Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

( I f .• • • .INTHE WIND . Spaniard J ord i Arcaro n s (Cag) had assum ed the overall lead in the Granada-Da kar Rally, as of January 8. Despite stopp ing to repair a hole in his case, Frenchm a n S t ephane Pet e rh an s el (Yam) res ted in second - 10 and a half minutes back - with fellow countryman Thierry Magnaldi (Yam) thi rd. Rounding out the top five we re Italian Edi Orioli (Cag) and He inz Kin igadner (KTM). .Desp ite the d isad vantage of racing a singl e-cylinder 600 against the big twins, the ta ll Austrian he ld the ov erall lea d through the fastest parts of the Sahara, but January 8 spelled disaster for him. Kinigadner broke two wheels, a brake disk and a chain guide, and also ran out of fuel and lost his global positioning system. Thi s caused him to finish 11th on the day and slip back to fifth overall. American Danny laPorte has overcom e fu el system problems on his fa ct ory Yamaha to sit in seventh overall. In the past week, the rally passed through the Moroccan cities of Goulimine, Es Smara and Awserd before entering the country of Mauritania. There, riders stop ped for a r est day in Zouerat, which w a s plagued by sand storms . Seven days remained in the competition. Craig Decker (Suz) topped the 125cc Pro class at the opening round of the CMC Velve to uch Go ld en Sta te M X Series , held at Sunrise Valle y Raceway in Ad elanto, California, on Jan u ary 8. David Pingree (Kaw) and Rick Ryan (Suz) rounded out the top three. Bader Manneh (Ho n) was the 250cc Pro class winner over Decker and Michael Brandes (Kaw). Ryan rod e a Honda to th e 500cc Pro class win over Rich Taylor (Hon) and Terry Fowler (Ho n). Jim Chester (Suz) an d Keith Johnson (Kaw) we re the 125 an d 250cc Pro class w in ners, respectively, at round two ' of the Win ter AMA Series at Ocala Mot orspo rt Complex in Ocala, Florida, on January 8. Johnson also finished second in the 125cc di vision , wit h Barry Carsten (Suz), Roy Snellinger (Suz) and Robbie Skaggs (Kaw) completing the top five. In the 250cc class, Mike Treadwell was the runn er -u p ahe ad of Dag Boyesen (Yam), Brian McElroy (Yam) and Ron Tichenor (Suz). Brian Swink also rode w ell before break ing his brake lever. l!') 0\ 0\ rl 2 Fo r m e r World Champion Kevin Schwantz cra shed h is lucky Strike . Su zuki during preseason testing at Phillip Island in Australia on January 6, inju rin g both thumbs and prematurely end ing h is test session . Schwantz cr ashed h is facto ry Suzuki at close to 140 mph and sketchy rep orts from Austra lia indicate that he may have broken one thumb while doing liga ment damage to the othe r. In itial tests in dicated that Schwantz had not inju red his p revious ly injured wrists and tha t the Texan was returnin g to his home for furthe r cons ulta tion with doctors. Schw antz 's teammate Daryl Beattie will contin ue to test the 1995 Su zuki RGV500 a t both Phillip Islan d and Eastern Creek with Schwantz sch eduled to rejoin the team lat er in the month for the Spanish po rtion of the tes t. Kocinski to Ducati World Su p erbike ? According to reliable sources in Europe, John Kocinski appears to be head ed to the Worl d Superbike Series w he re h e will team wi th World Cham p ion Carl Foga rty on factory Ducatis. Apparen tly, D u ca ti has asked Foga rty for h is ap proval, though it is not known if the deal actu ally hinges on the Brit's acceptance of the former 250cc World Ch am pion or n<;>t. The Cagiva factory, sources say, are hoping to put Kocinski on their still-developing four-cylinder fo u rstroke in the World Superbike Series in 1996. Last week we reported that road racer Jean-Philippe Ruggia was trying to find ba cking to campaign a Honda NSR250 in th e World Championship. Now the Frenchman has ordered a Roc Yamaha 500 and will run in the 500cc Grands Prix . ~ Ruggia, however, is no t yet on the provisional 1995 rid er s list wh ich w a s released recently b y IRTA . Th e 500cc class will feature some new-faces, namely Calif ornian Scott Gray. Gray joins 500cc first-timers loris Capirossi, James Haydon, Neil Hodgson, Adrien Bosshard, and Eugune McManus . Capirossi makes the jump fr om th e 250cc class, as d oes Bosshard; Hodgson makes the jump from the 125cc class to ·the 500s. No less than eight new rid er s w ill join the 250cc class in 1995, w ith five of them com ing from the 250cc Europea n Championship. Reign