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/127698
[JNtHEWIN.D' .~. ยท1 motions, In c. " My new con tract with Suzuki will enable me to compete in sele cted AMA National Arena cross Series even ts, therefore I plan to compete in San Fran cisco, Oklahoma City and possibly Topeka, Kansas," Cooper said. Suzuki will pos t some $681,000 in road racing con ting en cies in 1995. The programs will cover the Suzuki Cup Series, AMA Supersport, AMA SuperTeams an d AM A Supe rb ike, in addition to WERA Form u la USA and the WERA End urance Series . The 1995 seaso n will mar k the 10th yea r of the Suzuki Cup Series. Complete contingency details and sched ules will be available from Suzuki dealers in early 1995. Off-road racing champion Scott Summers rec ently stop ped by the AMA 's office in Westerville, Ohio, to mak e an investment in America's motorized trail sys te m . Summers presented Robert Rasor, the AMA's vice president of goverment relations, with a check for $4100 from th e Answer Products Open Trail Coa lition, a p rogram es ta blished b y Answer in 1994 to help pr otect existing trails and open new riding areas to offroad motorcycle enthusiasts . The coalition is funded through a $2 dona tion fro m An swer Products on the sale of every Open Trail Coalition T-shirt. To order a shi r t, se nd $15.95 to An swer Products Inc., 27460 Ave. Scott, Valencia, CA91355. GFI Racing is now acc epting applications for potential MTEG Pee-Wee Intermission Show participants. GFI is looking for young, inexperienced stock 50cc riders who live close to the stadium events in Anaheim and San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Las Vegas, Nevada; Detroit, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Contact GFI Racing at 909 /943-3302. Road racer Jason Pridmore was in Northern California doing some public relations work for a local Ducati dealer when he decided to stop by the San Jose Yamaha-sponsored Marathon Challenge , at San Jose Speedway to compete. Prid- more borrowed a friend 's Honda CR125 and finished second in the first one-ho ur race, beh ind Intermediate motocrosser Terry Biel. Pridmore liked it so much he entered the second race with 55 ride rs, most on 2505 - and he won. "When's the next one?" Pridmore inquired after posting the victory. "I'll be back." The next of the marathons will be held on January 8, 1995. Motorcycle enthusia sts ,a re in vited to join the Motorsports Press Association's 32nd Annual Banqu et honoring AMA 250cc Grand Prix National Champion Rich Oliver and Na tional Hare Scrambl es /Nat ional Reliability Champ ion Rodney Smith in San Francisco, California, on Saturday, January 14. For more information call Bill Spencer at 409/2956906. The AMA has already ann ounced their first alteration of th e 1995 Na tio na l Championship Motocross Series. Those planning to attend the Dirt Diggers' M.e. Hangtown Motocross Cla ssic in Sacramento, California, should ma rk Sunday, May 7 on their calendars. This will make for a doublehead er with the Sacramento Mile, which ru ns Saturd ay ni ght. Like las t yea r, th e Ha ngtown event will also feature a roun d of the Sound of Thunder Four-Stroke Series. For more inf orm a ti on, call 916 /9623760. Brit Paul Edmondson, the 125cc World Enduro Champion, has re-signed with Spanish manufacturer Gas Gas. Edmondson signed a two- year contract and, according to Trials & Motocro ss News, will swi tch to a 250cc machine for '95. Though the Lightweight cl ass is arguably more competitive, the move makes sense, as the Heavyweight d iv.,i sion is somewhat more prestigious. Gas Gas is currently developing th eir own 250cc motor, though Edmondson will compete with an Italian-built TM mill in '95, It appears likely that Jeff Dement and Jeff Curry will ride 1995 Supercross and 250cc National Motocross Series for KTM. Though neither rid er has yet Arnold resigns a's Honda MX Team Mana er ave Arnold (righ t) has resigned from his posi-' tion as manager for Team Honda /l-800-collect . A 20-year American Honda employee, Arnold, 40, spent his first eight years of employment working as a race team mechanic befor e taking on his managerial duties in 1980, " Basically, I ha ve resigned from my position as tea m man ager," said Arnold. "I think I mad e the deci sion about six mo n ths ago, when I go t m y Tiffany china tea set on my 20th anniversary. Don't get me wrong, I'm not burned out. I still enjoy the cha llenge of racing, but with 20 years and 40 titles under my belt, I feel that I need a new challenge. I think that in my position, I have done eve rything that there is to do. Enough is enough, I just need to D ~ grow ." At pr ess time, Arnold had .n ot made a definite ~ decision about his future employment, but hinted that he has two options. "I may not 2 be leaving Honda," he said, "I'd really like to play an active role in the research and development of the motorcycles, but that has yet to be seen." Arnold's other option is to manage another race team, outside of the motorcycle industry. " I have the utmost appreciation for Honda," said Arnold. "Working for Honda over the pa st 20 years has taught me a lot. All of the guys that I've had a chance to work With, and all of the relationships that I've established ha ve been great. To be a part of