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/127773
I ·INTH IN ' E·W D Jeromy Bu ehl (Ka w ) swe pt both 125cc m ain eve n ts at th e Feb ru ar y 23-24 PJ1 Super Arenacross , held in New Haven, Connecticut. Mi ke Jones (Suz ) wo n both 250cc mains, bu t consistent finish es in all fo u r ra ce s b y Jimmy Gad di s (Kaw) allowed the defend ing cha mp to reta in a healthy seri es point lead over Buehl. Doug Blackwell (Yam) scored the overa ll win a t th e Wings & Wheels H a re Scrambles in Brernan, Geo rgia, on February 25. The event w as the eighth round of th e AMA Mid-South Har e Scrambles Series. Blackwell finish ed ahead of series rivals Robert Patt erson (Suz) and Duane Conner (Yam). Rounding o u t th e top five overall were Mike Morri s (Yam ) . and four-time National Enduro Champion Terry Cunnin gh am (Kaw ). Kawasaki 's off-road and road race manager Mark Johnson ha s announced that he is leaving the company after 17 ye ars. Johnson ha s been named general m an ager of Precision Preparati on Inc. (PPI), w here he w ill coo rd ina te the effor ts of the Team Toyota O ff-Road Racing Program with driver Ivan " Ironm an" Stew art and th e Arciero-Wells Racing IndyCar team wi th America n rookie driver Je ff Krosn off. Both o f th ese p rog rams operate out of the PPI facility in Ran cho Santa M argarita, Californ ia . Johnson started at Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA as a mechanic for m ot ocrosser Jeff Ward before going on to run Kawasaki's Team Green program s as w ell as overseeing the SplitFire / P ro Circui t / Kawa saki m otocro ss team and ha ndling ad ministrati ng duties of Kawasaki's AMA professional road race pr ograms. "This is an o pportu nity to fu rther m yself in th e m otorsp orts in d u s tr y," sa id Johnson. "P PI is a firs t-class operation, an d it is exciting to be a part of the IndyCar program at its beginning stages. After mee ting with Cal Wells III (PPI owner) several times and learning how he operates th ings, I w as amazed at th e parall el s between our lives in regards to goals, morals and sta nda rds. It w as like loo king in the mirror." Th e A us t ralia n ro u n d of the World Superbike Ch amp ion ship h a s b een mo ved ba ck to its origina l date of October 27 and the Sentul ro u nd sche d uled fo r N o vember 10 has been ca nceled . Sentul w as ori ginally sla ted to host tw o ro u n ds of th e cha m pi onship , but will in s tea d run just it s original d ate on Au gust 18. Th e Fre nc h rou nd o f the series, sche d uled for Le Ma ns, has also been canceled, brin ging the tot al n umber of ro unds down to 12. Man y of the top AMA Superbike teams a re p la nni ng on parti cipatin g in the North American Sport Bik e events the weekend prior to Cam el Mot orcycl e Week at Da ytona Internati on al Sp eedway on March 1-3, in an effort to ge t m ore track tim e prior to the Da yto na 200 . A nd those sa me teams will find th emsel v e s s u bje cte d to t h e NASB claim in g rule w hich stip u lates that for $60,000 an y mot orcycle can be claimed. "It' s not accu rate that w e're not allow ing them to race," NASB's Pat Murphy sa id on Monday, Februa ry 26. "There is a cla iming ru le, so if yo u ha ve a very expensiv e motorcycle, m aybe th is is n' t you r series. We 're no t trying to make their lives difficult, bu t the claiming ru le goe s into effect for qu alifying on Saturda y m o rnin g . If th e y ' re loo k in g fo r w orry-free pra ctice, th ey sho u ld come o ut for F-USA practice on Frid ay; but they shouldn't come o ut for qu alif ying or the race." What if o ne of th e bikes w ere clai m ed and th e o w ne rs decid ed they didn't want to part w ith it a week before the Dayto na 200? " I d on 't have the ru lebo ok right in fro nt of me, but I believe ther e would be a $5000 penalty on th e rider for refu sal ," Murphy said . "The fine would ha ve to b e paid and th er e would be a one-year suspension when that fine w as paid. A one- year s us pens ion w ould m e a n th a t t h e y could n' t u se th e (N ASB) race again