Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND Da vid Wats on (Hen) and Will ie Price (H-D) were the big winners at the AMA Na tional Championship Hillclimb in [ef- . ferson, Pennsylvania, August 3. Watson topped the 540cc class a nd Pri ce th e 800cc division. Chad Disb enne t (Tri) took second in the 540cc class and Paul Lowe (Ka w ) took third. Rou nding out the to p th ree in th e 800cc class were James Large (H-D) and Steve Dres ser (H-D). Tyler Evans (Suz) was the top-performin g Pro ri der a t the 22nd a n n ua l NMA / Ponca G ty Grand National Championships in Oklahoma, July 29-August 3, taking wins in the 125cc Stock and 250cc Modified Pro classes. Billy Paine (Kaw) fared quit e well in the Intermediate ranks by winning the 12Sec Stock and Modified classes, and Justin Buckelew (Yam) was the top Mini pilot with three class victories, includin g wins in the 80cc Stock and Modified (] 4-16) classes, as well as the SuperMini division. Fast By Ferracci's Mat Mladin picked up a check for $5000 in th e se co n d round of the AMA /MBNA Superbike Series bonus pa youts. Defending AMA Superbike National Champion Doug Chandler earned $4000, making him the top MBNA bonus-money earner thu s far in 1997, with earnings of $9000. The second round nf payoffs went to the top 20 riders from the Road America, Loudon and Brainerd rounds o f the series. MBNA will pay a total of $100,000 in championship bonus money, plus $25 ,000 in event bonuses to the top superbike riders in '97. Austra lia n Kirk .McCa rth y, who was anno unced as the permanen t replacement for Troy Co rse r on the Red Bu ll Ya maha WC M te am a t th e G erman Grand Prix, will have the use of a full factory Yamaha YZR500 for the remaining five rounds o f th e championship from th e British Gra n d Pr ix on. The team has released one of the machines that Corser campaigned until failing to agree to terms with the team and with d raw ing fr om th e c ha m p io ns hip . McCa rthy will a lso ru n in th e team's Red Bull Yamaha WCM colors from the Donington Park race, alongsid e Italian LuraCadalora. Team Kawasaki Australia rider Martin Craggill (Kaw) claimed the 1997 Shell Australian Superbike Series at the sixth and final round at Oran Park on August 3 (a ft e r Su zuki ' s Troy Bayliss was unable to o ve rcome a badly broke n hand ) to win the final race, reports con- tibutor Darryl Flack. The first eight-l ap leg was red-flagged after four laps , following an accident involving race leader Craig Connell. In the shortened second race, Craggill only needed to fini sh in the points to claim the series if Bayliss won the race. Craggill's teamma te Damon Buckmaster stormed awa y to a convincing win, with Connell making a fine return to hold Bayliss off for second. !t was CraggilI's first-ever national seri es win, and Kawasaki's first s ince Mat Mladin's Australian Superbike Championship in 1992. Moves are afoot to launch an Australian 1000« Championship (ARRC) in 1998, DeMaria shocks 250cc GP'scene F renclun an Yves Demaria shocked the FlM 250cc Grand Prix circuit Sunday afternoon by storming to a resounding 1-1 overall victory in the du sty hills of Indon esia. " Demaria, who was recentl y released from his Italian Martin Honda tid e, has apparently received a new lease on life in the form of a factory Kawasaki lent to him by Dutchman Jan de Groot's Kawasaki of Japan-backed JHK factory team. Word fro m Indonesia suggested that Fred eric Bailey, a key member of the JHK. fact ory effort, injured himself in a shunt during a French National Championship race, thus leaving a vacancy in the JHK operation. The some w ha t enigmatic Demaria made good on th e opportunity by not only pulling the fastest qualifying time on Saturday afternoon, but also by awarding his new employer, Jan de Groot, with both moto wins. Following Demaria across the line in both heats was Rinaldi Chesterfield Yamaha pilot Tallon Vohland from California, who is seemingly back after an injury-riddled summer. Vohland actually led the first heat up to the two-lap signal before Demaria flashed by and rode off with the win . Finish