Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

d uctions can deliver marketing and promotional programs which enable corporate sponsors to sell their products to dirt track fans. That' s the whol e key to success in modem motorsports ." For more information, call Force Marketing at 404/ 8962115, or Don Emd e Pr odu ct ions a t 714/ 249-2270. landmark Hurk study completed in the late '70s. This project will do nothing to enhance motorcycl e safety on ou r highways . But it will use up tax dollars tha t co ul d b e s pe n t o n more b e n efi ci a l resear ch. Using federal tax dollars to provid e fod d er for th e a n ti-mo torcycling lobby is inappropriate, We will be monitorin g this project very closely." T he Pro Ci rc uit Ra ce Su ppo rt Team wants to remind you that it will be in full force at this year's 17th 'annual Lore tta Lynn's AMA National Motocross Championship in Tennessee, Au gust 4-9. On Sunday, August 2, Pro Circuit will be set up and rea d y to go if you would like them to check your bike for proper race setup before the week starts. There will be a truck full of product that will inclu de pipes, silencers, shirts, hats and almost any Pro Circuit pro duct you may need. For more information, call Pro Circuit at 909/ 738-8050. British 500cc Grand Prix winner Simon Crafar wa s honored after his victory by New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley. "Congratulations on your wonderful win in the 500cc British Grand Pr ix at Donington Park," Shipley wrote to Crafar, " It was a magnificent victory, especially as you shattered th e Donington Park lap record as well . All the best for your fu tu re races. We look forward to seeing you bran dishing the New Zealand flag on mo re laps of honor." Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, has announced tha t it will host four more Friday Nigh t Supercross events. The races.will be held on August 14 and 28, and September 11 and 25. Practice starts at 5:30 p.m., with racing getting under way at 7:30 p.m. American Suzuki will proved two support trucks and technicians to assist all Suzuki RM riders at the NMA Gr and Na tional Cha mpionship in Ponca City, Oklaho ma, July 28-August 1. Suzuki will also provide support to RM riders at the AMA Amateur National Championship at Lorre ta Lynn's Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, August 30. Cliff Davis, a motocros s /off-road enthusiast, is running for the Miss ouri State General Assembl y. For more information on Davis' efforts, check out his site on the World Wide Web. It can be found at the following ad dress: http:/ / www.Team~Op.com / davisl36. The first shipments of Vic tory Motor cycles are sched uled to reach dea lers any d ay now . Initial production of the Victory is expected to be up to 3000 by the end of ) 998, with the bikes being built at plants in Osceola; Wisco nsin, and Spirit Lake, Iowa. The suggested retail price of the Victory V92C is $12,995. The first 1500 of the Polaris -built Victori es will be nurn'bered wi th a plate fastened to the tripl e clamps. Polaris, which also makes personal wa tercraft, ATVs and snowmobiles, is expecting the Victory to ma ke up some ?- percent of its 1998 revenue, wit h ATVs bringing in 48 percent, snowmobiles 39 p ercent and personal w atercra ft 5 percent; international sales will bring in the other 6 perc ent, accordi ng to a researchand-investment-ban king firm. Accordi ng to reports in th e Minneap oli s Star Tribune, Polaris could yield as much as $70 million per year from Victory sales. Victor y' s advertis in g sloga n for th e n ew moto rcycle: "It's a free country. Act like it." The National Highway T raffic Sa fety Administrati on (N HTSAl is so liciting bids for a project intended to examine the cos ts a nd payment so u rces associat ed .with motorcycle accidents, according to . the AMA . The project, entitled "State of Knowledge in Costs and Sou rce of Pay~en t Associated with Injuries Resu ltin g fro m M oto rcycl e Cr ashes, " is n ot designed to collect new data on motorcyde accide nts; but instead to su mmarize past stu dies that have exa mine d these issues. That methodology has raised con~erns within the motorcycle community because m an y p ast st u d ies have be en f)J nded by the health-eare and insu ran ce indus tries - two en tities that have often pursued an anti-moto rcycle agend a. "We are very concerned abou t the direction NHTSA officials are taking with this ,project," said Robert Rasor, vice president of AMA go