Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RACER X BY DAVEY COOMBS o o his is the column that will get me in trouble. This is the moment in my short, happy journalistic life that might get me hurt the next time I walk through the pits. This is where the hate mail begins. I am about to commit harikari on my media career. So why do this? To hopefully prove a point about rumors, gossip, bench racers and the Internet. I want to turn the whispers into ink. None of what you are about to read is based on fact, good reporting or even a good imagination. It was all pulled out of the super-vicious rumor mill of motocross - a mill in which the racers act as fodder and the grinding gears consist of unaccredited pit-row reporters, double-spy sponsors, and the ever-unreliable Internet insiders. confess to being a keyboard-earrying member of this club). The time is now for such a downward spiral because the speculation I am about to graduate into print is just too juicy to pass up. They are the latest rumors buzzing through the aforementioned gears of gossip. This news is stuff that's supposed to be happening right now in the back rooms of the big rigs of supercross. News never traveled so fast! It used to be that inquiring minds had to wait for months for the magazines to come out before they heard the latest, which by then would not actually be the latest. In other words, I more or less found out that Bob Hannah was riding a Honda in 1983 when he showed up with one at the High Point Nationals... in May. ow, with the Internet everywhere and being old enough to make long-distance phone calls on my own, I get to hear stories as they're being made. Or, in many on-line cases, stories as they are being made up. There's no way to verify any of the following stories (let alone the sources) until they come to pass - then countless people will rush to claim ered i t. So that's the purpose of my media mission here; To bring to the masses the best rumors I have heard/read in the last two weeks so that we can all see which ones are true and which ones are not. This way we can all measure the reliability of the spring '97 model RM (Rumor Mill). Tear thi page out of Cycle News, duct-tape it to your cooler, and check off these juicy nuggets as they play out for the rest of the year. And don't blame me for the high/low level of authenticity in the messages posted here - I'm only the messenger. American Honda has pulled out of motocross and supercross racing for the rest of the 1997 season, cutting their losses once and for all from the 10 s of Jeremy McGrath. The company is pulling their brand new IS-wheeler off the road for the rest of the year and have let Steve Lamson and Scott Sheak go. They've already sold out of the 1997 models and don't need to race anymore. o American Honda's Scott Sheak will sit out the rest of the 1997 season to undergo surgery on his shoulder. Honda will roll his contract over to next year and give the ew Yorker another shot at the factory level. Steve Lamson will continue riding for American Honda this year but not inside the big rig. Because it's down to a one-man team, Honda will instead put Lamson and mechanic Mike Gosselaar back in a box van in their quest for a third straight 125cc National title. . American Honda already has a handshake deal with Jeremy McGrath and Roger DeCoster to bring both men back in 1998 as a part of a whole new program. DeCoster will have complete control of the motocross team, McGrath will have the freedom to sign personal sponsorships, and current Honda race boss Wess McCoy will be reassigned to another department - like lawnmowers or something. o Jeremy McGrath will leave Team Suzuki after the 1997 season to form his own team, with his own big rig and his own sponsorships - and the freedom to choose any motorcycle he wants. Jeremy has already asked one of the current team truck drivers if he'd like to drive for him next year. Jeremy McGrath has asked Yamaha's Ezra Lusk and/or Kevin Windham to be his teammate in 1998 with Nac Nac Enterprises next year in their own big rig. o American Honda is negotiating with Ezra Lusk and/or Kevin Windham for the 1998 season. Yamaha already, has Kevin Windham iri the bag for '98 and are ready to issue a new contract to Ezra Lusk as well. American Honda has expressed interest in buying out Kawasaki as the brand sponsor of Mitch Payton's SplitFire/Pro Circuit team. As a result of their overall poor showing in the 1997 season to date, the company is already looking to maJo:e an all-out comeback next year and feel that PC's Ricky Carmichael is the man to place their 125 bets on. American Honda wants to be with Pro Circuit, but Mitch Payton and Pro Circuit don't want Honda. After a notso-friendly parting of the ways a few years back, Payton say he's staying put. Besides, Carmichael's contract is with Kawasaki itself for two more years, not Payton. Team Honda sent master technician Cliff White to the Italian 250cc Grand Prix on Sunday to investigate the aspirations of 18-year-old French phenom Sebastien Tortelli of the JHK/Kawasaki team. American Honda is in dire need of 250cc riders in 1998 and Tortelli, with his astonishing outdoor speed and growing supercross talent, could bring wins and headlines quickly. Team Honda sent master technician Cliff White to the Italian 250cc Grand Prix on Sunday to give on-site help to reigning 250cc World Champion Stefan Everts - the only Honda 250cc factory rider in the worl'd this year. Everts has stated that he has no interest in coming to America to race full-time; Honda has stated they have no interest in bringing the supercross-deficient Everts to America. They just want that World Title. o Sebastien Tortelli has already told the European press that he will not come to America in 1998 because he wants to honor the last year of his contract with JHK/Kawasaki and Jan de Groot. After that, Tortelli and his mentor Jacky Vim.ond