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/127937
Kenny Tolbert spinning the wrenches. Harley-Davidson of Sacramento is slated to be the title sponsor. James E. Grant of Burbank, California, was the first person to provide the correct answers for our "In The Wind" photo-trivia contest (Issue #12, April 1). Grant correctly put together that the "rider" was none other than Bill Werner, the place was Daytona Municipal Stadium, and that Wetner was helping his rider Scott Parker test a new Dunlop DOT tire. But there was more to it than that, .as Werner, a former Exper~ dirt tracker who had at one time earned enough points for a ational number before giving up .riding to take a job with Harley-Davidson, explains. "Scott was riding the bike, and he came back and told me that it was making a funny noise," Werner said. "1 couldn't hear it while he was sitting there, and 1 couldn't hear it while he was going around the track, 0 he came in and handed me his helmet and said, 'Here, you ride it, then.' That's when the guy snapped the photo, but the running joke is that I taught Scott Parker how to go slow enough to win the Daytona Short Track." Werner occasionally tests Parker's equipment by idling it around the grounds at Harley-Davidson's Juneau Avenue headquarters in Milwaukee, but the Daytona ride was his first on a real race track in seven years. Dirt trackers, relax. Contrary to persistent rumors, Goodyear is not planning to cease production of the Goodyear Eagle Dm dirt track tire anytime in the immediate or distant future. In fact, the longtime supplier of dirt track rubber is reportedly in the process of manufacturing new molds and has plans to formulate new compounds to meet the needs of Project 2000.. Bridgestone, in association with Vegas Power Sports, will be on hand at the 27th annual NMA World Mini Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada, to provide service and technical assistance to all p;uticipants. For more information, visit the Bridgestone Tire semi-trailer service vehicle in the pits at the event. At the recent 54th annual TrailBlazers banquet, four men were inducted into the TrailBlazers' Hall of. Fame: Ben Campanale, Del Kuhn, Ken Maely and Tim Witham, who was indu'cted posthumously. Campanale was honored for winning the 1938 and 1939 Daytona 200s; Kuhn had racked up many offroad victories several decades ago; Maely is the well-known fabricator of steel shoes; Witham was a noted Triumph tuner. The Starwest Supercross Park in Perris, Califor-nia, will resum.e racing for the 1998 season on April 25th. Practice is at 5 p.m. and the racing starts at 6 p.m. For more information, call 909/657-6782. The Northwest PJ1 Arenacross Championships will take place April 3-4, in Portland, Oregon's Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are available at any Oregon Ticketrnaster outlet or at Bob Lanphere's Beaverton Honda and Motorcycle Shop. For more informa tion, contact Reida York at 913/384-8930 or Lance Bryson at 817/246-7424. TraveICraft is taking a limited number Of people to Assen and Donington Park for the Dutch and British Grands Prix, which will rULl on consecutive weekends. The two-week trip has flexible travel dates, beginning in late June and running through the July 4 weekend. For more information, call 800/241-1223 or visit the TravelCraft home page on the World Wide Web at http://www.travelcraft.com. Rod Lake will be holding a two-day flat-track reunion at the Lodi Cycle Bowl in Lod;, California, October 3-4. The event is open to all racers and fan . For more information, call Donna Hall at 209 /823-7114. The founder and promoter of America's largest motorcycle rally and an awardwinning television motors ports commentator will be among the featured speakers at the inaugural AMA Events Promotion Convention 'in Columbus, Ohio, October 3-5. Americade founder Bill Dutcher will open the event with an address and he'll be joined by commentator Dave Despain. Vintage racers seeking Avon racing tires may now purchase them through WERA Vintage Inc. For more infoqnation, call 407/831-4331. Team Roberts clothing is now available, featuring three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts' famous eagle logo. The sweatshirts, golf shirts, T-shirts, caps and die-cut stickers are available exclusively through the Team Roberts home page On the World Wide Web at www.robertsgrotip.com. Five-time Pikes Peak winner Scott Dunlavey will ride a Honda XR628R in the inaugural Gold Rush Invitational Hillclimb.on April 13 in Queenstown, New Zealand. The course is expected to be similar to Pikes Peak, though shorter in length. Laguna Seca Raceway and Honda are offering specially discounted tickets for the AMA/MBNA Superbike Series round, scheduled for the Monterey, California, racing facility, Apri117-19. Coupons good for free admission on Friday, April 17 and two-for-one general admission tickets for Saturday, April 18 are now available at participating Honda dealers and can be exchanged for tickets at the race track's admission gates. WERA will hold a road race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, May 15-18. According to WERA, Atlanta Motor Speedway has done major track improvements and now has an infield course. The inaugural event will feature a practice day on May 15. White Brothers will host a dealer/ manufacturer swap meet in conjunction with the World Four-Stroke Championships on April 26 at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California. The parking-lot sale is open to all dealers wishing to participate. For more information, call 714/692-3404. Castrol Honda's Supersport pairing of Michael Paquay and James Toseland recently took part in test sessions at both the Albacete and Cartagena circuits in Spain, with Paquay setting a track record for 600c