in g Eur o Champion Regis Laconi leads the lis t; he will be joined b y Frenchman Olivier Jacque, Italian Davide Bulega, Spaniard Miguel · Castilla, Italian Roberto locatelli, German Jurgen Fuchs, Japan's Sadanori Hikata, a nd Australian Craig Connell Another who is not mention ed on the li st is Scotland's Niall Mackenzie. According to reports from England , the Scot w ill switch back to the 250cc class after many years in the 500cc .ran ks. Mackenzie, w ho last year rode a Slick 50-backed Roc Yamaha for team owner Bob M a cl ean , will r ide -a D ocsh opbacked Ap rilia with backin g from Fast Bike Mag azin e, an Eng lish mo to rcycle publication. It's official: Dave Despain will no longer be covering motorcycle racing events for ESPN in 1995 (includi ng MotoWo rld), according to Despain. "To sum up a very long story, the company no w responsible for prod~cing the network 's (ESPN) : . motorc ycle coverage made it clear they don't w ant me around," Despain sa id . "Wh ile I will miss the opportu nity to report on my favorite form of motors po r t, I am pleased that ESPN h a s eno u g h confidence in m y ab ility to ass ign me to a somewhat higher-profile show called "NASCAR Today," which airs each Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. (Ea s t ern ·t im e). The new assignment enables me to devote more time and energy to the Board of Directors of AMA Pro Racing, and also provides me a lot more opportunity to go rid e my motorcycles. This year marks the 30th anniversary of m y fi rs t motorcycle-raceannouncing job. Tele vi sion ' tal ki n g head' .or not, I plan to be arou nd for at leas t 30 more years , looking for ways to contribute to the sport I've loved most. " Now that the California Desert Protection Act (5.21) is law, here is a quick list of so me of th e popular rid in g areas in the Sou thern Californ ia desert that aren't effected by the passing of S.21: Imperia l Dunes Recreation Area (Glamis) 125,000 acres open for OHV use; Pl as ter City/Superstition Mountains, 34,000 acres; Ocotillo Wells SVRA, 40,000 acres; EI Mirage Recreation Area, 24,000; Johnson Valley (Anderson and Soggy Dry lakes), 154,000 acr es; Stoddard Valle y (Be ll Mounta in/S id ew inder), 33,000 a cres; Ras or Ro ad , 22,000 acres; Red Mounta in /Spangl er Hills /Rand Mountains, 84,000 acres; and Jawbone/Dove Springs, 9,000 acres. All go for World Su erbike at La una United States round of th is year's Wo rld Champions hip Superbike Series at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, was formally confirmed on Friday, January 6 at a press conference held in San Fran cisco. The July 23 event will be the seventh in the 12-round series, and marks a return to the summer date that has in the past mad e Laguna Seca a mecca for race fans. The promo ter of the event is First Au to Sports Television (FAST), a television packaging com pany that p roduces a large percen tage of the mo torcycle and au to racing programs seen on ESPN and other sports channels. "We think we can build on what was good in the GP event, and also improve," exp lained Dan Murphy, president of FAST. "FAST hopes to build on the crowd that attended the GP by ad ding paddock access, big-screen viewing for the grandstands, Saturday support races, reasonable ticket and cam ping prices, as well as a July date," Murphy added. "It's a much preferable date to one in September, especially when you're coming from the Rocky Mountain states..." Referring to the departure of the Grand Prix, Laguna Seca's General Manager, Scott Atherton, was upbeat: "We'r e excited. We feel like we've hitched our wagon to a rising star... It is our distinct hope and expectation that in the non-distant future, we will look back at the change that has taken place this year - the change being the World Superbike versus the GP - and look back upon that as a blessing in disguise." Already confirmed as a su pport class is the AMA SuperTwins (formerly HarleyDavidson Twin Sports), with a 600cc Supersport or 12Sec GP race also being discussed. Sunday wil l feature two races (as is customary in World Superbike), the first starting at noon, the second at 3:30 p.m. