Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127869
IN THE WIND Lance Sma il (KTM) a nd Sc o t S le ffy (KTM) too k top ho n ors a t th e CMC No rthwest Arenacross Nationals in Monroe, Washington, on November 30. Smail topped the 125cc final while Steffy aced the 250cc class. Brad Hagset h (Yam) and Tony Graves (Yam) finished second and third, respectively, to Sma il in the 125cc class, an d Hagset h and Jason Dempsey (Kaw) went 2-3 in the 250cc class. Ernesto Fonseca (Yam ) and N ich o las Wey (Kaw) were the A-class winn ers at th e 26th ann u al W in ter Na ti ona l O ly mpics in Ga in esvill e, Florida , No vember 26-28. Fonseca won the 125cc A class, whil e Wey took the top spot in the 250cc A class . Spec ial awards went to th e fo llo w in g r iders in the ev e n t, which drew a record 4500 en tries: Scott Go ld'!'n Goggle Award - Jeff Gi bson; Dunlop Silver Tire Award - Wey; AXO Bro nze Boo t A ward - James Stewart; Ricky Joseph Sports ma ns hip Awa rd Esteban Vasquez . There were three notew orthy injuries at th e Win te r N a tio na l O lym pics i n Gainesville . Ch r is Be rg m an su ffe re d three broken ve rtebrae in a 2S0cc B-race crash; Expert Shae Benlley suffered a to rn spleen ; a nd 12 5cc B an d 12 5cc Youth Olympic Cha mpion Jus tin Buckelew suffe red tw o broken bones in his lower righ t leg. An drew Pitt and Ch ad T urn bull (Kaw) won th e Shell Adva nce Six- Hour endu rance race at the Oran Park circu it near Sydney, Au stralia , on Novembe r 29. Pitt and Turnbull finis hed more than tw o laps ah ead of P hi l Harper and Branden O xford (Suz ), The Drysdale V8 wa s sched uled to make its racing debu t in the six-hou r, but it failed to start after dropping a valve during practice. Vance & Hines Ducati's An th ony Gob ert was on hand at the Shell Ad vance endurance race in Au stralia, ge tting new Du nlop tires mo unted to his Du cati 916 street bike, acco rd ing to Cycle News corresponden t Darryl Flack. KTM has agai n signed Scott Plessinger to a co n trac t for th e 1998 season. Ples singer, a two-time Gra nd Na tional Cross Cou nt ry titl e hol der, will again focu s on the GNCC Series, as w ell as participa te in o ther select ed Nationa l even ts, including Hare and Hound and GP races. Speaking of Plessinger, he and his wife, Angie, recently op ened their own KTM dealersh ip in Ham ilton, Ohio, called Plessing er Cycles Inc. PACE Motor Spo r ts has re le ased the sc hed ule for a newly announced U.S. Off-Road Cha mpi on ship Serie s, which will get und er WilY on January 3 at the Trans World Dom e in St. Lou is . In its inaugural year, the ser ies will stop at seven cities . The series will feature classes fo r off-road tr ucks, buggies, ATVs and four-stroke motorcycles. 'T he stad iu rn off-road fou r-s tro ke Thund er Bike Series is intended to combine the trad ition of dir t track IT-style racin g with the exci temen t of ind oo r mo tocross," PACE's Pat Schutte said. 'The basis for selecti ng fou r-st ro ke bikes to headline the mo torcycle eleme nt of the competition is to elevate these type bikes as an ind epend ent stadium se ries that showcases the growing strength of the fourst roke m ar ket ." Th e US . Off-Road Championship Series sched ule is as follows: January 3 - Trans World Dom e, SI. Lou is , Mi s s o u ri; Ja nu ar y 10 Astrod ome, Houston, Texas; Jan uary 17 - Sun Devel Stadium, Phoenix, Arizo na; Februa ry 7 - Sam Bo yd Stadium, Las Vagas, Nevada ; Februa r y 15 - Q ualco m m Stadi um, San Diego, California: February 28 - Metrod om e; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Mar ch 14 - Silverdome , Pon tiac, Michi gan . For ticket inf ormati on, co n ta ct PACE Mo tor Sports a t 630 /963-4810 or call your loca l Ticketmaster out let. Riders w ho are interested. in competing in the Stadium Off -Road Four-Stroke Series should con tact series director Bill Easterly at the number listed above. Three-time World Champion Wayne Ra in ey will sig n co pies of his biogra- American speedway ends its "tiring" controversy _ merican sp eed way ended the di spute whi ch culmi na ted in the AMA wit hd raw ing its sanctio n of the 1997 U'S. Na tiona l Speedway Championship by coming to an ag reemen t on tire eligibility for the 1998 sea son at the annua l AMA speedway meet ing in Fresno, California, on N ovember 20. Bot h the sanctioning body and "p eed way promoters, including U.S. Nationa l promoter Int ernationa l Speedway Inc., ag reed on a revised tire rul e for th e AMA rul e book. In add itio n to the Kenda tire that was alrea dy legal at all tracks, the AMA and the promoters unanimou sly ag reed to approve th e Barum BL CT-SW 93.15 tire th at was the source of controversy at the end of 1Y\!7. In additio n, A&A Racing, the Kend a tire d istributor, has asked for and been gra nted the approval to sell the new Bar um CTSW 97.18 tire, the 70 