Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND S teve Lamso n (Ho n) , Casey Jo h n so n (Kaw) a nd La nce Smail (KTM) w e re among the big winners at the Mammoth Mou nt ai n Mot o cross at Mammot h Lakes; California , June 27-29. La mson scored th e 125cc-class win over D amon H uffma n (Ka w ) and Johnson, while Johnson ca me ba ck to w i n th e 250cc class. The runner-up in th e 250cc div is ion wa s Stephane Ro n cad a (Ho n) , while th ird place went to Smail. In th e 500cc class, Smail posted the win, followed by Shane Espos ito (Suz) and Ray Somma (He n). Smail wa s again the win n er in the Four-Stroke cla ss. Second p lace went to Scali Myers (ATK) , and third went to Ty Davis (Kaw), And, in the Mini Expert class, Justin Buckelew (Yam) took th e wi n followed by Chris Gosselaar (Hen) and Michael Young (Hon), John Smith (Suz) topped Dave Schultz (Suz) in the final s to win th e Pro Stock class of the Sean; Crafts man Nati on als at Ga te wa y Int ernation al Racewa y in Madiso n, Illin o is , on Jun e 29. Malt Hines still leads the championship point standings over John Myers, 742-633. Michael Lafferty (KTM) won his fourth e nd ur o o f th e 1997 AMA Nati o nal Cha mpionship End uro Series wit h a victory in round six in Akely, Minesota, on Jun e 29. Defending cha m p Rand y Hawkins (Yam) had the lead until running out of gas a few miles from the finish. Malt Stavish finished second wi th Jeff Fr e d e lle (Ka w) thi r d . Je s se Blomberg (Hon) and M ichael Sl echta (CRE) rounded out the top five ove rall. Troy Bayliss (Suz) and Mark Will is (SU7.) scored a wi n apiece in rou nd thr ee of the Shell Austr alian Su perbike Series at Eastero Creek on June 29. Willis won the first superbike race of his career in the wet first leg, while Bayliss ea rned the second-leg victory after a strugg le with Damon Buckmaster (Kaw) . Canadian ro ad racer Rodney Fee has been d isqual ifi ed fromthe Albacete, Spain , roun d of th e Open European Road Racing Cha m pionshi p after winning the event on March 16. Fee's Honda was foun d to be using fuel w ith an illegal level of lead content. The disqua lification d ro ps Fee to fif th in th e 125cc cham pionship. A controversial bill to repeal a mandatory helmet law covering motorcyclists in Texas has been signed into law by Governor George W. Bush, accord ing to the AMA. The bill, which was s ig ned int o law on Ju ne 20 and will take effect on Sept ember I , elimina tes the man dat ory helmet requirement for motorcyclists 21 and ove r. But an amendment add ed to the measure has the potent ial to se t a dan gerous precedent for motorcyclists in Texas and elsewhere , accordi ng to th e AMA . Th e amendmen t would a ll o w mot orcyclists to ride wi thou t helmet s only if they either complete a rid er-education course or provide proof that they have a minimum of $10,000 in personal medical coverag e. Compliance with that am endment will be determined by spc-cial lice nse-pla te sti ckers th e state will issu e to m ot orcyclists who meet those provisions. Out-of-state riders traveling throug h Texas would be ineligib le to receive stickers and wo uld be required to wear helmets. 1981 500cc Grand Prix World Cha mpion Marco Lucchinelli is set to return to racing. The 43-year-ol d Italian will race in the th ird and fina l round of the Italian Superbike Championsh ip on Jul y 27 at M isan o, ridin g a 916 s u p p lied b y Gio .Ca .Moto, th e team th at ca mpaigns British rider James Haydon in the World Superbike Ch ampionship. "I wa tched a race of the Italian series this yea r, looking at so many slow riders; Lucchinelli sa id . "I think that it won't be a big problem to have o ne more 'mobile chicane' o n th e tra ck at th e ne xt round. I will train hard ne xf w ee k to arrive in good co nd itio n, testing th e 916 on the tra ck and my Triumph 900 on th e road. " Lucchinelli last rode in World Superbike in 1988 at Le Mans. He was Duca ti team manager in 1990, when team rider Raym ond Roche took th e championship , an d 1991. In the wi nter of '91, however, Lucc hin elli was arres ted for im porting and using cocaine in Ital y and subsequently spent three mo nths in a Bologna jail, spendin g littl e tim e involved wi th the motorcycl e world afterward except for a sho rt stin t riding in the