Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND more informa tio n, call Simi Hond a a t 800/943-8938. HSKS of Ocala, Moose Racing, and DP Brak es will be providi ng a free "light" breakfast on March 4 and 5 for all participants a t the Alli gator D ual-S po rt and End uro in Daytona Beach, Florida . Due to the All igator ' s infa mous reput at ion for bein g wet and sandy, Moose and DP Brakes will provid e free brak e insp ection s and br ake-fluid changes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m . on Wedn esday, March 4. Donne r Sk i Ran ch , Th e Dirt Diggers No rth MC, Chris Agajanian Enterp rises and Fast Fridays Speedway have eac h committed to host the 200 pu rchasers of the Clayton Fou n dation Super Ticket with spe cial VIP privileges. Each Su per Ticket purchaser will receive a special comme mo rative shirt, a borde r sui table for framing to place the ticket in, num erous gifts from sponsors, access to a hospitality area, and VIP seating and par king . The Sup er Tickets will cost $200 and only 200 will be sold. They will be good for admittance in to the followin g even ts: The Hangtown MX Classic (May 15-17); Fa st Frid ays Speedway ra ces (d a tes TBA); Old Highway 40 Motorcycle Days at Donn er Ski Ranch (August 15-16); and the Sacramento Mile (Sep tembe r 26). To s how th eir s up po r t fo r the C la yton Founda tion, Wo rld Cha mpion Wayn e Rain ey, m u lti-time AMA Fou r-St roke MX Cha mpion Mike Young [r ., and former Na tional Motocross and Supe rcross Cha mpion David Bailey will au tograph each of the 200 passes, making each one a collectors' item. For more informa tion, call Donner Ski Ranch at 530/426-3635. Rose and Mike Durkin are currently producing "In Memory of Ricky Graham" stickers. For mo re informa tion , see the Classified Ad s sec tion in th is week' s issu e of Cycle NeWs. Longti me en thusiast and road race official Jerry "Spee dy" McHale, 58, die d on Febru arv 4 at his home in No rthCarolina. An apparen t victim of a heart attack, Hale wo rked as a mechanic and later an official in d irt track racing before becoming invo lved in road racing. He work ed as road race referee for AMA, NASB and CCS, accep ting a fu ll-tim e positio n a t CCS in North Carolina in 1990. Annou ncing legend Dave Despain will b e th e sched u led gues t in th e Flattrack.com chat room on February 18. Des pa in w il l discu ss th e u pco mi ng Springfi eld Mile Invita tional d irt track and w ill be avai lable to a nswe r questions. The Hond a Rid ers Club o f Am erica (H RCA) is inv iting all of its members planning to atten d Motorcycle Week in Dayt ona Beach, Florid a, March 4-8, to ta ke adva n tage of th e me mbers-on ly op po rtu nities du rin g the event. Secu re pa rking w ill be p ro vi d ed a t Day tona Intern ational Speedway near the Honda d ispla y, a nd hosp ita lity te n ts will be located in front of the Winston Tower. In ad d ition to the hospitality and pa rking, there will be informa tive foru ms in the Hon d a tent on Wedn esd ay, Ma rch 4 throu gh Satur da y, March 7. The annual HRCA Memb ers-Only Dinner wi th the Red Ride rs will be held on Thursda y, March 5 . For m or e info rmatio n, call 310/ 783-3958. Cycle New s European editor Alan Cathcart su ffered a broken fibu la and tibia in his left leg when he crashed a 1932 No rton 500 in to a n Armco ba rr ie r while co m pe ting in a vintag e road ra ce at Puke hoe in New Zeala nd on February 8. Cathcart is expected to be fit in six weeks an d thus wo n't be able to compete at Daytona. Cathcart wasn't the only one to hurt hims elf at the New Zealand even t, as three-time Worl d Champion H ugh Anderson also cras hed , suffering a broken wri st. Now celebrating its 10th year as the promo ter for the AMA-sanctioned amateu r and yo u th di rt track program d uring Daytona Bike Week, OM Promotions has expanded its American Motorcycle Institu te-sp onsored Southeast Regio nal Champion ship Series fro m two to four 'events for 1998. The series will open a t St. Augustin e Speedway in St. Augus tine on February 28, with successive rou nds taking p lace at Daytona Municipa l Stad i- Cummings acquires TCR dirt track team A B ~ 2 otal Con trol Racing team