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/127715
Sound of Thunder Four-Stroke MX Series. . After a very brief stint with mountain bike manufacturer Answer/Manitou, former Honda motocross team manager Dave Arnold has returned to the Red Riders. Arnold is now working at a new position in Honda Research and Development. "When I left Honda, I wasn't so much quitting the company as I was the lifestyle, what with the traveling and all," said Arnold. "I was still on good terms and everything, but I was looking forward to working with Answer. They're also a great company, and I had absolutely no problems with them, but when the Honda R&D guys called me and said, 'Hey, we're not going to let you get away: it was too much to pass up. This is the position of a lifetime." The first official preseason tests for iefending 500cc World Champion ~ichaeI Doohan and HRC have' been :Ioud ed in secrecy, according to Ausralian Cycle News contributor Bernie .1cGuire. Unlike the rival Lucky Strike iuzuki and MarlboroYamaha teams, )oohan and the Honda team denied ccess to the media during their three lays of testing at Phillip Island in Ausralia recently. In addition to Doohan, .lex Criville, Alberto Puig and Shinichi to h , World Superbike riders Doug 'o le n and Aaron Slight were also fforded the opportunity to take some IpS on an NSR500 Grand Prix racer. )oohan is also believed to have tested ne of the 1995 Honda RC45 superbikes n the final day of the test. .ccording to McGuire, Wayne Rainey as picked Doohan to win a second )Occ World Championship in 1995. "I link Mick will probably smoke 'em this ear," Rainey said. "I think it will come own really to four guys, with Doohan 70-percent chance of winning the nampionship. (Kevin) Schwantz has a O-percent chance and I'd say (Luca) 'adalora and (Daryl) Beattie are in there lith a 25-percent chance. I think it will orne down to those four guys and it /ill be the rider who makes the least umber of inistakes. It will be like NFL ootball - you have turnovers. If you .ive it to the other team, they take dvantage of it and I think that is the vay it will be in this year's champimship." Nayne Rainey was in Australia with his !50cc team of Tetsuya Harada and Kenny Roberts Jr. "I want to win the !50cc World Championship," Rainey told McGuire in Australia. "Since the injury (Rainey was paralyzed during the 1993 Grand Prix season), I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life and this is the most excited I've been since the accident. I'll be running all aspects of the team. I'm still out looking for sponsors, keeping the riders motivated and keeping the mechanics motivated. Testing here in Australia is part of this new deal, where I get to go out around the track and watch a lot more than I ever have." Rainey's team is expected to be sponsored by Marlboro, Dunlop, Shell and Yamaha. Harada's best time at Eastern Creek during the test was a 1:34.21 - well outside his own official best lap of 1:32.894, set on his way to winning the 1993 Australian Grand Prix. Kawasaki will back a two-rider effort in the AMA 600cc and 750cc Supersport Series in the coming season - Team Kinko's/Kawasaki - with James Randolph and Thomas Wilson handling the riding chores. Randolph, 24, finished fourth in last year's 750cc Supersport Series. The team's Kawasakis will be tuned by Scotty Beach, who formerly worked for Team Suzuki Endurance. The Kinko's team truck will also provide road racers with parts and technical support at the track, similar to the Team Green program that has been a fixture at motocross and off-road events in past years. Last year, Kinko's backed Wilson in a team with Jason Pridmore; . the pair rode Yamahas. Ontrac Promotions and Thompson's Yamaha/Kawasaki/Suzuki are planning to open a new motorsports complex near Knoxville, Tennessee, in April. Plans are for the ISO-acre Big South Forl: Raceway to host late-model dirt track races on Friday nights and MX on Saturday nights this summer and fall, as well as off-road competitions. For more information call 615/573-5425. The FIM has announced the following schedule changes: The European Road Racing Championship round scheduled in Rijeka, Croatia, on June 11, has been cancelled. The French 125cc Motocross Grand Prix scheduled for July 9, will be held in Castelnau-de-Levis, The Holiday Inn-Bradley International has been designated the official race headquarters for the MX 338 125/250cc AMA National at Southwick, Massachusetts, which is scheduled for June 24-25. Rooms have been reserved under a block for MX 338. In order to reserve an available room at the special rate of $79 single or double, you must mention MX338 when making reservations. For reservations, call the Holiday Inn, 203/627-5171, or for more information, contact Frank Gerace, 315/732-4363. Along Pit Road, a radio show hosted by Richard Chambers, will enter its fifth year of broadcasting on WROD 1340 AM during Camel Speedweek in Daytona Beach, Florida. The show will air nightly from Shakey Jake's Centercourt Sports Bar and Restaurant in Holly Hill, Florida, from March 6-11. AMA Pro Racing has posted a total of $15,000 in championship bonuses for the AMA 600cc National Dirt Track and Regional Dirt Track Series in 1995. A total of $10,000 in championship bonuses will be distributed in the four regional dirt track series classes - 750cc Expert, .600cc Expert, 600cc Pro-Am and 250cc Pro-Am. In addition, $5000 will be paid out in the 600cc National Dirt Track Series. The four-round 600cc National Dirt Track Series begins with a short track