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/127721
~OSIHIIIMlUJIA German Sarholz team. Dutchman Gert Jan Van Doom, 30, was their top man in fourth last year, while Belgian Peter Dirkx, 28, also mad e top 10, but cla ss re tu rnee Dietma r Lacher is tipped by man y for the title. The 29-year-old German alrea dy won a GP against the migh t of HRC in 1988, before inju ries played ha voc with his career, but he completely do minated his National cham pi onship last season and is hot again. The Dutch Van der Heyden team , for which Marcus Hansson won the titl e last year, again goes with non -native talent, but neither Belg ian Rudi Van Leeuwen, 25, nor Brit Christian Burnham, 22, are title winners. British har d man Mervyn Anstie, 29, had his best season ever in 1994, w inning the muddy Slovakian GP with two fla t tires, and two well-known Dut ch man enter the big-bike are na for the first time this year. In theory [ohn .Van den Berk, 27, is going for the triple cro w n like Parker, bu t knee injuri es have long hampered the man who won the 1987 125cc and 1988 250cc crowns. A better bet for honors is Edwin Evertsen, 25, an elegant rider who has pr ove his pace in the past with third in the World on 250s in 1992. Sadly his HRC year in 1994 was wrecked by injury, but he is now back to 100 percent fitness . In recent years, however, the 500cc class has revo lved aroun d the oversize four-stro kes which are allowed a 150cc displacement advantage to cou nterbalance their firing -cycle handicap. Ch ampion in 199 3 a n d narrow ly beaten last yea r, Jacky Marten s is still th e man to beat on th e 630cc factor y Hu sqvama. At 31, he sho ws no sign of s lo w ing down ye t a nd in co nsisten t resul ts in the wa rm up races sho uld not be ta ken too seriously . When you have already won everything in Europe, only the wo rld title coun ts. Jack y also turns team man ager th is year and gets support from fellow Belgian [ohan Boonen, 26, wh ose perennial ba ck prob lems are no w hopefully a th ing o f the past fo llow in g s urgery . Swe de Peter Joh an sson , 29, also ge ts a factory bike after switchi ng fro m th e 25Os, while Italian veteran Franco Rossi, 31, has been signed as a test rider. Another Belgian, Joel Smets, 26, has been desperatel y close to the title for the past tw o seas o ns . o n th e Ita lian Vertemati team, but their often exp losive relationship caused them to part ways and he sig ned for the Swedish Husaberg factory. Although placin g consistently at the early-season races, Smets read ily admits that he is still stru ggling a little ada pti ng to the 600 cc lo ng -s tro ke Sw edis h thu mper after two yea rs on the 530cc high-revving Italian bike. Other potential Husa berg po ints"scorers are fellow Belgians Chris Jacobs, 27, and Dirk Geukens, 31, plus class newcomer Tom Van Grinsven, a Dutch sand expe rt wh o placed in the top six in 250cc GPs on his favorite terrain last year . The Vertemati brothers still have the most beautiful and probably the fastest bike in the class, but Smets will be hard to replace. French-speaking Belgian Gerald Delep in e, 25, was flattered b y his seventh ranking in 1993 and can hardly be considered a potential winne r, while American newcomer Mike Young is an unknown quantity on the GP circuit. Racing forma t will go back to the old two-mote, 40-minutes-plus-two-lap format, afte r experimenting with the threemoto format. When the season is over , there will be three new champions as no one is defe nding their 1994 crown in the same class. £:\ . ist o ry Conti.n H es... Race Watch, Daytona International Speedway 1995 600cc Supersport 1st MIGUEL DuHAMEL 3rd MIKE HALE Smokin ' Joe's Racing Honda CBR600 F3 750cc Supersport 1st FRED MERKEL / 3rd DONALD . 'Yoshimura/Suzuki GSX-R750 JACKS . Fre Daytona 200 750 cc Super bike 3rd THOMAS STEVENS Yoshim ura/Suzuki GSX-R750 Iguel Yoshimura Powered, Yoshimura Equipped! All of these riders have exper ienced the Power of Yoshim ura_ So Can You. ~ ~OSIHIIIMlUJ~A YOSHIMURA R&D Of AMERICA 4555 Carter Court, Chino, CA 91710 For Information call (9 09) 627-9 249 (909) 628-4722 FAX (909) 591-21 98 SU~~tl~~OSS Souvenir yearbook The Official Event Program of the U.S. Supercross Seri es O again Supercross fans can order their own copies of the official event program ofthe U.S. Supercross Sertes, nce N you can read all about the 1995 Supercross season: F ow, actory team line-ups, interviews, Mder numbers, • top 125ccand 250ccstars, 1995 schedules, autograph pages and more! R etail Price $5.00 ea. (foreign price $6.50 ea), VISA/Mastercard Accepted Everythingyou'll want to know about the 1995 season is here in this a1l-color, glossy Supercross SoLNenir Y earbook... to order just call toll free 800-831-2220 or better yel- Visit your local Motorcycle.Dealership and pick up a copy.