Marty Cycle News Rider of the ~ Month: Scott Parker T e here's little do ub t tha t Team Harley-Davidso n's Scott Parker (right) is the greatest d irt tracker of all time - just look at wha t he' s accomplished. Parker wrap ped up his reco rd-setting fifth Gra nd ~ National Cham pionshi p in grand style wit h a run0\ away win a t the Del Mar Mile on October 16. In ~ ad dition to becoming the first rider to ever earn five number-one plates, Parke r continued to pull further 0\ awa y.from his competitors on the all-time win list. 10-< With a whopping 60 Gr and Nationa l wi ns, th e OJ Michigan resident continues to stretch his lead over second-placed Jay Springsteen , who has 40. Th e 1994 season was a com eb ack of so rts for OJ ::- Parker, as he suffered w ha t was for him a lackluster o season in '93. Last seaso n, the Harley-Davidson facZ tory rider sco re d only one w in and finished the series thir d overall, causing many to wri te him off. But Parker reboun ded in a big way in 1994, adding eight more wins to his resume. "S 2 Carr to road race VR1 000 eam Harley-Davidson d irt tracker Chris Carr (right) will contest the 1995 AMA U.S. Superbike Na tional Cha mpionship Series aboard a factory Harley-Davidson VRl000 Superbike, joining returning team member Migu el DuHam el. After finishing second in what was the most competitive Grand Na tional Cha mpionshi p Series in years, 27-year-old Carr w ill co n tin ue to race a t selected dirt track events, but will concentrate on the road race series. "The Harley-Davidson factory and I have worked out a sort of 'package deal ' contract," said Carr. "The meat of my contract will be for the superbike series, but I will still compete in 10 to 15 dirt track races." Apparently, the deal has been in the works for some time, but wasn't set in concrete until Carr tested the VR after the Del Mar Mile season finale. "It's been brewing for about six months now," said Carr. "I've been pretty good about keeping a lid on it. When Steve Scheibe took over the VR project a few years ago, I told him that I was interested in being a part of it. Road racing is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but I've never had an opportunity like this. Had I tried road racing before, I certainly would have burned some bridges with the Harley factory. Now, I think I'm in a 'no lose' situation. My contract states that if road racing isn't working out for me, I can still race dirt track for the factory. " The last time Carr competed in a road race was in 1988 at Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis Tennessee, aboard the Lucifer's Hammer Battle of the Twins motorcycle. The first time Carr threw a leg over the VR was during a three-day test session at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Wisconsin, October 18-20. "The test went really well," said Carr. "I exceeded my expectations. I started out getting my feet wet on a Suzuki GSXRl1oo, and once I got comfortable on the VR and was able to push it, I came within a second of the times that Miguel was turning, and within two seconds of the track record." Carr's VR1000 will be built and tuned in-house by Harley-Davidson factory mechanics AI Stangler, Craig Filmer and Scott Brooks. As for his XR750 dirt trackers, Carr hopes to secure his longtime tuner Kenny Tolbert, but the two have not yet come to an agreement. T Smith, Lars Larsson and Jim Holley have been added to the entry list of riders who will compete in the Legend Exhibition, to be held in conjunction with the November 5-6 White Bros. Vet World Championships at Glen Helen Raceway. Kawasaki will also be on hand with several of their past championshipwinning m achines on d isplay. Spectators will also be allowed to take a tour through the Kaw asaki factory race team big rig. In addition, Larry Huffman will announce Sunday'S feature races. For more in formation call White Bros. at 714/692-3404. Malaysia; April 23 - Suzuka, Japan; May 7 - Jerez, Spain; May 21 - Nurburgring, Germany; June 11 - MugeIlo, Italy; June 24 - Assen, Holland; July 9 - Le Mans, France; July 23 - Donington Park, England; August 6 - United States (site to be announced); August 20 - Brno, Czech Republic; September 17 - country and site to be announced; September 24 Buenos Aires, Argentina; October 8 Catalunya, Spain. Dirt tracker/road racer Matt Wail suffered six broken ribs and a punctured lung in a crash at the October 23 A?yIA /CCS Harle y-Da v id son World Cha mpions hips, held a t Daytona Internation al Race way in Day ton a Beach , Florid a. Wait hopes to be released from the hospital by Wed nesd ay, November 2. Cards and letter may be sent to Wait at 16201 N. Tretheway, Lcd i, CA 95240. The 1995 World Superbike Series calendar is as foIlows: May 7 - Hockenheim, Germany; May 21 - Misano, Italy; May 28 - Donington Park, England; June 18 Monza, Italy; Jun e 25 - Albacete, Spain; July 9 - Salzburgring, Austria; July 16 Magny-Cours, France; Augu s t 6 Brands H a tch, Engla nd ; Augus t 27 Sugo, Japan; September 3 - Assen, Hoila nd; Octob er 15 - Sen tu l, Indonesia ; Octob er 29 - Phillip Island, Australia. The FIM also lists an American round of the series , though the da te and site have yet to be announced. Schedu le time: Th e World Championship Road Race Series cale ndar for 1995 is as foIlows : Ma rch 26 - Eastern Creek, Australia; April 2 - Shah Alam, Th e 1995 AMA National Championship Motocross Series has also been announced: March 5 - Ga inesville, FL; April 2 - Sacramento, CA; May 28 - Mt. Pless ing-e. :r~-==in~-- .of GNCC =. k :=.=-=-------=~-=eam KTM's Scott Plessinger (rig ht) sewed up his first Grand Natio nal Cross Country title at the final round in Brownsville, Pennsylvania , October 30. Defend in g champion Fred Andrew s scored the win , bu t Plessin ger 's runner-up fin ish was good eno ugh to take the crown by a slim onepoint margi n, 155-154. Duane Conner finished a distant third on h is Kawasaki. w ith Team Mirage's Tom Norton and Kawasa ki pilo t Ge ne O 'Nail rounding out the top five. Plessinger, a tw o-tim e National Ha re Scrambles Cha mpi on, won three races to Andrew s' fou r this season. It was KTM's first GNCC title. T

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