Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND Three-time U.s. Supercross and two-time World Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath (Hon) was the winner at the December 2 Genoa Supercross, held in Genoa, Italy. McGrath's teammate Steve Lamson (Hon) was second, while Eastern Regi.onal 125cc Supercross Champion Mickael Pichon (Kaw) came home third. Jeff Dement (Hon) and Larry Ward (Yam) rounded out the top five. Recently crowned Spanish National Trials Champion Marc Colomer (Mon) won the December 2 Girona Indoor Trial, held in Girona, Spain. British National Champion Steve CoUey (G-G) was the runnerup, while seven-time World Champion Jordi Tarres (G-G) rounded out the top three. Kenichi Kuroyama (Bet) and Joan Pons (G-G) were fourth and fifth, respectively. Jeromy Buehl (Kaw) won three out of four races during the two-night AMA PJl Arenacross Series, held in the MetroCentre in Rockford, illinois, on December 1-2. On Friday, December 1, Buehl won both the 125 and 250cc Expert classes, topping Jinuny Gaddis (Kaw) and Todd DeHoop (Suz) in the 125cc class and Chad Pederson (Kaw) and Gaddis in the 250cc class. On Saturday night, December 2, Buehl topped Gaddis and Cliff Palmer (Suz) in the 250cc class and finished second behind Gaddis in the 125cc class; DeHoop was third. Buehl leads the championship point standings after three rounds, 197-192, over Gaddis. Ty Davis (Kaw) scored the overall win at the U.S. Hare Scrambles Championship in Laughlin, Nevada, on December 2. The event marked the final round of the Casey Folks Best in the Desert Series. The runner-up was Greg Zitterkopf (Kaw), while Jim Gray (KTM), Destry Abbott (KTM) and Scot Harden (KTM) rounded out the top five overall. Round four of the Mid-South Winter Hare Scrambles Series in Fordsville, Kentucky, on December 3, saw Mike Morris (Yam) take the overall win. Doug Blackwell (Yam) finished second, while former ISDE gold medalist Aaron Hough (Kaw), who, along with his brother Kurt, spends most of his time racing cars, finished third. Former National Enduro Champion Terry Cunningham (Kaw) finished fourth, while Mike Sampson (Yam) completed the top five. In a surprise move, second-ranked U.S. Supercross Series rider Larry Ward signed a contract with the Honda of Troy team for 1996. Ward joins Brian Swink, Mike Craig and Mike Brown on the HoT squadron. With Larry Ward's departure, the Noleen/Sizzler/Yamaha squad is left with only one rider, Ultracross Champion Kyle Lewis. Rumors have team owner Oark Jones wooing Jimmy Button, who spent the past season contesting the World Championship 125cc MX Series. !!? 0\ ..... Team Magic Bike Yamaha rider Bob Moore will be on hand at the December 10 SSC Winter Warm-Up Series finale at Castaic Motocross Park in Castaic, California. The 1994 12Sec World Champion will sign autographs and is also expected to compete in the Pro classes. In addition, Moore helped layout the new outdoor section added to the normal stadiumstyle course. Once again, promoter Shane Trittler is offering a money back guarantee that the track will be one of the best around. For more information, call 805/294-0020. Kirk McCarthy (Hon) wrapped up the 1995 Australian Superbike Champi-. onship in the final round of the series at Phillip Island on December 3. McCarthy finished behind Martin Craggill (Kaw) in the first race before ending the day with a second-place finish behind Mat Mladin (Kaw) in race two. Mlliiddin, who will race a Yoshimura Suzuki in the 1996 AMA Superbike National Championship, finished second in the series point standings. KTM has finalized its motocross and offroad racing teams for 1996. Ty Wallace and Kevin Crine will head KTM's MX effort, while, in the off-road arena, Nick Pearson and James Gray will make up KTM's desert offensive. Pearson will compete in the 250cc class, and Gray will take on the 500cc class. Reigning Grand National Cross Country Champion Scott Plessinger has signed on for another year. Jason Dahners has also joined the -team; he, as well as Plessinger, will compete in the AMA National Hare Scrambles and GNCC series. Also, Mike Lafferty will campaign the National Enduro circuit. Riders who bring a can of non-perishable food to the December 10 Racing Enterprises Christmas Grand Prix at Carlsbad Raceway in Carlsbad, California, will receive extra raffle tickets for the postrace giveaways. Spectators may PU!chase raffle tickets. The Pro class will enjoy at least a ISO-percent payback, and multitime National and Supercross,Champion Rick Johnson is expected to compete on the course which he helped layout. For more information, call 619/ 484-1441. Several dates in the World Championship Trials Series schedule have been changed. The German World Round will be held July 27-28, the Czech Republic World Round will be held July 27-28 and the Belgian World Round will be held August 17-18. In addition, the 1996 Trial des Nations, to be held in Sweden, has been rescheduled for August 31-September 1. A Thunder Cross of California fourstroke MX series will be held in conjunction with this year's GFI Winter Series. Classes will be available for beginner, junior, intermediate and pro riders, with a 200-percent payback for the Pro class when there are at least seven riders. For more information, contact Mike Young Jr. at 909 / 603-2372. There will be no.open practice at Rainbow II MX Park on December 9, as the Over the Hill Gang will hold their final event of '95 at the facility. For more information, call 909 / 