Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

'INT~E WIND' 1 I:: . for my career. GP racing is the ultimate, and I just couldn't pass it up." Keith Johnson (Kaw), Ronnie Tichenor (Suz) and Earl Ma y (Kaw) won the three ·Pro classes at the third round of th e Winter-AMA MX Series, held on [anuI ary 22 in Dad e City, Florida. Johnson ' topp ed Tichenor to w in the 125cc Pro class with Tichenor beating Johnson in 250/500cc Pro class. Jeff Cu rry (Suz) · was third in the 125cc d ivision while Bri a n McElroy (Yam) took the final podium spot in the 250/500cc class . · Ma y beat M ike An d re w s (Su z ) and · Kurt McMillan (Suz) in winning the Vet ~ Pro class. According to a press release issued by th e Marlboro Sp o rts Da ta System, the Yamaha Motor Co. in Iwata, Japan, ha s announced that the y nave sign ed a new agreement with Team Roberts that will see the pair continue in their pa rtnership. Yamaha and Team Roberts ha ve been racing in close collaboration since 1990 and have won four World Championships. "I' ve been racing wi th Yamaha for m ore th an 25 years," team owner Kenny Ro b erts said. "And I a m very pleased with the new ren ew ed interest s how n b y Yamaha to ward the 500 cc class and look forward to an eve n closer relationship for the 1995 season an d for the foreseeable future. With the growing interes t in 500cc Grand P ri x racing around the world, wi th television audiences getting bigger all th e time and new markets open in g for mot orcycles and associated products, it makes sense for Yamaha to take a leading role . I strong ly believe that if the demand con tinues to grow, they will consider to look seriously at building very highspecification production racers to add sti ll more interest and excitement to the Grand Pri x series." Casey Johnson ' (Ka w ) a n d D o ug Dubach (Yam) topped th e 125cc and 250cc Pro standings, respectively, d u ring round tw o o f the GFI Winter Series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, on Janua ry 22. Johnson rode to 1-1 moto scores for the 12Sec Pro w in over Dubach and Mike Young (Yam), while Dub ach's 3-2 moto finishes were good enough for the 250cc Pro win over Takeshi Koikada (Yam) and Bill y Joe Mercier (Yam). Terry Fowler (Hon) won the 500cc Pro class. Fo ur- time Nation al Hare & Hound ,Champion Danny Hamel (Kaw) kicked .off the '95 National off-road seaso n with a predictable win at the National H&H .in Lucerne, California , on January 22. "Ihere is hope for a po ints battle, however, as Ty Davis (Kaw ) gave the champ a run for his money, staying clo se and eventually finishing approximately one minute back in second. Thumper rider ' Jeff Ca pt (Hon) was third, with Paul Kra us e (Kaw) fourth and Da n Rich ardson (Hon) fifth. I he Best in the Desert Series was kicked T off on January 21 with the Oasis Grand · Pr ix in Mesquite, Nevada. Ty D avis (Kaw) earned the win, with D anny H a me l (Kaw) finis hing second . Sco t Har den (KTM) worked his. way up to th ird, with Destry Abbott (Kaw) and Paul Krause (Kaw) completing the top five. Scott Plessi nger (KTM) won round five of th e AMA Mid-So uth Winter Hare Scrambles Series at the Lynville City Parkin Lynville, Indiana, on January 22. Duane Conner (Yam) finished in the runner-up s lot. Mike Samp son (Yam) was third . Kyle Lew is (Yam) topped Ray Crumb (Hon) and Shaun Perolio (Kaw) to win the Ultracross main event at the opening round of the Mickey Thompson Stadium Off Road Racing Series, held at Anaheim ,Stadium in Anaheim, California, on January 21. Roa d racer Jimmy Fili ce will ra ce a Padgetts Yamaha in the 1995 SOOcc World Cham pi onship after coming to an agreement with' the English team. Filice will ride a Harris-framed YZRSOO with a big-bang motor, essentially an u pda t ed vers ion of the bike John Reynolds rode to 14 th in la s t year's 500cc Wo rld Championship. The news of Filice's deal with Padgetts comes on the heel s of an ea rli er press r el e a se w hic h had the Californian riding for Erion Racing in the 1995 AMA 600c c Supersport Series. "Th e opportunit y ca me up to ride a 500 for Padgett and ~acing a 500 is something I' ve a lways wanted to do," Filice said on Monday, January 23. "I've worked towards doing a full Grand Prix season for a long time, and I cou ld n' t pass it up . I've spoken with Kevin (Erion) and I feel bad fo r both him an d Honda