Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(ill]]0E1) VOICES America's weekly motorcycle newspaper LfflERSTO THEEDfTOR Vo lu m e XXXIV Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Good race My fam ily and I just finished a terrific week of racing during the annua l Flori da Wint er Olympics held at Gatorba ck Cycle Park ne ar Gainesville, Flo rida . I jus t wa nt to compli me nt the p romoters, Jerry and Linda West, and all the people a t World Sp orts for d oin g a su pe r job with a major event. Ev ery th in g see m e d to go very smoo th ly, from sign- u p to race schedulin g to th e awa rds prese nta tio n . Th e track layou ts and da ily preparatio n and m a in tena nce w ere exce lle nt. U n like many tracks, we never had to race in a m ud bath o r in dus t yo u cou ld n' t see th rough . Havin g th ree types of racin g (TT, SX, MX) in o ne event is uni qu e and inter esting. The racing itself was highl y competitive and exciting . There was also a grea t Th anksgiving Day me al and o the r festi vit ies su ch as th e Chili Cook-Off - fu n for all. It was a grea t time for renewing old friends hips and for makin g new o nes with pe ople from all over the wo rld. This year we went to Loretta Lynn 's for the first tim e and had a great tim e at tha t terrific eve n t, b ut I ca n truth fully sa y that we ha d an equally g rea t time at th e W in ter O lympics . I wo u ld recommend this eve nt to all ra cers w ho enjoy g rea t co m p etit io n in a s u p er ra ci n g atmosphere. Greg Parsons Reddick, FL Bad race Never fa mous fo r tra ck p re pa ra tio n, frie nd ly staff, or good va lue, Jerry West seems to have ou tdone himself at th e Florida Winter Olym pics th is yea r - $40 entry fees just to rid e fou r-minute mo tos o n a flat field is unacceptable, as is the $40 ga te fee. If you like, a co py of th e practice order is ava ilab le for $1. The q uality of ra cing a t Gatorback has go ne do w nhill for several yea rs now while prices s kyro cke t. I'm surp rised riders allow West to co n tinue thi s ripoff. This rider has fina lly d rawn the line. Randy Tomlinson Smyma,GA The Ty Davis saga O n Oc to ber' 20, 1997, ESI In c. bega n negotiation s with KTM for Ty Davis. ESI Inc. info rmed KTM's Scot Harden of the acce pta ble terms for Mr. Davis' proposal. Mr. Harden co un tere d eight times, and even as late as Novembe r 20, 1997, verbally committed to a propo sal - only to fa x ad d itional changes in th e final draft. Th roughou t these nego tiations, ESI Inc. asked Mr . Ha rden no t to communica te with anyone conce rning this proposal. However, a ret ractio n was o rdered to be sen t to Cycle N ew s o n November 5, 1997, bv ESI due to the fact tha t he had ind eed itlformed individuals Insid e an d ou tside of the ind us try that Ty Davis had signed with KTM. U nde rs ta nd ing tha t Mr. Da vi s ha s had a very stro ng and suc cessfu l ca reer wi th Kawasaki Motors Co rp. USA, th e possib ilit y th at M r. Da vis cou ld have signed wi th anyo ne else was not prob able in th at Ka wasak i has first right of refu sal over Mr . Davis, and Mr. Davis is quite anxious to a d d ress a co n tin ua l relationship with them. We feel that Mr. Ha rd en used this lengthy nego tiating tim e to try a nd control Ty Dav is w hile lockin g up Donnie Book, Ty's tea mmat e for 1998. With Don nie Book signed, Ty would be forced to sign for less . Bot h of these you n g m e n are exce llen t rid ers w ho d eserve to be paid w ha t they are worth. Pl a ying games with the rid ers is not res pecta ble, nor is it ethica l. If thi s is how negot iatin g is done o n a reg ul a r bas is by so me such in divid u a ls , then p erhaps a ll o f the rid er s need agent / m an agers to g u a ra ntee th eir financia l secu rity and future. Diane D. Fountain ESI In c. Wilmington, NC Misdirected anger This letter is in response to Ca rl Summ ers' co m me nts abo u t boycotting th e AM A fo r ca nce li n g t h e Gai n esv ill e Nati onal Mot ocross. Whil e I can apprecia te h is d isappointment in no t being able to see a Na tion al motocross near his hom e, I th ink his ange r with the AMA is mi sdirect ed . I don't have any special insight into the canceling of Ga inesvi lle, bu t I d o fo llo w th e spor t cl osely and read a lot o f the m o torcy cle pu bli ca tions. For several years now, the rid ers and factory teams have been unhappy with the scheduli ng of a National m otocr oss in the middle of the su pe rcross season. If a rid er is in ju red d u r in g the ea r ly s u pe rcross season a n d m is se s t h e Gainesville ational, this greatly affects