next year for th e same purp ose." "Right now w e're en tered to race, " tea m o w ner Rob Muzzy said o n Mond ay, February 26 . " I' rn co nce rne d - no t because of losin g a bike, but in ou r case w e w ouldn't be able to replace it by the ne xt weekend (th e Da ytona 200). Our Cycle News Rider of the Month: 1 Davis h is o n e 's easy. Ty Davi s, ou r 1994 Cycle N ew s Rid er o f th e Year, is our February Rider o f the M onth. D av is ha s sho we d n o signs of letting u p after th oroughl y thras hin g everyone in last year's Nati ona l Endur o Series . Once again, Da vis gave the ' 96 N a tio na l En d uro tit le contend ers a tho ro u gh bashing, eas ily winning the opening round of th e National Enduro Series in N orthern California. Davis topped his nearest competitor - local favori te Patrick Garrahan - by five points. Steve Hatch, th e '94 Natio na l Enduro champ, finished third, 12 points ba ck. Davis won th ree out of five classes at the Adelanto Grand Prix this month, and he may have w on all five classes he competed in had it not been for mechanical problems. Just for good measu re, on January 28, Davis cruised to victory at the opening round of th e Nation al H are & Hound Ser ies in Luce rne Valley, California. Davis heads into March on fire , and will m ost likely concentrate heavily on the March 7 Alliga to r End u ro during Camel Motorcycle Week in Dayto na. The Alligator Enduro is one of the few events that Da vis hasn't won. T AMA guys (Doug Ch andler and Mike Smith) only ha ve one '96 model each . If someone wa nts to claim a '95 bike, that's okay w ith m e. We'll de al w ith all of this at th e tim e." Th ree- tim e Daytona 200 w inne r Scott Ru ssell appears to be rea dy to rum ble, come Camel Mo to rcycl e Week. Th at' s th e w o rd fro m the former AMA an d World Super bik e Champion on the eve of h is return to th e "Wo rld Cen te r o f Racing. " Russell, in a phone conversation from Spain where he is taking part in a thr ee-day test on hi s Lucky Strike Suzu ki, noted that hi s testing w as going well - although the weather on day one w asn ' t good . " I' ve had a great off-seaso n and I'm ready to get back to Daytona and win number four," the Georgian sa id . "I'm rea d y. I'm p umped and I feel I can w in. First, I want to get another Ro lex in pole qu alify ing, and then it's d own t o b u s in e s s . W hat e ls e ca n I say?" Russe ll is another w h o p lans on fin e tuning hi s eq u ipm en t d uring th e NASB weekend at the Spe edway. In ad d itio n to takin g part in the Daytona 200 by Ar ai, Russell will also race in the a n n ua l Legen ds ca r race a t D aytona Bea ch's Municip al Stadium on Wed nes day n ig ht, M arch 6. Ru ssell will join Sco tt Parker, Steve M oreh ea d and Dale Quarterl ey and 40 others in the Legends race, a class which uses five-eighth-scale replicas of suc h classics as 1937 and 1940 Chevr olet and For d cou pes and sedans that we re raced in "m od ified " form in the formulati ve yea rs of NASCAR. The state of Califo rnia h as ag reed to repay sev era l m illion dollars taken from the sta te's Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) fund ov e r the years, according to the AMA . Under th e terms of th e se tt le ment, the state of California has ag ree d to rep ay $119 m illion into a n umbe r of fun ds th a t were ra id ed to o ffse t the state 's fiscal shortfalls between 1991 and 1994. Of that amount, the Green Sticker fund is expe cted to recoup $9.6 million. Th e sta te w ill repay the m oney over a five -year period, and th e outstanding funds w ill be su bjecte d to a seve n-p ercent interest pen alt y. In addition to running GFI Racing, the Southern California m otocross race club, former H onda and Kawasaki factory rider Goa t Breker ha s ex pa n ded his bu siness ventures into th e su ng lass m arket . Dubbed Goat Eyew ear, Breker's sunglass line inclu des se veral sty les in a wide va riety of colors, with pri ces rangin g fro m $20 to $60 . Former Sin is alo Sales Man ager Shawn Norfolk - brother of Jere my McGrath 