Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

c= IN THE WIND . 'j l ~ ;, Doug Lampkin (Bet) remained the man to beat in Wor ld Cha mpionshi p Indoor Trials actio n as the British rid er took his second win of the two-round-old season at its stop in Koblenz, Germany, January 10. Spani ard Ma rc Colomer (Mon) was again second, finis hing the final with a sco re of se ven, just tw o ma rks beh ind Lampkin . Third was the dyn am ic Japan ese rider Takahisa Fujinami (Ho n), who fini s h ed th e ni gh t w ith nine p oints . Lampkin leads the series wi th 40 points, follow ed by Colomer wi th 34, and Steve C oll e y (G-G ), w ho w a s fift h o n th e night, with 24. Fou r races , four d iffer ent winners . That was the story as the AMA / PJl N ation al Arenacross Series visite d Hampton , Virginia, for rounds 11 and 12, Janua ry 1617. Cli ff Pa lmer (Kaw) a n d Jerom y Buehl (Ho n) wo n Frida y nig ht's 125 and 250cc Pro classes, respectively. Pal mer held off M ik e Jones (Kaw) and Buddy An tu nez (Suz) for the 125cc win, while Buehl topped Antu nez and Pa lm er to w in the 250cc class. On Saturd ay n ight. Ped erson beat Clifford Ado ptante (Suz) a n d Jones to win the 125cc cla ss an d An tunez ca me out on top in a ba ttl e w ith Denn y Stephe n s on (Ho n ) a n d Grayson Go od man (Kaw) in the 250cc class. O n the weekend , it was An tu nez w ho ga ined the mos t, stre tc h ing his po ints lead over Pederso n to 21 points, 380-359. Doug Blackwell (Yam) won rou nd six of th e AMA Pirelli /Mo ose-Off-Road M id -Sou th Hare Scramb les Serie s in Lawren ceburg, Tennessee, on January 18. Blair Bersano (Kaw) took ru nner -u p honors. Rou nding ou t the top five were Mike Sampson (Kaw), John Machino (TM) and Rodney Judson (Hb g). Dou g Dubach (Ya m ) a nd N i c Wey (Kaw) were the big winners at the second ro u nd o f t he CMC Go lden Sta te Na tionals (Sou th) at Competition Pa rk in San Jacinto, California , on January 18. Dubach topped the 250cc Pro class over Billy Pay n e (Kaw) and Wey, while Wey came bac k to wi n th e 125cc Pro class, a hea d of Pa yn e a n d Keit h Johnson (Yam). Dubach also wo n the 500cc Pro class. Four-time World Cha mpio n Max Biaggi has signed a con trac t to rid e a Hond a NsR5 00 in Marlboro colors for the 1998 500cc Worl d Cham pio nship Road Race Series. Biaggi wi ll compete in the same Erv Kanemoto-run team that took him to victory in the 250cc Worl d Champio ns h ip la st y ea r. P rot r a c ted , o nagai n/off-again negotiation s were finally concluded on Friday, January 12, with th e te am confi r med th e sa me d av. Alt ho u gh fin an ci al de ta il s a r e n o t kn o wn , thi s co m plies w ith Bia g gi ' s requirements in every way, and marks an auspicious clas s ent ry for the fourtime 250cc cham p ion. Cre w chief Mike Sinclair, who helped guide Wayn e Rainey to his thr ee 500cc Worl d Ch a m p io ns h ip s, is b ack with Rai ney and w ill head u p the technical team for Rainey' s factory Yama ha tea m of N orifum i Ab e a n d J ean -M ichel Bayle . Si nclair wo r ked o n Kenny Rober ts' Mod en as team in 1997. Modenas, meanwh ile, is cu ttin g back on plans for a new engi ne and w ill rac e a re vised 1997 mo to rcycle for th e "fi rs t few races," according to team manager Ch uck Aksl and. "After the last GP we made some mod ifications that we did n't have the time to d o durin g the season," Aksland sai d . "When w e tested the bike at Barcelona, it wa s real good. (Kenny Roberts) Junior washappy wi th it, and went mu ch faster - it was setting times close to (Alex) Criville' s. It' s a sort of hybrid '97-98 bike, and we' ll use tha t to start the seas on. The new eng ine shou ld come in a fter the fir st few races." Th e revised unit, with a bal an ce sha ft and an extra main bearin g, wi ll not be bu ilt in Jap an - as w a s o r igi na ll y th ou gh t. "We're sourcing some parts from Japan , and some from the USA," Aks land said . "We're also looking at the possibility of parts from Mala ysia. We have the luxury o f b e in g a ble to s ho p aro u n d ." Rob erts is known to be less than fu lly satisfied with reliability and other problems d u ri ng 1997, wh en eng ine- deve lop me n t wo rk was ha ndled entire ly by Tom Walki nshaw Racing (TWR). It was th e n ot ed ca r- ra ci ng fi rm 's first-ev er tw o-stroke. Mys te ry s urro u n ds t h e d esi gn o f H onda' s fac to ry N SR250, w ith teams still aw aiting the