th eir mot ocr oss season as well as th eir supercross season. It seems like th is has hap pe ned q uite often during the p ast few years. Also , it is difficult for the factory teams to change fro m a supercross se tup to a mot ocross se tu p in that sho rt pe riod of time. Furthe rmore , I believe I rea d th at there was a great d eal of con cern abo u t Gai nesville's track prep a rati on this past year a nd th e fac t tha t it was un sa fe. I d on 't kno w this fo r s u re as I didn 't attend the ra ce, bu t that is w ha t I read . Regard ing th e AMA canceling th e 500 Nationals, I d on ' t th ink th e AMA just o n e da y decided to ca n ce l th em. I believe it was due to a lac k of interest by th e various mot orcycl e m anu facturers, the factory team s; rid ers, spectators, etc. Again, I can apprecia te Mr . Su mmers b e in g d isa p pointed, a s I a ls o e njoy attend in g N ational m otocro ss even ts . However, I don 't think it is fai r to blam e the A M A for cancelin g thi s eve n t. I bel iev e th e AMA has a difficult job of p leasin g the spe cta tors, factory teams, privateer riders, promot ers, etc., as well as keeping the events safe fo r bo th the rider s and specta to rs. I th ink they are d oing a g rea t job of mak ing the Na tiona l motocross and su pe rcross events enjoyab le for both spectato rs and racers. It has to be very difficult. Ma ybe supercross does not hold the same ap pea l as mo tocro ss for so me of us, but at least replacing the Gainesville N ational with the Tamp a Supercr oss wa s a good effo rt to ha ve an additional event in Florida. Ji m Kimball De laware, OH Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Scott Rousseau, AssociateEditor Mark Hoyer, Managing Editor Keith Bush, Assistant Editor/CoT!!! Editor Cameron Coatney, Assistant Editor Alan Cathcart, Eur'!!""'n Editor David R. Ho lthe r, Copy Editor Letters to the editor should be sent to Voice s, Cycle News, P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084, faxed to 714/751-6685 or e-mail, edito r@cycIenews .com. Pu blished letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News, Inc. Letters shoul d not exceed 200 words an d all letters are subject to editing. Anonymous let ters will not be considered for publicatiori. All letters should con tain t h e wri ter's name , address and daytime phone number .•. Editor. Service and Support Doris Ric Receptionist e, Michael Swedberg. Serviceand Suppo;t Advertising Terry Pratt, National Accounts Manager Mark Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Thomas Conter: Western Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Mannger Creg Mitchell. 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Box5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751-7433 FAX (751) 751-6685 Eastern Office 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA 30084 P.O. Box805, Tucker, GA 30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX (770) 934-3112 e-mail editor@cyclenews.com su bscribefscyclenews.com ad verti s ingfecyclenews.com INSID , E Issue #50 January 7 1998 Internet http:// www.cyclenews.com DEPARTMENTS FEATURES RIDER OF THE YEAR Four-time World Champion Mick Doohan INTERVIEWS Jeff Emig John Kocins ki Doug C ha nd ler Kevin Windham Mike Laffer ty [ r Johnny Murph ree Ricky Ca rmic hae l : ; .4 10 16 20 22 .30 46 52 RACE TEST 1998 CCM C26 ES Dua l Sport.. 36 VINTAGE Paul Smart's Vintage Du cati .40 RIDING IMPRESSION 1998 Su zuki RM250 : .48 ARSTRIDE 1998 Hon da CBR900RR .50 DUAL SPORT LA-to- Barstow-to-Las Vegas DIRT TRACK Project 2000 d irt track co ncep t bikes ....14 TIME REMEMBERED Mark Bamett.. PROALE World Speedway Ch ampion Greg Ha ncock : 56 24 34 MOTOCROSS 26th ann ual Winter Nation al O lympics 60 EVENTS RESULTS NEW PRODUCTS CALENDAR LEADERBOARD WANT ADS TEARDOWN LOOKINGBACK ON THE FRONT COVER The Cy cle N ews Rider of the Yea r for 1997 SOOcc World Champion Mick Doohan . Photo by Gold & Goose. Cycle Newsm.1tiorlod Publicatiom Mail'546615. POSTMASTER:Send address changes to Cycle News, P.O. Bol.S084,. <;:osu Mcs.1,. CA 92628- 084. S To determine the expiratio n dat e of your subscription. C k hK th e four numb rrs on thc fir.; t line of your .addrn" l..Ibtol Th e . first tw o digits ind ic.ate the last issue number you'll receive .and th e last two char ecters indicate the ycar of the l.a iss ue. st Subscription rates: Rates for the United Statt"5 and its pos..c;es.SIOns for.one year (SO t;-s ut>S), s..~ .OO; ~o years (l ~ issues), $95.00; SIX months (25 L"SUes), $26.00; trial sub US lSSut.~), $19.00. 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