Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~l .,.., IN THE WIND ~ , Brian Ga rr ahan (KTM) won the opening round of the AMA National Championship Hare Scrambles Series at Hollister, California, on February L Dou g Blackwell (Yam) took runner-up hon'ors. while Garrahan's brother, Bri a n Garrahan, (KTM) finished third . Rounding ou t the top fi ve we re National Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty (KTM) and Josh McLevy (Hon). Cha d Pe derson (Kaw) ruled the 125cc class with an iron hand , an d T od d DeHoop (Yam) gave Yama ha it s first AMA Na tiona l Arenacross w in of th e year duri ng rounds 15 and 16 of the PJl Na tional Are na cross Seri es at the N iaga ra Falls Aren a in Niagara Falls, New Yo r k, Ja n u ar y 30 -3 1. Pe d e r s o n le d d e fe n din g se ries c h a m p io n Bu d d y Antunez (Suz) a nd Mike Jones (Ka w ) across th e lin e in Fr id ay night's 125cc main eve nt, and backed it up wi th a win over Antu nez and Jeromy Buehl (Hon) on Saturday n ight. In th e 250cc class, Buehl was the man to beat on Frid ay n ight , bestin g Ant u nez and then Jones. DeHoop scored his first wi n of the ser ies on Satu rday nigh t, when he led Jon es, and then Antunez, to the stripe . Jo hnny Cam pbell (Hon) and Ty Davis (Yam) were th e big winners a t ro u nd ' one of th e Big 6 Gra nd Pri x Series, the 18th annual District 37 Adelanto Grand Prix, held in Adelanto, Cali fornia, January 31-February L Campbell picked up wi ns in the Unclassified and Pro classes, w hile Davis won the 125cc, 250cc a nd Fo u r-S troke classes . O t he r w in n e rs included Paul Kraus e (Kaw) in the Vet r a ce , Re x S ta te n (Ya m) in t h e Classic / Vintage race and Destry Abbott (Kaw) in the Open race. Ca sey Lytle (Ho n) won th e 125cc Pro class at round three of the CMC Golden State Na tiona ls South, held at Los Angeles County Racew ay in Palmda le, Ca lifornia, on February L In the class , Lytle topped Billy Pa yne (Ka w ) and Sou th Af ri can Mi chel Constantinou (Yam ). Doug Dubach (Yarnl wo n the 250cc Pro cl ass over fe llow YZ40 0F ri der Spud Walters (Yam) a nd Jeff Pestana (Yam), and then Dubach came back to w in the 500cc Pro class over Walters. . Accordi ng to a report from the Associated Press, a bill to exe m p t ad u lts from California's 6-year-old mot orcycle helmet law was narrowly approved by the Asse mbly. The bill, by Assemblywoman Den ise Du cheny (D-San Diego), would exem p t a d u lts fro m a 1992 law that requires all p assengers a nd riders to wear safety helm ets w hile riding motor . cycles. The 41-30 vo te (the bar e majority needed to clea r the 80-seat As se m bly) sent the bill to the Sena te, where at least o ne earlie r attempt to cha n ge th e law died . Th e Du ch en y bill wou ld exe m p t riders from wearing helmets if they are at least 18 and can sho w proo f that the y have med ical insura nce. Danny "Magoo" Ch andler has assembled a tea m to re-cre a te th e workou ts used during his most successfu l seasons . Three-, five- and se ve n-d ay cam ps are ' available. Ch and ler' s new Sierra Camp train ing program includ es cross -training activities in and around the Sierra N evad a foo thill s and genero u s one- on-one instru ctio n from Cha nd ler. Sche duled d at es a re February 14-18 (Va le n tines Ca m p ); February 28-M arch 4 (Marc h Ca mp); and April 4-10 (Ea ster Camp). Also a va ilab le is a one-d ay school on Sa turda y, February 28, and entries are limi ted . Kawasaki Te am Green has added a few new faces to its off-road lineup for 1998. On the West Coast, ISDE Gold Medalist Des try Ab bott, along with Jeff Capt and Dave Ha mel, will race the AMA National Hare & Ho und and Best in the Desert Series . Back from his Dakar vaca tion, Pau l Krause will be back on hi s KX500 as well. Fr e d A n d r ews and Jim my Jarrett are new to the team and will focus on the GNCC and other highprofile off-road events. Ot her additions to the team incl ude Doug Chia pu zio, Craig Wesner, Chris Th iele, Luca Tussa rdi and Tommy Ve?tor. O nly weeks after the Ind on esian 250cc round of the World Motocross Ch amp ions hi p was ca nce led comes word tha t the opening ro und of th e 125cc World MX C hamp ions hip in Ind o nesi a ha s been ca nceled as w e ll, re p o rts Cycle News contribu tor Geoff Meyer. The race was sched uled for Mar ch 22, and now the opening rou nd will be held in Brazil . on AprilS. England's Jam es Dobb, who will contes t thi s year's World 125c Mot ocross Cha mp ionships , is in training with form er Worl d En d u ro C ha m p ion Pau l Ed m o n dso n . Th e two a re presently sta y i ng to g e th e r at Ed mon dso n's American hom e in Corona, Ca lifornia. Edmo nd son , w ho wi ll co m me nce his Ame rica n season in Florida at the opening ro und of the Grand National Cro ss Cou ntry Serie s o n Marc h 4, is s u re training together is a huge bon us. "We a re reall y wor king ha rd . It ' s a g rea t way to train," Ed mo ndson said. Dobb will r id e a Honda in t h e 125cc GP se ries, a nd his tea m manag er w ill be fo r m e r W orld 500c MX C h ampi on Dav e Thorpe. Amaz ing ly, two of Fran ce' s biggest wi nter mo torcycle even ts will clas h on the sa me week end. The Le Tou q uet Beach Ra ce and the Beau caire International Mo tocross will both run on Febru ary 22. Wh ile Le Touquet is run in the far north of Fran ce, it a tt rac ts a ro u n d 200,000 spec ta tors, while Beaucaire is ru n on the French Rivera in the sou th of Fran ce, bu t is' a tt e n d ed b y a ll t hre e Wo r ld Mot ocross Ch ampion s and the top riders fro m a ll three classes (125, 250 and 500cc). N e xt to t he M oto cro s s d e s Na tio ns , th e Bea u caire r a ce is th e biggest motocross race in Europe. Riders w ho raced the Adelanto Grand Prix, January 31 to February 1, and w ho d id not get to see th e photo th at w as ta ke n of a ll rid ers, ca n ge t a second cha nce by calling Mary at Kevin Heath Photograp hy at 619/481-0192. A bill befo re the New Hampsh ire Legislature - H B1216, wh ich w ould h a ve required nonhelmeted motorcyclists to pu rchase a million-dollar liability insurance policy to legally ride in that sta te was defea ted b y a vo ice vo te on th e house floor on January 29, accord ing to the AMA. The bill, introduced by Sta te Repres entative Rob er t Boyce (R-Bellkna p ), would also have raised the annua l re gi st ra ti o n fee fo r n o n h e lm et ed motorcycl ists to $25, while helmeted riders would pay $12. As the bill was drafted, th e required insu ra nce would have com pensa ted any motorist who suffered bod ily injury, death or proper ty damage a s th e result of b ei ng involved in a n accident with a nonhelmeted motorcycle o pe ra t o r . M o torcy cli st injuries a nd p roperty damage w er e not add re ss ed under the provisions of the bill. Current ly, adu lt rid ers in New Hampshire can choose whether or not to wear a helmet when they ride. Multi-time AMA National Motocross Champion Broc Glover has signed on with PJH Brands. Glover will manage the PJl brand and assume the position of director of PJl No rth American Motorsports. All aspects of PJl brand marketing will be overseen by Glover. "I 've known and used PJ! p rod uc ts since 1977," Glover said. "I'm looking forwa rd to working wi th PJl an d being in a position to take the brand to the next level." Glove r formerly worked as the brand manager for No Fear . Interes ti ng di r t tr a ck n e w s : Fo rm er AMA 250cc G r and Pri x Champ ion Jim m y Filice w ill re tu rn to th e AM A Gr and National Cham pionship Series as p a rt o f th e Mike an d Eddi e A d k i ns Raci ng Te a m in 1998. Filice, who has · been running Kenny Rob er ts' train ing ranc h in Ca talu ny a, Spai n, will make his sta rt for the team at the Mem orial Day running of the Sprin gfield Mile. "We' re trying to put the program toget her for Jimbo fo r 12 ra ce s," A d ki ns Ra cin g tuner and co-owner Eddie Adkins said . 'T m bu ild ing a bike just for him . Geo (Roeder II) will have the exac t same program with us as last yea r." Ad kins also sai d that Filice ap peare d to be serious about th e gig, as he is in grea t s ha pe . "By ru nning the school, he' s bee n training for the last tw o or three years ," Adkins said. "We're all exci ted abo u t it. He'll be an asse t to the program ." Speaking o f Ji m my Filice: Tho ugh he will be s ta r ting fo r Ad ki ns Ra ci ng at Spri ngfield, you can expect him to be at the Daytona Short Track as p art of an expanded three-m ember T e am KT M sq uad. Filice will be joining Geo Roeder II a nd Joe Kopp aboa rd the fac to ry 's 600cc machines, which we re fo rme rly pil oted by Kevin Varn es . "At this point, Joe Kopp has a contract, Geo Roed er II has a verbal agreemen t with me, an d I ' have one w ith KTM (for Roed er and Filice)," Team KTM d ir t tr a ck m a n age r Mike O we n said. "Our partin g w ith the Varneses w as amicab le. Th ey kept th e b ikes, and th ey had some reliability p roblems wi th th em, and tha