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/127950
(66); 11. Rupi Walkner (64); 12. Chris Burnham (51); 13. Willie Van Wes sel (51); 14. Avo Leo k (St) ; 15. Ioch en [asinski (43); 16. lam es M.m;h (34); 17. Ma ts Nilsson (33 ); 18. Danny Theybers (31); 19. Damien King ( 6 ); 20. Miska Aal lonen (14). Upcoming Rounds : Round 8 - Sverepec , Slovakia, June 28 Round 9 - Ernee, France, July 19 Brieflv.; - Joel Smets admitted in Lokel that he is the target of.three lea di ng 250cc Grand Prix teams.. " It wo uld be a big g~mble for me to ,switch to the 2505. ", he said. ~ I am 29 years old now , and I have raced exclusively fourstrokes for the last six years . I have neve r eve n race d a 250 in outdoor M X (Srnets 'once raced a Belgian Supercro Ss on a 250>. I'm glad to say that the team managers who have appro ached me have recognized this, and said thai they too wou ld be taking a big risk. - The pro blem for the 250cc GP team ' man'agers is that they currently see no currently in the class who can challenge S tefan Evert s and Pit Beirer once S ebasti en To rte lli depart s for Am erica, arid D av id Vudlernin. the outs tandinq young 125cc rider. is committed 10 another season on a 125 for Yamaha in 1999 before he too goes full time to America. " I am seriously considering the offers , - Smets said. ..But I also have possi bilitiesin the 500 s, and I wo uld have to be guaranteed at least as much as I cao earn in the 500 s before I wo uld change class... . one Although all of KTM 's two -stroke GP e[furts - 125, 250 and 380c c - will be maslenminded from Kees Van der Ven' s workshop in Hoi' land , t he four-st rokeproj ect will remain , based in M attighi:lfen . " The frame is ready -end the first engine is running on the dyno ." admitted Kurt NiColI. " But I doubt we will see i he bike at the GPs this year. W e hope to begin testing very shortly. I mySelf am able to ride again and will test it initially : but we .don't. wa nt to give it to a GP ride r to race All : unt il we are sure that iris co mpetitiv e. " indications., howe ver; are that it will be, and ·we hope to mount a full-scale assault on the 500cc GP title next year.- .The 400cc engine has been ' designed with the alternative of a ' balanc e 'shaft and electri c sta rt er fo r the enduro vers ion. but for we ight reasons these will be left off the MX model. -Wi thout them the engine is less than four Pounds heavier than the 250 , - Nic oll adde d, A sked about pot ential riders, N icoll s aid that he wa nted · Shayne K ing to race the :400, wh ile Trampas Parker is also keen' to, be considered. Nicoll ·also admitted interest in M amicq Bervoets. - He is going through ,a bad sp ell at the moment. but you don 't fo'rget how to ride a bike that quickly . and he has not been sec. ·ond in the world for the last three years for nothing. ' . One ridei' KTM will not be trYing to sign is Smets: " It w oul d be nic e to have Joel. but I don't think Husaberg wo uld con'sider it a friendly in-house gesture if we, tried to poach him. , . ., . Japanese sources reveal that Honda has tet 'it be known that th ey wi ll pr ese nt a new 500 c c GP bi ke a t N a mu r , Belgium , in ·August. It is not yet clear whether this is a two-stroke or a four-stroke. or even whether 'it will only be on display or be ridden by wild.carp entry Stefan Evert s. An interesting new adaptation to one of the production VZ40QFs was the muffler fitted to .the bike of Swi ss KS teamster Harry Napfiin. The White Brothers product, by which the exhaust gasses are emitted laterally and can be dialed in to the individual engine settings I 'by fitti ng more or less plate s, ' give s a 2.5horsepower gain on the dyno . The bike also features a weight-saving titanium expansion chamber. . '. . .' Although its riders are effectively 'out 6f cootention for the individual W orld title, Yamaha is actually holding a narrow lead in the man· ufacturers' t it le chase as ' it has bee n rare for both o f th em to fail in 'the same moto. Yamaha ieads afte r Lo ke t with 228 point s to the 226 of .Husaberg (i.e.. Srnetsl and Husqvama' s 220 point s. ' Listen Up, class! A new state law requires bikers t o carry liability insurance. If you don't, you'll get fined $500. Second offense is $1,000. Keep it up, and your vehicle get s impound ed.Whic h is w hy you might say t hat dr iving with out motorcycle liabi lity is not only ill egal, it's dow n-right dunce-like. So . , , should vou call McGraw? That's a no-brainer. Especially when you consider that, at McGraw, you can get qua lity iiability insurance for as low as $79 per year. No wo nd er, fo r the past twenty years,we've been at the head of the class. McGRAW I: INSURANCE Ii SERVICES Califo rnia's largest wr iter of motorcycle insurance. 1.800.61\ICGRAW (1.800.662.4729) 3601 Haven Ave., Menl o Park. CA 9402S P.O. BOX40, Anaheim, CA 9281S CA Ucense No.053113 9 http://www.mcgrawg roup.com NEW ~ G]]TI) DEALERS ~ -\i .04! You can now find CYCLE NEWS on sale weekly at: GRAND JUNCTION, CO CLEARWATER, FL Compet it ion D irt Powersports of Clearwater LEMONT FURNACE, PA NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ M ille r's Yamaha True's Cycle Wor ld FREEMONT, CA . PERRIS, CA Freemon t C ycle Cen ter Inland Honda/Suzuki HARVEY, LA Yamaha Powersports of N e w O rleans Galveston Honda LAMARQUE,TX 35