Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Emerald" Downs one-mile oval in Auburn, Washington, on September 19. After numerous feasibility studies conducted by Bob Fraser, the director of operations at Emerald Downs, the event has been given the green light. For more information, call 310 1547-9898. Road racer Rodney D. Smith, 29, was killed on May 8 while driving to a Central Motorcycle Road Racing Association (CMRRA) event. Smith is survived by his wife of 10 months, Joanna. Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, will start a Saturday Night Supercross in conjunction with the Yamaha Dealers Series. The supercross races will run on the Glen Helen Supe£cross track, with four races scheduLed for June 6, June 20, July 11 and July 18. For more information, call Lori Yarnell at 909/384-9342. Legendary motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel will author a new advice colu'inn on Tripod (http://www. tripod.com), a "hip, homegrown, top-10 web community for 18- to 34-year-olds." In his monthly column entitled "Ask Eve!," which will launch the last week of May in Tripod's Sports Zone, Knievel will answer questions in a full range of topics. The Formula USA race that was scheduled for Mosport, Canada, June 5-7, has been canceled, according to F-USA, despite the fact that tbe company had a multi-year agreement with the lease holder of Mosport, IMSG Properties. Panoz Motorsports acquired the lease to Mosport in March when the lease was sold by IMSG, according to F-USA, and Panoz has declined to honor the agreement between F-USA and IMSG. The next round of the Formula USA Series is scheduled for July 17-19 at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. Ben Hodgson and Company, producers of the International Motorcycle Supershow in Canada, has stepped in to stage the opening round of·the Toyota Canada Superbike Championship, scheduled for Mosport, June 5-7. The event will feature two rounds of the Toyota Canada Superbike Championship as well as various support classes. For more information, call 905/655-5403: Vance & Hines Ducati's Anthony Gob-' ert is set to compete in a six-hour endurance race in Australia at the end of the year, according to Cycle News correspondent Darryl Flack. The race, scheduled to be held at Eastern Creek near Sydney three weeks after the final AMA Superbike National at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will be Gobert's first in his homeland since he won the final World Superbike round at Phillip Island in 1996. "I've spoken to Sue Gobert (Anthony's manager and mother) and he's very eager to get back home and contest his' first six-hour," said Dave Stone, the promoter of the event. "There are three tearns chasing his services, and although he will start as favorite, I think there'll be a number of teams that would like to say they beat a rider the caliber of Anthony Gobert." The race will be held October 24-25. Five hundred riders raised some $60,000 for childhood brain-tumor research in the Torrance, California, Ride For Kids. The top fund raiser was Peter Slusser of Escondido, California, who raised $3090. Ride For Kids is the official chari- ty of the American Honda Motorcycle Division. ZLT Racing will take over the ope,ation of Perris Raceway in Perris, California, from GFI in January of 1999, according to owners Fred Edwards and Tedd Hybbert. ZLT Racing is planning on holding its first practice day in the second week of January. The Great Lakes Road Racing Associa-tion will hold two days of club racing on the Wednesday and Thursday immediately prior to the AMA Superbike Nationals at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and at Mid-Ohio in Lexington, Ohio. For more information, call 6161 458-5888. . The Women's Motocross League (WML) is currently accepting entries for round two of the AMA/WML National MX Championship, scheduled for July 18-19 in Unadilla, New York. For more information, call 949/837-2206. According to a press release issued by PACE Motor Sports, the AMA Supercross Series set attendance records during the 1998 season. With the Los Angeles Coliseum round leading the way with 61,855 attending, the IS-round series ended up drawing a total of 736,817 spectators - up from 674,356 in 1997. In all, 10 venues set attendance records in 1998. Former 500cc Grand Prix stars Wayne Gardner ai1d Didier de Radigues will team for this year's Le Mans 24-Hour car race on June 6 in a Ford V-eight powered Riley & Scott racer. Gardner has been -driving in the Japanese GT Championships in a factory Toyota Supra, while de Radigues is the Belgian Procar Champion. "It's a great thrill to be part of such a classic race like Le Mans, and I'm really looking forward to driving the car and teaming up with Didier," Gardner said. Yamaha has signed on as title sponsor for the Vintage Iron World Championships, according to Vintage Iron owner Rick Doughty. The 199~ season marks the 20-year anniversary of Yamaha's sweep of the AMA National MX Championships, and the origlnal team of Broc Glover, Bob Hannah and Rick Burgett are expected to be on hand at the Ironmen of Motocross banquet on October 31 that will be part of the festivities surrounding the race. Among the early confirmations who will attend the event are Roger DeCoster, Sylvain Geboers, Heikki Mikkola, Gerrit Wolsink and Don Rickman. For more information, call 209/252-9053. Former Daytona 200 winner and 1970 AMA Grand National Champion Gene Romero has been selected as the 1998 Honoree at the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. Romero, who won 12 Grand Nationals and rode for both the Triumph and Yamaha factories during his career, will attend the AMA Grand Championship Sign-Up Party on July 6, and will serve as the honorary starter for the opening race of the week-long event, the Half Mile Grand Championships, scheduled for July 7. "When we decided to begin naming an honoree at each year's AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships, Gene was an ideal choice as the inaugural recipient," AMA president of member activites Bill Amick said. "He is a strong supporter of dirt tra'ck racing, involved not only in Tortelli, Chiodi sweep Foxhill MX GPs . F rencbman Sebastien Tortelli and ltalian Alessio Chiodi dominated the motocross 250 and 125cc GPs at Foxhill, England, on May 24. Tortelli finished ahead of series points leader