Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1997 03 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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IN THE WIND American Tallon Vohland, of the Yamaha Rinaldi team, was the opening-round winner of the World Championship 250cc MX Series in Talavera, Spain, on March 16. Vohland went 3-1, while Kawasaki Silkolene's Sebastien Tortelli took second with a 1-3 tally. Suzuki Johnson's Mamicq Bervoets finished third ahead of the defending World Champion, Honda's Stefan Everts and Honda Pamo's Pit Beirer. Vohland and Tortelli are tied for the series lead with 35 points apiece, with Bervoets one point back with 34. Mike Brown made his GP debut at Talavera but came away empty handed. Brown was involved in a couple of collisions in the first moto,.finishing 17th, two places out of the points. In the second moto, Brown pulled out of the race with broken ribs. Marc Colomer (Mon) and Doug Lampkin (Bet) split wins in the two nights of World Cup Indoor Trial action in Madrid, Spain, on March 14-15. Colomer topped Lampkin and Jordi Tarres (GG) on Friday night before giving way to Lampkin on Saturday night. Steve Col" ley (G-G) finished second on Saturday night with Colomer third. Lampkin leads the World Cup Indoor Championship point standings over Colomer, 145-142 The second round of the AMA ational Championship Hare & Hound Series was held in Murphy, Idaho, March 16, with Ty Davis (Kaw) taking the win, his second in a row. The runner-up was local rider Brian Brown (Kaw) with Donnie Book (Kaw) finishing third. Michael 'Lafferty (KTM) bested all comers at round two of the AMA National Enduro Series in Greensboro, Georgia, on March 16. Reigning AMA National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins (Yam) finished second. Duane Conner (Yam) was third. class, beating Italian Davide Bulega (Apr) and fellow Spaniard Oscar Sainz (Apr). N Damo.n Buckmaster (Kaw) and Troy Bayliss (Suz) scored a win apiece in the opening round of the Shell Oils Australian SUperbike Sprint Series at Calder Park on March 16. In the first 12-lap leg, Buckmaster topped Steve Martin (Suz) and Craig Connell (Due). In the second leg, Bayliss beat Martin Craggill (Kaw) and Buckmaster. Mark Willis (Suz) ended up third. After four years of trying, 1987 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner has finally won a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship, reports Cycle News contributor Darryl Flack. Gardner scored one win in the three rounds held at Calder Park recently and attributed his newfound success to his switch from Dunlop to Yokohama tires. Vance & Hines Ducati's Thomas Stevens had his first outing on the team's new Ducatis when he took to Willow Springs Raceway on Friday, March 14, in a practice session for the NASB Formula USA Series. "I just rode around," Stevens said. "But I can tell the bike's going to be good. I think it should be pretty easy to go fast on. I can tell you they're everything you think they are. I ended up doing 15 laps on each bike. We didn't have any parts to test, so it didn't make sense to just ride around and wear things out. So we did our laps and loaded 'em up. It's just going to be a matter of getting it straightened out because we have a lot to learn about the bikes." Stevens makes his 1997 racing debut at Laguna Seca on April 19-20. Scott Plessinger (KTM) scored the win at the Mid-South Winter Hare Scrambles Series in Charlotte, Tennessee, on March 16. Doug Blackwell (Yam) was next in line, followed by Jason Dahners (KTM), Mike Morris (Kaw) and Mike Samson (Kaw). The 29th annual Vintage Cycle Rally will be held in Hanford, California, on May 17 and will feature both vintage and modern motorcycle dirt track racing, including round two of the AHRMA/Classic Bike Magazine's National Dirt Track Series. In addition, a concours d'elegance and parts exchange will be held with over 300 vendors expected to participate. For more information, call Vintage Cycle Promotions at 805/733-1137. Chase Reed (Kaw) was the big winner at the FMF Spring ational MX at Lake Whitney Cycle Ranch, in Lake Whitney, Texas, March 13-16. Reed won the 80cc Stock and Modified (12-13) classes, as well as the 8Occ/Open class and the 100cc class. In the Pro ranks, Galeb Leigh (Yam) topped the 125cc division, and Billy Whitley (Yam) the 25Os. Whitley also topped the 25+ division. The Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) has announced that the first race of its 1997 season will be known as Big Brothers Day at the Races in honor of theĀ· Big Brothers organization. WMRRA will be working with the Big Brothers of King County (Washington) and local businesses to help promote the event, from which part of the proceeds will go to benefit Big Brothers. Jeff Dement, Shae Bentley and Brock Sellards completed a Kawasaki 1-2-3 in the 250cc Pro class during the 21st annual GNC International at the Mosier Valley Cycle Park in Euless, Texas, on March 13-16. Charlie Bogard (Suz) won the 125cc Expert class, finishing ahead t-.. of Nick Wey (Kaw) and Danny Smith 0\ (Kaw). The promoters of the LaSalle, Illinois, Short Track have come up with a way not only to offer an exciting racing event to the fans who will attend the fifth stop on the AMA Grand National Championship Series tour, but also to benefit people with developmental disabilities while doing so. Magic Racing Group will be donating 50 cents of each advance ticket sold to the Horizon House Foundation Home's Fund. Horiron House, based in the LaSalle area, is in the midst of a $1.2 million campaign to establish 15 small group home for adults with developmental disabilities. The laSalle Short Track is scheduled for May 31. 