Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND Rodney Smith (Suz) was the overall winner at the Grand National Cross Country Series round at Elizabeth, West Virginia, on June 15. Chasing Smith across the finish line in second place was defendir!g champ Scott Summers (Hon), while third place went to Steve Hatch (Suz). Randy Hawkins (Yam) and Fred Andrews (Yam) rounded out the top five overall. Paul Edmondson injured his knee and did not finish. biKe Series on June 8. Bayliss won both legs to further extend his series points lead to 40 points over Shawn Giles (Hon). Neil Jenkins (Yam) won the second round of the Toyota Canada Superbike Championship, held on June 15 at the Chilliwack Municipal Airport in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Jenkins beat Jeff Sneyd (Hon) and Don Munroe (Kaw), and now leads the champio.nship point standings over Munroe, 97-95. Mike Faria (GM) won the Toyota American Speedway Final at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California, on June 14. Faria scored 13 points and tied ~obby Schwartz (GM) to force a runoff for the title, which Faria won. British League riders Charlie Venegas (GM) and Charles Ermolenko (Wes) were the other two qualifiers at this world round, which seeds the top four qualifiers to the Overseas Final. After finishing second, Sch:wartz then elected to withdraw from the world title . chase, allowing fifth-place finisher Chris Manchester (GM) to advance. Rick Soter III (BSA) and Greg Williams came away from the AMA Pro Hillclimb Series round in Avoca, New York, on June 15, with victories in the 540 and 800cc classes, respectively. Soter beat Paul Pinsonnault (Hon) and Terry Thompson (BSA) in capturing the 540cc class, while Williams was able to hold off Willie Price (H-D) and Steve Dresser (H-D) to win the 80Dec event. Matt Hines (Suz) topped john Myers (Suz) to win the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle final at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, on June 15. Hines now leads the championship point standings by 108 points over Myers, 664-556. Ty Davis won the High Noon Pro Shootout at the Dirt Diggers MC Kernville Motocross in Kernville, California, June 14-15. Brian Sweeny (Hon) finished second, Jimmy Lewis (Kaw) finished third, Paul Krause (Kaw) finished fourth and Rex Staten (Kaw) finished fifth. . Troy ila.yliss (Suz) won the Phillip Island round of the Australian Super- Davide Bulega (Apr) and Andrea Ballerini (Apr) won the 250 and 125cc Grand Prix classes of the Open '97 European Road Racing Championship at the Circuit de Braga on June 15. c;anadian Rodney Fee was a nonfinisher in the 125cc GP c1;iSS. J Kevin Varnes (KTM) was stripped of his third-place finish at the LaSalle Grand National Short Track after the AMA determined the VP C-12 fuel that Varnes used was not within AMA specifications. Varnes was tested on the night of the race, with a preliminary specific gravity reading of his sample showing a .701 at 60 degrees - well below the AMA legal limit of .715. The AMA took the sample to its lab for a retest and gathered a similar reading, resulting in Varnes' disqualification. "I was unaware of the fact that the fuel was that close to the limit," Varnes said. 'We've used the fuel in our bikes for years and never had any problems. There are other teams that run the same fuel, and everyone got different readings." Jeff Emig and other stars from the AMA Supercross Series will be featured on MTV Sports on June'23 at 8 p.m. (Eastern). The segment is scheduled to focus on the relationship between motocross and supercross, as well as the "trick" riding stunts of supercross - and how some of them evolved from bicycle motocross. Speedvision will broadcast a live 90minute show from the World Superbike Championship round at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on July 13, beginning at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern). Up-tothe-minute information on Speedvision's programming can be found at its Gollob closes in P olish sensation Tomasz G9110b, the first rider ever to win a World Speedway Grand Prix, proved once again he could be a star attraction in the series with his solid 13-point haul in the qualifying heats, followed by an impressive win in the A final at round two of the World Championship Individual Speedway Grand Prix Series, held in Linkoping, Sweden, on Saturday, June 14. The A final saw Gollob make a flying start in front of Greg Hancock, who had to work hard for his runner-up position as he came under some heavy pressure from home favorite Tony Rickardsson, the 1994 World Champion. Three-time World Champion Hans Nielsen made a return to top form to get through to the A final, but he had a poor start and was forced to settle for fourth place on the night. Reigning World Champion Billy Hamill had a mixed night, surviving a nasty crash into the safety fence when he was forced wide (with 110 actual contact) by Jason Crump. Hamill was lucky not to be excluded. He recovered well to win his last qualifying ride, but it wasn't enough to see him through to the A final, and he ended the night in seventh place. The biggest injury scare, however, came from Mikael Karlsson, who hit the safety r--- fence at high speed in heat 18' - head first - in a horrific-looking crash. Karlsson, the 0\ younger of the Swedish brothers on the Grand. Prix circuit, was involved in a close con0\ test with Chris Louis but he lost control and went toward the fence. He rebounded off ,..... the safe.ty fence and landed like a rag doll. He was able to walk to the ambulance, and was released from the hospital later that night after scans revealed no lasting damage. In the B final, Brian Anderson. came out on top, followed by Mark Loram, Hamill and Peter Karlsson, who botched his start and couldn't recover. Hancock held on to the points lead, with 45 points to Gollob's 43, as the series heads to Landshut, Germany, for round three .on Saturday, July 5. Hamill is third with 32, fo1lowed by Rickardsson with 29 and Neilson with 24. John Hipkiss 2 