European 600cc supcrspo rt class in 1995. Duca ti World Su perbike rider PierFrancesco Chili, 33, wasn't in his best form at the recent World Superbike test a t Aus tria's Al Ring (see box), report s Cycfe News co n tributo r Paol o Gozzi. " D u e to a cold th a t str uck afte r th e Mon za race, wh en I stay ed in my w et leathers at the end of the race to at tend the press conference, I've been suffering from sto mac h pain and a slight fever," the Italian said . "I'm not in good cond ition to pu sh hard on the track and so I just did a few laps to get to know the track rather than w orking on improving the bike setup . Now I will go to my second home at Misa no Adriatico (Italy), on the beach, to relax befo re flying to laguna Seca. My wife has a seasi de re ort at s Misa no , and for a few days 1 will be a lifeg ua rd for our guests on the beach." Chili was 11t h fastest a t the Aus trian test, turning in a time of 1:32.767. Th e recent tes t at Au stria 's AI Ring at Zeltweg was also atte nd ed by many of the Su pers port Wo rld Series re gula rs with Massimo Meregalli turning in the fastest lap , but only after continuing his testin g int o th e Superbike sess ion . The Italian cloc ked a I :37.452 after trying a new suspension se tup, just edging his Yamaha teammate Vittoriano Guareschi, w hose be s t time wa s 1:37. 655. Gio.Ca.Moto Du cati rider Pao lo Cas oli was thi rd- fastes t on 1:39.941. Fabriz io Pirovano, winner of the Monza round of the World Su pers po rt Series, was missing on this first visit to the Al Ring d ue to injuri es suffered at Donington Park, Englan d . "I still haven't got a very good physical condition due to the heavy cras h a t Doningt on with th re e frac tures in my right fo o t," Pirova no said. "Beca use of this I as ked my team chief, Fra ncesco Barta , if I co u ld stay home to continue the foot's rehabilita tion. Next week I will be at Imola, home of Dr. Claudio Costa , for special therapy, because I still hav e pain and can' t walk correctly." One of Italy's most respected motorcycle ma gazi nes, Motosprint , repo rted recently in its Monza World Superbike coverag e that G ia como Agos tin i cou ld be named as Ducati's race team manager for the 1998 seaso n, reports Cycle N.= contributo r Pa ol o Go zz i. The IS -t ime World Cham pion didn' t deny the ru mor, though neither d id he confirm it. Duca ti Corse's present team manage r Virg in io Ferrari simply w asn't interested in discussing the possibility. "I'm not interested in these press rumo rs," Ferrari said. World Superbikes test A1Rina - he prin cipal factory teams of the World Su perbike Series atte nded a one-d ay test at the AI Ring in Zeltweg, Au stria, on June 25, prior to leavin g Europe for the U 'S. round of the se ries . The se ries will be making its first stop at the AIRing since its reno vat ion in 1996, and th e session 'Vas meant to help th e teams familiarize th emselves with the circuit and ge t baselin e setu ps for the Au strian round on August 17. Th e World Superbik e series had visited the old Zeltweg circuit from 1988 until 1994, but th is notori ou sly fas t and dangerous race track wa s replaced wi th the new Al Ring, a completely d ifferent, modem and much safer race course. Top man at the test was Castrol Honda's John Kocinski , setting an impressive tim e of 1:31.609, a new unofficial track record by virtue of there having been no previous rounds at the facility . Du cati 's earl Fogarty was seco nd fas tes t wi th a time of 1:31.616, just .007 of a second off the Ho nda facto ry rid er' s time . For the officia l Ducati squad , the test was more than just a familiarization run at th e track, as the crew tested new cha ssis parts (includi ng a new head angle) in an effort to improve the Italian bi ke's handling. Th e team is presently struggling wi th d ifficult turn-in on low-speed comers and chicanes, as well as a relu ctance to cha nge direction qui ckly, two things that, if im proved, wo uld help considerably at Laguna Seca on July 13. Foga rty and Pier-Fran cesco Chili also tested new Brernbo ·brake pa ds , wi th good resu lts. 