0\ ..... Former 125cc World Champion Jorge -.D Martinez (Apr) won the 125cc class in N the opening round of the Open '97 Road Racing Championship, held in Albacete, Spain, on March 16. Martinez cd topped Canadian Rodney Fee (Hon) by ~ seven seconds with Italian .Paolo Tessari (Hon) finishing third. Spaniard Bustagio Gavira (Apr) won the 250cc ] 2 other friends of speedway are putting together a party to benefit former Southern California speedway mechanic Craig NSpike Creith, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Creith has worked with such riders as former twotime World Champion Bruce Penball and "The Wheelie King" Doug Domokos among others and has previously handled track preparation for the Costa Mesa, San Bernardino and Ascot speedway tracks. The gala event is scheduled for March 29. For more information, "friends of Spike" should contact Agajanian Presents, 310/5479898. Promoter Chris Agajanian and many Factory Harley-Davidson road racer Chris Carr and Expert dirt tracker Steve Mayfield have formed M.e. Promotions and will be putting on their first event, a Pro short track and amateur day at the world famous Lodi Cycle Bowl in Lodi, California, on April 26-27. The Saturday night Pro short track will offer a $2500 putse for Pro-Ams and Experts, and will feature exhibition F100 and Pee Wee events as well. "We plan on doing a bunch of different events, not just dirt track, although tha t is our main priority," Carr said. "We don't have a second event lined up yet, but we are looking at other opportunites, such as resurrecting the San Jose Endurothons." For more information, call 209/369-2471. Speaking of the Lodi Cycle Bowl, the track's season opener is set for April 56. For more informa tion, call 209/5441027. For the first time at any World Superbike event, the Flamrnini Group has decided to let Laguna Seca Raceway sell ZOO-pit lane access tickets for the July 13 World Superbike event. These tickets will be packaged with a luxury hospitality sui te overlooking tum 11. "This is another example of how cooperative the F1ammini Group has been in our continual request to let the American fans get closer to the riders," promoter Dan Murphy said. "We hope to expand the number of tickets sold in the future depending on the response we get this year. The pit-row suite ticket holders will have the advantage of watching the teams tune up and repair their bikes within a few feet of the action during practice sessions." Laguna Seca Raceway has added a few more festivities to its round of the AMA/MBNA Superbike Series on April 18-20. In addition to the road racing events, a motorcycle swap meet, motocross racing and fan parade lap will all be included during the weekend. For more information on the swap meet, call 408/648-5111. For more information on the motocross, call 408/238-8208. Tickets for the fan parade lap can be purchased in advance by calling 800/327-SECA or at the event in the Souvenir Super Store. The cost is $10. Six-time FIM World Champion Jim Redman will ride the Team Obsolete's ex-factory Honda "six" as part of the Team Obsolete Vintage Parade at the Laguna Seca round of the AMA/MBNA Superbike Series. Other exotic vintage racers scheduled to be ridden in the parade include the MY Agusta 500 ridden by 15-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini in his final Grand Prix victory, the ex-works Benelli 350 four, Agostini's MV Agusta 500 triple and the three-cylinder AJS 7R3. In addition, vintage exhibition races are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with such notable past and present racers as David Aldana, Don Vesco, John Cronshaw and Dave Roper taking part. Team Obsolete has space to transport a few bikes from New York to Laguna Seca on April 18-20. Interested parties should contact Rob Ianucci at 718/5%0504. The Southern California Speedway season kicks off with the 29th annual Coors Light Spring Classic on Saturday, March 22, 1997, at 7:30 p.m. The event will feature the top 16 Northern and Southern California riders plus the New Zealand sidecars. Admission for adults is $9 while Junior (ages 13-17) and Senior admission is $5. Child (6-12) admission is $6. Kids 5 and under get in free. For more information, call 714/4942633. Due to a reconfiguration of the pit area at Motocross 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, camping will no longer be permitted during the AMA 125/250cc National on June 21-22. Arrangements have been made for public day and overnight camping at the Sodom Mountain Campgrounds, which are 2.5 miles from the track. For more information, call 413/569-6801. The telephone number for the campgrounds is 413/5693930. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has signed legisla tionĀ· repealing his state's 30-year-old mandatory belmet law. The new law, which will take effect in mid-June, will allow motorcyclists 21 and over to decide whether to wear a helmet. The bill passed both houses convincingly, by a 23-10 margin in the Senate and by a 62-31 roll call vote in the House of Representatives. The law's passage makes Arkansas the 26th state to support volunteer helmet use, and the first in over 14 years to repeal or modify a mandatory helmet law. ABATE of Arkansas is credited with spearheading the historic effort. A grand jury has decided to send Tennessee State Senator Carl O. Koella Jr. to trial on a felony charge of leaving the scene of a fatal.accident, overruling an earlier judge's decision that Koelia should be charged only with a misdemeanor. Koella was arraigned in late January for his involvement in the hitand-run death of motorcyclist Terry Barnard. After hearing from witnesses, the judge ruled that the evidence did not SUppOIt a felony charge and sent the case to the grand jury as a misdemeanor, but after reviewing the same facts, the grand jury decided that the case would proceed to trial and tha t Koella should be charged with a felony. If convicted, Koella could face one to six years in prison and a fine of $3000. In addition, he would lose his state sena te seat, an office he has held for 24 years. Mammoth Bar OHV Area near Auburn, California, will be the sight of motocross competition for the first time in over 10 years when the Motocross Workshop-promoted Roseville Cycle/ BennettLimited/Mike's Cycle Care Spring Series kicks off on April 13. Racing will take place on an all-new track, and all classes will be offered, including Pro classes which will feature a 100-

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