ing third in both motos was Honda-mounted Pit Beirer of Germany. In the meantime, 250cc World Championship points leader Stefan Everts of Belgium had a conservativ e aftern oon, carding consistent - and safe - 4-5 finishes for fourth overall . American Mike Brown suffered two DNFs on the day that saw just 23 riders take to the start ing gate , which was the lowest turnout in 24 years for the GP. In the latest point standings, Everts, hot off a successful trip to the United States, hold s a commanding lead in the overall point stand ings with 414 and is only eight points away from lockin g up his third consecu tive 250cc World Ch ampionship title. Compa trio t Marnicq Bervoets, a member of the Winfield Cigarette Suzuki squa d, holds d own sec ond wit h 302 points , 112 points adrift of the fast-disappearing Everts. French teen ager Sebas tien Tortelli, ou t throu gh November with a serious bac k injury, is a "tem porary" third with 276 points, while Beirer is in fourth with 270 points. Meanwhile, back on the continent of Europe, the 500cc Grand Prix tour pulled into its mos t historic ve nue - the Namur circuit in Belgiu m. Claiming the overall vic tory on the hallowed circuit - which skirts the forest surro und ing the ancient "Citadel" - was Husqvarna rider Darryl King of New Zea land. It wasKing's second consecu tive GP win. King finished second to Yamaha YZM400F pilot Andrea Bartol ini in moto one, then came back to win the second mot a in convi ncing fashion over anoth er YZM rid er, Peter Johansson o f Sw eden, Belgian Joe l Smets, and KTM-m ounted Shayne King, cc Darryl 's broth er. Sme ts, the SOO points lead er, ga ve his coun trym en some thing to chee r about by racing his booming Husaberg to consistent 3-3 moto sco res in both motos for second overall. Louisiana's Trampas Parker rode his KTM to se ve nth on the da y with a 6-7 score. Smets holds the lead in the SOOcc title chase with 253.points, wh ile Shayne King is second with 204 and brother Darryl third, with 183. Eric Johnson Haga for Suzuki GP ride, Gobert fe-signed · I n a move totally ou t of left field; All-Japan Yamaha Superbike star Noriyu ki Haga will saddle up alo ngside Antho ny Go be rt on Su zu ki's 1998 500cc Grand Prix team. Although not yet official, the dea l is believed to have been agreed to several weeks ago. H aga shot topromi nence a fte r wi nning th e 1996 Su zu ka 8 Hou rs w ith Co lin Edwards II in Yamaha's first victory in the end urance classic since 1990, and he currently leads the All-Japa n Superbike Cham pionship after taking wins in four of the first six rounds. Despi te his recent hot forin, he failed to defend his Suz uka 8 .Hou rs crow n after Ed wards' repl acement, Haga 's older br oth er, Kensuke, cras hed on the first lap of this year's race w hile in the lead. I Haga will replace Daryl Beattie on the Suzuki team, and the luckless 26-year-old Austra lian ha s already been linked to several World Superbike squads, including Castrol Hond a and the Suzuki team in place of disappointing Texan Mike Hale. After finishing.second in the 1995 World Championship in his first year with Lucky Strike Suzuki, Beattie missed most of 1996 with a fractured skull and arm . Struggling to come to terms w ith the all-new XR87, he has failed to regain the confid ence and motivation so necessary to figure prominently in the 500cc class. After a controversial start to his GP career, Lucky Strike Suzuki has exercised its op tion for Gobert's second year with the team . The 22-year-old wild child flew out to Rio de Janeiro from Australia last Tuesday, a fter spending a few low-k ey weeks at his parents' hom e ou tside Sydney. It's understood that Gobert's off-season will involve far more testing in Japan than previously, as he will effectively become the factory's number-one rider. The move to sign Haga coincides with uncertainty surrounding Lucky Strike' s sixyear sponsorship of the Suzuki GP team. It's understood that the Hamamatsu-based factory was seriously considering whether or not.to continue its involvement in the SCOre class with the spectre of reduced sponsorship