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/127928
n orth to the Salinas Mot or cycle Center
in Salinas, Californ ia. Smi th, an instructor in Reg Pridmore's CLASS Sch ool s,
ca n now ge t to Laguna Seca Raceway in
15 minutes.
the AMA Superbike Nati onal, May 1-3.
The race w ill be rou nd two of a thr eerace series sanctioned by Moto Liberty .
For mor e information. call Moto Liberty
at 972/ 242-6440.
M a lc olm Sm ith M ot o r sp o rt s, KTM
Sportrn ini cycle s and R&D Racing h ave
joined forces to form a Pee Wee racing
team for the 1998 season. Riders Donnie
Kea rn ey and Bruc e Ru th erford will
com pete in both s tock and modi fied
classes in local Southern California races
a s well as National Championship
events at Ponca City, Loretta Lynn's and
the World Min i Grand Prix in Las Vegas .
Vortex Racing is now accepting resumes
for it s rider-suppo rt p ro g rams. Send
resumes to Vortex Racing, 1844 N . Belcher Rd., Suite 1002, Clea rwater, FL 33765.
And the winners are... laVon lucas of
Pine ville, Loui siana, is the Grand Prize
wi nner of th e Cycl e News/TravelCraft
Daytona Sweep stakes. Lucas will receive
a Bike Week travel package tha t includes
airline travel, hotel and rental car and a
one-year su bscription to Cycle News. In
add ition, Lucas will get two VlP tickets
to the major races held during Bike Week
at Daytona. First prize in the sweepstakes
went to Gary Duden, w ho gets an ATK
260LQ mot orcycle; Terri Jensen gets the
second -place pri ze of tw o Arai Regent
helmets; and Todd Nascimento earns the
third-place prize of an Aerostitch Darien
Jacket and Pants or Roadcrafter Suit.
In a previous issue of Cycle News, w e
reported that Ha rry Everts would manage
a two-man team in the 1998 12Sec World
Motocross Championship. Everts' team
will, in fact, be ma de up of three riders:
Steve Ramon, Damien Denil and Grant
Langston. The team will use Kawasakis.
Showcase Bike Night will take place at
Speedway International Racing Bistro &
Bar in Newport Bea ch, California, on
February 5, featuri ng rare and exo tic
motorcycles from Bimota's V-du e to
Mo to Guzzis and others. For more information, call 714/752-1669.
Former World Superbike rider Giancarlo
Fal ap p a will serve as tea m d irector of
Team Ghelfi by Falapp a in the 1998
World Supersport Championship. Roberto Ten eg gi will ride a Du ca ti for th e
tea m. "In the pa st, I raced for the win
anytime - not for losing," said Fala ppa.
w hose career was cut short by the head
injuries he suffe red in a testing accide nt
in June of 1994. "As a tea m manager I
w ill have the sa me ambition: wi n . My
rid er, Teneggi, is a very fast guy and
with my suggestions he can be in the top
positions: But the most important thing is
to return to my favorite world - racing."
Piergi orgio Bontempi was the fastest of
the three Kawasaki riders who tested
recently in Albacete, Spain, according to
Cycle News contributor Paolo Cozzi. The
Italian lapped at 1:35.9, finishing ahead
of both Akira Yanagaw a (1:36.16) and
N eil Hodgson (1:36.75). ''I' m very satisfied regarding the new Dunlop front
and rear compound, but I mu st be honest: I remained on track until 5 p.m . on
the last practice day - and Yanagawa
a nd Hodgson end ed at 3 p.rn." Th e
Kawasaki rider s were using 1997-s pec
ZX-7 Rs and are expected to test the
1998-model superbikes shortly,
Off-road racing legend Ma lcolm Smith
will speak at the 10th annual Motorcycle
Heritage Mu seum Breakfast during Daytona Bike Week on March 7. The breakfast
will be held at the Holiday Inn in Deland.
Sears Po int Raceway in Sonoma, Cali fornia, has announced that it will hold a
125cc Grand Prix exhibition race during
Vict ory M otorcycles has announced the
retail price for its all-new Victory V92C.
The bike will carry a su gg es ted retail
price of $12,995. "We have a distinct
advantage over other cruisers in power
and performance, and our su gges ted
retail p rice makes the Victory motorcycle th e va lue leader among crui sers as
well," sai d general manager Ma tt Par ks.
