Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND ~. ~ , their elected officia ls and hear from a number of guest speakers who ar e inti mately familiar with the legislative and regulatory process. For mo re information, call Tracev Powell at 614 /8912425. O'Neal has signed two p rominent riders for th e 199 8 AMA Su percross and ational MX season . Both Mike LaRocco and Jim my Button will be dressed in O'Neal apparel. Fa cto ry Con nec t ion h a s secured its team spons ors for M ik e LaRocco and his 1998 racing program. laRocco, who will be riding a Honda CR250R in the AMA Supercross an d outdoor Nat ional MX Series, will be s p o nsor ed by th e West Coast fast-food restaurant cha in Ja ck i n the Box . Also, Shockware, a new co mpany pro du cing d ata-acquisition equipment for motorcycle suspension, will be a major sponsor of laRocco's Factory Connection team. Eu roD irt Racing will sponsor new Gas Gas factory rider Greg Zitterkopf for 1998. Zitterkopf will compete on a Gas Ga s EC2 50 in the ational Hare & Hound and Best in th e Desert Seri es, including the Ad elanto GP in California. The Silt, Color ado-based EuroDirt Racing Te am will receiv e s u p p o r t from Metro Racing Apparel. Motorcycle Stuff, Tuc ke r Rocky a n d West ern Power Sports. Sunset O ff- Road, a race-support and tour com pany, is selling its vehicles and eq u ip me nt a nd will ex p lo re bu sin ess oppo rtunities in foreign countries . Items up for sale include a box van, enclosed trailers, and many off-road motorcycles, including a ll si ze s o f XRs, DR s and more. For more information, call or fax th e co m pa ny's Temecu la, California , office at 909/676-6366. Cit rus Com m unity Coll ege in Glendora, California, is again offering courses in mo torcycle a nd per sonal wa tercraft repair. Registration is now op en for the spring semes ter, which begins January 10. For more information, call 909/5966409. "Let's ge t ready to su percross." PACE Motor Sports has announced that it has h ir ed s p o r ts a n d en t er tai n men t a nnou ncer Michael Bu ff er to join it s annou ncing team. Buffer is best kn own for his pre-prizefight announcemen t of "Let's ge t read y to rumble." Will ow Springs Racewa y is offe ri ng ad vanced ticket sales to those planning to attend the AMA / MBNA Superbike I a tio na l Ch ampionship round a t th e Rosamond, California, facility, April 2426. Willow Springs has also anno unced that ch ild ren under the age of 7 will be ad m itted free of charge with a pa yin g a d u l t. For m ore info rm a tion, call 800/993-7338 or 805/256-0201. The Micr osoft Corpo ra tion will provid e daily coverage of the KTM-backed trek through Chile from January 5 to January 13. The rid e features Lyle Lovett, Malcolm Smith, Nationa l Geographic's Boyd Ma ts on a nd Lau re nce Gon za les, and KTM's Scot Hard en, as the group films a fu tu re episode of Na tio na l Geograpi c Television . Coverage can be found at the following add ress on the Wo rld Wide Web: www.mungopark.com. 4 Honda factory road racer Ben Bostrom will be a guest instructor at the Fastrack Riders school on January 16 at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, Cali fornia, according to Fastrack. The Form ula USA Series and the Canadian Superbike Championship Series will join forces to hold a round of both se ries at Mosport Park in Canada on June 5-7 . "We have reached a multiyear deal for th is event at Mosport," sa id F-USA president Dou g Gonda . "Fans and sponsors can plan for a yearly motorcycle happening a t Mo sport. Du e to the influence of thi s eve n t, you will see mor e coo pe ra tion between the Canadian Superbike Ch ampion sh ip and Form u la USA. I think you w ill see a Canadi an Superbike rou nd return to the U n it e d States in the n o t-t oo-di s tan t . future." Road ra ce r Rad G re av e s will rid e a Dega Raci ng Su zuki GSXR750 in the AMA /MBNA Superbike National Ch ampionship , according to a release from Dega. Greaves will be joined on th e team by Bria n Gibson and Jamie McNaughton, who are sched uled to race Su zukis in th e Supersp or t Seri e s . Greaves finished 15th and 10th over all, respectively, in last year's AMA 600 and 750cc Supersport Series. Th e A MA will