Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Belgian Joel Smets (Hbg) won both motos at round four of the World Championship 500cc MX Series, held May 21 in Loker, Czech Republic. Australian Shayne King (KTM) was second overall, while American Mike Young (Ve r) scored his first GP podium finish in third . Trampas Parker' (KTM) finished fourth and lost the series point lead to Smets. With six rounds left, Smets leads Parker, 128122. The fourth round of the World Championship 250cc MX Series, held May 21 in Ruskeasanta, Finland, went to Belgian Marnicq Bevoets (Suz), Finishing second overall and further extending his series point lead was American Tallon Vohland (Kaw), while Werner DeWit (Suz), Peter Beirer (Hon) and Stefan Everts (Kaw) rounded out the top five. Vohland now enjoys a 23-point lead over Bervoets and Everts, who are tied for second,162-139. Italian Alessandro Puzar (Hon) won the fourth round of the World Championship 125cc MX Series, held May 21 in Norg, Holland. American Jimmy Button (Hon) was second overall and enjoyed his first visit to the podium, while Sebastien Tortelli (Kaw) earned third. Puzar enjoys a healthy 28-point lead over Alessio Chiodi fifth in Holland - 155-127. Defending National Champion Geoff Aaron (Bet) won round four of the AMA/NATC NationalChampionship Trials Series, held May 20 in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Sixtime National Champion Ryan Young (G-G) was second overall, ahead of Jess Kempkes (G~G), Lonny Hallsted (Bet) and Matt Moore (GG). Young rebounded with a win at ' round five, held the following day in Montour Falls, New York. Aaron was second ahead of Raymond Peters (Fan), Hallsted and Moore. Young leads Aaron in the series point standings, '135-124. Kempkes is third with 85. Fred Andrews (Yam) scored the overall win at round six of the Grand National Cross Country Series in Boyers, Pennsylvania, on May 21. Andrews finished just ahead of Tom Norton (Yam) and Scott Plessinger (KTM). Rounding out the top five were Steve Hatch (Suz) and Duane Conner (Yarn). Guy Cooper (Su z), was running fourth before drowning out in a water hole on the last lap. However, Cooper still holds the series points lead. In Roseburg, Oregan, Rodney Smith (Suz) won the fourth round of the National Hare Scrambles Series, May 21. The defending champ finished ahead of former champ Scott Summers (Hon), Ryan Huffman (Hon), Eric Mashbir (Hon) and Jason Dahners (KTM). • Schmit thumps'to World Four-Stroke Motocross Championship _ T w o-ti m e World Champion Donny Schmit (right) added yet another title to his list of career accomplishments, the White Bros. World Four-Stroke MXC Championship. Held on May 21 at San Bernardino's Glen Helen Raceway, the popular annual event drew nearly 300 entrants, Since retiring from World Championship competition at the end of the 1994 season, Schmit has spent his time competing in two forms of motorcycle racing that were all new to him: road racing and fourstroke MX racing. "Basically, I had to find a way to pass my time, now that I've retired," said Schmit. "Racing is in my blood, and although I didn't want to race at the level I had been for so many years, I still wanted to race." Though Schmit has yet to taste victory on the pavement, the Minnesota resident has advanced into the Expert class in a relatively short amount of time, and shows considerable promise. On the dirt, however, Schmit has little to learn . Having easily won the opening round of theSound of Thunder Four-Stroke MX Series, held in conjunction with the May 7 Hangtown 125/250cc MX National, Schmit was a heavy favorite entering the White Bros. event, which also served as round two of the SoT I.!) Series. His most recent win, however, did not come as easy as the first. Mounted Q'\ aboard a British-made factory CCM, Schmit suffered a poor start in the opening moto ~ and had worked up to third before he crashed back to an eventual fourth . Husabergmounted Lance Smail scored a runaway win in the first moto, followed by Rich Taylor (Hus), Gordon Ward (ATK), defending SoT Series Champion Greg Zitterkopf (KTM) and Schmit. ' ' . Schmit, .howeve~, ~etu,:,ed with a vengeance in moto two and scored a convincing Win, crossing the finish line some 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Zitterkopf. Ward, Taylor and Smail followed. Oddly enough, all five riders ended the day tied with six moto points a piece,.but it was Schmit who took the win by virtue of his second moto win. Zitterkopf, Ward, Taylor and Smail followed, in that order. Pole wins first-ever Speedway Grand Prix Oli~h hotshot TOJ?as Gollob won the first round of the Speedway Grand Prix Senes on May 20 In Wroclaw, Poland. Gollob topped Danish legend Hans Nielsen with the English pair of Chris Louis and Mark Loram finishing third and fourth, respectively. ' , . The top American in Poland was 1993 World Champion Sam Ermolenko, who fin-' ished sixth to collect 14 World Championship points on the