672-6811. In a major victory for off-road motorcyclists, President Clinton signed the National Highway System (NHS) Designation Act into law on November 28. Contained within that huge transportation bill is language that will provide $30 million for the National Recreational Trails Trust Fund. The fund is designed to develop and maintain trails used ,by motorized-recreation enthusiasts and other recreational groups, according to the AMA. Sen. Dirk Kempthorne (RIdaho) introduced the trails funding amendment to the highway system bill in the Senate Transportation and infrastructure Subcommittee. The subcommittee approved the trails amendment unanimously, and Senate language approving the trails funding was subsequently incorporated into the final version of the bill signed by President Clinton. Late in 1991, the AMA and other groups repre- • Kocinski rides a aln F ormer 250cc World Champion John Kocinski rode a factory Ducati 916 for the first time during a top-secret test session at-Misano in Italy on November 30 - but is there really any such thing as a secret test at Misano? While still negotiating with HRC for a possible 250cc Grand Prix ride, and with Kenny Roberts, Yamaha and Marlboro for a possible return to 500cc GP racing, Kocinski agreed to test the factory Ducati as long as it remained a secret. Word quickly leaked that Kocinski was in Mi5anO, and team manager Virginio Ferrari finally stopped denying the story on Friday - after photographers had taken photos of the Californian from uncompromising positions on the track wall. Kocinski completed 25 laps on the Grand Prix track on Thursday, but cold temperatures combined with fog made for poor riding conditions. In similar conditions on Friday, Kocinski turned in 15 more laps and his best time was a 1:37.5 - some two seconds off the lap record set by Mauro Lucchiari during the Italian round of the World Superbike Series in May. Still, Ferrari was pleased: "We had a very low temperature and the tires don't work absolutely in this conditions," the Italian said from his mobile phone. '10hn tested the Carl Fogarty bike arriving from the last World Superbike races in Australia. The engine wasn't overhauled. John asked to make this test to try our superbike and his first sensations is very good. We are enthusiasts of John. At the end of the second day he was very happy and he had very good words for Ducati and the mechanics. He also asked for pictures as a souvenir of these moments. John is a fantastic rider and a good guy; we worked for three years very well with Fogarty and J think we could work in the same way with John. I hope that he will accept our offer for the 1996 World Superbike Series." On Friday evening, Kocinski and Ferrari drove from Misano to Varese, the home of the Cagiva Group headquarters, for a meeting with owner Claudio Castiglioni. "We offer to John a very big opportunity to re-enter in the world scene after one sabbatic year: a winning bike, a very good team and... right money," Castiglioni said. "We consider Kocinski a top rider for World Superbike, and after the Fogarty departure we need to have a top rider. He was with Cagiva in 1994 and he knows our motivations and our mentality. We will do big effort to persuade him to sign the 1996 contract." Ferrari's goal is to have his' team solidified prior to the Michelin tire tests, which are scheduled for December 12-14. That may not be possible, however, as Kocinski has asked for two or three extra days. ·Reportedly, Kocinski will use the time to test the Marlboro Yamaha YZRSOO. If Kocinski turns down Ducati's offer, the man many believe to be next on the list is Italian Loris Reggiani, the former Aprilia factory rider. Reggiani could prove to be a valuable asset for testing the new Cagiva F-4 and would provide the team with a veteran to go along with newcomer Neil Hodgson. Paolo Gozzi senting the interests of trail users were successful in getting a bill passed that allowed the federal government to spend a portion of the gasoline taxes it receives from off-highway vehicles users to develop and maintain trails for motorized and non-motorized use. The original bill called for up to $30 million a year to go into this trail fund, but since then, the fund has.received only a one-time appropriation of $7.5 million. The highway bill signed on November 28 by the President allocates $15 million in funding to the program in each of the next two months. tory helmet laws for all motorcyclists or face the prospect of having federal highway construction funds diverted. With the signing of the NHS Act, however, state legislatures are now free to decide on the merits of mandatory helmet laws without the undue pressure of federal coercion. Despite the federal government's efforts, only one state, Maryland, enacted a helmet law while the federal helmet mandates were in effect. State legislators had grown tired of the federal government's heavy-handed attempts to blackmail them into passing laws. The National Highway System (NHS) Designation Act, which was just signed into law by President Ointon, also contains language that repeals the federal helmet law mandate. Previously, federal law had required states to ,enact manda- Nationally syndicated columnist c.J. Mangen has been named "Most Valued Person" by the AMA ior 1995, according to a press release issued by Tribune , Media Services. San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Mangen writes "Full

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