vern me nt relati ons. "For years, ~'e' ve asked th e agency to fu nd legitima te research into the causes of motorcycle accide nts, includ ing an upd ate to the Bill " Biscuits" Verbiscio is currently recu pera ting at home aft er his cras h in the Virginia City GP left him with a broken left femur, a broken pelvis and a bruised heart. Cards and letters can be sent to Verbiscio at 60 Camino de Herrera , San Anselmo, CA 94<:j60. Pro mo ters of the U.S, Open of Su percross called to let us know that the race schedu led for October 10-11 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevad a, is not sold out. Rumors of a quick sell-out have been circulating, but they are only rum ors and tickets are still available. For tickets, call 702/474-4000. Last-m inute ch anges brou ght on b y demands by the Clar k County Planni ng Comm ission have n ot o n ly cos t th e Washo ugal, Washingto n, p romo ter Ralph Huffman a lot of money, but also w ill prevent spec ta to rs fro m bringin g a lco ho l into th e fa cili ty for the AMAlMazda Truck 125/250cc National Mo to cross Series round on Au gust 2. According to Huffm an , cha nges in his conditional-use permit will restrict spectators fro m bring in g alc oho l in to th e parking /camping area, thoug h vendors will still be able to sell on site. Huffman wa rns that the county will be confiscating any unauthorized alcohol. . Recent fires in Florida have caus ed North American Sport Bike to reschedule its Race of Champions event at Dayt on a Int ernational Sp eedway. Th e race will now take place October 28-November 1, .as the N ASCAR Pepsi 400 was forced to reschedule to October. N ASB has a lso cance led the Pr o port ion-sf its race at Heartland Pa rk -Topeka in Kan sas o n August 16. The event will still be held as a CSS Great Plains regional eve nt, August 15-16. The remaining dates for the three NASB races left on the calendar are as follo w s : Road Atlanta (Aug us t 28-30), Ho mestead (Septem ber 11-13) and Daytona (October 28-November 1). Fast By Ferracci Ducati issu ed a p ress release on July 15 stating that the team has ended its association with road racer Mike Hale . "AMA Superbike rider Mike Hale and AMA Superbike team Fast By Fer racci jointly announ ced tod a y that they have mut ually agreed to tenninate 'AMA names U.S. MX des Nations team K awasaki' s Ricky Carmichael, Yamaha' s 'Doug Henry and Honda' s Ezr a Lusk . will represent the United Sta tes in th e 52nd running of th e Motocross d es . Na tions , wh ich will be held at Foxhill, England, Sept ember 27. Yamaha's Kevin Wind ha m will serve as the alternate rider for the U.S. team. All three rid ers are rookies to the MX des Nations, bu t that doesn' t seem to both er the 18-year-old Carmichael. "I'm really happy I'm going over," Ca rmichael said. "I' ve already been watching (video) tap es of the Foxhill tra ck and stu d ying up on it. You don't ge t very many . opportu nities like this, so you can be sure I'll be giving 110 percent." The Motocross des Nations format requires that each country select a team of three riders: one rid ing a 250cc ma ch in e, one rid in g a 125cc and a th ird rider aboard a machine of optional displacement. Three mo tos are held, with 'each team fielding two riders in each moto. Scorin g is done wi tho ut rega rd to engi ne size. Race winners are awarded one point, second place two poi nts, and so on. The best fivescores for each ,team are tallied, and the lowest final team score de termines the wi nner. The United States has wo n the MX des Nations 14 times, the last victory coming in 1996. their associatio n, effective imm ed iately," the release stated. "Ou r performance for this season has failed to mee t our expectations," Eraldo Ferracci said. "Mike a nd the team both agreed that a change was in the best interests of both parties. Mike has do ne an excellent jol;> an d we thank him for his efforts . He is a good rider and we wis h him the best : ' Mike Hale was al so qu oted in the relea se, saying, "I appreciate the opportunity to ride for Fast By Ferracci. I regret tha t ,ou r resul ts this season have not been equal to our expectations. Sometimes a race team and a rider need to explore different di rections and this is one of those situations." AMA Superbike National Champion Dou g Chandler, himself a father of three children , filmed a public-s ervice announcem ent the morning of the World Superbike race in Monterey, California , in an-e ffo r t to a id in the e ffo rt s to fi nd Christina