Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1997 11 19

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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race. The commitme nt of our peo ple and ou r public investment has no t produced the r ew a rd s that a ll o f u s had e n visioned." According to the report, the airport race track ma y require resurfacing prior to the 1998 race, and AHMRA has o ffe re d to co ntribu te money for th e w ork. Also, a separate group - The Elite Mot orcycle Club - has asked to have future races at the airport. Carrollton Kawasaki in Dallas, Te xas, will field a three-man team in the AMA Pj I Arenacross Series. The team will feature Cliff Palmer, Grayson Goodman and Brad Woolsey. WERA has anno unced its 1998 WERA National Endurance Series schedule, which will co ns ist of 10 ro u nd s. All d a t es a re tentat i ve . The da tes a nd venues are as follows: April 4 - Tallad ega G r and Prix, Talladeg a , A lab ama; April 25 - Memphis Moto rsports Park, Mem ph is, Tennessee; May 15 - Road Atla n ta, Brasel to n, Georgia; june 13 Roebling Road, Faulkvil le, Georgia; j une 26 - Ind iana polis Raceway Park, Indianapolis, Ind ia n a ; july II - G ra lla n Raceway, Grattan, Michigan; August I Summit Point Racew ay, Su mmit Point , West Virginia; August 22 - Putnam Park Road Course, Mount Meridian, Indiana; September 19 - Texas World Speedway, College Sta tion, Texa s; O ct ober 16 Road Atlanta , Bra sel ton, Ge orgia. For m or e info rmatio n, co n tac t WER A at 770/924-8404. AMA Grand National dirt tracker Kevin Atherton underwent surgery on Thursd ay, O ctob er 30, to repa ir th e bro ken metaca rpals in his righ t han d he suffered w hen he s truck the outside gua rdrail d uring his heat race at the Del Mar Mile series fina le. Atherto n said that the outpatient proced ure, whi ch took place near his hometown in Michigan, was successful a nd tha t a co m plete re co very is expected . "It was worse tha n the doctors first th ought," At he r to n said . "T hey were co ncerne d th at ther e mig ht be some tend on dam age, bu t there we ren' t any problems with that. I'm going to be all right; it'll jus t take time." Kevi n At herto n also tol d Cycle New s that his future as a di rt track racer is less than cer tain a t this time, as he is, once again , cons ide ring a mov e to road racing . " I love what I d o (dirt tra ck )," th e 26 -yea r -o ld Athe r tonsa id . " b u t there comes a time w hen I have to start thinking abo u t my future, and making some more mo ney. As far as profession al motorcycle racing goes, that's in road raci ng . I've got a few offers, and I'm looking into it. Heck , I've done ju st about every thing that you can do in dirt track withou t actually winning th e cham pio ns hip. We'll see." Total Control Racing 's team manage r Tom Cummings sa id that he is a w a re o f Athe rton's intentions, -a nd that th e team is planning for the 1998 seaso n accord ingly. "We 've talked a bo u t it ," Cu m mings sa id, "and if Kevin decides to go road ra cing, we would probabl y still run selected d irt track race s with him. But me and Davey (Wa lls) and Rand y (Brady) would work wid e open on Will Davis' bikes, a nd try to wi n the champio ns hip. We haven' t shut the d oor o n Kevin, but whether or not (team owner) Benson Ford wants to do that, I don't know. I do know that I need my main guy to toant to be a dirt tracker!' Cummi ngs also men tion ed th at TC R might fie ld ano ther part-ti me ride r, Nicky Ha yden, in 1998, alt ho ugh no plans are confirm ed as of yet. Fast Cycles Raci ng is now acce pting resumes for the 1998 motocross racing season. Resu mes may be sent to Fast Cycles Racing, attn : Cat &. jeff, 917 O hio Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45245. Th e fi rs t th ree r ound s o f the 1997 Action Sports Arenacross Series wi ll be held in Dayton , Ohio, November 2123, in th e Hara Arena. Th e series will move to th e Exp o Center Coli seum in Columbus, Ohi o, for rounds four, five and s ix, and rounds seven, eig ht and nine will be held in Louisville, Kentucky , a t the Kentu cky State Fairgrounds . For more information, call 614/594-6686. . Entri es are still ·-,·ailable for the 14th Los Angeld-Barstow