for 1998, and Haga's inclusion is seen as a sign to build some much-needed motivation around the promising Japanese rider. Darryl Flack reports con tribu tor Darryl Flack . Cu rrently, the six-class Australian Road Race Championships include the Superbike class that is likely to be run only in the 2 plus 4 Shell Australian Superbike Series next year. The 1000cc class would repl ace the Superbikes' top billing in the ARRC, but it is not clear what configu ration the class would take . Whichev er wa y it went, it would appear to be in conflict with the successful debut of the New South Australian Formula Xtreme · Series that is open to 8OO-1300cc production-based bike The marria ge of the V'S. e ig h t Supercars a nd Super bi kes is d ir ected at p roviding a mar ketabl e package to . tel evision networks, a ltho ug h th ere are co n ce rn s that th e two-wheel fraternity, which often provides the clo sest and mo st spectacular racing , will be the poor cousin in term s of status and coverage. The FlM has officially announced that unleaded fuel will be compulsory in the World Championship Road Race Series, beginning in 1998. After consulting with fuel manufacturers and the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association , the FIM has decided that the rul es will be the same as described in the 1997 FlM Road Racing Technical Rules except for the maximum RON and MON valu es, which will now be 102 a n d 90, respectivel y . N o additional tolerances w be given. ill Cycle Ne w s co ntribu tor Alan Cathcart ro de a Yamah a TRX850 Supertwi n to victo ry at the Forza !talia Intern ational at the Lydde n d rcu it in Italy, July 26-27. As a result, Cathca rt extended his lead in the Sound of Thunder World Series . Davey Camli n , in cooperatio n wit h Wiebler's Harley-Davi dson, is spo nso ring a celebrity Golf Tournament for the ben efit of Recil Hart. The tournamen t will be held on Friday, Au gu st 8, the day before the East Moline Natio nal at the Sunrise Golf Course in Bettendorf , Iowa , and anyon e can play. Her e are the details: For a $50 entry fee, participants will be randomly selected to play with two other golfers and a celebrity dirt track rider for the front nine holes. With the front nine completed, you will then add up the scores, take a lunch br eak, and randomly choose new teams to hit the back nine. At the end of the day, you will have com peted on two totall y different team s with two different celebrity dirt track ers . The scores will then be tallied and we'll hav e the top five teams of the day. There's actually a good chan ce you could be on two of the five winning teams. For a $100 entry fee, you can have you r choice of the celebrity with whom y ou would like to pl ay nine holes. It will be a first-come /first-served deal, so get your entry forms in fast. (If you don't get to play with the celebrity golfer of your choice, your $50 will be refunded.) Celeb rit ies sch ed u led to appear include: Scott Parker; Brett landis (and probably his dad, Jim) ; Will Davis; Davey Camlin ; Rich King; Joe Kopp; Larry Pegram; Mike Hacker; Geo Roeder; tuner Eddie Adkins; Ricky Graham; tuner Rick Canode; Chris Evans; Dave Hebb; and Nick Daniels. For more information, contact Jack Steele at krracer@aol.com. The 1998 FlM World Championship calendar has been released, and a round of th e World Championship 250cc MX Series is on the table. The final round of the series will be held at Budds Creek MX Park in Budds Creek, Maryland, on Se p te m be r 13 . H owev er, th e Worl d Cha m p io ns hip Cal endar we received from the FlM is "provisional." WERA held a raffle recentl y and raised $lOUO for injured road racers Chris Simmons and Derek Mortland. Both ride rs suffered para lyzing injuries and neith er had med ic al ins urance, accord ing to WERA. Cobra is asking retail cus tomers to send in photos of their Cobra-equipped custom cruisers. If selected , Cobra will use the cu stomer and hi s /her bike in its 1998 catalog or adverti sing campa igns. Photos can be sent to The Great Cobra I

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