Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I· IN ,THE WIND I Koc'inski to Honda J ohn K.ocinski (right) signed a one-year contract with HRC Tuesday, December 3, an agreement that places the 1990 250cc World Champion on a Castrol Honda RC45 for the 1997 World Superbike Championship. "I signed the contract today," Kocinski said from his Modesto, California, home December 3. "I'm going to ride superbikes and I'll be with the Castrol Honda team, but my contract is with HRC. This is the biggest day of my life. It's something we've been to get organized for a long time and I really cherish the opportunity. I'm really looking forward to everything that Honda has to offer. It's great to be back racing for the Japanese because they operate in such an organized manner." Kocinski rode a factory Ducati to third in the 1996 World Superbike Championship, but his relationship with team manager Virginio Ferrari deteriorated as the season progressed. Ultimately, Ferrari rehired Carl Fogarty to join fellow Brit Neil Hodgson on the factory V-twins for the '97 season. Kocinski, meanwhile, hasn'trnade it a secret that he longed to join Honda at some level, and this may be a prelude to the 28-year-old's return to the 50Dcc Grands Prix. . "Being with Honda,. they have a lot more to offer," Kocinski said. "It gets me closer to my goal of getting back into the GPs. This is going to be an exciting year because they're great people. They've really taken care of me on this and it's an incredible opportunity." Although Kocinski will team with New Zealander Aaron Slight, he says the Castrolbacked squad will run more as two independent teams with Kocinski's crew consisting mostly of HRC staff members. Kocinski, who won his 250cc World Championship and two 500cc GPs on Marlboro Yamahas prior to winning two more 500cc GPs on factory Cagivas, hopes to begin his testing program shortly. Suzuki pulls out of enduro com etition uzuki announced Friday, December 6, that Team Suzuki Off-Road is pulling out of AMA National Championship Enduro competition and, as a result, has ended its nine-year relationship with six-time AMA National Enduro Champion and multi-time ISDE Gold Medalist Randy Hawkins. "We're taking a new direction," said Mike Webb, who heads Suzuki's off-road racing program. "Suzuki Off-Road is pulling out of enduros to focus on hare scrambles and the Grand National Cross Country Series. We see the market going in a different direction; people are buying MXers, putting big tanks on them and going hare scrambles or cross country racing." This new direction has cost Hawkins his job. . "In view of our new focus, our team will consist of Hare Scrambles Champion Rodney Smith, Steve Hatch and Paul Edmondson," Webb said.. . Signing Edmondson is just as big a piece of news. Edmondson, who replaces Hawkins, hails from Great Britain an.d is a multi-time World Enduro Champion. Edmondson rode a 250cc Gas Gas to the 1996 World Enduro Championship title after dethr)?ning the long-time holder of that crown, Italian Giovani Sala. He also finished second overall at the Finnish International Six Days Enduro in August. Edmondson, a hero in Great Britain, will be leaving Europe at the peak of his career, and our sources overseas say that Edmondson just wants to give America "a go" while he's still at the top. He is arguably the highest-caliber off-road rider ever to leave Europe to race in the United States. "Even in off-road racing, it is still perceived in Europe that America is the place to race, just like it is in motocross," Webb said. "He's 27 years old and has been racing in Europe for 10 years and is ready for a new challenge." GNCC title-holder Scott Summers was excited at the prospect of competing against Edmondson: "I think it's great," Summers said. "Any time you have someone of his caliber joining our series it just brings more attention and ~redibility to the sport." Webb added that Suzuki will not support any of its riders at the ISDE in 1997, including Edmondson, who has been a big name and a top competitor in this particular event for many of years. Instead, Edmondson will concentrate solely on the GNCC and AMA Hare Scrambles Series - alongside Smith and Hatch - here in the United States. As for Hawkins, the news of him being dropped from the team came as a surprise, especially in light of the fact that he just wrapped up his sixth AMA National Enduro Championship (all coming while riding for Suzuki), and is a formidable cross country and hare scrambles racer as well. "Considering what I have given them (Suzuki), I would've liked for them to have at least given me a one-year chance, to prove myself as a hare scrambles rider," said Hawkins, who seemed a little disgruntled (see page 14 for an interview with Hawkins). Speaking of Hawkins, the protest lodged by Kawasaki against Hawkins at the final round of the series in Delaware was officially turned down by the AMA. As you might recall, there was a controversy at the final round when Hawkins changed bikes, finished out the ride then disqualified himself from the event afterward. A th:tee-man appeals board reviewed the situation and found that no rules were broken, thus clearing him of any wrongdoing. Kawasaki Gould have appealed this decision, but did not. According to both Suzuki and Hawkins, the DeJa,!"are controversy had nothing to do with Hawkins being dropped from the team. S Emig crowned World Su ercross Cham T eam Kawasaki's Jeff Emig clinched the World Supercross Championship with a second- and fourth-place performance at the final round in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6-7. "There's