'We worked to adapt our 916 bike to the Al Ring track," team ma nager Virgi nio Ferrari said. "We tried different so lutions of offset, suspe nsio n setup and more, the sa me work th at we do any tim e we arrive at a new track. Carl rode the sa me tw o bikes he used at Monza , but wit hou t th e troubles he had there." Kaw asaki's Akira Yanagawa closed th e session wi th tim es very near the top of the time sheet, ru nning third fastest. The Japan ese turned in a tim e of 1:31.747, just ahea d of the second Cas trol Hond a rider Aar on Slight, w ho set a tim e of 1:31.794. Two facto ry riders we re absen t fro m th e test, Yama ha 's Co lin Edwards 11 and Duca ti's, Ne il Hodgson. Edwa rd s su ffered a broken arm in free practice for Mon za, w hile Hodgson fractured his knee riding a mo tocross bike before th e Monza round . Both Edward s and Hodgson ma y attempt to rid e at the Laguna Seca ro und, depend en t upon their co ndition. Suz uki's James 'Whitham was fifth fas test 0 :32.241), followed by Kawasaki-mounted Simon Crafar 0 :32.347) an d Scott Russell 0:32.363). Paolo Guzzi T "I don't w a n t to tal k a bo ut this m an (Agos ti ni) . I' m no t in te res te d in th is man's affai rs. 1wi ll try to do my work as best as possible, as ever." Th e d ebu t of th e AMA Bridgestone G rand Championship Road Race will take place o n September 26-28 at New Hampsh ire Internation al Speedway in Lo udo n, N ew Hampshire. Invi tati o ns and entry forms are curren tly being ma iled to licensed riders and va riou s road racing organizations for the eve nt, w hich will featu re 22 classes of com petition . For more information, ca1l614/.8912425. The third ann ual World Superb ike Su pe r Fan Party will be held at the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Mo nte re y, Ca lifo rn ia, on Frid ay, July 11. For only $5, fans can party with the stars of th e World Superbike Championship, grab a n au tograph, or take a picture w it h , their favo rite rid er. Tickets are still available for round six of the Wo rld Su perbi ke Se ries at Laguna Seca . For mo re in fo r m atio n , ca ll 800 /327-SECA o r 408/ 648-5100. Yama ha re ce n tly ope ne d it s ne w 270,OOO-squa re-foot office a nd w arehouse in Kenn es aw , Georgia, a northwest su burb of Atla nta. Situated on 35 acres, th e facility is hom e to Yamaha's parts and accesso ries distribution center, sa les and training offi ces and training labs. The Kennesaw facility will also be used for tr a in in g sc ho ols fo r Yama ha dealers and employees; headquarters for the marine group sales d ivision, including OEM; a nd region al sa les office for w ate r ve hicles , je t bo ats a nd mo to rsp or ts. Mor e tha n 100 peo ple a re currently employed at the new facility . The center joins Yama ha 's o the r Georg ia facility, Yamaha Moto r Manufacturing Co rpora tion of Am erica, in N ew nan the Ll.S. production center for go lf carts and water vehicles. In o rde r to d is cu s s the cur re n t an d fu tu re rul es of the World Observed Trials Cha m pions hi p, a m ee tin g between FIM Preside nt Fran cesco Zerb i, CTR Pres ident Ign acio Ve rneda and riders Doug Lampkin and Marc Colomer will be held o n June 30 in Rome, Ita ly, accord ing to th e FlM. William Pow ell Linsday suffered a broken p el vis, shoulder, co lla rbone a nd elbow in a crash at Gateway Inte rnationat Raceway in Fairmont City, Illinois, on June 15 wh ile co m pe ting i n a WERA Na tional Challenge Series road race . Linsday is currentl y recuperating at his home in Maryland. Cards and letters can be se nt to 5306 Blakeford Ct., Bethesda, MD20816. French motocrosser Luigi Seguy ha s been fined and d isqualified from the ita lian 125cc Motocross Grand Prix, held on May 11 in Maggiora , because the fuel used in his mo to rcy cl e was found to have lead conte nt beyond the FlM lim it. Seguy finished fifth in the first moto and 10th in th e se co nd. With those poin ts subtracted from his tall y, Seguy is cu rrently 13th in the World Championship po int standings. Several to p rid ers, including Stefan Eve rts and Sebastien Torte lli pa sse d FIM antidoping tests at the British ro und of the 250cc Worl d MX Champion ship in Foxhill on May 25. Accordi ng to eve nt promote rs, 40,000 "upscale" mo torcycle riders a nd enthusias ts from the Sou thwest , indudi ng top stars and celebrities, will attend the Hollywood Bike Jam '97 on October 3-5 at 1

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