to Las Vegas Dual Sport ride, November 28-29. This year-s even t will begin at Berr s Mo to rcycle Mall in Az usa, Califo rnia . Fo r m o re information, call 818/249-2141, ext. 31. Ducati will ho st a worldwide ga thering of Ducati fans, june 13-15, in the Emilia Romagna reg io n of It a ly . Th e e n tire Ducati s ta ff will be on hand to meet with the public. The eve nt will feature races, rid es, parades, co ncerts, visits to the factory, and more. Th e AMA has re leased its bonus payou ts for the 1997 road racin g season. EU Lubricants paid out a total of $10,000 to th e top 10 finish ers in the AMA 250cc Gra nd Pri x Se ries, wit h Rich Oliver ea rning th e wi n ner's share of $2500 . Mig uel Du Hamel was the highestearning superbike rider in the yea r-e nd MBNA Su perbike Series payout, with a total of $7000 for his late-season victories and podium finis hes . Doug Chandler pocketed $5500 in MBNA bonu s mon ~y, whi le Milt MLadin ea rned $4000 . jason Pridmore was the to p mon ey-eamer in Tea mli ne 750cc Su pe rspo rt payou ts, earning $2500 fro m the ti tle s po nsor of the seri es. Du Hamel was ba ck on top in ea rni ngs fro m Honda Pro Oils fo r hi s 600cc Su pers po rt Series ch ampionship, earni ng a no ther $2500. Andrew Stroud a lso pocketed $2500 in bon us mo ney fro m Pirelli for hi s success in the Formula Xt re me Se ries . Eric Bostro m, m ea n whi le, also ea rned $2500 i n b onu s money from Progressive Insu rance fo r h is Ha r ley- Dav id so n Su pe rTwi ns cha m pions hip. Br ic ke r &. Eck ler, Cycl e New s, Na ughton In surance Inc. and PACE Motor Sports have joined Speedvisi on , Hon da. Kawasaki, American Mo torcycle Ins ti tu te a nd American Motorcyclist maga zine as spo nso rs of th e AM A N at ional Champ ion s Award s Banquet, scheduled for December 13 at the Fl amin go H ilton in Las Vegas , Ne vada . Th e Sid ecar Racers Associ atio n will hold its (wes t) awa rds lun cheon o n Sund a y, Novem ber 23, at I p .m . at th e Spaghetti Factory in Rancho Cord ova , California. Elf Lu bricants is cu rre n tly accepting re sumes for the 1998 racing season . Resum es ma y be sent to Elf Rider Support, Elf Lubricants North America, 5 N . Stiles si., Linden, Nj 07036-0001. Th e bike ha sn't w on yet, but the we b site may... The Team Rob erts site on the Wo rld Wide Web has been cho sen as one of the five finalists in the Entertainment Online/Web Site ca tegory of th e fift h a n n ual New Med ia Invi s ion Emig crowned Kin of Serc eam Kawasaki's jeff Emlg stretched out his po ints lead in the F1M World Supercross Series after round s two, three and fOUT were played out in Paris, France, Novem ber 7-9. Emig took on ly one moto win of the to tal six mai n events (two each night) of the three nig hts in Paris, but his consistent placings netted him the King of Bercy crown with a tally of 89 points. He was followed by teammate Damon Huffman with 79 points and Yamaha-mounted Jimmy Button with 74 points. More importantly, Emig extended his series lead to 22 points over runner-up Huffman , 124-102. Cu rrently third in the series is Frenchman Frederi c Bolley, with 78 points Emig's plan of consistent results is, thus far, going perfectly. "I just want to score as well as I can, as often as I can . So far it's been great, " Emig sa id. "I don't want to put too m uch pressure on myself!' jeremy McGra th, the 1994-95 World Supercross Champion, had a mixed weeken d with a win on Sunday night and a nonqualifying rid e on Friday. . "It was just bad luck," McGrath said of his failing to qualify on the opening nig ht of racing. "I crashed in my heat, then go t a terrible s tart in the last-chance (qualifier)!' McGra th, who did not compete at the series opener in Barcelona, Spa in, is curren tly sixth in the series poi nt stand ings with 69 points. Despite his so-so perfo rmance in Paris, McGra th was happy to en d the weekend on a winning not e. "To finally win a ma jor event , beating Emig and the ot her Americans was a real thri ll," McGrat h said, "but this is just the sta rt. I've got a lot of work to do !' Emig was also thrilled. "Hey, I've finally won the King of Bercy crown," Emig said . "If I finish second her e for the rest of my career, I'll be happy!' Other winners at the Paris