Supersport motorcycles at Albacete. The 17-year-old Toseland was also under the lap record at Albacete. Shane Trittler's SSC MX Racing is ho ting the four-round 1998 Castaic Brick Spring a tional MX Series, beginning on April 26 at Sunrise Cycle Park in Adelanto, California, and ending at the Hungry Valley SVRA in Gorman, California, on June 14. For more information, call805/294-D020. Dynojet Research Inc. will be providing dyno-tuning ervices for free to all racers in the AMA/MBNA Superbike Series this year.. The Dynojet mobile dyno will be at all three California rounds of the series, beginning with Laguna Seca, April 17-19. Due to the cancellation of the Cycle Jam South, the 1998 WERA Indy Cycle Jam will have double points for all region in the Sportsman Sprints. The National Challenge Series Sprints will be for single points and there will also be a fourhour endurance race on Saturday, June 27. Practice will be held on Thursday, June 25 and pre-entry is available. For more information, call WERA at 770/924-8404. CANCELED: The Team Dual Dogs "green stickertrail ride in Aguanga, California, originally schoo· uled for AprilS. 'For more information, call 818/701·1913. HIRED: Hmo Lucker, by San Jose Yamaha in San Jose, California, effective immediately. APPOINTED: Robert L. Sauban, as senior vice president of business affairs for Seals Communica- tions Corporation (SeaJsro), by Lou Seals, chairman and CEO of Sealsco. Sauban was formerly an execu- tive director in financial operations for Turner Broadcasting Inc. OPENED: Photographer Tom Hnatiw's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at: http://member.aol.rom/natefour/ama.phoenix.htm. OPENED: Erion Racing's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.erionracing.com. AUTOGRAPH SIG I G: At flouse of Motorcy. c1es in San Diego, California, on April 4. Wheelie King Doug Domokos, personal watercraft racing champions Jeff Jacobs and Victor Sheldon, and renowned annou.ncer Larry Huffman are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 619/229-7700. MOVED: DNA Racing, to 700 Corporate Circle, Suite 1, Golden. Colorado. For more information, caU B88/44-ROOST. OPENED: Kendan Industries' home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be foun.d at the following address: http://www.kendontrailers.com. OPENED: C Cycle Suspension's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.ccycle.rom. OPENED: Argyll Park Recreation Area's home page on the World"Wide Web. The site can be found at http://www.jps.net/motox/argyU.htm. BORN: Twins Mark Russell Maher and Eric Thomas Maher, to AMA legislative-affairs specialist Sean M. Maher and his wife, Catherine, in Columbus, Ohio, on January 29. OPENED: The Pony Express home page on the World Wide Web. The site ca.n be found at: http://www.cybercyclemag.rorn/ponyexpress98. MOVED: Dynojet Research Inc., to 2191 Menden· hall Dr., Suite lOS, Las Vegas, NV 89031, 702/3991423. 80RN: Dylan James Dobey, to One Indu tries gen· eral manager Danny Dobey and his wife, Karen, on March 9, in San Diego, California. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Three 8roU,ers Racing in Costa Mesa. California, on April 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. "Crusty Demons" video stars Seth Enslow, Bubba and Dana Nicholson, and "Wheelie King" Doug Domokos are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 714/642-Q546. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At K&W Cycles in' Utica, Michigan on April 3, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Team Yamaha's Kevin Windham, John Dowd and Doug Henry are scheduled to appear. For more infonnation, call 810/73).()290. HiRED: Tony Megla, by Factory Effex, to manage advertising and product design. Megla was fonner· Iy employed by Answer Product and Answer Racing. MOVED: Tucker Rocky Distributing, to their new world headquarters, 4900 Alliance Gateway Freeway, Fort Worth, TX 76178. The phone number remains the same at BOO/347·1010. Di Dorna sells the Grand Prix Series orna, the Spanish company that holds all rights to Grand According to those same sources, CVC is paying in the neighPrix road racing, is in the process of being sold to evc Cap- borhood of $80 million for Dorna and the takeover process is curital Partners Europe Limited - a management company that rently going through due diligence. The purchase is being handled entirely in Madrid, Spain, as CVC has an office there. was once a part of Citicorp. Reportedly, Spaniard Carmelo Ezpeleta will continue in his News of the sale originally leaked from Spain, where Dorna has its headquarters. The company was hitherto the property of . role as Dorna's managing director and will still lead the company the Banco Santander, which inherited ownership when it took - even after the buy-out. This follows Octagon's lead in keeping over the failed Banco Banesto - the original owners of Dorna. It is the Flammini Group in.charge of World Superbike racing, known that Dorna has been on the market for several years and despite the ownership change. the list of past potential buyers has included Reuters, but all According to sources, Ezpeleta is in favor of the buy-out and deal had floundered until now. sees the World Championship Road Race Series as now having The buy-out follows the recent purchase of the World Super- the venture capital it needs to be properly promoted. CVC (formerly known as Citicorp Venture Capital) became bike Championship by the London-based Octagon Co. Though originally rumored to be part of the same group, sources say that evc Capital 'Parttlers Europe Limited in 1993, when it gained that CVC is in no way related to Octagon or its parent company, independence from Citicorp. Citicorp, however, is still the largest the Interpublic Group. 0' client in cves $1.3 billion portfolio. D