Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND dreds of thou sands of fans who have co m e to wa tc h Fo rmula USA ra cing throug h th e yea rs . Fo rm ula USA has come a lon g way since Bill Huth (the se ries fo u n der an d owner of Willow Spring s Racew ay) tru sted us to take the series na tional in 1989. We di dn ' t feel the NASB offe r would ensure futu re g row th for F-USA. " Accord ing to Gonda, Sunoco Race Fuels will continu e to sponsor F-USA u nd er an exist ing contract and Colin Fraser will cont inue .as director of com petition. Brenda Taylor will also con tinue to prod uce marke tin g materia l and graphics, along w ith even t promotions . In add itio n, Herod Lower y ha s been h ired to han- ' d le event opera tions. When contacted at th e NASB offi ces o n Mo nda y, Septem b er 8, Murph y h ad this to say: "After two yea rs of working with Doug (Gond a), we made a proposal to buy FUSA : He wou ld ge t a percentage of NASB and he'd be p ar t of ou r team. But he d idn't feel we wer e offering him w hat F·USA was w orth, so w e came to a mutual agreement to go OU f separate ways. We were going to issue a press . release, but h e (Go nd a) a sked u s to ho ld it. Th en he came ou t w ith his own. We have big pla ns for '98. Figh tin g to be number two in motorcycle racing is absurd . We want to be numb er one in m ot orcycle racing fes tiv als . We don't want to comp ete with the AMA or FUSA. We want to get people who ar en' t coming to races to com e to our e ve nts. We plan on providing a hands-on spo rt motorcycl ing ex perience and we think tha t's pretty dras tic. We're goi ng to be d oing everything we di d in '97, sa m; FUSA . W e 're g oin g to m a ke peop le enjoy mo torcycle racing by p rovid ing , am ong other things, on-track time for spe ctators." Legislation has been in troduced by the congressio na l leaders of the U.S. House Tra nsportation Infrastructure Comm it- tee that ad d resses several iss u e s of impo rta nce to motorcyclist s raised by the AM A duri ng the bill-drafti ng process, accordi ng to the AMA. Language wi thi n the bill ensures mo torcyclists access to roads constructed with fede ral high way fu nds, thus as su r ing con tinued access to the growing number of high-occupancy ve hicle (HOV) lanes in man y of the nation ' s urban transportation corridors. The Na tional Recr eatio na l Trail s Act la ng ua ge ha s been strengthened to provide potentially grea ter fu nding for trail main tenance and deve lopment for o ff - h ig h wa y motorc ycle en thusi asts. Abo, enhancemen t of mo torcycle safety is recogn ized as a nationa l priorit y within th e bill, and provisions are provided to include motorcycles in the developmen t of th e nation's Intelligent Transp ort ation Systems (ITS) technology, a massive project to em ploy tech nolog ica l solutions to en ha nce traffic flow o n th e country' s hi ghways . Th e legislation , ca lled th e Building Effici ent Surface Transp ortation and Equit y Act (BESTEA), is an omnibus highway re au th o riza tion bill that would provid e funding for a broad ca tegory of transportati on-relat ed projects. Fo r th e fi r s t lime s i nce 1980, New Orleans, Louisiana, will hos t a round of the AMA Supercross Series in 1998. The New O rle ans Su percr oss will be held in the Superdome on Mar ch 14, the date o riginall y reser v ed for t he Dallas, Texas, round . Th e Da ll as Su percro ss will now be held on April 25. Acco rding to G FI, M a l colm Smith , Chad M cQu e en (th e son of t he la te Steve McQ u een ), Jo h n D eSo to , J. N. Roberts an d Steve Lam son ar e a few of the riders who have al ready confirm ed entries for th e 1997 Elsinore Grand Prix. For m o re informa tion , ca ll 909 / 653 4042. Beirer winshis first 250cc GrandPrix T he World Championship 250cc MX Series came to a concl usion in Calldorf. Ger many, on Sept emb er 7, with champion Stefan Everts blaming lappers for his