Wilheim Herz, 85; died at his hom e in
Ge rmany on Janu ary 5. On August 4,
195 6, He r z averaged 211.4 mph in a
tw o -w ay pass a t the Bonnev ille Sal t
Flats in Utah to becom e the first motor cycl ist to officially break the 200-m ph
mark. Herz rode a 500cc su percharged
NSU streamliner.
Th e Mi dwest Ice Racing Championships
will be held February 7-8 at Lamb's Farm
in Libertyville, Illinois, with oval and IT
races scheduled for both da ys. For more
information. call 630/773-2499.
Italian motorcy cle bu ild er Gia nc a rlo
Morbide lli will serve a s AHRMA' s
guest of honor for the March 2-3 Classic
Days by Yamaha event at Daytona International Speedway in Da yt ona Beach,
Florida. Morbidelli will also make some
demonstration laps ab oard one of hi s
racers, provided by the Barber Vintage
Mo torsports Mu seum, on March 3.
Roa d racer Ch uck Sorense n w ill be
joined by Rodney Fee on an AMA 250cc
G ra n d Prix -team fi e ld e d by World
Sports Im ports, a California importer of
new and used racing motorcycles. While
Sorensen will ride a Yamaha TZ250, Fee
w ill be aboard a Honda RS250. Fee will
a lso compete in se le cted NASB 125cc
races aboard an Ap rilia RSRI25. The pair
will use Dunlop tires. Sorensen recently
b rok e the 250cc la p record at Willow
Springs Raceway, a han d -held 1:22.65.
Acco rd ing to GFI's Goat Breker, GFI
Raci ng will not renew its lease with Perris Raceway in Perris, California, in 1999
- d ue to what Breker calls a 150-percent
increase in ren t.
CN Pub li shing has an opening for a
graphic artist to handl e layout and
design of advertising and editorial content. Applicants must be proficient in
Quark X Press, Adobe Photoshop and
Adobe Illustrator or Micromedia Freehand. At least two years experience in
advertising layout is required. Fax yo ur
resume to Cycle New s at 714/751-6685.
OPENED: Pu ent e Hills Motorspor ts, an all-new
Suzuk i and Polaris dealership in the City of Industry, Ca lifornia. The sho p will host an open ho use on
February 28.
OPENED: Santa Cruz Harley-David son, ..1 Harl eyDav idso n deale rship in Santa Cruz , Ca liforn ia.
OPENED: Kevin 's Racing Su pply's hom e page on the
World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http: / / www.kevinscyderadng.ro m.
A PPO INTED: Ra ce Tech , as a d istribut or of
Motorex Oils .
AUTOGRAPH SIGNING : At Te a m Savage
Kaw asa ki in Clea rw ater, Florida, on Frid ay, Februa ry 27. Te am Ka w a sak i' s Da mon Hu ffman, Jeff
Graham 1958ยท1997
T
h ree- time AMA Gra n d a tion al Champ ion
Ricky Graham, 39, was killed when fire swep t
through his home in Salinas Valley, California,
on January 22.
Acco rd ing to official reports, emergency units
from the Salinas Rural Fire District were dispatched
to Graham' s h ome on Parker Road in rural Monte rey County at 10:02 p .m, on Thursda y. Up on
arrival, they found that the fire wa s burning in the
kitchen and living-room portions of the house. After
extinguishing the blaze, the remains of a human,
believed to be Graham, w ere found in the living
room. Using dental records, the Monterey County
Coroner's Office made a positive identification on
Friday, Jan uary 23. Investigators believe that the fire
was acciden tal, caused by a pot left burning on the
stove.
Graham tu rned p rofess iona l in 1978. He w on the AM~ Grand Na tional Cham~i
ons h ip as a privateer aboard Tex Peel Harley-Da vidso ns in 1982, for Tea m Hon d a 10
1984, and again in 1993 on a privateer Honda wi th Virginia tuner Johnny Goad and
Team Undo. The 1993 season was perha ps his definin g year, as h e won a se ason
recor d-setting 12 of his 39 career AMA Grand Nati onal victories, i~clud.ing ~n i ncre~ i
ble six straight victories in the middle of the season en rou te to his third title, which
also broke Dick Mann' s reco rd for th e lon gest time span between Grand Na tional
Championshi ps. He ranks third on the all- time Grand Na tional w~n list.,
After being sidelined by injuries through much of the 1994, '9:> and 96 seasons, and
stru ggling to conquer his often-publicized p roblems wi th alco hol, Graham re.turned to
the series with Goad's USC Racing team in 1997. He made all but three main events,
scoring several top-five and podium fini~h~ - includi~g a sea~n-hig~ runner-,:,p at the
East Moline, Illinoi s, Half Mile, and he firushed fifth 10 the senes pomts stand lOgs. He
was sched uled to rejoin the team and make the switch to Harl ey-Davidsons for th.e
1998 Grand National season. His loss has, not su rp risingly, hit the dirt track community, inclu ding his current and former competitors, very hard.
