Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

know what to say. I'm deeply d isapp oin ted a nd I'm tr ying to figure ou t what to do for the rest of my career ." According to sou rces, the steering-head a n gle on both GSX-Rs w ere alt ered. HyperCycle team owner Carry Andrew is a lready under sus pe nsio n from th e AMA for his earlier infractio ns. . World 500cc Motocross Champion Joel Smets has signed a three-year contra ct to race Husabergs in the World Championship 500cc MX Series . Srnets, who has ridden for Husaberg for the pa st three seasons and brought th e company two World Championships, had the option to move to the 250cc class with Suzu ki, yet d ecided to stay with Husaberg . "I had a two-year deal with Su zuki, or a three-year deal with Husaberg. I took the Husaberg deal, as they are like family to me," said Smets . Multi-time AMA National MX and Supercross Champion Jeff Ward finished second in the VisionAire 500 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina , on Jul y 25. Th e Ind y Racin g League race was won by Kenny Brack. Mark Tuttle has been elected chairman of the board of directors for AMA Pro Racing, su cceed ing Cary Agajanian, w ho will becom e vice cha irma n of the bo a rd . Ag aj anian had se rved as th e AMA Pro Racing chairman since AMA Professional racing activities we re spun off int o a subsid iary orga nization in late 1994. Tha t organi zation , officially called Parada ma Productions, do es busines s as AMA Pro Racing . "I'm excited abou t the challenge of cha iring the AMA's professiona l raci ng su bs idia ry," Tu ttle sa id . "Mr. Agajani an has guided it through a di fficult start-u p period toward stability an d p ro fitab ility, a nd I a m p leased he will co ntinue as vice chairman o f ou r leade rship team in ou r effort to d evelop professio na l m o torcycl e ra ci n g as a respected motor spo rt and a top-q uality form of enterta inment." Tu ttle served on the AMA board of trustees from 1992 to 1995 , an d ha s held a p osition on th e AMA Pro Racing board since 1997. Prior to 1996, Tu tt le w a s vice presid ent of eng ineering a t th e Harley- Davi dson Motor Co m pany, w here he had been employed for 26 yea rs. Also elected as office rs of th e AMA Pro Raci ng board were Patricia DiPietro (as treasur er) and Ed Youngb lood (as secretary). The elections took p la ce on Ju ly 16 d u ring a meeting at the AMA head qu a rt ers in Westerville, Ohio. Motocrosser Kenn y Morris sus tained a severe neck injury d uring round four of the Yamaha Dealer Series at Glen Helen Raceway on July 12. Raffl es a nd a u ction s will be held at most major Glen Helen eve n ts thro ugh Decemb er to raise mo ney for h im and hi s family. Th e g r a n d pri ze for the ra ffle is a fu ll y restored 1967 Ho nda CL90 which will be given a way a t th e Pro- Am ra ce a t Glen Helen on December 27. Ad d itiona l pri zes include merchandise fro m several mot or cycle-r elat ed companies . Tickets may be purchased at Glen Helen Raceway o r John Burr Cycles in Fon tan a, . Ca lifornia. Any merchand ise d onation s for th e raffle ca n be se nt to John Burr Cycle s, attention Jennifer. Any moneta ry do nations for the fam ily can be sent to: Downey Savi ngs and Loa n, for the benefit of Kenny Mor ris, 40545 California Oak s Road , Mur rieta, CA 92562. For more in form a ti on, call 909/823-1338 . Cards and letters can be sent to: Kenny Morris, c/o John Burr Cycles, 9008 Sierra Ave ., Fontana , CA 92335. Kentucky' s revised helmet law, w hic h took effect on July 15, has caused a great de al of confus ion among both in-state and out-of-state riders, leaving motorcyclists uncertian as to wh o mu st wear a helmet and who is exempt from the new law , according to the AMA. The un certainty is a result of two d ifferent interpretations of th e new statu te - on e pu t forth by the Kentucky Mot or cycle Association (KMA), the organization that su p ported the passage of the law, a nd the other from Kentucky State Police, who are enforcing th e helmet law. Jay Huber, the president of KMA, ma intains that out-of-s tate motorcyclists who can show proof of heath-insurance cove rage can rid e helmetless in Kentucky. He also says the statu te, as written, is unenforceable. However, those views appear to be in contrast to those of state law -enforcement o fficia ls . Legal counsel for th e Kentucky State Police say that the only people eligible to rid e without a helmet are Kentucky residents over the age of 21 wh o have mor e than one year of rid ing expe rie nce - and w ho ha