Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1996 06 26

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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David Watson (Hon) won his second stra ight AMA National Championship Hillclimb round with hi s come-frombehind victory in the 540cc class at the Hornell M.e. in Avoca , New York, round four of th e series. Paul Pinson n a u lt (Hon) was second and Ted Wilkins (Rtx) was third. In th e 800cc class Lou Gerencer took his second consecutive victory like Watson did - with his second rid e. G reg Williams (Hon) and Tom Reiser (H-D) finished second and third, respectively. Geo Roeder II (H-D) won the Old Time Newsies for Charity Regional dirt track at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in D ayton, Ohio, on June 14. Steve . Morehead (H-D) was second followed by Steve Beattie (H-D). Chris Evans (HD) won the $5000 Fergie Dash . Scott Plessinger (KTM) score the overall w in at the Grand National Cross .Country a t Starvation Poin t, West Virginia, June 16. The runner-up was Steve Hatch (Suz), followed by Rodney Smith (Suz), Duan e Conner (Yam) and Doug Blackwell (Yam). Series contender Scott Summers (Hon) registered a DNF. Peter God dard (Suz) took the Shell Australian Superbike Series championship after winning the last race of the season at a tense final round at Oran Park on June 16. The 31-year-old Suzuki rider defeated leg-one winner Martin Craggill (Kaw) in the second eight-lap race to just beat points leader and third-place finisher in both races, Troy Bayliss (Ka w ). After an early undefeated run in th e first rou nds to dominate th e series point s ta nd ings, Baylis s subsequently struggled to sustain his hot form before succumbing to Goddard in the 12th and final race of the series. The Total Control Racing and Corbin Racing Grand National Championship teams alo ng with solo privateer Ian Segedy got the chance to te st their equ ip me n t at th e Indiana State Fairgrou nds o n Ju ne 15 d uring a n AMA Amateur event, w hich was put on by Fast Track Racing . "We rod e their bikes and th ey rode ou r bik es," TCR Team Manager Tom Cummings said. "We've been developing the Tolbert chas sis, so we tested a few things there, and Skip (Eaken; Corbin Racing's crew chief) was testing twingles. We learned a lot, and we really want -to thank (promote r) Ken Sa illa nt. He reall y trea te d us Grand National guys fan tastically." \0 0\ 0\ A bit of pavement- style fun was had by tw o d irt track legen d s as Gary Nixon defeated Jay Springsteen by 0.02 second to win th e Pas t Mast er s Post TT road race at Mallory Park, England, on June 9. The pair was mounted on Triumph Speed Triples. "We had a greattime," Springsteen said . "I tossed one away on the white-flag lap in the first 10-lapper broke the thin g in half. I was Ieadin' on the las t lap of the second one when I sa w Nixo n come up on th e ou tside of me. I ro lle d ou t of her a little bit and then got back on it, bu t he got by me." N ixo n w as pleased to fj nally w in a n event at the track, wh ich was celebrating its 40th ann iversary . "I'm lucky I've got friends," Nixon said. 'T ve been trying to win a race here for over 26 years." 2 Harley-Da vid son factory mechanic Bill Werner wanted to clarify tha t there has .neve r been any bad blood between him and forme r Chris Carr mechanic Kenny Tolbert as may have been construed from ou r profile on the TCR racing team (Issue #23, June 12) where we used the ~ ~ . '. ....... word "rift" to describe Tolbert's geographic relationship to Werner and the Milwaukee-based factory . It's no secret that the two championship-winning mechanics are friends, and th ey were co-w inners of th e AMA Sportsman of the Year Award in 1991. Two-time AMA Grand National Champion Gary Nixon will be honored during the 56th Annua l Sturgis Ral1y & Races alo ng with o thers who were ' recently inducted into the National Motorcycle Museum's Motorcycle Hall of Fame. . According to event promoters, a Saturday-only ticket will not be avail able for