that this ha s happened - but it's so mething I had to do , , I The Los Angeles Grand Prix has taken on a new name for 1995 - th e L. A . Motorcycle We ek e n d . The event will feature an AMA Grand National Dirt Track on Saturday night; April 1 and an AMA S uperbike National Championsh ip race on Sunday, April 2, with both being held at the Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, California. "We've made a number of improvements to the 2.1-mile Fairplex road course," Race Wes t Productions, Inc.'s Bill Marcel said. "Certain sections of the track have been repaved to eliminate bumps, part of the , course has been reconfigu red for additional rid er safety and two new bridges are being installed for easy spectator access ." For more informa tion ca ll 714/632-7070. i. I The BEARS (British/European/American Racing Series) World Series will feature six rounds in its debut season in 1995. The BEARS Wo rld Seri es will kick off at Daytona International Speedway on March 6-7 before heading to Europe for rounds at Monza in Italy (Ap ril 1-2); Thruxton in England (july 12); Z eltweg in Austria (July 22 -23); Assen in Holland (A ugust 19-20) and Frohburg in Germany (September 9-10). Only the German round is in question as it awaits final confirmation. The technical rules for BEARS racing is ra ther simp le and straightforwar d: Neither the chassis nor the engine m y be of comI mercially available Japanese manufacI ture; ma ximum number of cylinders is I three; o nly four -s trokes or rota ry I engines are permitted; and no fourv a lv e desmo cylinder heads . Twostrokes, supercharging and turbocharg, I ing are also illegal. For more I information faxes can be sent to England I at 44-926-842733. According to World Superbike Charnpionship promoter Maurizio Flam mini , the F1M has altered the technical regulations for the new Thunderbike class which will run at certa in World Champ ionship Grand Prix events in 1995. "We are quite happy about the wa y the FIM ha ve revised the original technical regulations for the new Thunderbike class," Flammini said at a ha stil y organized press conference attended b y Cycle News contributor [ohan Vandeckerckhove. "At first, the regulations were Factory Superbike teams to back AMA E ven though the North American Super Bike Series (NASB) has produced a schedule that features a number of the more established and successful venues of previous AMA Superbike National Championships, the factory-backed sup erb ike teams have made a commitment to the AMA and its la-race schedule which is expected to be released on Febru ary 1. On Friday, Jan uary 20, the AMA issued a press release stating that an AMA Superbike National Ch ampionship ro und will be held at Indianapolis Raceway Park in indianapolis, Indiana, on June 4 - the same da y as the NASB race sched uled for Mid -Ohio, the on e even t that has attracted the bigg est crowds of the AMA season in recent years. The release triggered the following response from NASB's Pat Mu rp hy, the partner of NASB founder Roger Edmondson: "We learned today tha t the AMA has scheduled a race at International Raceway Park that is in direct conflict with the NASB race at Mid-Ohio, Mid-Ohio has been one of the premier,events in mot orcycle road racing for as Icing as I've been involved in the sport. For theAMA to willfully depri ve fans , teams and sponsors from the opportunity of participating in a Mid-Oh io even t shows that their agenda is to protect their own in teres ts and not the interest of the sport." Tom Mu eller, the presid en t of AMA Pro Racing , said the association di dn't hav e a choice,of dates at the facility , and that the AMA Superb ike National will run in conjunction wi th an AMA ProStar d rag race already scheduled for June 3-4: "I want to make one thin g clear," Mu eller said. "Th ere were no other dates at IRP. Keith Kizer (the owner of ProStar) came forward with his date and it wa s just a coincidence that it was June 4. We didn't go for that date; it was the only one tha t was available. We didn't do it to step on an ybody's toes and we have no ill will towards the folks at Mid-Ohio.' Edmondson sees things differently. Recently thwarted in his attempts to initiate some sort of "peace offering tha t the manufacturers asked for," Edmondson sees the date conflict as "clearly a calculated move to put pressure on all