shore hardness-tread that is currently FlM- and British Leagu et-, legal. Additionally, no material may be removed from the tires, and they may not be ~ chemically treated . The promoters and the AMA also ag reed that these three tires - and ,..... only these three - will be eligible in AMA- sanctioned speedway compe tition for 1998. "We've approved the Barum (BL) that is OEM-legal on [awa motorcycles, and also ' ,..... the new barum to see if it is better for our tracks," AMA special projects manager Bill ..... Boyce said . "I think tha t this is a positive step - those that like Kendas can us e the ill Kend as, and tho se that like the Barums can use the Barums, It gives th e riders the ..0 opportunity to select the tire of their cho ice." . , Despite the new tire agreeme nt, however, no speedway prom otion has applied for ill AMA sanction as of press time, d ue to the fact that a recen t reorgan izati on by the sancU ill tioni ng bod y has broug ht with it higher sanctioning fees. The AMA and the promoters ar e expec ted to mee t aga in - possibly prior to the AMA awards banquet on December 13 - to d iscuss the 1998 sanction fees. A a S o 2 Mililer MXers coming to America I a~- I--_- --------~--' talian motorcycle man ufacturer Miiller has linked up wi th Action North, America Inc. (makers of the popular Actio n minicycle lineup) to form Miiller Motors USA. Currently, Muller prod uces a 125cc motocross bike that features a twin-spar, aluminum peri meter frame (shown) and has been prod ucing it since 1994 (a full three years before Honda), The engine is also of Muller's own design an d utili zes case-reed induction, an exhaust powervalve, liquid cooling and a six-speed gearbox . Suspension wise, the Miiller 125cc relies on an Ohlins shock in the rear and Salva conv entional forks up front. Miiller motorcycles will be available in limited qu antities through a dealer net work thro ugh Action No rth America in early 1998. In the near futu re, a large r factory is scheduled to be set up for the pr od ucti on of Miiller motorcycles in the United States, which will include the manufacture of other models, including a 250cc mot ocrosser. For more information, contact Miiller Motors USA, 941/566-9666, fax 941/566-2220. phy, "Way ne Rainey - His Own Story" during Wayne Rainey Ni ght at Speedway International Racing Bistro & Bar in Ne w port Bea ch , Califo rnia, o n Thursda y, December 18, fr om 7 to 10 p .m . Cycle News will have books available for purchase at the eve n t, with Rai ney on han d to sign those ne w bo oks. In addition, Ya maha w ill displa y No rifumi Abe's YZR500 Grand Pri x bike and its all-ne w 1998 YZF1000R1. Ot her items will be raffled off, with proceeds going to a charity of Rainey's choice. For m ore inform ation , ca ll FS Prod uc ti o ns at 7141752-1669. Showcase Bike N ight at Speedway Internati onal Racing Bistro & Bar will feature AMA 750cc Su perspo rt Champ ion Jason Pridmore and his father, two-tim e AMA Superbi ke N a tio n a l Champ ion Reg Prid more, o n Thu rsda y, December 4, fro m 7 to 10 p .m . Th e pa ir will be o n hand to discuss racing and th eir CLAS5 Motorcycle Schools . For more information , call 714/ 752-1669. Lance Sm.ll, who competed on a 550cc four-stroke KTM in a nu mber of AMA 250cc Supercross ro unds in 1997, a nd who e ve n qua li fied for th e Da yt ona Supercross on o ne , wi ll ca mpaign a 550cc Husaberg fou r-stroke in the AMA outdoor Na tiona l Championsh ip 250cc Series and the AMA Supercross Series . KTM used up its AMA fou r-stroke firstyear unlimited rule and will now put Smail on a Husaber g for the 1998 sea son . After jus t a year as a world-level series, th e S u pers port Wo rld C u p ha s seen rapid ly increas ing particip ation at the manufacturer level, leading to off-season • machinations nearly on a par with its big brother, th e World Superbike se ries, reports Cycle News co n tr ibutor Paolo Gozzi. Several of the top teams (Belgard a Yamaha , GioCa M o to Du cat i a nd Als ta re ) ha ve alread y begun their '98 tests, and trading in the rider market is in full swi ng. Ducati mad e the first step by confirm ing reigning champion Paolo Casali, wh o had a number of offers from his Japanese riv als. The Italian rider will s tay with Gio CaM ot o and will be personally resp onsible for the developm ent o f the Pirelli tires . Yves Hrigu et left Suz u ki Italia to move to team End ou , where he w ill have a 748 identical to lead rider Casoli 's. As for a second rider ' in the Endoug tea m , a fav o rite is Cristiano Migl iorat i, who had an excellent sea son in th e 250cc Grands Pri x with team Axo Ho nda this past yea r. Migliorati tes ted wi th Suzu ki Italia at Monza a week ago, but he and the team failed to ma ke an ag ree me nt, unab le to come to terms rega rd ing sa lary. The Italian rider was then contacted by Endoug, who let