t kin d of hu rt us to the point that it has brought us bac k to squa re one . But we think we know w hy th ey had those p roblems, and we're goi ng to brin g the bikes back in-house." K&N Engineering has signe d a d ea l wi th Aga janian Presents to become the title sponsor of the AMA Gra nd ario nal finale at the Del Mar Fai rgrounds in Del Mar, California. The "K&N Filters · AMA Grand Na tio nal Mo torcycle Ch ampion ship " is sched uled for October 1L "Jus t think," said K&N Motorcycle general manager Tom Cates, "what a g reat way to say th a n ks to our custom ers and friends, and to help promote s uc h a g rea t ra cin g e vent; w ha t an · op p ortu n ity to be p art of th e premier West Coa st happening and season finale of the AMA Grand Nationa l Motorcycle Dirt Track seaso n." . The AMA and Fast Track Racing have joined forces to co-pro mo te the AMA's 21st annual Ama teur National Dirt Track Championships, sched u led for July 6- 11, in Indi an ap oli s, Ind ia n a . Accord ing to bot h parties, in add ition to the new nam e, the eve nt will have several new fea tu res. "Fas t Tra ck Racin g b ro u ght this eve nt to the Ind ian apoli s ar ea for the first time las t year, and the city is a n ideal site for th e AMA Dir t ~ . .. '~'';~~ ,- -, ." Track Ch am pion ships ," said AMA vice presid ent o f m e mb er ac tivities Bill Amick. "Indianapolis is synonymous wi th motorsports, and is also recognized worldwide for its commitment to ama teur sports ." " America n Honda's M iguel DuHamel a nd Ben Bost rom, Yoshimura Suzuki 's Ste ve Cre v i er , Erio n Ra ci n g ' s Eri c Bos trom , Chris Ul rich of Kids: Don' t Smo ke!, a nd Cycle Gea r's Steve Rapp are amo ng the confirmed guests for the nex t Sh owcase Bike Nigh t, sche d u led to take place at the Spee dway International Racin g Bistro and Bar in New port . Beach , Californ ia, on February 5, from 7 to 10 p.m. For more information, contact FS Productions, 714/752-1669. Delbert Duane "Moon" Buchanon, 60, of Pekin, Illin ois, d ied a t his ho me on Jan ua ry 26. Buch ano n w as a former Nation al number 39, a nd had wo n the 14-lap Big Mot or (80 c.i .) class a t the 1959 Peoria National TT, making him the only local rider eve r to wi n an AMA National at the Peoria MC Clubgrounds in the 50-year history of the eve nt. He is su rvived by his wife, Sheri; his daughte rs Lisa H ow e a n d C hris Buch anon ; and four gran dchild ren. Memorials ma y be mad e to the Pekin MC, PO Box 1235, Pekin , lL 61554. G FI Racing is now renting ou t Perris Raceway to rid ers or tea ms interes ted in having their own private practice day. The price is $1000, with the breakdown as follows : $500 - track rental, $200 insu rance, and 5300 - am bu la nce. For mo re info rmation, contact GFI, 909/6534042. GFI is also set to hold ro und tw o of the GFl Ca liforn ia Winter Seri es at Barona Oaks Raceway in Ramon a, Ca lifo rnia, on Feb ruary 8. O ve rnig ht ca m ping is available. For more information, contact GFl, 909/ 653-4042. Paul Morgan III has been named as the Ill in ois Rider of the Year by the Illinois Mo torcycle Dea lers Associat io n. T he award was establis hed by the IMDA to recogn ize the bes t Illinois mot or cycle racer . Morgan finished 14th in the 1997 AMA Gr and National Championship Series , qualifying for 12 Gra nd National main events and finis hing in the top 10 six tim es . He becomes the seco nd winner of the annual award . The Mu zzy Kawasak i superbike rid den . to victory by Doug Chandler at the Formula USA ro u nd a t Daytona International Speedway on March 3, 1!l96, is for sa le . The exo tic, WS B-s pec. fac to ry mac hi ne fea tu res the gea r-drive motor th at A ntho ny Gob ert u sed to w in th e 1995 Au stralian WSB round and a cha ssis tha t was d eveloped for Scott Russell. Aft er h is victo ry a t Da yt o n a in '96, Chandler' s bike was claimed by and has been in the poss ession of Form ula USA ever since. Th e asking price is $35,000. Fo r more info rma tio n, ca ll 530 / 582 1061. . RK Chain and AFAM Sprockets have been nam ed as the "Official Driv e System of Formula USA " for th e second consecu tive season. A team-owner progra m has been established w hich will pay $1500 and $1000 yea r-end bonuses, respectivel y, to the two hig hest-p lacing registered teams. To par ticipa te, teams mus t displ ay RK and AFAM d ecals and use bo th prod u cts on their motorcycles . The opening round of the 1998 Worl d 1

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