failur e to equal Sebasti en Tortelli's all-time record of 10 GP wins in a season (in last year's 125cc Champion ship Series). Honda-mounted Ever ts' nine victor ies in the 15race series, however, is a class record. Th e 24-year-old Belgia n had come ou t on top in a desperate first-mote duel with home star Pit Beirer and seemed on his way to a double win after passing Beirer for the lead 32 minutes into moto two. Th ree laps from the end, however, the champion fell in tum littered with loose hay from a dislodged marker ba le, and the Ge rman was gone before Ever ts cou ld remount, thus leavin g him to finish seco nd. Beirer won the GP, his first-ever 250cc GP success, on the second -mote tie breaker. It was his last GP for the Swiss Pamo Hond a team before swi tching to the Rinaldi Yama ha squa d as teammate to Tallon Vohland for 1998. Although he fell alone, Everts claimed that two lappers - a German and a Finn - who we re battling for 22nd position had hampered him. Both riders dispute that they intentionally got in Everts' way, tho ugh it is not in dispute that, un aware of his presence, they had hindered him for several comers, during which time Beirer had closed down the gap again slightly. Everts ended the season with 528 poin ts to th e 377 of Suz uki-mounted Marnicq Bervoets, w ho was third in Germany afte r posting 4-3 moto finishes, and Beirer's 349. The absent Sebas tien TorteJli was fourth with 276, with Swede [ock e Kar lsson fifth with 266, two ahead of Tallon Vohland . ' The Californian, his seaso n ruined by inju ry, had moved to fifth in the stand ings after takin g thir d to Karlsso n's six th in the first moto . But a bad start and a mid ra ce fall rest ricted Vohland to sixth in moto two , as Karlsson took fourth place, a po sition he need ed to earn the number-five plate. Yama ha rider Mike Brown en ded his European GP career wi th a fifth in moto one and a mechanical DNF in race tw o. The resid en t of Tenn essee ended the series 11th with 148 points, while Honda of Troy' s Pedro Tra gter was 13th with 117 points after a 13-9 final GP. Alex Hodgkinson a 2 Gobert fired after .failing dru9-- =-==-t- e- =.s- -=- t- - - -eam Lucky Strike Suzuki fired An thony Gobert on Friday, Sep tember 5, after the Australian failed a drug test at the British G rand Prix, held at Donington Par k on August 17. To com pound the 22-yea r-old road racer 's mi sfortune, he also suffered a broken right tibia wh en he and his younger broth er, Aaron, were involved in a traffic accident while rid ing toge ther on a scoo ter in Italy on the same day he found out abo ut the firing. Aaron Gobert, a Ie-yea r-old rising supercross star in Aus tralia, suffered more serious injuries than his brother, including a compound fracture of his right femur. The accident occurred in the Italian coastal resort town of Rimini, close to the Misano circui t, wh en the pair reportedly collid ed wit h a car that had bac ked out of a side street. Anthony Gobert is expected to be in a cast for six to eight weeks , while Aaron is curren tly in traction in an Italian hospital, accord ing to reports from Gobert's moth er, Sue, who also serves as his manager. Gobert underwent wha t the team is calling "a random test" at the British GP an d the result was a positive reading for "a prohibited substance ." The team is not saying exactly what substance, though cannabis is thought to be the most likely . The terse statement issued by Suz u ki read : "This is contrar y to A M regul ations, the terms of his contract, and to Team Lucky Strik e Suzuki policy . As a resul t, in the bes t interests of the team, the sport, and his fellow competito rs, his contract was terminated with im med iate effect." The AM has carried out a drug-testing program this year, wi th Gobert being the subject of the se tests on at least two occasions. The latest test on hi m was cond ucted at the Czech Republic Grand Prix on August 31, and