Stefan Everts in both 250cc motos, while Chiodi went 1-1 in the 125cc class. In the first 250cc moto, Tortelli and his Kawasaki crossed the finish line over 10 seconds ahead of Everts' Honda, while German Pit Beirer put his Honda into third place, some six seconds behind Everts. Fourth place went to Frenchman Frederic Bolley, on a fIonda, and fifth place went to American Tallon VohJand, on a Yamaha. Again, Tortelli dominated the second moto, finishing-approximately another 10 seconds ahead of Everts, who held about four seconds on third-place finisher Bolley. Fourth went to Belgian Marnicq Bervoets, on a Suzuki, while fifth went to Be~er. Bervoets finished sixth in the first moto. As for VohJand, he grabbed the holeshot in the second moto but dropped ba.ck to third and then crashed on the fifth lap. VohJand ended up finishing sixth. In the series point standings, Tortelli has crept a little closer to leader Everts and now trails the defending champ by just six points, 215-209. Beirer sits in third with 151, followed by VohJand with 116. In the 125cc GP, Chiodi fought hard for his win, as both Carl Nunn of Great Britain and David Vuillemin of France kept hin;t honest throughout the moto. NUI).n eventually battled around Chiodi, and then !;he two riders battled back and forth. By the threequarter mark, Vuillemin had moved up and gotten around Nunn, and he tried to pass Chiodi late in the race, but to no avail. Chiodi ended up winning the moto just two seconds clear of Vuillemin. Nunn faded back at the end to finish a distant third, fol- . lowed by Denmark's Brian Jorgensen, on a Suzu)Q, and France's Luigi Seguy, on a Honda. . Chiodi's second-moto win came a bit easier for the Husqva/-TIa rider. He passed Alessandro Puzar for the lead at the start and never looked back, pulling out to an eight-second win over Puzar's TM. Nunn again finished third, followed by Honda rider James Dobb of Great Britain and Vuillemin. Chiodi extended his series points lead to a comfortable 50-point margin over Puza£, 145-95. Vuillemin is currently third with 84, followed by Nunn with 66. the p.romotion of AMA Grand National Championship Series events, but in the new West Coast Flat Track Series and various vintage racing events. Plus, Gene's last Grand National Series dirt track win was at the Indy Mile, the mary site of our '98 AMA Grand Championships. We're delighted that he has agreed to fly in from California and be a. part of the most important racing event of the year for young AMA dirt track- pri- ers." Speaking of Gene Romero and his West Coast Flat Track Series, the former Grand National Champion was spotted at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, California, last week, as he is gearing up for round two of the Flat Track Series, which is set for June 6. "I just went out to confer with the track crew and make sure that we all know what each either needs· and can do to get the track in the best possible shape for a motorcycle race," Romero said. "They have run bike races on the quarter mile, inside the half mile, but this will be the first time that motorcycles have run on the big track. So, I jus~ wanted to get with them and get their input as to how we can shape up the dirt to make this the best half mile in the country for the guys coming here. One thing's already for sure, this facility sure is one of the nicest dirt tracks in the country." For more information on the event or the series, con tact Romero at 714/529-6054. OPENED: Bent Clothing's home page on the World Wide Web. The site Cal) be found at the following address: http://www.bentclothing.com. OPENED: A strictly Hodaka home page on the World Wide Web. 'The site can be found at the following address: http://WVlW.strictlyhoda.ka.com. OPENED: AMA District 14 Dirt Track Division's home page on. the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://wwwgeocities.com/-dirttracking. RESCHEDULED: The opening of the San Diego Flat Track Association's season at Temecula Speedway in Temecula, California, to June 21. For more information, call 619/277-2743, APPOINTED: Chris Souza, as national Ducati perf.prmance and apparel manager for Ducati North America. Souza will work ·out of Du.cati's New Jersey he..ctquilrters. Replncing Souza as the new western district manager is Randolph Collin. . , OPENED: Freedom Tours' home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be fow'\d at the following address: http://www.indra.com/freedom. OPENED: Lockhart Phillips USA's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.lockhattphillipsusa.oom. OPENED: Teamline Fan Gear's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.teamline.com. IDRED: Mark Mathews, as vice president of global sales for American IronHorse Motorcycle Co, by Tim EdmQndson, president of American lronHorse. PURCHASEO: The design and inventory of Kosman's dirt track product line, by A&A Racing Service Inc, of Sa.n Carlos, California. FO.r more i.nformation, call 800/551-7755. OPENED: Xtreme's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the foUowing address: http://WWW..xtrememx.com. OPENED: No Toil Industries' home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following addIess: http://www.notoil.com. APPOINTED: Scott May, as retail sales manager at Competition Accessories i.n Springfield, Ohio, effective im.med.iately, by general manager Tim Pritchard. OPENED: n,e Ride For Kids' home page on the World Wide Web, The site can be found at the following address: http://www.ride4kids.org. BORN: Broc Henry Phipps and Cody Allen Phipps. to Works Conheetion owner Eric Phipps and his girlfriend. Lynne Hayden, on May 12 in Djamond Springs, California. OPENED: Mitchell Cryogen.irs at P.O. Box 2105. Independence, MO 64055, by Mark Mitchell. APPOINTED: Jeff Johnston, as North American sales and promotions manager of Specialty Sports Lim.ited, by chief executive officer Chris Hayes,_ effective immediately. CORRECTION: The Open Novice class in the Shamrock Grand Prix at Los Angeles County Raceway listed the third-pLace finisher as Steve Miller when it should have read Steve Emter. OPENED: The Georgia Flat Track League's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.flattracknews.com I gftl....mainhtm1. OPENED: Redline Sports' home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.redlinesports.com. eN

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