at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 10. Round two will be held at the Peoria TT on June 11; round three will take place at the Converse Half Mile in Converse, Indiana, on August 20 and the final round will be held at the Castle Rock TT in Washington on September 9. According to the AMA, California motorcyclists won a small victory last week when the state's South Coast Air Quality Management District proposed amendments to its regulations that would recognize the contributions motorcycle commuters can make to the region's air quality. The amendments were proposed to Regulation 1501, which is designed to encourage ridesharing and carpooling by requiring employers with over 100 employees to implement trip-reduction plans that will help the Southern California region meet federal and state clean-air stan- Kart racers for ada M UZZy Kawasaki's Scott Russell, multi-time MX Champion Jeff Ward and current Indy car driver Paul Tracy were on hand at Amago Raceway in Riverside, California, just prior to the Anaheim Supercross to help celebrate helmet painter Troy Lee's birthday with a go-kart outing. (Above left) Tracy and Ward battle while (above right) Russell, clad in Wally Dallanbach Jr:s Keystone Beer driver's suit, goes it alone. . . dards. Initially, Regulation 1501 specifically recognized the value of carpooling in meeting those standards, but did not acknow ledge the contribu tions tha t could be made by two-up motorcycle commuters. The proposed amendment will ensure that commuting motorcyclists who carry passengers to work will be treated the same as carpooling motorists. Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California, is currently undergoing some $3 .million in renovations. A media center, tower suites, garages and a resurfaced access road will be added in the coming months. "We are dedicated to creating a facility that is second to none in terms of what it has to offer fans , hospitality guests and racers:' Sears Point President Steve Page said. The AMA has scheduled a round of the AMA Superbike National Championship Series at Sears Point for August 26-27. Drew Lien , the owner of 100% Products, suffered a ruptured appendix at the Anaheim Supercross. All sponsored riders will be helped during Lien's recovery by Jon Crempa at 800/871-1007. GFI Racing is looking for interested stock 50cc riders for intermission shows at the MTEG Off-Road Grand Prix Series rounds in Seattle, Washington; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Detroit, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah. For an application, call 909/943-3302. The Willow Springs Motorcycle Club has gone online. You can reach Kenny Kopecky at WSMC by E-Mail at "RaceWillow@aol.com" MOVED: The Sports Riders Association of Colorado motocross season opener at the Pueblo Motorsports, Inc., facility in Pueblo, Colorado on February 19, to Rocky Mountain Promotions' Aurora facililty in Aurora, Colorado. The date of the event will remain the same. For more information call 303/988-7722. ANNOUNCED: Gerace Communications as the official marketing/communications agency for the Canadian Motorcycle Association. For more information ciill315/732-4363. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At San Diego House of Motorcycles in San Diego, California, on February 10 from 6:00 to 7:00 p .m. Team Suzuki riders Greg Albertyn, Damon Huffman, Craig Decker, Tim Ferry and Ezra Lusk are scheduled to appear, as is team manager Roger DeCoster. For more information call 619/229-7700. FRANCHISED: Los Angeles HarleyDavidson, Inc., 13300 Paramount Blvd., South Gate, CA 90280, as a Buell distributor. For more information call 310/ 4086088. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At America's Original Sports Bar inside America Live! in Sacramento, California, on February 13 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., during Carmichael Honda's Sport Bike Night. Harley-Davidson factory superbike rider Doug Chandler and 750cc Supersport rider James Randolph are scheduled to appear. For more information call 916/373-1557. NAMED: Several personnel changes at the Dunlop Tire Corporation in Buffalo, New York : DeWitt W. Arnold to vice president of marketing; Phil Marrett to vice president of Dunlop brand sales; Paul Papke to vice president, original equipment sales; Robin Mitchell to senior vice president, sales and administrative service. All four of these executives will report to P. David Campbell, Dunlop's recently named senior executive vice president. HIRED: Margaret Fowler as an account representative with Van Leeuwen Ent., Inc. Fowler is the producer of Centerstand, Californian radio station KPFK's motorcycle talk show, and former publisher of Free 2 Wheel. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Sunnyslope Honda in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 24 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Moose off-road team of Steve Hatch and DestryAbbott are scheduled to appear. For more information call 602/319-5221. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At SLO City Cycles in San Luis Obisbo on February 17 from 5:00 p .m to 8:00 p.m. Team ll) Suzuki's Steve Hatch and Randy 0\ Hawkins are scheduled to appear. For 0\ more information call 805/541-1741. "'""' FORMED: DK's Wild Rides, a company specializing in Southern California guided off-highway-vehicle tours . For more information call 909/781-6580. FORMED: A new cable service, the Outdoors, Motorsports & Collectibles Network, Inc. (OMC), by Seals Communication's president, Lou Seals. (N 3