Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1995 08 09

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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ยท: ,. 'I Belgian Mamicq Bervoets (Suz) swept both motos at the July 30 Polish round of the World Championship 250cc Motocross Series, held in Gdynia. Series point leader Stefan Everts (Kaw) was second overall via consistent 3-3 scores, while Dutchman Pedro Tragter (Suz) rounded out the top three with 5-2 finishes. Rick Soter III (BSA) and Steve Dresser (H-D) were the winners of the AMA Pro Hillclimb, held on July 29 in Haydenville, Ohio. Soter topped Paul Pinsonnault (Hon) and Scott McNeely (Hon) to win the 540cc class while Dresser beat Rodney Williams (H-D) and Glendal Petty Jr. (H-D) in winning the 800cc event. Despite the possible absence of two-time winner Alain Olivier, things are shaping up for a rally hero showdown at the August 13-20 Nevada Rally, which will start and finish in Las Vegas. Sharing top billing are multi-time Paris-Dakar winners Edi Orioli and Stephane Peterhansel. Though he competed in last year's event, Frenchman Peterhansel was aboard inferior equipment, and is said to be hungry for a win aboard a factory Yamaha Belgarda TT600. Peterhansel was originally scheduled to race for the French Yamaha team in the Paris to China Rally during the same time period but will now compete in the Nevada Rally as a member of the Italian Yamaha team, which will be based at Desert Only Yamaha in Henderson, Nevada. The Italian Orioli, on the other hand, will be a rookie in the event, and will switch from his normal Cagiva twin to a KTM single. As for Olivier, the Frenchman has switched from Kawasaki to K1M, but is on the mend from a broken leg. Franco Acerbis, the sponsor of the Nevada-Rally, has also announced that Stanton injured in road accident T ~ 0\ r-< 0\ .... :g be ~ < 2 four-time World Champion Eddie Lawson will be his guest for the rally. lawson is expected to join the race at its midpoint on August 17 and will ride the fifth day on his K1M before following the race in Acerbis' helicopter on the final day. Vic Karshner, the long-time business manager for Doug Polen, has left Polen's Hyperformance International and is no longer representing the Texan. "I'll still be very active in the motorcycle industry," Karshner said on July 31. "The split with Doug was amicable, and I intend to stay in the racer management and services end of the sport." Karshner , can be contacted at 817/497-3479 (voice) and 817/321-4681 (fax). Australian Anthony Gobert, the winner of the first World Superbike race at Laguna Seca on July 23, was being chauffeured around Monterey by his girlfriend, Beverly. Gobert, who is 20 years old, wasn't old enough to rent a car in California. Vincent Davis, who was a member of the U.S. Junior World Trophy team at last year's International Six Day Enduro in Oklahoma, as well as a Silver medalist at the event, was injured while competing at the Randolph Rocks Hare Scrambles in Randolph, Kansas, July 16. Davis hit a hidden log while attempting to pass riders through a grassy area beside the main trail. Davis was airlifted to St. Mary's hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, where he was later transferred to Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka for surgery. Davis suffered a multitude of injuries, including a fractured vertebra, a broken jaw, broken ribs and a broken ankle. Davis had qualified for this year's ISDE in Poland. Daredevil Bubba Blackwell will not be appearing at the Sturgis Dragway for the '95 Sturgis Rally & Races due to hree-time Supercross and three-time 250cc National MX Champion Jeff Stanton was seriously injured in a street bike accident near his home in Sherwood, Michigan, on Thursday, July 27. Stanton, Team Honda's Steve Lamson and another friend, Curt Vories, were riding home from dinner when a motorist, whose brakes failed at the bottom of an offramp on 1-94, broadsided Stan~on. According to Lamson, who witnessed the collision, the impact sent Stanton flying over the top of the car, which eventually stopped when it hit a pole. "We had just left and the car came off the off-ramp and T-boned him on the right side," said Lamson. "I'm just so happy that he's alive. It was bad." Lamson alerted a nearby gas station, then rushed back to Stanton. A 911 call got the ambulance to the site in three minutes, and Stanton was transported to a local hospital According to Jeffs wife, Sarah Stanton, the former MX champion suffered a shattered shoulder blade, shattered elbow, many broken bones in his hand, tom tendons and ligaments in his foot, and a badly bruised lung. Stanton was taken to the Battle Creek Community Hospital where, on Sunday, July 30, he underwent reconstructive surgery. The operation was expected to last 10 hours, but doctors were unable to work on Stanton's shoulder area for fear of spreading infections because of severe road rashes; instead, the surgery lasted approximately five and a half hours and a follow-up surgery will be performed in approximately 10 days to repair the shoulder. Cards and