results are not yet available. Gobert returned to his hom e in Aus tralia before and after the Rio Grand Prix, the ro und prior to th e British GP, for the first time sin ce th e st art of the European season . He fail ed to fi nis h th e British G P, pitting ea rly and co m p la i ning of hand cra mps. Go bert recentl y re-signed with Suzuki for a second year of 500cc Gr and Pri x racing. Michael Scott T BMW 's Miracle Ri d e will be held o n Sunda y, October 12, beginnin g at the H arbor Island Pa r k in Mamaroneck, Ne w Yo rk, a n d e n d i n g a t BMW of North Ame rica in Woodcliff Lake , New Jersey. The 65-m ile rid e will be escorted by the Blue Kni ghts Law Enforcement . m otorcycle g ro u p, with p roceed s to ,benefit th e Crohn's & Colitis Fou ndation of America. For more information , call 203/629-5353. Fo u r -li me AMA 250 cc G ra n d Prix C ha mpio n Rich O li ve r is th e latest ad d iti o n to a s ta r -s tu d ded lineup for Hooters Restaurant of Ne w po rt Beach's Sh owca se Bik e Nig ht , sc he d u le d for Thursd a y, Septem ber 11. Representatives fro m Race Tech, Yoshimura, Cryolabs and Ca lifornia Sport Bike Racing will join Oliver at the N ew port Beach, Cali fornia, restaurant. Proceed s from th e night will go to the Wegman Benefit Fu n d. For more in fo rma tio n, call 714 /752-1669. T h e W hit e Brothers World V e t Motocross Championship w ill be held at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, November 1-2. A Ve t practice will be held on Oct ober 31 from 8 a.m. to noon. For more information, call 909/ 880-3090. JT Racin g is now accepting resumes for th e 1998 m oto cr o ss - se a so n , Se n d resumes to JT USA , 515 Otay Va lley Rd., Chula Vista, CA 91911, Attn: Rob Silva . The FIM carried out anti-doping and alcohol tests during th e ISDE in Ital y, August 19-24, wi th all those tested passing the test s. Th e only American w ho was tested was Rodney Smith. Th e Southern Cha p ter of th e Over the Hill Gang wi ll hos t the fourth and final round of th e Ol1 lG Na tiona l Championship Series Octo ber 11-12 a t Perris Raceway in Perris, California. For more info rma tion, call 562/ 925-9634. Motocrosser Jason T ho mas, 18, of Melrose, Florida, is the 1997 AMA Pro Racing Scholarship Award winner. Thomas will receive a $1500 scholarship from the AMA . A grad uate of Keystone Heights Hig h Scho ol, Th omas was ranked seven th out of a class of 115 stu dents, earning a 4.16 grade-poin t average. In his rookie seaso n o f pro raci ng, Th om a s qualified for th re e 125cc East Regio n Supercross events, one 250cc Supercross a nd tw o 250 cc Nati o na l Mo tocross eve nts. His best finish was 14th in the 125cc Supercross in Cha r lo tt e, North Carolina . Thomas w ill attend Santa Fe Com m u n ity Co ll e ge in Ga inesvi ll e , Florida, study ing advertising and marketing. M OVE D: Moto Tassinari, to 10 Technology Drive, Unit IA , West Lebanon, NH 03784,603/298-6646,603 /298-6656 (fax). PRO MOTED: Lau re nce K. Da n ter , to presid ent of Answer Products, succeeding Answer founder Eddie Cole. Danter p reviou sly served as vice president of operations. Cole w ill se rve as executive consu ltant. OPENED: Arai Helmets ' home page on the World Wide Web . The site can be found at th e foll owing a d d ress : http :/ /www.araiam eric as.com . OP ENED: Bare Bones Mac hines ' home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be fou nd at the following add ress: http :/ /www.barebones.net/ . OP EN ED: Alpi n e s ta r s USA' s ho me page on the Wo rld Wide Web . The site can be found at th e following address: http :/ / www.alpine stars.com . AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At the CMC Quail Canyon Motocross in Gorman, Californ ia, on Se p te mber 14, fro m 10 a.m. to noon . Multi-time Supe rcross and Motocross Na tional Cham pion Jerem y McG rath is sc he d uled to a p pea r. For more informati on, call 714/ 367-1141. ,~

• Cover