such a winning team was a real privilege." Arnold will remain with Honda throughout December. Honda has yet to announce a new team manager. Lamson, McGrath Q erfect at Italian SXs eam Honda/1-8OO-Collect's Steve Lamson (top) and Jerem y McGrath (bottom) we re unbeatable at a pair of Italian Supercrosses. At the Bologna Supercross , held in conjunctio n with the Bologna Motorshow on December 7-8, Lamson dominated the proceedings. A three- moto format was used each night, and Lamson won all six rnotos, scoring the overall win each night. Lamson's nearest co mpetitor both nights was Team Noleen /Sizzler/Yamaha's Larry Ward who went 2-2. Finish ing third on the firs t night was Suzuki-m ounted Gu y Cooper, followe d by Pep si H onda's Tallon Vohland and Honda rider Mike Cra ig. The top finishing European was Dutchman Ped ro Tragter aboard a Suzuki. On the second day of racing, Lams on and Ward again fini shed 1-2, while VohI and mo ved up a notch to th ird. Cooper ended up fourth ah ead of 1993 125cc MX World Champion Trag ter . Bader Manneh , on a Honda, finished sixth. McGrath topped both nights of the Genoa Sup ercross on December 10-11. Team Kawasa ki's Mike laRocco finished second on Saturd ay, followed by Lamso n. Ward and Suz uki rider Jimmy Button completed the top five. In Sunday's main event , McGrath was followed by Ward, with laRocco finishin g third. Fourth and fifth places were filled, respectively, by Lamson and Button. T si gned a con tract, ve rbal agreeme nts ha ve been rea ched . Dement, who is recovering from knee surgery, rod e for DGY in '94, while Cu rry was a Kawasaki Team Green pilot. Th e Austr ian manufa cturer w ill a lso p rovide sup port to Kevin Crine. KTM ' s motocross effort will be fie ld ed w ith th e assistance of New Jersey-based Rossini Racing. nof mandato ry, but a speci al "reunion class" will be offered for those who are interested. The Chaparrals was chartered by the AMA in 1971, with 10 members. The ir first enduro was called the Quie t One, as all entrants were requir ed to ha ve a muffler/silencer on their bike (befor e the government required such features ). For more in fo rm a ti on, call 714/528-3007. KTM 's off-road squ ad has also been announced, and it's a big one. With the retirement of Jeff Rus sell, the National Enduro Series effort will be spearheaded by Joey Hopkins and Mike Lafferty. Both riders are graduates of Kawasaki Team Green. Hopkins has won several Daytona Alligator Endures, and lafferty, a hot young Eastern rider, is a twotime ECEA Champion. Also r iding enduros for KTM are Matt Stavish, Alan Randt and Jim Gray. Two-time SETRA Champion Allen Gravitt will contest major regional series and select N ati on al s. GNCC Champ ion Scott Plessinger will defend his title and race the National Hare Scrambles Se ries, with Leigh Letellier and Jason Dahners backing him up. Marty Kehlmeier will race the GNCC Series. Gray will also be contesting the National Hare & Hound and Best in th e Desert Se ries, as will 250cc National H&H champ Greg Zitterkopf. Zit terko pf will ride the Open class on a KTM 620 LC4 four-stroke, and will also defend his Sound of Thunder Four-Stroke MX title. As we revealed la st week, 16-year-old phenom Nick Pearson will also race the desert series. It's good to see a m a n u facturer with such an extensive off-road program. Former 125 and 250cc World MX Champion Don ny Schmit is planning to contest the 1995 Sound of Thunder FourStroke MX Series on a $25,000 custom-built CCM, imported from England. The series will also feature a new round, in the form of the July 22-23 Covernor's'Cup in Ogden, Utah. The Governor of Utah will reportedly attend, and the area is said to rival Mammoth in terms of scenery. In other thumper news, Mike Young Jr. has re-signed with ATK for the S.O.T. Series after speaking with the Italian Vertemati four-stroke team in regards to contesting the MX GP circuit. Also, the MTEG Off-R oad Grand Prix Series will include four -strokes for the first time in '95. Mike Hea ley and Lance Smail will contest th e 199 5 Supercross a n d 250c c National Motocross Series on privat eer Hond as with backing from Velvet Touch - a manufacturer of automobile brake pad s. In conjun ction with the 25th running of th e a n n u al Coyote Derby Enduro, scheduled for March 5, 1995, the Chaparrals M.e. is organizing an AMA District 37 enduro riders reunion. All former Southern California enduro riders are invited to the enduro. Riding the event is HIRED: Four-time 250cc National MX Champion Gary Jones, by White Brothers. Jones will head the company's new d ynamometer lab and d o research and d evelopment for new products. CORRECTION: M arcus Sell a rds is MXer Brock Sellards' brother and not his father as reported in the Voices section in Iss ue #49. Sellards' fat he r is Kenny Sellards. OPENED: Jerr y Leig h to n Racing and Motorsports in Hespe ria, Califo rni a. Lei gh ton 's s ho p is be a full -ser vi ce on / off-road facility. For more information call 619/949-BIKE. CORRECTI ON: Th e White Bros. 4Stroke World MX Championship is scheduled for May 7 at Glen Helen Park in San Bernardino, California, not March 7 as reported in our last issue. MOVED: DeVol Racing to 741-D Stevenson, Enumclaw, WA 98022, 206/8252106,206/825-2663 FAX. C'l