h old the 1998 AM A Florida Flat Track Series from Febru ary 27 throug h March 7 at race tracks in and a ro u n d the Da yt ona Bea ch , Florid a , area. The seven-event series will consis t of AMA Pro and Pro-Am races, beginning at Oglet horpe Speedway in Savannah, Georg ia . Th e series will fea tu re a variety of tracks and surfaces, includi ng pa ved h alf mile and dirt short tracks. For more informa tion , call 904/7884709. Two -time World Su perbike Cha m pion Ca rl Foga rty will rid e in a new Ducati team (called Du cati Perform an ce Team) for the 1998 season. Managed by Davide Tardozzi and ow ned by Daniele Casolari, the team will showcase the new line of Ducati Performance parts a nd accessories distributed by Gio.Ca.Moto Internati onal. The 1998 ADVF Team, me anwhile, will cons ist of Tro y Co rse r and Pier-Fran cesco Chili and will be man aged by Virg inio Ferrari. BMW has annou nced that it will build a $12 million br and activity and train ing cent er on 125 acres near the compa ny's manufacturin g faci lity in Sparta nbu rg, Sou th Carolina. The facility will provide BMW owners, em ployees and the public with the "u ltimate BMW brand experience." The facility wiII hou se a d omestic and foreign "tourist del ivery" cen ter, a vehicle-dyna mics / active-sa fety d rivin g school for au tomo bile and motorcycl e en thusiasts, and a center for co rpo ra te and retail professi onal d e vel opmen t activities. Road racer Chuck Sorensen will rid e a Wo rldsports Imports-backed Yam aha TZ250 in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series in 1998. Sorensen is sched u led to begin testin g the kitted TZ250 sho rtly at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, Californ ia. Supercross goes big $$$ acers participating in the AMA Thor/Parts Unlim ited Supercross Series in 1998 wiII compete for the largest pu rse in the his tory of off-road mo torcycle racing $1.25 million, an increase of 25 percent over last year's purse. . Highlighting the 1998 purse stru cture will be a lo-percent increase per event, bringmg the purses at the 15 PACE-promoted eve nts to a record $55,000 per event. The opening round of the series, sch eduled for January 10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, w:ill feature a one-race purse of $71,500. In addition to the higher purses, PACE has more than doubled the series' points fund from $100,000 in 1997 to $217,500 for 1998. How's this for an increase? Last yea r Jeff Emig took home $15,000 for winning the supe rcross cro w n, but this year's champion wiII earn $100,000 - an increase of 566 percent. The second- and third-place finishers in the title chase will take home $25,000 and $20,000, respectively, while the rest of the top 20 will split the remainin g $72,500. "O ur purse incr ease is a direct result of ou r commitment to the grow th and the popularity o.f supercross, " said Gary Becker, CEO of PACE Motor Spo rts. "Las t year supercross enjoyed the best fan support in the history of American mo torcycle racing. We are honored to be ab le to increase these benefits and rewards to the world's greatest athletes - the supercross rid ers." . Privateer race rs will also benefit from the increase in mon ey available for 1998. In all, the non-factory rid er s will compete for 575,000 in bonus mo ney - up nearly $20,000 from last year. The top-finishin g privateer will receive a check for $5000, in addition to his event bon uses. . Additional p rize-money im pro veme n ts include an increased 1-900-PRO-RACE hole shot award that goes to $24,000 for ' 98, and an increased purse for the 125cc East/West shooto ut in the seas on finale in Las Vegas - up 55000 to the single-race purse of $25,000. . PAC E also recently announced that Toyota - more specifically Toyota Trucks - will be the "presen ting sponsor" of the 1998 AMA Supercross Series . . "Toyota Truck's commitment to the sport of su p ercross proves the value of th e s~ort property we h~ve her e," said Gary Becker, CEO of PACE Motor Sports. "We certainly welcome - WIth open arms -. Toyota Truc ks into the PACE /Supercross Series family , and look forward to a lon g, exciting relationship with Toyota ." "The demogra p hic speaks for itself," sai d Don