AMA announces '97 U.S. ISDEteam he AMA has named the 37 riders who will make up this year's entire U.S.International Six-Day Enduro team. The nnd running of the ISDE will be held August 18-24 in Brescia, Italy. The premier U.S. World Trophy Team, however, had been already been named, with Ty Davis, Steve Hatch, Randy Hawkins, Rodney Smith, Chris Smith and Scott Summers making up the prestigious team, which is the exact same team that placed third in last year's Six Days in Finland. The team will. again be managed by Dave Bertram. This year's U.S. Junior World (for riders 24 years of age and under) squad features two veterans: Mike Lafferty, who is currently leading' the AMA National Enduro Series, and Brian Garrahan, and their teammates will be Sam Buffa and Scot Stretch. The Junior team willl;>e managed by Alan Randt. The rest of the ·riders who have qualified, and the thr~rider club tearns that they will represent, are as follows: Boise Ridge Riders - Don Knapp, Tommy Ady and Matt Spigelmyer; Don Rhodes Racing - Kevin Bennett, Jeff Fredette and Jason Raines; Merced Dirt Riders - Pat Garrahan, Destry Abbott and Johnny Campbell; Tallahassee Trail Riders - Scott Hoffman, Marc Grossman and Kerry Clark; Trail Riders of Houston - .Brian Storrie, Rick Higgins and Wes McKnight; Los Altos Dirt Bikers - Curt Wilcox, Ron Schmelzle and Michael Sanders; Lobos MC - Grant Palenske, Russ Piggott and Matt Wallace; Salt Fork Dirt Riders - Daniel Campbell, Chris Graber and Troy Goetz; and Daytona Dirt Riders - Kevin Davis, Randy Mastin and Drew Smith. The only U.S. manufacturer team will be KTM, consisting of Lafferty, Stt:etch and Garrahan. Once again, the AMA's Hugh Fleming will be the U.s. Jury Representative, and the overall U.S. Team Manager will be. Rick "Gunny" Claypoole. T site on the World Wide http://www.speedvision.com. Web: The Yamaha World Superbike team recently completed a two-day test at Monza, the site of the the Italian round of the World Superbike Series, on June 22. "We've just done two really good days of testing here at Monza and I'm really looking forward to to the races now," Colin Edwards II said. "It was real hot and humid and it's going to be worse for the race, so you've got to be fit for this one. But Scott (Russell) and I went around all day, no problem, so we're ready. We only worked with suspension settings, and I'm real happy with the way the bike's handling. It's probably our best chance of winning, so we've got to take it - we've got to go out there and win." Russell was also happy after changing chassis setup. "We've changed the front end a bit and it's working better," Russell said. "The rear's good as well, and the bike seems to be working better than it ever has for me now. Monza's an easy track, like Hockenheim, but it's still pretty tough due to the heat." Russell clocked a 1:48.00 to lead Edwards' best of 1:48.20. According to Cycle News contributor Darryl Flack, Lucky Strike Suzuki star Daryl Beattie has revealed that tension within the Suzuki factory team is nearing a boiling point following its dismal opening to the 1997 500cc World Championship Series. "For sure, it's bothering me more and more," Beattie said. "Racing for fifth is like racing for last. I'm struggling t~ enjoy it, and everyone in the garage is getting very frustrated. We're starting to have a real go at each other. It's not the right atmosphere, but when the results don't come, I guess everyone will get cranky." In recent races, Beattie has opted for a hybrid of the 1996/1997 RGvSOO in a bid to bridge the gap to the Hondas, and especially Michael Doohan. "My confidence is improving, but it's not what it should be, because I'm not confident with what I'm sitting pn," Beattie said. "I feel confident going into qualifying, but I'm frustrated halfway through. If I push it 100 percent, we're still only battling for 10th or fifth." Beattie has dismissed any suggestion that he could be usurped as the team's number-one rider by Anthony Gobert, who has finished ahead of Beattie in his first two GPs. "I don't mind him beating me for 15th or 10th, because 'that's not really a result," Beattie said. "It would be different if we were going for fifth, fourth or third, but I'm not going to put my balls on the line for 10th." Off-road racer Steve Hengeveld, a member of .Kawasaki Team Green, was injured while testing in Lucerne Valley, California, June 7. The 21-year-old Hengeveld, who is currently ranked fourth in the AMA National Championship Ha~e & Hound Series, was preparing for an upcoming race when he suffered a high-speed get-off that resulted in two broken vertebra in his neck and an injured ankle. Luckily, Hengeveld did not suffer any spinal damage and, after six days in the hospital following surgery, was released and is now recuperating at his Oak Hills home in California. Hengeveld hopes he'll be riding again in a few months. Cards and letters can be sent to 6580 Columbine Road, Oak Hills, California, 92345. Jack In The Box restaurants is now offering Jack Vehicles as its latest kid's meal toys, and one of the toys features Jack riding a motorcycle. Five different 3-inch toys will be be featured in the new campaign, with a sports car, tractor, helicopter and speed boat joining the motorcycle in the giveaway program. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) has announced a ~eduction in its staff at the organization's Washington D.C. office. Due to budgetary constaints, the position of MSF Legislative Assistant, currently held by Carol Simpson, has been eliminated. For more information, call 202/546-0983. Malcolm Smith Motorsports has a limited number of spots available for its' fourth annual Laguna Seca Ride to the World Superbike round at the Monterey, California, facility, on July 10-13. The four-day package includes a twoday ride, three-night accomodations, most meals, and a private VIP tent at the races with closed-circuit TV, VIP parking and paddock access. There is also an optional 18-hole, best-ball golf tourna-

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