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/127822
ampionship by Honda (125,cc Grand rix), Harley~Davidson Twin Sports d the Buell Lightning Series. The Triph Speed Triple Challenge will not e back in 1997. ASB and Formula USA have ounced that a total of $170,000 has een posted for point funds in .the 1997 ASB Championship Series, with the unoco Race Fuels F-USA Series getting a $100,000 point fund while EBC Brakes port Bike gets $25,000, the Idemitsu American GP Championship by Honda gets $20,000, and the NASB Twins hallenge, a combination point fund or teams' in the Harley-Davidson Twin ports and the Buell Lightning Series, will split $25,000. "For the last two years, NASB has offered a team-owner point fund in its featured class," Roger Edmondson explained. "We felt it was time to recognize the professional level of competition in our other classes as well, so we're putting up team money in all of our series." Ron Wood, the former MX tuner for Guy Cooper and Mike Kiedrowski, will work the wrenches for Team Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes during the 1997 season. Wood replaces Wyatt Seals, who will tune for Jeremy McGrath in the 1997 AMA Supercross and 250cc National Motocross Series. After tuning for Cooper and Kiedrowski, Wood left motocross after the 1990 season and spent four years working in Toyota's off-road racing program, was employed in Kawasaki's Technical Services Department and most recently spent another year with Toyota as a touring car race team crew chief. Team Kawasaki Mexico has formed a motocross team for the 1997 season. The team will consist of two riders.Pedro Gonzalez and Mexican National Champion Erick Vallejo. Gonzalez and Vallejo will contest the AMA Western Regional 125cc Supercross Series and the AMA 125cc National MX Series. Both their KX125 race bikes will be prepared by Pro Circuit, and their main sponsors will be Kawasaki de Mexico S.A., Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA, Pro Circtiit and AXO Sport. O'Neal USA has just signed the Moto XXX race team to wear O'Neal apparel during the 1997 AMA Supercross and National Motocross seasons. Team Moto XXX/O'Neal consists of Brian Swink in the 250cc class and Brian Deegan in the 125cc class. The team will be managed by Kenny Watson, Scott Sheak's mechanic in 1996. This team is the first in the industry to receive major financial backing from the video and music industry with sponsorship coming from Epitaph Records and Phat Wreck Chords. Morgan Racing and MSR have joined together to form a 125cc Eastern Supercross team backed by American Suzuki., Morgan Racing has been producing winning MX teams in Canada since 1986. The team will consist of longtime Suzuki support rider Charley Bogard of Texas and multi-time Canadian MX and SX.Champion Jean-Sebastien Roy (pronounced "Wah"). Both riders will also compete. in the AMA 125cc National Motocross Series. Other sponsors include Pirelli, FMF and Works Connection. The team will be working out of a 40-foot Featherlite trailer and truck, and the team managers are Chris Morgan, Lisa Tetherton (MSR) and Pat Alexander (American Suzuki). Another new team has also been formed. Team RPM, based in New Jersey, will field two Tiders in the AMA Eastern Regional 125cc Supercross and AMA National MX Series. David Kratz, sponsored by Montgomeryville Cycles, and Shaun Perolio, backed by F&S Suzuki, will both ride Suzuki RM125s under the Team RPM banner. According to an AMA Pro Bulletin, several road racing rules have been changed for the 1997 racing season. In all classes, riders in the top 10 in points, currently or at the end of the previous season, will be permitted a total of one 1997 Grand National Dirt :Track schedule T he following is the 24-round AMA Grand National Championship Dirt Track Series schedule. The TBA date September 20 will most likely end up being the . second annual Cornhusker National Dirt Track in Lincoln, Nebraska. March 8 Memorial Stadium, Daytona Beach, FL Short Track May 3 West Virginia Motor Speedway, Mineralwells, WV Half-mile :May 17 Delaware State Fairgrounds, Harrington, DE Half-mile May 25 Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL Mile' May 31 LaSalle Speedway, LaSalle, IL Short track June 14 Terre Haute Action Track, Terre Haute, IN . Half-mile June 21 State Fair Speedway, Sedalia, MO Half-mile June 28 Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, OH Half-mile July 5 1-96 Speedway, Lake Odessa, MI Half-mile July 13 DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, DuQuion, IL Mile July 19 Stat~ Fair Speedway, OklallOma City, OK Half-mile July 26 Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, OH Half-mile August 3 Peoria Clubgrounds, Peoria, IL Tourist Trophy August 6 Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, SD Half-mile August 9 Quad-City Downs, E. Moline, IL Half-mile IAugust 16 Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis, IN Mile August 23 Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown, MD Half-mile August 31 Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL Mile September 7 New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY Mile September 13 Canterbury Downs,.Shakopee, MN Mile ISeptember 20 TBA September 27 Cal-Expo State Fairgrounds, Sacramento, CA Mile October 4 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NY Half-mile Mile I October 12 Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA provisional start per season in that class (provided the grid is not full, this will' allow such riders to be placed on the back row of the grid should they not qualify through the normal procedure riders will not be permitted provisional starts in more than once class in a season); riders determined by the race manlager to be responsible for stopping a race will be placed on the restart or the finishing order in last place of the lap in which they were scored, in accordance with the restart procedure and relative to their involvement; any motorcycle found to be in violation of equipment rules may be assumed to have been in violation for the entire racing meeting; under the direction of the race manager, motorcycles or components may be impounded for up to 30 days following an event in which such motorcycles or components were utilized in competition, to allow for detailed or independent inspection and testing by the technical manager or other personnel authorized by AMA Pro Racing; in the case of an appeal, the AMA may retain custody of impounded equipment until the appeal process has been completed. For more information on rule changes, call the AMA at.614l891-2425. Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz squandered second place after spinning his Chevrolet Monte Carlo in a recent round of the Australian NASCAR Championship at the Calder Park Thunderdome near Melbourne. After qu'alifying sixth, Schwantz forged his way up to second place in the incident-marred race, but spun in the final stages of the 109-lap race, reports Cycle News correspondent Darryl Flack. Barely missing other cars, Schwantz spun the car 360 degrees and returned to the track to finish an eventual sixth. The Texan is currently sixth in the championship point standings. The Canadian Superbike Championship has released its 1997 racing schedule, a series that will be broadcast by The Sports Network (TSN). The sixround series schedule is as follows: May 30-June 1 - Mosport Park (Bowmanville, Ontario); June 14-15 - Chilliwack (British Columbia); June 20-22 - Race City Speedway (Calgary, Alberta); June 4-6 - Circuit St. Eustache (Montreal, Quebec); August '8-10 - Atlantic Motorsport Park (Nova Scotia); August 29-31 - ShannonviIle Motorsport Park (Belleville, Ontario). According to Applied Racing, it will be posting a $45,000 contingency for the 1997 AMA Supercross Series in both the 125 and 250cc classes. For more information, call Dave Warren at 619/743-9524. Ken Maely has rescheduled his rainedout Gum Ball Rally to January 19. The event, which will feature World Speedway Champion Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock as its grand marshals, is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to dusk. To sign up for the race - which has a rider limit of 50 - call 909/277-8989. AHRMA has announced' that the importers of MZ motorcycles, American Jawa Ltd., will sponsor the Skorpion Cup as a contingency-paying addition to AHRMA's Sound of Singles road racing. Powered by a Single-cylinder 660cc five-valve Yamaha engine, MZ Skorpions have been races extensively in Europe. The first Skorpion Cup round will be run as part of the AHRMA National at DeLand Municipal Airport in DeLand, Florida, February 28. Until grids reach double figures, the Skorpion events will be combined with one of AHRMA's SoS races. PACE Motor Sports, a producer of the -AMA Supercross Series, has announced that an Extreme Sports Freestyle Demonstration will be held at each of the 14 PACE-produced super cross events in 1997. The first event will take place at the Los Angeles Coliseum on January 11 and wilt feature arguably the best of the best, Spaniard Edgar Torronteras. Each rider who competes will be allotted time to perform on the existing track, choreographing his routine to music and spotlights. Jeremy McGrath has been named Racer of the Year by TNN's Tacing program, Raceday. McGrath beat out the likes of Winston Cup Champion Terry Labonte and NHRA drag racer John Force to win the award. McGrath was selected by racing fans who mailed ,in votes to Raceday during the month of December. CHANGED: Effective January 25, the area code for the Long Beach, California, offices of Cycle News will change from 310 to 562. BORN: Tay)or Ann Crevie.r, to Srnokin' Joe's The New York Metropolitan Sports Committee and AMA District 34 will hold its annual awards banquet on Saturday, January 25, at the Holiday Inn in Fishkill, New York. For more information, call 518/828-6149. Hon.da's Steve Crevier and his wife Christianne in 'British Columbia, Canada. January 2. CORRECTION: Last week we reported that road racer Chuck Graves had signed to ride a Bert's Suzuki GSXR600 for the 1997 season. The R&D on the bike. however, will be done by Graves Motor·, sports and not Bert's. The Southeastern Sportbike Asso~ia tian is holding its first open practi-ce and road racing school of the season on Sunday, February 16, at Tallaqega Gran Prix Raceway. For more information, call 770/977-0538. MOVED: Action Sport Cycle to 540 West Sunrise 'Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311, 954/524-5446 (phone) and 954/524-3424 (fax). BORN: Raynie Shay Leard, to WERA road racer Lindsey Leard and his wife Dina in Houston, Texas, December 30. The three-hour charity endurance ice race for the Steel Shoe Fund has been rescheduled to February 1 after being postponed due to unseasonably warm weather, rain and fog in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Due to scheduling conflicts, the short track/TT events scheduled for February 2 have been canceled. Racers Davey Camlin, Rich King, Jeff Fredette, J.R. Schnabel, Jim Sumner and Todd Harrington are scheduled to return for the rain date. For more information, call Gordon Lunde Sr. at 414/871-5682. For race day conditions, call 414/ 563-5702. AUTOGRAPH SIGN1NG: At Mid-Cities Honda/ Kawasaki in Paramount, California, January 17, at 6 p.m. Team Honda's Steve Lamson, Scott Sheak and . Jeff Stanton are schedlLled to appear. 'For more information, call 310/531-1225. AUTOGRAPH SIGN1NG: At Del Amo Motorsports in Redondo Beach, California, January 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. Team l(awasaki's Jeff Emig, Ryan Hughes and Damon Huffman are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 310/372-8891. OPENED: The Sturgis Rally & Races home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.raI1y.sturgis.sd.us. CN