Williams, the missing 13-yearold girl from Salinas, California . Chandler met Christina Williams' parents, Michael and Alice Williams , and filmed the spot wi th th em a t th e rac e tr ack. "Having thr ee kids of my ow n and having it hit so dose to horne," Chand ler said, "I mean, it' s something you see a lot on TV, but yo u never think it will ha ppe n to yo u . When it happens around your area... I felt like I wanted to do something - anything - to help ou t and maybe pre vent it from ha ppening ag ai n. It' s reall y a bad de al and I hope they find her and she's okay:' The television spo t w as filmed by Chet Burks Produ ctions. NA MED: She Ridenour, as ma rketin g direct or for ri White Brothers. For more information, call 71 4 / 692~ 3404. PROM OTED.: Dav id No vick, to ad ve rtising a nd media -relations Ill. nager at White Brothers. Stepping l up to repla ce Novick as product-marketing manager is Jeff Retzloff For more informa tion, call 714/692-3404. OP ENED: Pro-Tek's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found a t the following address: http:/ / www.pr otekk .com . OP ENED: Moto Page Mot ocross E-zine's home page on the World Wide Web. Th e site can be found at the followin g add ress: http :/ / www.motopage.com. CANCELED: The High Sierra Silver State Na tiona l Hare & Hound , sched uled for Yerin gton , Nevada , on September 27, du e to the club's commitment to a hare scramble that will ru n earlier in the month. NAMED: Carl Dra ke, to chief of California ' s OffH igh w a y Mo tor Ve hicle Recreation Division (OHM VRD). Drake replaces John Knott, who recently moved to another position wi thin the department of parks and recreation. , H IRED: Brad O xley, by th e San Diego Fla t Track Association , to help with the trac k preparation of the Temecul a Speedway in Temecu la, Californi a. Th e next race in Tem ecula is sche uled for July 26. For d mor e information, call 61Q/ 277-1591. AUTOGRAPH SIGN ING: At Com petition A ccessories in Spring field, Ohio, on July 24 from 6 to 7 p.m . Team Yamaha's Doug Henry , John Dowd and Kevin Windham are scheduled. to a ppea r. For more informatio n, call 937/ 323-0513. POSTPONED: Th e USA Dual Sport Clu b's du al sport ride , scheduled for July 18-19 at the Kenned y Meadows area of theSe quoia National Fores t in California, to September 12-13. OP ENED: Classic Motorbooks' home page on th e World Wid e Web. The site can be found at the following address: http.Zvwww.mororbooks.com . AXO Night will be held at r~und six of the GFI at Night Series at the An telope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster, California. For mo re information, call GFI a t 909/ 653-4042. O PENED: Bieffe Helmets' home page on the Wo~ld Wide Web . The site can be foun d at the following ad dress : http:/ /www.bieffeamerica.com. BORN: Christia n Ray Kales , to mctocrosser Shaun Kalas and his wife, Kathryn, on Ju ly 7, in Phoeni x. Ariz ona . OPENED: Cas Racing's home p.lge on the Wo rld . ~ ". Wide Web . The site can be found at the followi ng address: http: / / wv:w .co nccn tri~.nct / - patmac/. BOR N: Christin a Shae Na ston, to Mechanix Wea r and MRN Radio's Larry Nast on and his wife, Tem, on July 8. in Lancaster, Cali forn ia. CORREcnON: Contrary topublished results, it was 50 Z. Brow n, not So A. Brown , w ho won the 600cc Pro -Sport class race at the Madras Speedway in Madr as, Oregon, on Saturday, June 27.- AUTO GRAPH SI G N ING : At Longview Motorsports, in Longview, Washington, on July 31, from 6 to 7 p.m. Team Yam aha riders John Dowd. Doug Henry and Kevin windham are sched uled. to appt..~ r . For more informa tion, ca11 360/ 63&-122O. NA MED: Pringle Dixon Pringle, to handle Aprilia 's public-relations and marketing du ties in the United States. The Italian-ba sed company is set to distribute six motorcycle mod els-in Californ ia, New York and Florida in 1999. Aprilia will-open a subsi diary office in Atlant a later this yea r. For more informa tion, call 404 / ~720 • ~_ . CORRECfION: The correct phone numb er for Jay Clark of W~ Pistons is 9fFf/ 672-9636 . CANCELED: The Ameri can Supercamp's school in Tampa, fl orida, scheduled for Augu st 15-16, due to the recent fires in Florida . AUTOGRAPH SI GNING: At Lon gv iew Moto rsports in Longview , Washington, on July 31 from.6 to .7 p.m. Team Yamaha's John Dowd , Kevin Windham and Doug Hl'"IU}' are sched uled to appea r. For mor e C:\ informat ion, call 360/ 636-122 0. 3

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