Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

([lill~ V OICES America's weekly motorcyclenewspaper LEITERS TO THE EDITOR Volu m e XXXV Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor • Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor Mark Hoyer, Managing Editor Keith Bush, AssL.tant Editor/~ Editor Cameron Coatney, Associate Editor Alan Cathcart, European Editor David R. Holther, Copy Editor Advertising Terry Pratt, National Accounts Manager Mark Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager MarkThome, Western Sales Manager Thomas Ge nter, Western SaiL 'SMana ger Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Greg Mitchell, Easter n Sales Manager RiCKMatheny, Eastern SalesManager Rhonda Crawford, Western Ad Coordinator Bridgett Bobrofsky, Assistant Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coor dinator Tina Farr, Assistant Marketing & Promotion Mar k Thome, Director Forrest Hayashi, Manager Kory Klinger, DealerRepr esentative New Media Development Mark Mitchell, Director Rick Matheny, Webmaster Stephanie Leamo n, Ass istant Classified Ads Cherie Collie Graphics and Production Ree Johnson, Production Supervisor Mandy Loo, ProductionManager DennisGreene, LAb. Tech . Amanda Wollny, Graphic Artist Robyn Light, Graphic Artist No fireworks The 1998 AMA Supercross season ha s the potential to be the best yet, and I'll bet there are thousands of fan s in th e Houston area who are looking forward to the Astrodome event on January 17. One suggestion for the prom ot ers and the AMA, tho ugh: Please elim ina te the pre-race fireworks . The Astrodome, as its name impli es, has a roof on it. At last year's event , the smo ke an d h a z e fro m th e fi reworks hung in the stadium for the res t of the night and , in my opinion, not only res tric ted visibility, but detracted from the overa ll qu ality of the show. Ther e wi ll be mor e than 40,000 people ther e on Jan uary 17 who are already revved up to see great racing. Firewo rks a re a n unne cessary di s tra cti on . Save them for the end of the race . O n a no ther s u bject, I enjoy yo ur "Time Remem ber ed " articl es, although w riter Eric Jo hnson seems to be on a missio n to exha us t the wo rld's supply of adjectives. The articles' vin tage photos are always fun to look at, but a p hoto of what the rider looks like tod ay w ou ld make the stories even better, Rick Schwalbach Ho uston, TX Why not Rich? In your recent Teardown column (Issu e Admin is tration Judy Klinger, Coordinator Lean ne Sims, Administrat ive As sistant AccountingfData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, A/R Coordinator Geneva Rep ass, As..l;;stant Theresa Milburn, Credit Circulation Alma Anguiano, Processing Coordinator Carol Maggio, Dealt" Coordinator Keshena Dawson, BillingCoordinator Service and Support Shannon Clark, Receptionist Jim Olson, Service and Support Niltinnal Headquarters • 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 P.O. Box 5084,Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751·7433 FAX (714) 751·6685 Eastern Office 418 First Ave" Tucker, GA 30084 8 P.O. Box 80S, Tucker, GA 30085-0805 mO) 934-7850 FAX(770) 934-3112 e-ma il editor@cyclenews.com #50, January 7) , you mad e a good argu- ment for gi ving the Rid er of th e Year nod to Mick Doohan. While I can' t fault you r persuasive reasoning, I persona lly would have bee n happier had Rich Oliver been a t leas t mention ed as bein g in the running. While I realize th e AMA Elf Fu els 25 0cc GP cla s s is n ot a s se xy a s th e 50Dcc World Championship, nor does it fea tur e th e m ed ia hype th e fe ature classes in w hich the other nominated riders com pete do, nevertheless think abo ut w ha t Rich h a s accomplis hed . Other things are also worth notin g: Not on ly is Rich the rider who hold s the most AMA 250cc GP wi ns and w hose spunkiness go t him ban ned fro m competing in F-USA against bik es with easily twice the horsepower, but he is also the chief engine engineer, he pays the bills, handles his own public rel ations, dri ves the tw o vehicle from race to race, soli cits sponsors hip, a nd handles th e negotiations. Can any on e remember Rich having a mechani ca l DNF? Hi s program has developed two outstanding mech anics whose careers are just beginnin g, and, under Rich' s tu telage, th e heir apparent for th e 250c c class learned the ropes. Rich is not some millionaire jet setter with a legion of su p port sta ff behind him, making everything go smoo thly. And guess wha t? He actually has a per· sonali ty and sincerely appreciates the fans . He is never too busy to stop what he is doing to ha ve his p icture taken , and I ca n o n ly imagi ne h o w m any youngsters he has set on his race bikes so so me proud parent can take his pictu re with their son or dau ghter. It is too bad it took the facto ries so long to recognize that Rich has the talent to move up to the Big Show. It is also too bad the enthusias t press hasn't given cre d it where credit ha s been ea rned and is deserved . Erik Kirzin ger Madison, NC No on Doohan With no disres pec t to Mr. Doo han, ther e is no way h e shou ld be Rider of the Year. He is an awesome racer with more talent than most, bu t wha t about