fina l confirma tio n of th e bas ic eng ine d esi gn , accord ing to Cycle News Gr and Prix ed itor Michael Sco tt. Pictures of the bike from Japan s ho w o ne majo r cha nge - the si ngle sided sw ingar m has been replaced with a more con ve ntio nal twin tra iling fork. Th is w ill satisfy th ose w ho in sist th e discard ed gull-wing un it had no place on racing bikes u nless it was to ma ke qui ck r ear- w h e e l c hanges (i .e. , end u ra nce raci ng ), and had only been included to help sell similarly eq uipp ed s treet bikes. According to He rv e Ponchara l, owner of Oliv er Jacque's Tech 3 te am, a n o t he r d ep a rtu r e is tha t th e e ngine cas ings are u s ed a s a cha ss is com po ne n t, wit h the sw ingarm pivot ing di rectly off the back of the transmission . Th e m ystery concerns th e eng ine architec tu re, and Poncha ral insists that not eve n the teams have been told anything mor e than "it' s' a tw in, but it's not a V-twin." Lates t wo rd has conf irm ed that the bik e is likely to be a V-twi n in e v e ry t h ing but na m e, h o w e v er . It a p p a r e n t ly w ill fo ll o w th e A prilia m od el , a s a twin-cra n ks haft tan d em twin, with th e cylinders splayed apart. Ho nda has no t followed Ap rilia's reedvalve induction format, thou gh , as they w ill st ick w ith the tr ie d a nd tru sted ree d valve s - with the carbu reto rs wit hin th e V. Str ictly speaking, H on da is correct in saying the bike isn 't a V-twin, since this nom enclature app lies to a sing le cran ks ha ft. Th e new E>n g ine is a splayed tand em twin. The Indonesian Grand Prix faces cancelation thi s year, despite the fact that it is still on the calendar. Teams are bein g ad vi sed n ot to bot her to ma ke tra vel a rr an gem en ts for the race, whic h w as to have been one of th e Far East ern tri o o pen ing th e se ason - a long with the Japanese an d Malaysian ro unds . Meanw h ile , th e G erm a n G rand Prix is almost certain to move to Sachsenring, a circui t in th e form er Eas t Germany, after two poorly attended rounds at the Nurburg ring. Whil e the Indonesian race may be canceled , th e Portuguese Grand Prix has definitely been taken off the 1998 World Cham pionship Road Race calendar. Previously scheduled for the Estoril Circui t on Ju ne 14, th e race has been canceled by the FlM after the Portuguese govern ment announced that it wa sn' t possible for them to guarantee that the necessary track alterations wou ld be fin ished on time. If the Ind on esian ro u nd ends up joining the Portuguese round in bein g , ', ,",j' ·: i.' :,•.":'':'\'""1'-,' ",~~: . :;':;"" ,\~', ·' i:tc'. '~ " t ,,·, : . : ;';:" ~ Aprilia pulls out; Waldmann to Modenas? A prilia has pulled its V-twin ou t of 500cc Wor ld Champions hip road racing in a shocking move tha t has redrawn the map for th ose teams, riders an d sponsors not al rea dy set tled . The new s came as a su rprise even to Ralf Waldmann, who was tidyi ng up the final details of a contra ct in his possession since befor e Chri stmas, and who wa s expected to sign during the week ending Jan u ary 16. Instead , the factory told him the deal was off they had pulled the pl ug on th e almost-successful V-twin project, and there was no rid e for the Germ an . Twi ce runner-up in the 250cc World Cham pionshi p to Max Biaggi, Waldmann had previou sly resisted Marlboro's at tem pts to move him into the Kenny Roberts-ow ned Modenas team. Now the situa tion is rever sed , and it's alm ost certa in that Waldmann will make his move to 500s on the thr ee-cylind er Team Roberts machines - which will be in Marlboro colors . This seems to ru le Luca Cadalora ou t of the equation. The Italian had been favored for the top Mod ena s rid e, and the team had admitted "a provisiona l entry" for him . In ano ther tw ist, the Wa ld mann factor op ens the wa y for Roberts to switch the Modena s to Du nlop tires - the team would like to change for various reasons , no t least Dunlop's greater pro wess than Michelin on lighter mac hines . Cadalora rhowever, was violently opposed to using the Dunlops. Ap rilia, mea nwhile, is believed to be concentra ting on buildi ng a V-four 500 - and the new challenger m igh t be.ready for a few outings durin g 1998. The Italian facto ry is though t to be developing the SwisaA u to engine it purchased last year, and may be in the process of working a sim ilar d eal to the one with Rotax the one