ve sho wn proof of health insurance and obtai ned a helmet-use exemp tion sticker to d isplay on their license plate. Kawasa ki ' s Akira Yanagawa will not take part in the next round of the World Superbike Championship on August 2 at Brands Hatch in Eng land. Ya nagaw a, w ho wa s inju red in a crash a t Laguna Seea on July 12, will be replaced on the team by Japan's Hitoyasu Izu tsu . Yanagawa is expected to be fit for the following round in Austria on August 30. Izu tsu teamed with Neil Hodgson to finish seventh in the Suzuka 8 Hours on July 26. Honda o f Tro y o w ne r Phil Alderton a n no u nced th at hi s tea m w ou ld run Yarnahas in 1998, ac co rding to Cycle News corres po ndent Ru pert X. Pelle tt. "A t about 9:30 this morning, w e officially signed a tw o-year d eal wi th Yamaha," Alde rton sa id on Su nd ay, July 26, a t the Tro y, Ohio, ro u n d of th e A MA 125 / 250cc Na tio nal MX Series . " It ' s p retty lu crative, and we're very excited . We will b e a 125 team only w ith tw o East Coas t ride rs, two West Coast riders a n d four for t he ou tdoors . Keith McCarthy, Erik Kehoe an d I just signed th e d ea l - we will b e Yama ha' s on ly 125cc ·team." Alderton d id n' t announce who his ride rs will be, though he sa id it is in the works and that th ere w ill be some su rprises. U.S. 'Open of Supercross to include 80s A ccord ing to event organizers, an InternationalBOcc race has been ad ded to the bill of the AMA-sanctioned, Fox Racing-sponsored U.s . Open of Supercross, to be held at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 10-11. The invitation -only event is expected to bring together many of the world's best Mini pilots. "I have alwa ys felt that 80cc racing is underappreciated w orldwide," said event promoter Eric Pero nnard . "We want to eleva te and prom ote the talent and dedication of these future champ ions . Thus far we have invited James Stewart, Mike Alessi and a number of other talented, America-ba sed 80cc riders," Peronnard said . "We have also selected a few European 80cc riders, primarily from France. We will be filling out the field in the approaching w eeks. " Although some logistical details are still pending, the 80cc segme nt of the event will consist of two,heats and a final. The premiere running of the 80cc U.S. Open will be sponso red by Pro Circuit. Peronnard w ent on to add that se ve n -time AMA Cha mp ion Rick Johnson and NASCAR announcer Larry Naston will call the event in Las Vegas, and that the track will be designed by legendary track builder John Savits ky and six-time AMA National Champion Jeff Stanton. It has also been confirmed that Team Honda, Team Kaw asaki and Team Suzuki will be sending their 18-wheeled, full factory race efforts to compete in the Ll.S, Open of Supercross. Fans inte rested in purchasing ticket s can obtain th em through Fox Racing at (888)/ FOX-RACE, Chaparral at (800) 841-2960, Ticketrnaster at (702) 474-4000, or the MGM Grand Garden box office. For more information, su percros s aficionados can tune in to the U.S. Open web site at www.ussx.com. Eric Johnson Valley Stadium Cross Series on July 31 in Lancas ter, Ca liforn ia. The races will begi n at 7 p.m., wi th practice scheduled for 5 p .m. For more inform a tio n, ca ll 805/942-6040. Alpinestars wants to let its rid ers know th a t th ey will be in attendance a t the Augu st 3-8 Lor etta Lynn ' s Amateur Motocross to sup port those racers wearing Alpines tar boo ts. New prod ucts will a lso be o n d is p lay in th e A lpines tar exhibit. . Route 66 Speedway in Jolie t, Ill in ois, w ill ho st a n AMA / MBNA Su perbi ke Na tional Championship Series round on Au gu st 7-9, d espite rumors that the race h ad been ca nc eled . Rou te 66 has a lso annou nced their official sponsors of the race, a list that includes Pirelli, Kerker and Maxima. The Ken ny Rober ts Tra inin g Ran ch in Spai n h a s anno u nced a n in st ru ct or cha nge fo r the upcomin g TravelCra ft session. In s tead o f Jimmy Fil ice, th e instructor will be forme r Gra nd Prix s tar Randy M amola. Mam ola w ill lead the group that includes Cycle News Swee pstakes winner Darrell Larsen. For more information on th e tr ip tha t includes both the school a n d t he Ba rcelo na Grand Prix, call 800/241 -1223. With Ho nd a of Troy becomi ng Yamaha of Troy, what effect will that have on the Chaparra l Yamaha team? Apparen tly, n one. According to Chaparra l owner Da ve Damron, thi ngs are progressing well with negotiations with Yamaha for the team to run YZ250s again in 1999. "We ha ve the ba sic