night. Greg Hancock started in brilliant fashion with two seconds and a race win - but two last-place finishes deflated his expectations and he ended the night with nine Grand Prix points. Reserve Billy Hamill was surprisingly mov~ into the event when Danish rider Tommy Knudsen injured his ribs, Hamill scored four GP points and goes into the second round in Austria on June 17 as a starter. At that race, Ermolenko, Hancock and Hamill will be joined by recent injury victim Josh Larson. John Hipkiss P Paul Pinsonnault (Hon) and Harry Schrieber (H-D) won the opening ,rou nd of the Pro I«llclimb Championship in Middlebury, Indiana, on May 21. Pinsonnault topped Rick - Sotor (BSA) in the 540cc class while Schrieber beat Glendal Petty Jr. (H-D) in the 800cc class. David Schultz defeated John Myers to win the HRA Mopar Parts National Drag Race in Englishtown, New Jersey, on May 21. Schultz turned in a 7.69-second, 168-mph run to take the win. Schultz leads Myers, 449-362, after four events in the series. Harley-Davidson'sChris Carr gave the VRlOOO its first-ever victory when he won four races during the CCS road race weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc;onsin, on May 13-14. Carr, who was using the race as a test session, won the Solo GTO Expert, the Heavyweight Superbike, Heavyweight Twins and Unlimited GP classes over the course of the weekend. Carr won $309 in the GTO and GP events which he promptly donated to the Wegman Benefit Fund. Former multi -time National Motocross Champion Jeff Ward failed to qualify for next week's Indianpolis 500 - but only just. Ward, who attempted to qualify on "Bubble Day" at the famed speedway, took his tum on the famed race track late on Sunday afternoon, May 21 - the final day of qualifying for the Indy 500. Ward's first lap was good enough to qualify at 226 mph, but his times slipped as his four-lap effort progressed . He eventually competed his run at 224.764 mph with the final qualifier - . Davy Jones - clocking a 225.135 mph average. Ward joined a stellar list of non-qualifiers that included the Marlboro Penske cars of defending race champion Al Unser Jr . and Emerson Fittipaldi. Benoit Pilon (Yam) won the first round of the CMA / ASM QuebecOntario Superbike Championship in Mosport, Ontario, Canada, on May 22. Pilon topped Don Munroe (Kaw) and Linnley Clarke (Hon), Michael Taylor (Kaw) won the Pro Open Supersport class and the Pro 600cc Supers port class with Gord McKay taking the Pro 250cc GP class. Casey Folks has in the works what will be "the longest off-road race in the U.S." The Vegas to Reno race is scheduled to be held March 28-31, 1996, and, as of now, is 546 miles in length. The race will include motorcycles, cars and trucks, and ATVs, and all professional classes for motorcycles will be made up of two-man teams, while all sportsman classes will be allowed to have three-man teams. According to Folks, the Vegas to Reno race will start approximately 10 miles from downtown Las Vegas and finish approximately eight miles from downtown Reno. The host hotel in Las Vegas , as well as a major sponsor for the event, will be the Rio Hotel and Casino . Folks says that' entries will be available soon, For more information call Best In The Desert at 702/457-5775. The Fifth Annual Sh~wn McDonald Challenge Race for Safety will be held' on June 11 at Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Washington, as part of the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Series. The race raises money from 15 different Washington motorcycle companies /organizations and individual racer pledges to benefit the Spinal Cord Society (SCS). The SCS puts 100 percent of the money towards medical resarch in curing paralysis and this year's race is expected to raise $12,000. For more information call 206/957-5587. , The host hotel for the Las Vegas round of the U.S . Su p ercro ss Se ries on June 10 will be the Melrose Suites, according to Pace Super Sports. The Melrose Suites are loca ted one mile west of the famous "Strip," and the hotel is offering special pricing to teams and fans attending the race. In addition, a secondary ho tel - Sunrise Suites - has been secured. The deadline for reservations is May 31. For more information on both hotels, call 800/3624040. According to the Lake Elsinore (California) Valley Sun-Tribune, groundbreaking ceremonies were scheduled for Thursday, May 18, for a $30 million facility featuring a Formula One road racing course in Lake Elsinore. The 940-acre Alberhill site is being developed by Sam Bowlby, of Perrisbased Riverside Grand Prix Corp., and construcion is expected to begin by September, according to Bowlby, who told the Valley Sun-Tribune that the project would be privately financed. According to thereport, AMA road races and motocrosses would be run at the track, in addition to "Formula One Motorcars and Formula One Motorcycles." A Northeast Dirt Tra ck Champi-

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