which broug ht them in to the 250 class . The Rotax engine was called an Ap rilia, an d ove r the yea rs they have gradua lly evolved it in to their own motor . Apri lia has promised to make the machine availabl e for selected Wild Card rid es. Yet a no the r SwissAu to- powered m achin e is expected to jo in th e lists: an ROC directly descend ed from the Elf 500s that bought the compact an d very powerfu l Vfour motor into the 500cc class over the pa st tw o years. The machines - rid den last yea r by Juan Borja and Jurge n Fuchs - were fast bu t d ifficult to ride, lacking even the basic refineme nt of an efficient exha ust pow er valve. Elf wi thd rew after two years, and the Mala ysian-ow ned MuZ (formerly MZ) firm took ov er wi th SwisaAu to. Their scaledd own plans see them set to field Doriano Romboni (ex-Aprilial) for 1998. M ichael Scott ca n celed , the series w ill con sist of 14 rou nds. Du tch man Pedro T ragter w ill return to th e 125cc class in th e World Cha m p ionship MX GP Series . The former 125cc World cha m p rod e the 250cc clas s last ye ar on th e Honda of Troy of Europe tea m and wi ll again rid e a Honda in '98. H arry Everts, the fa ther of two-t im e 250cc World MX Cha m pio n Stefa n Everts, will manage a two-m an Su zu ki team in the 125cc champio nship series. Th os e tw o ri d er s h a v e n o t ye t b e en nam ed . Co nt rary to a p ress re lease from Two Brot hers Racing, Dale Kieff er will not be riding for the te am in 1998. "Th ere . were so me s p on sor co n flic ts tha t w e cou ld n't work out and we just cou ld n't come to an ag ree me nt," Kieffer said . As a resul t, Keiffer has been left withou t a rid e for the com ing se ason. For mor e information, con tact Kieffer at 702/2573808. Matt Stav ish, w ho placed secon d in the AM A N ation a l Cha m pions hi p End u ro Series last year, has signed a one-year d eal for the '98 series. Stavish will ride a Honda CR250 wi th backin g from Larso n Cycle Racing in Mi nnesota. Phoenix Int ernational Ra ce way w ill hold a prom oter pr actice da y on Febru ary 12, pri or to the opening round of the AMA / MBNA Su p e rb ike Se r ie s . Th e d eadline for registerin g and pa ying the fee is January 31, and if a minimum of 60 bik es are n' t register ed , the practi ce will be canceled . For more informa tion or to reg ister, ca ll Sh a n n on Dunn at 602/ 252-3833 or fax 602/ 254-4622. Team parking will run from 3 to 6 p .m . on Wedn es da y and ag a in a t 7 a. m . o n Thursday. J.R. Sch nabel (Rtx) won the 600cc Pro class durin g the mot or cycle ice-ra cin g e xh ib it ion at th e 1998 Sn owmob ile Derb y World Cha m p ions hips a t Eag le Ri ver, Wi s consi n . Schnabe l was fo llowed across the line in the 12-lap final b y Go rdon Schopieray (Rtx) and Pat Buchanan (Rtx). The exhi biti on , w hich wa s organized by AMA Gra nd National Champ ionsh ip rid er D an Butler, w as well-received by the snowmobile-racing fans, and wiJI likely continue as a part of the World Championsh ips in the future. Wh il e a tte n d ing a. reg ion al Ha rl e yDavid son dealer meetin g in Dayto n a Beach, Florida , Team Har ley-Davidson 's Scott Parke r and Bill Werner spe nt the weeke nd of Janu ary 18 tire- te st ing a t Da yt on a Municipa l Stad ium' for the upcomi ng Daytona Short Trac k. Parker an d Werner u sed the ses sio n to bett er com p ar e th e Dunlop DOT tires - th e K591s and K180s wi th wh ich they started experi m en ting last seaso n - to th e curr ent Goo dyear DT dirt tra ck tires. "I think that the Dunlop was pr ett y good," Wern er sa id . "The track was real inconsistent, so it wa s kind of hard to tell, but Scott' s tim es we re close to wha t he was turning on the Goodyea rs . We p retty much used the exact same tire pressures in bot h." Parker w as h oping th a t the ex tra tra ck t im e ea rl y in th e se a so n wo u ld he lp prep are h im for the th e AM A G rand Na tio na l Ch amp ions hip season ope ner at Municipal Stad ium, a pla ce where h e h as never been v ery lu cky . " I a lw ays co me h e re to w in," Parke r said. "I ride my butt off and ge t beat. If we struggle, I can deal with it, but tha t's not. th e wa y that 1 w ant to s ta r t t h e s e a so n . A win in th e fir s t Na tional of the yea r would be goo d ." Dirt t ra ck fa ns mi gh t r em e m b e r th e na me Tammy Jo Kirk fro m the ea rl y ' 80s, as Kirk ga in ed a lot of a tte n tion 1

• Cover