the July 6-7 Red Bud round of the AMA Nationa l MX Championship in Bucha nan, Michigan. A weekend ticket package will run $30 and a Sunday-only ticket will cost $20. For more information, call 616/695-6405. Team Lucky Strike Suzuki announced that the injured D ary l Beattie will be . replaced by British rider Terry Rymer for both the Dutch and German Grands Prix. Bea ttie has been ordered not to compete due to the fractured skull he suffered at the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard . The Australian is expected to return to racing at Donington Park on July 21. Rymer has tested for Lucky Strike Suzuki several times during 1995 and replaced the absent Scott Russell at the Italian GP at Mugello. Yamaha's Colin Edwards II will team with Japan's Noriyuki Haga in the July 28 running of the Su zuka 8- H ou r endurance race. The 21-year- old Haga is currently third in the All-Japan Superbike Championship after his recent win in Sugo. Edwards ' World Superbike teammate Wataru Yoshikawa will team with Norihiko Fujiwara on the second factory Yamaha YZF750. Veteran road racers Tadahiko Taira and Ch ris ti an Sarro n will team up to rid e Yamaha' s tw in -cylinder Yamaha TRX850 in the Suzuka 8-Hour. The pair teamed up for the race back in 1986, retiring in th e final hour. Sarron is 41 yea rs old; Taira is 39. Taira wo n the Su zuka 8-H our in 1990 on a Yama ha with Eddi e Lawson . "Yamaha ask ed me to ride at Suzuka and I was d elighted to acce p t s t r aig h t a wa y," Sarron said. "Whe n I rod e wit h Taira in '86 we we re lying second or third w hen the engi ne wen t on e hou r from th e e nd . Ap art from not finishing , I reall y en joyed it. Th e a tm osphere was ver y s pecial. It seems to be much more passionate than the GP. In a wa y it reminds me of the Bol d 'Or fro m th at perspective. Taira was one of Japan's greatest champio ns . He' s a real sta r and a grea t per son . It was good to ride wi th him then and I'm very pleased he wa n ts me as his team mat e agai n." . At the English round of the 125/ 250cc World MX Championship race on June 23rd, an auction of jerseys from rid ers all over the world will be held to benefit a children's hospital. Donating jerseys to th e charity auc tion after the Jun e 16th Budds Creek 125 /25 0cc National Motocross were Jeremy McGrath, Steve Lamso n, Kevin Windham , John Dowd, Doug Henry, Gre g Albertyn , Mike laRocco, Tim Ferry, james Dobb, Ryan Hughes, Larry Ward, Mike Cra ig , Jimmy Button and Mickael Pichon. Team Kawasaki's Jeff Emig meant to donate his brand new Thor gear but couldn't because he was doing research and development on th e ge ar. "Thor Tortelli breaks record at French 125cc MX GP F ren ch m a n Sebastien Tortelli (rig h t) rode his Kawasaki to double wi ns at the MX 125cc GP in Cussac, France, on June 16, and with it, broke a record for the most successive wins in Grand Prix mot ocro ss racing history. No one before had won six straight events, wh ich Tortelli accomplis hed in front of his home crowd in France . Finishing second to Tortelli was Great Britain's Pau l Malin, who rode his Yamaha to 4-2 moto finishes, edging out Frederic Vialle, who went 2-4. Rounding out the top five we re Frenchman Luigi Seguy, on a TM, and Brian Kjaer Jorgensen, on a Suzuki. TorteIIi lead s the series points chase with 235, followed by Vialle with 185 and Malin with 174. Holland's Leon Giesbers gav e the home-country crowd something to cheer about as the Bultex KTM rider wo n both motos at the Dutch SOOcc Grand Prix in Lierop, Hoiland, June 16. Giesber normally competes in the 250cc class, but chose to ride the 500cc GP at his home track . . A pair of runner-up finishes p ut defending champ Joel Smets, of Belgium, at the top o f the series point standings. The factory Husaberg rider moved ahead of New Zelander Shayne King, w hose best finish in .Holland was fifth in the second moto..As the series reaches the halfway point, Smets has accumulated 178 points to King's 162. Finishing third on the day was Belgia n Danny Theybers, on a Honda. Th