involved:' The teams contacted immediately follow ing the AMA's announcem en t were in agreement as to where their allegiance had been pledged. . "We will be at Raceway Park," Smokin' Joe's Racing team ownerMartin Adams said when asked where his Honda-backed team would compete come June 4. "Without a doubt:' Others contacted prior to deadline concurred with Adams: "The Yosh team (Yoshimura Suzuki) will be at all AMA events in 1995," sa id Mel Harris, Suzuki's director of marketing and an AMA Board of Trustees member. "We had all (the major manufacturers) sent letters to the promoters telling them that we sup port the AMA . We sent those letters long before this turned in to such a mess . The y still 'd on' t seem to believe that:' "We will definitely be at IRP if it comes down to that," Vance & Hines team owner Terry Vance said. "I think everybody will be. We have no choice . We'll definitely be at the AMA race ." The one team owner who wavered at giving his all-out sup po rt for the AMA series was Muzzy Kawasaki's Rob Muzzy: "I can't answer that," he said from his shop in Bend , Oregon. "Presuming the AMA has a full schedule, we would compete for the AMA Championship. I guess that does answer it. Sitting here it's not that easy to say it just depends on the AMA's program. I've stayed out of this whole thing. Some of the promoters Roger has are some of our best promoters. I feel bad walking away from that. But, on the other hand, we have to race where the others race or we lose a championship. I hate to see a power struggle like this, but where all the other manufacturers end up going is where we will end up going:' , As for Fast By Ferracci. Ducati - they'll go where the competition is, according to team manager Larry Ferracci: "We're racing for a championship, wherever that ma y be . We can 't win anything unless we beat Kawasaki, and Kawasaki can ' t win anything unless they beat Ducati. Unless Roger Edmondson is putting on an AMA Championship race, there' s really no option. The manufacturers want to win championships, and we're no different. We have to bring home a trophy of some sort. But we need to have a schedule soon. Logistically, this is a disaster." There are other parties involved other than the race teams, but it seems the AMA has a commitment from them as well. Dunlop's Jim Allen says the number-one tire su pplier in U.S. road racing will be at the AMA races: "Dunlop 's service would be at Indianapolis Racewa y Park," Allen said. "Even though we have sp ons ored the MidOhio event, they know we are sup porting the AMA events. We have a meeting with Mid-Ohio on January 24 to talk about the even t, but in theory we don't have a contract with Mid-Ohio because we are contracted to sponsor AMA race, not a NASB event." And what about contingency programs - the key to the suc cess of any Supersportracing series. "We were asked about contingency," Allen said. "But we have written them (NASB) a letter stating that Dunlop will not be posting any contingency in NASB events this year." The one race that could throw a wrench into the team's plans to not race with NASB is the opening round of the series, scheduled at Daytona International Speedway a week prior to the Daytona 200. Although both Adams and Vance said that their U.S.based teams would definitely not compete, Muzzy sai d his hands would be tied if the others - includin g Yamaha and Ducati's World Superbike effort - did use the NASB race to gain extra testi ng time at the famed Daytona Beach, Florida, venue. "We are tryI ing to make a final deci sion right now as to Daytona," Muzzy said . "What the others ' ar e doing definitely plays into m y decision. If one of the others run it, it would give ! them an advantage and we can't afford to give them an y advantages. We have to make I a decision and I exp ect tha t to come ve ry sh ortly:' It remains to be seen whether or not the promoters who have com mitted to backing I Edmondson and his new series will jump back into the AMA fold. Up to this point, the I promoters (namely the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Brainerd International Raceway, Phoenix International Raceway, and Road Am erica) have said no " but that was wi th I ' the belief that Edmondson would indeed attract the major teams to participate with I NASB. an -I .1

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