letters can be sent to Jeff Stanton clo Team Honda, 1919 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, California, 90501. Cycle News Rider of the Month: Steve Lamson F or Team. Honda/1-800-Collect rider Steve Lamson, the month of July was a . memorable one. After wrapping up the previous month with a pair of wins at the June 18 Budds Creek and June 25 Southwick 125cc Nationals, Lamson still found himself with a 38-point deficit in the series point standings. Thanks to mechanical failures and injuries early in the season, the likable Californian had quickly gone from the championship favorite to title long shot. But Lamson changed all that in July. The tough 24-year-old went on a tear, extending his win streak to four by sweeping all four motos at the following Red Bud and Kenworthy's 125cc Nationals. Suddenly, Lamson was back in title contention. Though Lamson didn't emerge victorious at the last two Nationals at Unadilla or Millville, he did remain consistent enough with a pair of seconds to move into a tie with Team Splitfire/Pro CircuitlKawasaki's Ryan Hughes for the championship point lead. With three rounds remaining, Lamson's chances of earning his first-ever National Championship look better than ever, as he is without a doubt the most consistent and experienced of the '95 title contenders. injuries suffered July 1 at the Portland (Oregon) Speedway. Blackwell crashed his Harley-Davidson XR750 while attempting to jump over 13 cars in Oregon, suffering a broken collarbone, two broken ribs, a broken scapula and a punctured lung. Tickets for the AMA Arizona Superbike Classic at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, are now available through Race West Productions at P.O. Box 6170, Anaheim, CA 92816-6170. The September 22-24 race is the final round of the AMA Superbike National Championship. . Friends of Clear Creek, a non-profit organization working to keep the BLM's Clear Creek Management Area (home of the Quicksilver National Enduro) open to off-highway vehicle use, is looking for an OHV enthusiast from the Northern California area with a background in botany to represent OHV users on a BLM technical review team. Interested parties can contact Ed Tobin at 408/434-2014. Gary McDonald, 48, died on July 26 after a bout with cancer. McDonald was a long-time Southern California speedway racer, former motocrosser and road racer. He was also served as general manager of Kushitani USA of Redondo Beach, California. Cards and letters can be sent to Lidia Reed, 505 Las Casas Ave., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. According to WERA, the recent Indy Cycle Jam at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, drew record entries. Over 400 riders turned out with some 927 entries filed for the four-day weekend event. The Viewfinders MlC have announced that their 22nd Grand Prix, which is being billed as "The Classic," will be held October 28-29 at Castaic Lake Park in California. Entries are now available by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Viewfinders GP, 2340 Greenbrook Dr., Oxnard, CA 93033. For more information call 805/483-1957 or 714/839-8633. American Suzuki Motor Corporation has announced its 1996 Motocross Contingency Program. Forty-two events have been added in 15 additional states for a record 362 events and $3,598,550 posting for '96. The California Superbike School has added a date to its calendar. An additional technical skills and coaching class will be held on November 3 at the Streets of Willow Springs in Rosamond, California. AMA Pro Racing's Ron Barrick and Tom Mueller recently completed the FIM accreditation seminar for road racing in Caracas, Venezuela. Barrick received his Clerk of Course accreditation, which allows him to officiate at FIM-sanctioned road races. Mueller received the Sporting Stewards license, _ which is necessary for participation on the various commissions that govern FIM competition. "The AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors has made it clear that they want the AMA to increase its visibility within the FlM," Mueller said. "We're making a concerted effort to integrate AMA Pro RaCing into FIM activities, which is an important part of keeping motorcycle racing in the United States strongly affiliated with our world governing body." Roger Annis, 45, died of a massive heart attack on July 23. A long-time speedway and off-road racer, Annis owned Chino Hills Auto Repair in Chino Hills, California. He is survived by a wife and two daughters. Lee Fabry, long-time racer, collector and restorer of vintage motocross bikes, has quit a 23-year career in the wholesale plumbing industry to restore vintage bikes full-time. Fabry can be reached at 818/303-2988. The well-used National MX Track at Glen Helen Raceway Park in San Bernardino, California, will be temporarily closed from August 7-16, for major reconstruction and improvements. "The new one-mile MX track will run in reverse of the existing track and feature an exciting new layout, as well as obstacles to challenge the dirt man-

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