paperwork on my desk right now to run Yamahas again," Damron said on Monday , July 27. "We had som e probl ems we had to wo rk ou t, but everythin g see ms to be taken care of." When told of the rum ors surro und, ing a Ch apa rral Kawas aki team, Damr on said, "Yes, I talked to th em , bu t m o st of t ha t t a lk proba b ly ce n te rs aro u nd me acqui ring a Kawa saki dealershi p in town ." So d oes Chaparral hav e a deal w ith Jeremy McGrath for 1999? "We ha ve a verbal w it h Jerem y and every thing is going forw ard ," Damron said . "Th in gs will likel y continu e as they did this yea r, and Jeremy will run th e Supercross Series and four selected ou tdoor races." Agajanian Presents, Inc. has acquired all rig h ts to prod uce th e 27th a nn ua l Del Mar Cone ou rs D'Elegan ee, wh ich is scheduled to take place a t the Del Mar Fairgrou nds on October 10th , one day before the AMA Grand Na tional Champio nship Series finale Del Mar Mile. The event, which was formerly put on by a local club , has becom e one of the biggest - and is regarded by many as the best mot orcycle sho ws on th e West Coas t. "The forme r produ cers d id a tremendous job of putting on th e eve n t, b ut th ey fee l like it has sort of outg rown th em, so we h a ve s te p ped in to tak e over all duties pertaining to the eve nt, a nd w e' ve a lready had many di scu ssions'on how to make it even bigger and be tter," p rom oter Chris Aga jan ian said . "We're not going to try and rein vent the wheel - the club has done an excellen t job of building the show - but we want to take it and build it from that point, ma intaining the tradi tion of sh owc asing all the beautiful motorcycl es and the tradition of the legends and so forth ." For mor e information on th e Concours or Del Mar Miletickets, call 310/547-9898. Ful lblown Promotions has announced a time change in its sched uled Antelo pe Speaking of Agajanian Presen ts, promoter Chris Agajanian reported tha t the ma in grandstand for the Seattle Mile has already sold o u t, fo rcing him to bring in an add itional 4000 sea ts, which he says will offe r a p rime view of the a ctio n in th e AMA H ot Sh oe Se ries event scheduled for September 19. So far, Chris Carr, Jay Springsteen, Steve Morehead, Rich King, Davey Camlin and Dan Stanley are amo ng the AMA Gra nd Nationa l Champi onshi p Series regulars wh o have sig ned up to race the eve n t. For m o re in fo rma ti on , ca ll 310/ 547-9898. Mo re Dirt Track Hall of Fame Race news: Dave Despain is now plann ing a v in tage dirt-track "pa d d oc k" ar ea fo r anybod y w ho has a vin tage d ir t-tra ck motorcycl e and wo u ld like to disp lay it. En tra nts will receive tw o free infield tickets per motorcycle (does not includ e gra nds tan d ad mission) for what is shaping up to be the biggest di rt- track celebrat ion of th e year . Fu r t her mo re, Desp ain is interested in the poss ibility of h a vi ng a "fie ld di spl a y " co n tes t in whi ch entra nts could create a period-era display including but not limited to the mo torcycle, lea thers, hel me ts, etc., an d judging th em in a va riety of d ivisions. Despain is looking for more feedback on th at idea, so interested par ties should conta ct hi m at 706 /769-0474 for more information. Accordi ng to the FlM, the World Su p erb ike Cha mp ionsh ip round in In do nesia, origin ally scheduled for September 27 and t h e n ca n ce le d, will no t b e replaced . The championship wi ll now co ns is t of 12 round s, of which four r emain : Brand s H at ch , Eng la n d August 2; A-I Ring, Austria - Augus t 30; Assen , Holland - September 6; and Sugo, Japan - Oc tober 4. CANCELED: The August ' ·2 rou nd of the AH RMA Progress ive Sus pens ion Histo ric Cup Series , sched u led fo r Roebling Road Raceway in Faul kvfll e , s Georg ia. due to ins ufficien t en trie . The Augus t 1 AHRMA Class ic Bike Magazine dirt track at Savannah's Ogletho rpe Speed way w ill run as sch ed uled . H IREO : G re g Wrigh t, as mot or cy cl e-ra cing press / public- rela tiuns co ordinato r. by American Honda . Wrigh t will be responsible for promoting Honda 's programs in AMA road racing . mot0l..7OSS, supe rcross, off- road and desert raci ng . MOVED : Baja Designs, to 7558 Trad e St., San Diego, CA 92121, 619/578-9111, 619/578-9077 (fax), AUTOGRAPH SI G N IN G: At Fox Valley Cycles in Aurora. Illinois, on August 7 at 7 p.m. Am erican Honda's Migu el DuHamel and Ben Bostrom are sche duled to appear. For more informatio n. call 630/851-291,0, rx

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