young Valen tino Rossi? Rossi wo uld at times drop back to as far as eighth place - just to run back up to the front for fun. o And w ha t about Mad Max Biag gi ? Didn't he switch tea ms and bikes and sti ll defend his title? Mick is just doing the sa me thing wi th no new challenges. If Mr. Mick would drop back to eighth, he'd never see the front again. And last , but certainly not least , is Jeff Emig. He get s my vote for Rider of th e Year. Supercros s ch a m p io n , motocross champion, Team USA mem b er.. . th e " Fr o " is the mo st acco m plished rid er from 1997. He was tota lly rob bed. Mick Doo han is th e 500cc World Champion and there 's no doubting that. But he's also old news... tired , spent. You r pa pe r is great and I read it cover to cover each wee k. I don' t know who vo tes on your Rid er of the Yea r, b ut in m y op in io n t h ey mi sse d the mark. Jaso n Tri mble Ericomoto@earthlin k.net Thanks, Wayne I would like to say thanks to Wayne Rainey, Cycle N ews and the people who made the book si g n ing at Speedwa y International Bist ro & Bar in N ewp ort Beach, California, happen in Decemb er. Very special thanks go out to Wayne for signing my book. It was a Christmas gift for m y brother, a nd his signature made th e gift very special. The time Wayne spent answering que;;tions from the crowd was also awesome. Rick Edel Whittier, CA Memo to LA Hey, Los Angeles, feel free to mix in an American in the wi nner's circle at least every two years at the supercross open' er. Los Ange les, you are now the ga te· way to success for eve ry non-American to come over here and kick ou r butts. Th e onl y thi ng worse th a n th a t is no thin g! Larry Hughes Houston, TX Frenchman Sebastien Tortelli won the opt7ling round of the AMA Supercross Series at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on [anuary 10 . He joi ns South A f rican G reg Albertyn in w in ning the past two supercross events held in Los A ngeles. For com· pletc coverage of the Supercross Series open, a, see page 6... Editor. Say no to the C1 It w'ill be a frosty Friday before I'd bu y a motorcycle (?) like the BMW C1. If this is the wa y the future looks in my beloved sport, then I guess I'd better be looking for a tennis racket. By the way, aren't we a little nervous that pictures of this monstrosity w ill end up on the desk of a safety police official? It makes me wince. Doug Zielke Coq ui tlam BC, Canada Let ters to th e editor sho ul d be sen t to V o ices, Cycle News, P.O . Bo x 5084 , Co sta M es a, CA 92628-5084, fa xed to 714 /751·6685 or e-ma il, ed it or@cyclen ew s.co m. Pub li shed letters do no t necessarily refl ect the po sition of Cycle News, Inc . Letters shoul d not exceed 200 w ords and all letters are sub ject to edi ting, Ano nymous lett ers will no t be considered for publication, All letters s h o u l d contain the wriler's nam e, address and daytim e phone number ... Editor. su bscribefscvclenews.corn ad vertis ing@cyclene ws.rom Internet http:/ /www.cyclenews.com Cycle News (USPS141-340) is published weekly except the last two weeks of the calendar war for $50.00 per year by CycleNews.Inc.•3505-MCadillacAvenue. Costa~l-sa. CA 92628 Periodicals. Postage raid at Costa Mesa. CA and at . . additional mailing office Canada Post International Publica. nons Mail'546615. POSTMASTER; Mnd addres s changes to Cycle News, P.O. Box5084, Casu Mesa. CA 9"..62S-5084. To determine the expiration dollte of your subscription, check the four numbers on the fin t line of your addres s label, The firs t two digi t8 indicate the 1.1.51 issue nu mber you'll receive and the Iolist two ch.lr.ar ters indicate th e year of the 1 issue. 00st Subscription rates: Rat" for the United State and its pos."t"Ss ..ions for one yror (SO i...ues), SSO.OO; two Year'S (100issues), . .. 00 0\ 0\ ,..... $95.00;six months (25issues),$26.00;ma( sub (15issues), $19.00. Canada and Foreign. one year (SO Issues), $9( 00; two 1 years 000 i. .sues), $175.00; six month.. (25issues), $45. 0; trial . 0 sub 05 issues), $38.00. Cycle Nl"WSwelcomes unsolicited editorial '!l'lt~J including stories. cartoons, photos. etc. Such material. if published, becomesthe exclusive property of Cycle News. Rcp rinhn~ in wholeor part only by permission of the publisher. Advertising rates and circulation information w nbe sent upon ; request. SeeS.R.D.5. W/B0'A V ...r~ AUDITED CIRCULATION Pri n te d in U. S. A. 4 Co{'yrigh CycleNews, Inc. 1998. Trademark Cycle News registered U.s. P.iltent Office. All rights reserved. FEATURES SUPERCROSS Round 1 - AMA Su percross Series from Los Angeles, Ca lifornia 6 GFI $10,000 Invitational Supercross from Perris, California 24 INTERVIEW PACE Motor Sports su percross d irector Todd Jendro 12 Mike Hale 22 TRAIL RIDE Fred Bramb lett Invitational Trail Ride ARENACROSS Rounds 7 & 8 - AMA /PJ1 ational Arenacross Series from Fort Worth, Texas OBSERVED TRIALS Round I - F1M World Ind oor Trials Cha mpionship Series from England ....26 DEPARTMENTS 28 CALENDAR 36 WANT ADS 41 IN THE TAPES 14 EVENTS .59 LOOKINGBACK .59 ON THE FRONT COVER 18 Sebastien Tor telli pu lled off • surprise win in the AMA Supercross opener. Pho to by Kinn ey Jones .

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