's tuner Skip - will be head ing u p the new com pany. For more info rmation , co n ta ct Goat Eyewea r, 22640 Go lden Crest Dr., Suite 103, 92553, 909 / 653-4042. In res ponse to last week's sto ry outli ning International Racing Te ams Association' s (lRTA) sign ing of a co n t ra ct with intern a tion al sports promoti ons g ia n t ISL (Int e rn ati o n a l Spo rt and Le isu re Co mpa ny) for 1997, Dorna spokesman Dennis Noyes sa id: "IRTA can s ig n a contra ct w it h a n yone; it d o esn ' t cha nge Dorn a ' s co n t ra ct o r Dorna' s busin ess. We still ha ve all our contracts in place and a contract with IRT A for this ye a r." Dorna o w ns the co m m erica l rights to the FIM World Championship Road Race Series; IRTA is the team's organi zation. The Pomona Half Mile, scheduled for A pril 20 at th e Pomona Fa irplex in Porn ' na, Ca lifo rn ia, w ill fea tu re a vin- tage 750cc dirt track race with legends such a s Ed die M ulde r s ched u led to compete. Th e even t is part of the LA M otorcycle Week end at th e Fairplex, a weekend featuring both AMA Superbik e National Ch ampionship and Grand Na tiona l Championsh ip rounds . Th e D irt Diggers M .e., promot ers of the Sacramento, Ca lifornia, ro und of th e AMA 125 /2 50cc Na tion a l M o tocross Cha mpionship, have announced a new race headquarters for their event. The offical hot el of the M ay 4-5 Hangtown Mo tocross Classic is the Sheraton Sunrise in Rancho Cordova. For m ore information, ca1l8oo/ H angtow n. Minnesota m otorcycle ri ders will ge t th eir own television show, beginning on Fe b rua r y 25 . The 30- mi nute s how, Motorcycle Tele v ision , w ill a ir o n Channel 41 (KXLI) in M innesota. For m ore information, call 612 /451-2521. . The Florida Trials Asociation is hosting it s annual " Fu n in the Sun" two-da y tri al on Mar ch 2-3 at the Croom Cycle Park ne ar Broo ksvi lle, Florida. Both m od ern a n d v in t age cla s se s w ill be offered . D ayt on a Fac t #1: Th e o nly postponem ent for rain occu re d in 1969 and the race w as resch eduled for the following weekend. Daytona Fact #2: Don Emde's 1972 Da yt ona 200 victory aboard a 350cc Yamaha m arked the first ever for a tw ostroke. In addition , the late Floyd Emde won th e e vent in 19 48, m aki n g the Emde's the on ly fat he r-and-son wi nn ers of the Da ytona 200. A Migu el DuHamel win in the Daytona 200 would m ove him to seventh on the list of all- time AMA Su pe rbike National winners. DuHamel is currently tied with Kevi n Sch w a n tz and Mike Bal d w in, w ith the trio w innin g nine AMA Nationa ls each. On Thursd a y , February 22 , Migu el DuHamel was treated to a da y with the Blue Ange ls in EI Centro, California, su bjectin g himself to frequent seven-Gplu s lo ads a n d spee ds a p p ro a ch ing m ach o ne. So d id the defending AMA Superbike National Champion ge t sick ? "It wa s fun ny. I was fine un til we were ta xii n g in," DuHa me l s a id . "The n, well..." AMA m embers w ho attend the 74th running o f th e Chevrolet Pikes Peak In tern ati onal Hill Climb on Jul y 4 will receive a $2 rebate to reduce th e cost of a race-d ay adm issio n ticket. The rebate is offered o n ly to A MA m embe r s who attend th e even t on a m otorcycle. Nume ro u s legends of Ameri can and international roa d raci ng w ill converge for the Ju ly 19-21 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at th e M id-Ohio Sp orts Ca r Co u rse in Le xin gton , O h io . Ra ce rs inclu d ing David A lda na, Mark Brel sfo rd, Chri s D ra aye r, W alt Fu lton [r., Jod y N ichol as, Eddie Mulder, Ro ger Reiman, Reg Pridmore and Don Vesco w ill compete in th e BMW Battle of the Lege nds event on both da ys. The Holiday Inn-Waldorf and the Ho liday Inn- So lom ons Isl an d in Maryland have been designated th e official race headquar ters fo r the Budds Creek round of the AMA 125 /250cc Na tional MX Champ ionsh ip sched uled for Ju ne 15-16. Reserv ations can be m ad e at th e Wa ldorf by caIling 301 /645-8200; ditto for th e Solomons Islan d Holiday Inn at 410 / 326-6311.