.
"He seemed like he was on top of everything," reigning AMA Grand Iational
Ch ampion Scott Parker said. "He had a drinking problem, but got that taken care of."
Parker and Graham were the fiercest of rivals on the race tra ck but, as Parker says,
"We always came back to our friend ship."
- " .
.
"The whole racing community has suffered a huge loss, said Ifl-time AMA ,~r,a n d
National Championship-winning tun er Bill Werner when he heard the news. Ricky
had tremendous talent, and he was a big part of the show. I know the fans are reall y
going to miss him."
" It was always ups and downs with him, but the way th at I wa~t to remem?er
Ricky Graham is the way that he was in 1993:: sa~d form er Gr~nd ~ationa l C~amplOn
Chris Carr, from who m Gra ham wrested the title 10 that year. That s when Ricky was
at his best - not just on the race track, b ut off it. When he was rid ing at his best, he w~s
the best there ever was. Tha t's how I'll always remember him."
Graham is survived by h is father, Bill; his mother, Barbara Homen; his brothers
Billy and Troy ; and h is sisters Ruth and Ho lly. Funeral arrangements were set for 11
a.m, on Tuesday, January 27, at Laguna Seca Raceway in Mo nterey, California.
.
A mem orial fund has been es tab lished . Checks can be sen t to Wm . H. Graham 10
trust for the Ricky A. Gra ham Memorial, account number 0400709546, Bank of Ameri.
ca, 1451 Fremont Blvd ., Seasi de, CA 93955.
Emig and Ryan Hughes are sche d u led to appear.
For more information , call 813/ 968-7888.
CANCELED: TIle Team Kawasaki autograph session
sc he d u led fo r Ho nd a Suzuki Kawasaki We st in
Ta mpa, Florida, originally sched uled for Februa ry '27
.
CO RRECTION: Th e following web site add resses
we re print ed in corre ctl y in la st week 's issu e:
h ttp:/ / vintag e.dnschoi re.net / canam / can am .htm
and http l 1vintage.dnschc ice.net / vmv I vm v.h lm.
APPOINTED: Garry Miller, as director. Elf Co mpetitian. by Elf Developmen t Inc. Miller wi ll direct the
Nort h America n racing-fuel and lubricants program.
For more info rmation, call Miner a t BOO/ ELF-FlJEL
AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: A t Jac k in th e Box in
Seat tle..Was hin gt on , on January 30 fro m 6 to 7:30
p.m . Factory Co nnection/Jack in th e Box-backe d
Mike laRocco is sch ed uled to ap~ar. Th e res ta urani is located on 4th Aven ue South. For more information, call 2061628-9028.
AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At llonda Suzuki Kawasaki West in Tampa. Florida, on Fe ruary '27 from 6:30 to
b
7:30 p.m. Team Hond a's Ezra Lusk and Steve L1JTl"iOl1
and FMF's Scott Shenk and Brock Sellards are sched uled.
to appe ar. For more informa tion, ca1I 813/ 96S-7888.
OPENED: Mari na Yama ha Sea-Doc in Marina de l
Rey, California . For more infonnation, call 310/3067906.
AUTOGRA PH SIGNING: At The Broth ers in Bremerton , Wa shington, on January 30 from 5:30 to
6:30 p . m . Tea m C ha pa rral Ya ma ha 's Jeremy
McC rdt h and Jim my Button a re sched u led to
appear. For more in form ation, call 3601-179-6943.
OPENED: Pen"i e Racing Shocks' new Wes t Coast
k
location in Lodi, California, effective February 1. For
more information, call 2091368-5040
.
AN NOUNCED: Yamaha will be the lead sponsor for
AHRMA 's Historic T earn Challenge, a four-race seri es
pitting a team of No rth American road racers against a
British /European team .
ANN OUN CED: A new Germa n subs idiary of Ducati,
called Ducati Deu tschlan d Gmb l L by Du cati Motor
Sp A. TIle ne w company is a join t ve ntu re between
Duca ti Mot or SpA and Rona ld Marz, the owner of
Man Motorradh andel a German Ducati d istnbutor.
OPENED: Estepp's Perlurmar1ce Parts' !l