co-founder and manager Tom Cumming s has acquired a portion of the assets of that team and wiII continue to field motorcycles for WiII Da vis and two new riders in the 1998 AMA Gra nd Na tio nal Champi on ship Series. The acquisi tion took place after team ow ner and co-founder Benson Ford [r., of Ford Motor Company fame, announced his int ention to withd raw his involvement from the progr am , which would hav e termina ted it. But Cummings found the financing to pur chas e a portion of the team 's asse ts, includ ing the 40-foot team transpor ter, and the team will now be known as Tom Cummings Racing Inc. "Benson Ford Jr. and I started Total Control Racing in 1994," Cummings said . "I'd like to thank Ben an d his sister, Lynn Ford Alan d t, for all the suppo rt they showed the team ove r the past four years. Now, we'll move on and con tinue the wi nning tradition that we' ve established." In ad dition, TCR has merged with another top privateer ou tfit, Loral Lake Racing, whic h has fielded Hond a and Harley-Davidson motorcycles for former Grand Nat ional competitor Ronnie Jones and up-a nd-co ming rider Paul Bergstrom . "I'd really like to extend my thanks to Lorrai ne and Al Bergstro m and Rod Lake of Loral Lake. Racing, for merg ing their reso urces wi th those of TCR," Cummings said. "With their hel p and the su ppor t of our associa te sponsors, I'm sure that we'll be just as competitive as we'v e been over the last few years." Bergst rom wiII be a member of the team, as w ill six-time AMA Amateur Grand National Cha mp ion Nicky Hayden, w ho will contest 12 Grand National even ts for TCR. Mechanics Dav e Watt s and Randy Brady will remain on the team, as will twotime Grand Na tional Champion Gary Nixo n. w ho serves as the team assistant. The team is still based in Mount Morris, Michigan . T MX promoters form national rou romoters of the AMA 125/ 250cc Pro Motocross Nationals ha ve formally joined toge the r as a gro up to d evelop a series marketi ng program that is designed to enha nce the fu ture growth of the AMA ou tdoor Nationa l MX series. All I I promo ters of the 12-event series will comprise the Na tiona l Prom oter's Gro up (N PG) to d eal collec tive ly w ith issu es suc h as se ries marke ting, com mu nica tions, advertising, public relations, the crea tion of a ride r points fund , facilities imp rovement , and safety . NPG spokesman/p romoter Dave Coombs Sr. noted that the unifyin g effort aro se from the individua l promoters' desi re to raise the professional level of the series to mirror the popularity of the spo rt. "It's time for us to bite the bull et, so to speak," Coom bs said . "We need to attract the kinds of sponsors, both ins ide an d ou tside the ind ustry, to ensure the fu ture. We need to develop the series to make it as attractive as pos sible to factory riders by the creation of a points fu nd . We recogni ze tha t we can accomplish mor e as a grou p wh ile still maintainin g indi vidual autonomy for event spo nsorships." .Th e Grou p has, in fact, initiate d a seri es cont in gen cy poi nt s fu nd for th e 1998 125 /250cc Na tional MX Series, worth $200,000. The points fund will be ad ministered by the AMA with details to be announced soon. Also, the NPG has signed Scott USA, 1-800-COLLECT, Klotz Oils an d Pro-Action Sus pensio n as series co-sponsors for the 1998 125/ 250cc Pro MX Na tiona ls. Each company has comm itted to at least a one -yea r spo nsorship of the series, with options to renew exclusive spo nso rships for up to three years. P urn on March 2 and 3, before conclud ing at Volusia Coun ty in Barberville on March 5. In additio n, there will be two rounds o f the AH RMA Na tional Dirt Track Series held in conju nction with the Sou th ea s t Re g ion a l C ha m p io ns hi p round s at Muni cipal Stadi um on March 2 a n d Vo lu sia Co u n ty Speedway o n March 5. For mor e in fo r ma tio n, ca ll 904/788-4709. Current AMA Gra nd Na tional Rookie of the Year Joh nn y Mu rp hree has linked up with Fred Sch mu lbac h Racin g for his 1998 Grand Na tional campa ign. Schmu lbach has fielde d mo tor cycles that have been most recent ly ridden by note worthy ride rs Will ie McCoy an d Dan Stanley. Murphree