eybers went 3-4. Fourth overall went to former champ Jacky Martens who went 5-3 on his factory-backed Husqvarna. Rounding ou t the top five was King. , In Heinola, .Finland, also on June 16, Belgian Marnicq Bervoets conti nued his winning ways. The Bieffe Suzuki team rider agai n won both motos, extending his series points lead over American Tallon Vohland and defending champ Stefan Everts . The win was Bervoets' fifth straight. Second on the day went to Sweden's [oakim Karlsson, who rode his RWJ Honda to 2-3 moto finishes. Behind Karlsson fini shed Vohland of the JHK Kawasa ki team; Vohland took third in the first moto and fourth in the second. Frenchman Yves Demaria, of the Rinaldi Yamah a team , wound up fourth, followed by Belgian Werner Dewit, Bervoets' teammate. Everts had an off da y, his best finish a fourth in the first moto. Bervoets lead s the series point stand ings with 245 points, and Vohland is still second with 190. Everts is third with 174. The enthusiastic crowd had to be up bright and earl y for the racing in Finland, as the event was started earlier than usua l to enabl e teams to catch the evening ferry to Sweden for the first leg of their journey to England, where the y will contest round eigh t next week at Foxhills Moto ParcoThe even t features a unique doublehe ad er GP w here the 125 and 250ccGP classes will be held at the same venu e on the same da y. will kill m e if I don't bring it back," Emig said. With th e r eturn of Ryan H ughes to active du ty at the Bud ds Creek National MX on Ju ne 16, the s ta tus of Team USA ca me in to ques tion as the 1996 Motocross des Nations draws closer. H ughes has been tabbed to rid e the KX500 in the Open class, while defending AMA Nation al Champions Jeremy McGrath a nd Steve Lamson get th e nods in th e 250 and 125 cc classes, res p ec tively . According to AMA Mot ocross Manager D u k e Finch, Jeff . Emig, a member of Team USA for four years running, is being regarded as the alterna te for all three clas ses, and ha s even be en putting in so me time on a Kawasak i KX125 just in case Lamson can't go to Spai n in September. TravelCraft is again offering pri ze mon ey of $1000 to riders in th e AMA road race Na tionals. The "747" mon ey goes to up to five riders whose fast qualifyi ng lap tim es end in .747. Winner s must claim their prize wit hin eight days of the event. For mor e information, call 800/241-1223. Travel Craft also has tickets to th e German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring (July 7) ava ilable for sale. The sea ts are in the "highest category" and in clude viewing of the gian t TV. Call for more information. AMA Board of Trustee member Patty Mills and Government Relations s taff member Nancy Moo ney will represent the AMA in this summer' s Pon y Express Tour '9 6, a cross-country mot orc ycle ride to raise money for br ea st ca ncer resea rch. BMW of North America has reported th at Ma y retail motorcycle sales were the company's highest in th e pa st 10 years. The May figures cam e in at 616 units, w hic h rep re se n ted a 30-pe rcent increase over the sa me period in 1995. The new BMW RI 100RT sp ort tourer with 215 units selling in May - is on pace to become th e co m pa ny ' s top-selling mod el in a singl e yea r, according to BMW. The Salinas Ramblers Motorcycle Club and sev eral other mo torcycle organizati ons protested the BLM's prop osed Plan Am endment and En vironmental Impact Statemen t (EIS) fo r th e Clear Creek Managem ent Ar ea on Jun e 3 in Northern California. The rea son for the . protest, according to the Salinas Ram blers, is that the EIS has "ma ny flawed d ecisions and th e plan see ks to lim it OHV us e without any substantial evidence that this use is cau sing unmitigatable harm to the environm ent or to visitors using the area." Team Obso lete will return to Europe for a summer tour with an appearance at the German Grand Prix on July 6-7. Th e program will include G iacomo Agostini, Jim Redman and Rod Cole-

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