would be willing to ride in America for any team without an in-house clothing deal. In other words, Tortelli want to maintain his careerlong clothing contract with the Frenchbased Oxbow clothing company and will favor a u.s. team without a clothing deal (like Kawasaki and Suzuki) to teams with a deal already in place (Honda, Yamaha, Pro Circuit, Honda of Troy). o After suffering through a bad spell together over the signing of Jeremy McGrath, Honda of Troy will stay with Honda in 1998 as their primary team. Mike LaRocco went back to Suzuki because he could not be released from his MSR deal in order to sign with Honda for the rest of 1997. Honda already has a contract with Fox Racing, which requires all Honda riders this year to wear Fox. Mike LaRocco will ride a Honda next year - Honda of Troy. Mike LaRocco went back to Suzuki because they allowed him to run upside-down forks like Jeremy and his own cylinder, which was crafted by Tom Morgan. o The 1997 version of Team USA has already been chosen for the Motocross des Nations and it will again consist of Steve Lamson, Jeremy McGrath and Jeff Emig. Unless Honda won't pay for lamson to go, in which case Yamaha's Kevin Windham will get the 12Sec nod. Doug Henry will not ride for Yamaha in 1998 if they force him to ride the YZM400 for the rest of the 1997 AMA 250cc Nationals. Henry blames the time spent on the four-stroke before the Gainesville National for throwing his supercross timing off and effectively knocking him out of the title cha~. 0 Mike Kiedrowski will retire again 'after the 1997 National MX Championships are over if he doesn't win at least one race. Damon Bradshaw will retire again after the 1997 National MX Championships are over if he doesn't win at least one race. OSeth Enslow died while jumping/ crashing through a pit of fire/alligators in the filming of Crusty Demons 3/Terra Firma 4. Finally, the Mother of Ail Moto Rumors, Honda owns 40 percent of Suzuki and has told the yellow team that they want Jeremy McGrath back for the 1998 season. If McGrath does not agree to come back, Honda will not allow Suzuki to help him in 1998, limiting Jeremy's choices to Yamaha and Kawasaki, who Honda also might lean on. (There's no such thing as "collusion" in the rumor mill.) So Jeremy will end up going car racing. That just about covers it all - everyone should be good and mad. There are many other rumors out there that have come up, but these seem to be the most plausible yet still the least likely. You see, half of them have to be false for half of them to be true. Then again, there's always the chance tha.t they are all wrong. Reliable rumors can be a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron along the same lines of "new vintage bike." Still, the buck stops/starts here. With the menu above you can keep score of all the off-track actions of your favorite riders and teams, but don't hold it against me if it all turns out to be true. Or false. CN 30 YEARS AGO... MAY 11,1967 Bob Bailey finished second on a Honda and Larry Heinselman took third on a Bultaco. Tom Rockwood won the l00cc Main Event and Bailey won the Trophy Da h...Jim. Brunson took his Greeves to the win in the Expert class at a Southem California Trials Association English Trials in Pacoima, California. ka, with a 1-1 over Kent Howerton on a Husqvarna and Honda's Marty Smith in third. Terry Clark won the 500cc Support class over Bill Moyer on a Maico and Thomas Adams on a Husky ...CN tested Harley-Davidson's 250cc MX motocrosser... Teammates Larry Roeseler and Bob Rutten took their Husky to the win at the Las Vegas 400 in Nevada. Jack Johnson and Scot Harden finished second and A.C. Bakken and Brent Wallingsford finished third, also riding Huskys. Coors/ AMA Supercross Series in Tampa, Florida. Honda's Rick Johnson finished third. Teammates Keith Turpin and Ron Tichenor took their Suzuki's to first and second, respectively, in the 125cc class. Todd DeHoop finished third on a Yamaha...The United States dominated Great Britain, 933.5 to 745.5, in the 17th annual Transatlantic Challenge Road Races. Kevin Schwantz was the top scorer for the weekend, followed by fellow Americans Wayne Rainey and Gary Goodfellow. Richard Scott was the top scoring British rider in fourth place overall...Paul Krause and Mike Alexander team.ed up to win the Best in the Desert Series Las Vegas 300 in Nevada ...CN ran an interview with AMA National Hare and Hound Champion Dan Smith entitled, "Unbeatable Dan tells how it's done." CN T a rail enthusiasts Sandi and Roy Taylor were on the cover of CN as they rode through a rugged canyon near Calico Ghost Town in CaJifornia...Mark Brelsford won the 250cc Expert class on a Bultaco at the Capital City Scrambles in Sacramento, California. Bruce Anderson won the 650cc Expert class on a Triumph ...Harley-mounted Dan Haaby won the main event at-the Ascot-Short Track in California, followed by Jim McMurren on a Harley and Dewayne Keeter on a Montesa. Cal Rayborn won the Consolation race and Suzuki-mounted Dick Hammer won the Trophy Dash over Haaby and Dave Palmer on a Suzuki...Triumph-mounted Butch Corder won the 250cc Main Event at an In~oor Short Track event in San Diego. T o o o o o 20 YEARS AGO... MAY 4,1977 es Cooley Jr. was on the cover of CN after he and his teammate, Tony Murphee, won the AFM's Six-Hour at Ontario Motor Speedway in California. David Emde and Harry Klinzmann held on for second, and Keith Code, Cook Neilson and Reg Pridmore finished third...Team Yamaha's Bob Hannah got his works bike figured out and won the AMA 250cc National Motocross in Herman, Nebras- W o o o o 10 YEARS AGO... MAY 6, 1987 ssociate Editor Kit Palmer put the Kawasaki KDX200 through its paces for the cover shot and a story inside CN....Teammates Jeff Ward and Ron Lechien finished first and second, respectively, in the 250cc class at the A o r o o

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