Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Yamaha's WSB team withdraws F ollowing the death of Japanese World Superbike rider Yasutomo Nagai on Tuesday, September 12, Yamaha Motor Company Japan and Yamaha Motor Company Europe N.V. made a decision to withdraw its World Superbike team from the remaining two rounds of the series in Sentul, Indonesia (October 15), and Phillip Island, Australia (October 29), as a mark of respect for Nagai (right). Nagai, 29, died as a result of the head injuries suffered in the Dutch round of the World Superbike' Series on Sunday, September 10. Nagai never regained consciousness following the accident, and his condition gradually deteriorated. He was joined at the hospital in Assen by his mother, girlfriend and father. Nagai began his racing career on minibikes. and his first road race came at the age of 21. After two successful seasons, he was signed as a factory rider by Yamaha in 19139 and remained with the company ever since. Nagai joined the World Superbike team this year after a strong outing in the Japanese round of the series and in the 501 d'Or endurance race in 1994. At the time of his death, Nagai was fourth in the World Superbike Championship point standings. Yamaha's decision to withdraw means that Nagai's teammate Colin Edwards II will also end his season prematurely. Edwards currently lies itinth in the series point standings.. . "We are extremely upset about what has happened and we feel terribly sad for Yasu's family and girlfriend:' said the team's sporting director Christian Sarron. "Absolutely no blame whatsoever can be apportioned for the accident. It was truly a concours de circonstances (unfortunate sequence of coincidences) that led to his injuries. Assen is one of the safest tracks in the world, it was not a high-speed crash, and normally a rider would have got up and walked away - and that just makes it harder to accept. We are all terribly upset and sad, but even angry that it should end this way." \ combs Ranch, Lookout Restaurant, Cooks Comer and Cantina La Vida The Pomona Half Mile, sponsored by the RV Manufacturers Show, will be held October 7 at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. Motocross legend Rick Johnson won the 1995 Sportsman Class Stock Car Championship at El Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, California, with a second-place finish on Saturday, September 16. Johnson, a stock car rookie, is hoping to use the pavement tr~k time as a springboard to a NASCAR SuperTrucks ride. Singer Lyle Lovett suffered a broken right wrist while practicing for the Novio;! 250cc Sportsman class on Friday, September 15, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Round 10 of the Grand National Cross Country Championship, scheduled for Jewett Ohio, on September 30 and October 1, has had a location change. For logistical reasons, the race will now be held in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on the same date. The pit area for the "Wilderness 100" will be in the Wilderness Waterpark and Campground, which is on Sycamore Road. For the first time, motorcycles will compete on Saturday, with ATVs doing battle on Sunday. For more information, call 304/5941157. Ital takes ISDE lead T he International Six Days Enduro got underway in Jelenia Gora, Poland, on Monday, September 18, and the defending champion Italian World Trophy Team took the early lead. Led by former World Enduro Champion Giorgio Grasso and fourstroke ace Arnaldo Nicoli, the Italians enjoyed a 22.27-point lead over Sweden after the first day, 71.03 to 93.30. Finishing out the day in third with 94.06 points was the French Trophy Team, while fourth was held down by Finland with 126.73. The U.S. Trophy Team - Randy Hawkins (Suzuki RM125), Chris Smith (TM 125), Jason Dahners (KTM 250 E/Xq Steve Hatch (Suzuki RMX25O), Rodney Smith (Suzuki RMX25O) and Greg Zitterkopf (KTM 620 LC4) - rounded out the top five with 260.40 points. Hawkins and Chris Smith were fifth and ninth, respectively, in the 125cc class, Rodney Smith, Hatch and Dahners held down fourth, 21st and 31st in the 250cc division and Zitterkopf sat 11th in the 500cc Four-Stroke category. In the Junior World division, Australia led with Spain second and Italy third. The U.S. Junior World team, made up of Patrick and Brian Garrahan, Scott McLaughlin and Jim Gray, finished the day in eighth. Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel was the top individual rider, and also led the 250cc class. Grasso headed the 125cc class and Nicoli the 350cc Four-Stroke class. FourStroke World Enduro Champion Kari Tiainen, of Finland, led the 500cc Four-Stroke division. All 37 American riders entered in the event finished the moderately difficult day, including the all-woman club team of Carroll Williams, Lori Taylor and Lisa Ann Gibson. The first day featured 180 miles of trail over two loops, including two grass track special tests and one cross country test. The trail consisted of mostly two-track dirt roads and pavement, with some single-track. Rain the week earlier left the trail tacky and moist. More than 400 riders started the event and 22 countries were represented. Triumrh releases new mode' O n September 28, Triumph will unveil its new Trophy model at the Paris Motorcycle Show. The Trophy was originally launched in 1991 as a sports tourer and was a popular model across all of Triumph's 33 markets. With the launch of the Sprint in '93, Triumph decided to differentiate between these two sports tourers by evolving the Trophy into a hybrid touring model. Over the last few years the Triumph design team set about making the bike better for long-distance riding without degrading the bike's sporting character. Of primary importance was a redesign of the fairing to afford better weather protection. The new design incorporates distinctive twin headlights, developed to offer improved illumination for night riding and provide a unique identity for the front of the motorcycle. In addition, the lines and frontal area have been sculpted through extensive wind-tunnel testing to allow good aerodynamics and provide substantial protection from the elements for both the rider and passenger. A taller windscreen is available as an. accessory. The design team also modified the ergonomics to create a more-relaxed riding position, a new handlebar with more pullback and rise, redesigned and repositioned footrests and a new sculpted seat help ensure greater long-distance comfort. New instrumentation and a revised dashboard improve the riding environment and the gauges are now set in a frame-mounted panel, complete with chrome-plated bezels. An analog, clock and fuel gauge are now standard features as well.. The '96 Trophy series will come standard with an all-new hard luggage system. The color-coordinated, 8.32-gallon-capacity saddlebags are designed by Triumph, and have room for a helmet inside. They are easily installed and removed, and their mounting brackets are inconspicuous when the saddlebags are removed. Ken "The Shoe Man" Maely called to let us know he'll be out of the country from October 2-13, a time span which will include both the Sacramento Mile and Pomona Half Mile Grand National events. Maely will be back for the Del Mar Mile. For more information, call 909/277-8989. The Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association's 55th Annual Fall Rally & Races will include round six of the AMAIMARS Series at New Asheville Speedway on September 29. The association is posting a $20,000 purse and is offering a $1000 600cc Pro-Am event. In addition, the AMA and CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) will hold an AMA Pro Short Track at the Georgia Karting Complex in Carnesville, Georgia, on September 30'- the night after the AMA/MARS event at Asheville. According to sources,in Europe, the FIM will announce weight-limit changes for the World Superbike Series at their annual congress in October. The new limit will be 352 pounds for both twin cylinder and four cylinder superbikes. The n!!w rule will be unchanged for five years. Many may have noticed the new logo on the side of Carl Fogarty's factory pucati which graced our cover last week. The Ducati team is now sponsored by Kremlovskaya Vodka, a deal that will see the team with the vodka manufacturer's backing through 1996. Gary Nixon and Jody Nicholas will lead motorcyclists through the tri-state area on October 1 for BMW's Miracle Ride, a fund-raising event to benefit the millions of Americans who suffer from Croho's disease and ulcerative colitis. Nixon and Nicholas will lead riders from Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck, New York, to BMW's national headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. CMC will no longer be holding events at Sunrise Valley Raceway in Adelanto, California, as of Monday, September 18, according to CMC. NAMED: Bob Gilbert as general manager of Bob Dron Harley-Davidson in Oakland, California. Gilbert most recently served as the principal of Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At HarleyDavidson of Sacramento in Sacramento, California, on September 29 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.rn. Scott Parker and Chris Carr are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 916/929-4680. CHANGED: The phone number for Agajanian Presents, the promoters of the upcoming Del Mar Mile, to 310/5479898. CHANGED: The October 14-15 fourth round of the Over the Hill Gang National Championship Series, has been ~ moved from Sunrise Cycle Park, to 0\ Rainbow II MX Park in San Jacinto, Cali- T""'! fornia. For more information call 310/864-6875. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Irv Seaver Motorcycles in Orange, California, on September 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. BMW Battle of the Legends racers David Aldana, Walt Fulton Jr. and Jody Nicholas are scheduled to appear. For more information, call Evan Bell at 714/532-3700. m 3

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