Supercross induded Huffman, who opened up the threenig ht supercross with a I-I victory on Frid ay, and Button took the overall win on Saturday. Geoff Meyer T Awa rds Festival, sched uled for Novembe r l Oin San Francisco, California . Roberts' site was p rod uced by d v8, an in te r act ive agency in Duran go, Colorado. The site can be found at the followi ng ad d ress: h ttp:/ /www.robertsgroup.com. Sherri Kukla, the editor and publisher of San Diego Off-Road Magazi n e, recently received the California OffHighwa y Moto r Veh icl e Recr e a ti o n Commission' s p restigious "Best Volunteer of the Year" award during ceremonies held in Auburn, California. Memoria l services we re held for long time motorcydist Bob Labrie at St. john the Evangelist Chu rch in Concord, New Hampshire, on Oc tober 30. Labrie d ied on October 28 as a result of injuries sustain e d in an a u tu mobile accident. Memorial donati ons ma y be made to the N ew Hampsh ire Veterans Ce metery , c/o the Adj utan t Ge ne ra l, 4 Pem broke Road , Concord , NH 03301. Natiooal M ini Olympics a t SI. Petersb urg, Florida, November 24-2 9, th e folks a t FMF say' they ha ve re nted a practice track near the Mini Olympics race site and will have an open practice fo r all FMF-suppor ted race rs on November 22. FMF will have its suspension technicians and engine specialis ts on ha nd to assist with jetting a nd sus pension se ttings and mod ification s, and to p rovide help for a ll FMF racers. For m ore information, call 213 /5396884. Jennifer Tribou, the registrar and sco rer at Summit Poi nt Raceway in Summit Point, West Vi rginia, was injured in an au tomob il e accide n t o n O ctober 25 w hen the car in which she w as traveling sk idded off a road an d struc k a tree. Tribo u suffere d back a nd a nkle in juries . Ca rds a nd lett ers may be sen t to jennifer a t 423 Ran d olph La ne, Sch uy le r, VA 22969. BORN : Evander George Hugh es, to Team Kawasa Rya n H u g h es and j e nn if er A n d erson , on Novem ber 10. in Rivers ide, California. ki '~ Mycomm Productions has released the schedule for the 1998 AMA Four-Stroke West ern National Series. It is as fol lo ws : Redding, Ca li fo r n ia, April 4-5; Ph oenix, Arizon a, April 11-12 ; Perris, Ca liforn ia, April 18-19; Yakima, Wash ing ton, May 30-31; Salt Lake City, Utah, j une 6-7; Denver, Colorado, june 27-28; Boise, Idaho, july 11-12; Albany, Orego n, August 8-9; Ward Creek, Washingto n, Augus t 23-24; and Lake Wh itney, Texas, Se ptember ~. Th ough it is no t off icial ye t, Mycomm Producti ons and PACE Motor Sports are hoping to ru n a new a nd as-yet -unnamed indoor fours troke series. This series is set to begin m id -janua ry and w ill be held at se ven d ifferent venues. Also new in 1998 ,,;11 be th e USA Sound of Thu nder Amateu r Championship Series > it will consist of approximately 20 qualifi ers held throu gh out th e Uni ted States, with the final talking place in Denv er, Colorad o, August 28-30. For mo re information, call 916 /365-1979. In conjunction with the Florida Winter BO RN: Tay lo r Mac kenzie Lamson. to two-ti me AMA 125cc National MX Champ ion Steve Lamson and his wife. Cammy. on November 4. in Rivers ide, Cahfornia. PROMOTED: Dennis McNeal. to general manager of the Motorsports Group for Yamahd Motor Corp. USA . McN eal i .. responsi ble for the motorsports !\alt..~ force, i ~c1ud ing regio na l and di strict man - agers. as well as the national deale-r net work. He will co nc e n trate on sales of mo torcycles.. ATVs .. !inowmobil~ and outdoor po'Wfi equipment. OPEN HOUSE: At M.U'~~ Products in Temecula, Calif0mJ4. on . ovember 23. from 8 a.m. to " p.m. For more informa tion ..callSOO/293-2400. OP EN HOUSE: At Ora nge- County H onda in Orange , Cali fornia.. on November 15. from 10 a.m. t03 p .m. For more information. C'a I1 714 / 7l1 -9771 . BO RN : Dylan ZJchary wibon, to Suzuki technical d epartment supervisor Je ff Wilso n and his w ife . Me redith. on October 14 in Southern California. BO RN: Robert Bradley. to Rebecca Tho mas. presi dent o f the Cham pionsh ip Cup Series (CCS) .. a nd he r husband, Rand y, in Skyland, Nort h Carolina. on .~ Ck1ober29. r-, 0\ 0\ ...... 0\ ...... ..... o Z 3

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