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday and Saturday .from noon to 12:50 p.m. and from 3:30 to 4:20 p.m. , with a maximum of 60 entrants vying for 36 starting positions. Rather than having just a few "Wild Card" riders, virtually an y American rider who . can obtain an FlM license and pass tech inspection can attempt to qualify. The series promoter, the Flammini Group, is also gu aranteeing that the top 20 riders in the World Championship will appear, making it a foregone conclusion that a number of American riders will qualify for the race. Asked about the extensive use of AirFence that the FlM had. required for Laguna Seca's GP homologation, and where the track wouldobtain en ough AirFence if it was still a requirement, Atherton admitted that: "The homologa tion requirements for the track are the same, regardless of the type of race ... As I'm sure yo u are aware, AirFence is not inexpensive. I don't know of any circuits in the United States that ha ve sub~tan- . tial quantities of it. I think this is going to be a collaborative effort that will in volve Flamrnini, FAST, Laguna Seca, and potentially even the AMA, which is the on e organization in the U.s.. that owns AirFence . The real answer today is that it has yet to be determined. But it' s clearl y so me thing that we' ve identified." A plethora of ticket options is being offered, including General Admission (Friday $10; Saturday $25; Sunday $30; and a three-day for $55), as well as Tum 11 grandstand seating with big-screen viewing (known as "Superstands ") for .an additional $10 per day or $65 for a three-day General Admission/Superstands ticket. Paddock p asses will be included in the purchase of a three-day "Super" (not to be confused with "Superstan ds") ticket, which are also $65, w ith a combined "Super/ Superstan ds" ticket going for $75. And if that isn 't enough, representatives from laguna claim they'll also be offerin g a combined World Superbike / AMA Superbike (April 28) ticket. Non-reserved camping is $15 per night for motorcycles, $25 for car s and RVs. A three-day reserved camping spot is $125. Tickets go on sale January 17 and, as alw ays, gate prices will be substantially higher. Tickets can be ordered by calling 800 /327SECA and are also available through Northern California BASSoutlets. . "We hope to stay with Laguna Seca until at least 2003 under our current agreement with the FlM," Flarnmini general manager Daniele Audetto said. . Two-time World Champion Doug Polen was also on hand at the press conference while 1993 World Champion Scott Russell was a no-show due to illnes s. John Gamer A Defending Western Reg ional 125cc Supercross Champion Damon Huffman recently expanded his ho rizons. The factory Suzuki r ider attended a tr ial s sch ool in Rom oland, California, taught by sixth-ranked National Championship rider lonny HaIIsted. " I think Lonny did a good job with th e sch ool," sa id Huffman, w ho ha s also taught in th e p ast. "I learned a lot of stuff today." Un fortu nate ly, th e school was held in atrocious cond itions, as a steady rain fell throughou t the day. had formed in the road, and proceeded to catch approximately three feet of air in his mini truck. H aIIsted 's wellstocked toolbox flew 15 feet in the ai r before explod ing and scattering too ls, p arts and hu ndred s of nuts and bolts acros s th e muddy m ounta inside. Bu t w ait - it ge ts even better: Both of th e truck' s right-s ide tires blew out on impact, and Hallsted's new Beta Techno came unstrapped an d blew through the trucks rear window. Hal lsted was uninjured, but very emba rrassed. l ook out Ivan Stewart: While lea ving the trials school sight, instructor lonny Hallsted may have found his true calling - off-road truck racing . H allsted sped down the mountain's slippery dirt road at a high rate of speed and qui ckly caught up to Dam on Huffman, who was also on his wa y out. Perh ap s attem p ting to impress Huffman with a daring ou tsid e pass, Hallsted floored his N issan pickup and flew past the more conservat ive su percro ss racer . Un fortu na tely, Ha llsted dido't see a large rain ru t tha t The New England Trials Association ' has added a Twin Shock class to its roster of classe s that will receive cha m p ionship points a n d troph ies a t e a ch event. The class will rid e Novice lines, and is op en to riders of all abilities. For more information call 401/ 397-9075. The American Trial s Association h as announced the location for ro und three of the AMA /NATC Nati on al Observed Tria ls Series, as well as the 25th annual El Tri~l de Espana. Both the April 29

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