is currently living in Virginia with veteran tuner Eddie Ad kins, and has been work in g w ith Ad ki ns wh ile training for the new seaso n. All participa nts of the BMW Demo Ride pro gram taking place at BMW Motorcycles of Dayton a during Daytona Bik e Week w ill receive two gifts in comm emoration of BMW' s 75 years as a mo torcycle compa ny. Demo riders will receive a gift certifica te wor th $75 in accessories, red eema bl e if th ey purcha se a BMW motorcycle within 75 days of the dem o ride. Pa rticipa n ts wi ll a lso rece ive a poster illust rating the trad ition of BMW motorcycles. BMW de mo rides will take place from 1 p.m . to 5 p.m. on March 2, a nd fro m 9 a. m. to 4 p .m . Mar ch 3-6. BMW demo rides will also be offered at Da yt on a In te rn ta tio na l Sp ee dway on March 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 904/257-2269. OP ENED : TAZ Motorsports in Ho us ton, Texas, For more Information, call 281 / 397~08S8. ANNOUN CED: Gary Laskin , as ma rketing product mana ger for the Victo ry Mot or cy cl es divisio n of Polaris Ind us tries Inc., by Victory Motorcycles ge neral manager Ma tt Parks. , O PENED : Grand N ation al DirtTrack racer Dan Butler's hom e pag e on the World Wide Web. The site ca n be fou nd a t th e foll ow in g add ress: h ttp : / / \-\''Ww . amerit t'Ch .net /u~rs / sbut l cr2 / dan _bu found at the following add ress: keepersmc.com . http: / /W\-\w .tim e ~ O PENED : Bob's Vintage Products' home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following add ress: http: / / "'WW.h omc1. gtc.net / ~lwaman / bvp.htm . AUTOG RAPH S IGN ING : At D&L Equipment and Powers ports in Harv e y , Lou isiana, o n March 13 from 7 to 8 p.m. Team Kawasaki's Jeff Emig, Damon Huffman and Ryan Hughes and Tea m Splltftre/ Pro Circu it's Ricky Carmichael, Casey Johnson, Nic Wey and Nathan Ramsey are sc hed uled to appear. For mor e information, ci1 1l 504/ 227~ 2272. • CA N CELED: The Winternational Motocross scheduled for Februa ry 28 and March 1 at the A.V. Fairg ro u nds in La ncaster, Ca lifo rn ia , d ue to severe flo o d ing at th e track. For mo re in formati on, call 805/ 942-7880. AN N OUNCED : GTE D irect ories, as pre sen tin g spo nso r of the AMA 125/25Occ Nati onal Motocross Se rie s roun d a t Gl en He le n Rac ew ay in 5a n Bernardin o. Cal ifornia. on M.1Y 10. For more infermarion. call Glen Helen at 909/ 345-9342. OP EN ED: lame' In dus tr ie s, a ne w Ca na d ian moto cross cloth ing / gra ph ics co mpany . Lame abo has a site on the World Wide Web . It can be found at the fo llo w ing ad d ress: http:/ / w w w .xcd co.on .ca/ - mxu/lamc. AUTOG RA PH S IGNIN G: At th e H nnd a ten t at Daytona Internationa l Speedway on Friday, March 6, and Sa turd ay , March 7, s ta rting at 2 p.m . Team Honda's race-team members are sched uled to appe ar. AUTOG RAPH S IGN ING : At Ca h ill ' s in No r th Tampa , Florida, on Frida y, February 27, from 6 to 7:30 p.m . Team Yam aha 's Kev in Windham, John Dcw d and Doug Henry arc scheduled to appea r. Fl1T more information, call 813/933-3528. O PENE D : Team Dual Dogs' home pa ge o n the World Wide w eb, The site can be fou nd at the followi ng add ress : http: / / W\\.W.DuaIDogs .co m O PEN ED : Trick Enterp rise s' home pa ge on the World Wide Web . The site can be fou nd at the following address: http:/ / www.trick.com . ANNOUNC ED: Ford Mo torsports, as a sponsor of the 1998 Silver State Series , by Case y folks, director of Best in the Desert Racing Associati on. H IRED: Fonner road racer A ndy Leisner, as western adverti sing manager for the Hachette Filipacchi Magazin es moto rcycle group. tler.thm. NAME D : Alpi nes tars , as th e official clothing suppliOPENED: Marys ville Mo tocross ' home p age on the World Wide Web. The s ite can be foundea t the following add ress: http:/ / www.jps.nt>t /motox/ index .htm. O PENED: Th e Tim ekeepers Mo tor cycle Club's ho me page on the World Wide Web. The s ite can be er of OOR."JA, the promoters of the World Champ ionship Road Racing Series . MAR RIED : Yo sh im ura Su zuk i's Mat Mladin, to longtime gi rlfrien d [ani nc, on January 3' in Camden , . A ustralia. f~

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