no money for winning the World Supercross title," Emig said, "and I guess it doesn't mean too much' to the folks back home in America, but it's important to me. I entered the series wanting to win it and I've ridden seven hard races to do so." While Emig took the championship, leading a top-four sweep in points by Kawasaki riders, it was Honda-mounted Mike Craig who took the double victory on the weekend to become the only double winner of the series. On the first night of racing, it was Craig and Emig finishing first and second, respectively, while Kawasaki's Ryan Hugh. es, Yamaha's John Dowd and French rider Sebastien Tortelli (Kaw) rounded out the top five. On Saturday night, Craig again won, followed by Tortelli and Chaparral Yamaha's Jimmy Button. In the series final standings, Hughes finished second with 91 points, 27 behind Emig. Damon Huffman (80), Tortelli (72) and Craig (60) completed the top five. cylinder 500. However, he insists he wi II only go up to the big class if it is on a competitive V-four. Firing Biaggi has cost Aprilia its expected Marlboro backing. It is understood that the Philip Morris bosses (owners of Marlboro and Chesterfield brands) were not impressed by ApriJia's failure to reach agreement with the Italian, who has superstar status at home. There could also be an element of punishment toward Loris Capirossi, a longtime Marlboro man, for walking out on Wayne Rainey's team. "We will find another sponsor, no problem," sajd Aprilia team boss Carlo Pernat. Chesterfield-Elf team owner Herve Poncharal was quick to deny rumors that Max Biaggi was to ride alongside rising French star Olivier Jacque on a works Honda NSR next season. The rumors of the dream team spread like wildfire after a report in an Italian newspaper. Biaggi himself was not available for comment, but Frenchman Poncharal was emphatic. "The dream is only on paper. Nobody has spoken. to me about it. I don't think it is possible. I don't think Olivier would agree to it, nor would Biaggi. My team is set for next year: Jacque ~ith anNSR and Thunderbike winner William Coste.s with an RS kitted bike. I cannot expect any change. When we learned that the one-bike rule was to be dropped next year, I approached my sponsors to get a second bike for Olivier. It was not possible - too late." Poncharal expressed concern about this. "(Ralf) Waldmann also has one bike. I am certain the Aprilia riders will have two. This will give Harada and Capirossi an advantage, especially in bad weather." Yamaha's 1997 racing plans are still far from clear, while growing rumors of the demise of the planned Promotor Troy Corser /Luca Cadalora Yamaha team for next year may have been premature, after a month in which the waters around the factory team and their Marlboro sponsors became more rather than less muddied. It was thought that the initiative, run by Promotor team owner Alfred Inzinger; had run out cif both steam and money - but in increasing uncertainty over who will run works Yamahas next year (there are even suggestions that Kenny Roberts may get some) the venhue may yet recover. Wayne Rainey, who heard the news that Loris Capirossi was walking out on their contract for 1997 shortly after corrective surgery to his back, still expects to have two riders for next year, one of them definitely being Norifume Abe. But there are rumblings from Marlboro, which is less than happy at funding a team with just one possible . race winner, who is Japanese, making him ra ther difficult to promote as a superstar, and Rainey is under pressure to find a worthwhile replacement for the lost Capirossi. Meanwhile, it seems hints that Inzinger's deal wouldn't materialize were as premature as his September announcement of the team as a done deal. The Austrian businessman is playing all the angles as he tries to secure top-up sponsorsrup from Marlboro; but the Yamaha factory is understood to be still standing by with works bikes for him. Both Corser and Cadalora have tested the bikes, and have announced that they will be riding factory Yamahas in 1997, sponsor unnamed. The Marlboro connection complicates matters. The tobacco giant has a longstanding arrangement with Cadalora, who is expected to carry the company logo even if his lnzinger / Promotor Yamaha does not. And if the Inzinger deal does fall through, Marlboro may show its authority by making sure he goes to Rainey instead - whether the American team owner likes it or not. Wayne Rainey's own views on the matter remained guarded - but a week ago he did not rule out the possibility of taking Biaggi on alongside Abe. "I haven't spoken with Max, but it would take two years to get him up to speed on a 500," he said. Abe's overall strength grew vastly last year, with some spirit.ed rides, but he has yet to prove that he can produce the goods at every track. Thus the main Yamaha team would currently appear to be without a serious potential title winner, unless Abe can prove everybody wrong. Rainey was peeved at the way Loris Capirossi left the team. "We had a contract for next year, and we'd been speaking about the plans right up until I went to hospital for surgery," Rainey said. "Just after the operation I heard that Loris had faxed that he wasn't going to rid for us next year. I don't mind losing him too much. I'm getting kinda tired of babysitting." Capirossi in turn said: "We had a contract, but I was not happy with some things about the team, and he cannot force me to do what I don't want· to do." Capirossi's main complaint was

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