Cecconi, nati onal merchandising mana ger. of To~ota Motor Sales USA Inc. "The p icku p tru ck is certainly an important element m the lifestyle of off-roa d motorcycle rid ers and fans. We join Gary Becker and PACE' s enthus iasm for this series an d look forward to a length y relation sh ip with the supe rcross fans." In addition, PACE has also anno unced that the city of Las Vegas, evada , has been named as the "Official Destinati on of Supercross." "The overw helming success of Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium as the final stop on the AMA Supercross Series tour was highli ghted last year when the Las Vegas Convention & Visitor's Authority rep orted that on e-third of the fans at the sold-ou t even t ca.,!!e from ou tside the sta te of Ne vada," a PACE-issued press release said . "So, along WIth a spec tacu lar race and subseq uent smas hin g awards banquet, it wa s a given that PAC E Motor Sports and Las Vegas got together on a sponsorship dea l tha t makes Vegas the 'Official Destinati on of Supercross. ' " "Based on the success of the '97 series cu lmina ting at our first supercross sell-ou t at Sam Boyd Stadium, the part nersh ip between the two parties was a natural," sa id Ken Hudgens, vice pr esident of mark etin g for PACE. Al so , La s Vega s, in cooperat ion w ith Toy o ta Truck s, will s po ns o r th e La s Vegas / Toy ota Tru cks Supercross Vacation . Supercross fans can stop by a participating Toyota and /or Yamaha dealer to "register and win" ticket s to an upcoming supercross event. Accordi ng to PACE, in so me cities, ther e may be as many as 40 pair s of tickets given away. These wi n ners a re then en tered in to a ra ndom drawing to determine su percross vacation winners. Du rin g intermission at each of the 14 PACE-sponsored su percros s events that precede ~ Vegas, a drawing w'ill take place, and one fan wi ll win a Las Vegas Supercross Vacation package. The 14 Las Vegas Supercross Vacation winners will assemble at Sam Boyd Stadium, each with a key that may start the grand prize: a Toyota pickup with a Yamaha dirt bike. So w ha t's the official title of the '98 AMA Sup ercross Series ? Her e it is: "Toyota Trucks presents the 1998 Thor/Parts Unlimited AMA Supercross Series, brought to yo u by Las Vegas ." Got it? In ot her PACE news, the com pa ny has contracted the Minneapolis-based In-Line Spo rts Systems Inc. to build a new line of track barriers , repl acing the old hay-bal e barriers. Dubbed "Tuff Blox," the high-density foam barriers spo rt dual containment systems (DCS), are completely waterproof and tip- resistant , and are said to last for several years. " It' s a new and revol ut ion a ry barrier d esign for the motor cycle industry," says PACE su percross d irector Todd Jendro, the d esigner of Tuff Blox. "No t only do they look better for the fans at the show , as well as on television, bu t the~ are much softe~ than hay bales, " Becker sa id. "So along with being safer, they are d esigned to be consi stent throughout the seri es, elim inating wri nkles and unreadable sig nage." R Two new sections of track have been add ed to the Streets of Willow Springs track in Rosa m on d , California, with track owner Bill Huth commissio ni ng Keith Code to design the cha nges. The track has been lengthened by 1500 feet, bringing the new overall length to 1.33 miles and the number of turns to 13. scheduled to race a Su ndance HarleyDavi dson road racer in the BoTT race at the Tsukuba Circu it near Tokyo, Japan, on January 15. On Ja nuary 18, Springsteen is scheduled to take part at a d irt track festival in Mo tegi, Japan, where he will show the Japanese how to slide a Sundance XR1200 on an American -style half mile . Dirt tr a ck lege nd Ja y Springsteen is Micki Waite, a mot ocross / su perc ross competition coordinator for AMA Pro Raci ng, is recover ing from ope n- hea rt su rgery. Cards and letters can be sent to the AMA at 33 Collegeview Road , Westervi lle, OH 43081-1484. The Californ ia Supreme Cour t has decided that it wil l no t rev iew a lowercou rt decision allowing the private community of Canyon Lake to reta in its mo torcycle ban, acco rdi ng to the AMA.

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