Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~0E1) VOICES America's weekly motorcycle newspaper LETTE STO R THEE ITOR D Volu me XXXV 'Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Scott Rou sseau, A"'~llciatc Editor Mark Hoyer, Managing Editor Keith Bush, Assistan! Edit",ICopt Editor j Alan Cathcart. European Editor David R. Ho lth er , Copy Editor Advertising Terry Pratt, NationalAccounts Manager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Thomas Genter, Westql1 Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sale Manager s Greg Mitchell, Eastem Accounts Mallager Jim Clark, Eastern Sales Manager Rhonda Crawford, Westem Ad Coordinator Bridgett Bobrofsky, Assistant . Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinator Tina Farr , Assistan t Marketing & Promotioo Mark Thome, Director Forrest Hayashi. Manager Kory Klinger, Dealer Rcpr escntntite New Media Development Rick Matheny, Webmaster , Stephanie Leamon, A ssistan! Classified Ads Teri Kerr G ra phics and Producti on Mandy Loo , Production Manager Dennis Greene, Lab. Tech. Amanda Wollny, Graphic Artist . Sandi Gettys, GraphicArtist Ad m in istra tion Judy Klinger, Coordinator Leanne Sims, Ad(1l;n;strafive Assistant Accoun tingIDa ta Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, AIR Coordinator Geneva Repass, Assistant Theresa Milburn, Credit Circu la tion Alma Anguiano, Circulation Manager Carol Maggio, Processing Coordinator Pam Klein, Billing Coordinator Joy Lau, Dealer Coordinator JessicaSchroeder, Assistant Service and Support Shannon Clark, Recepti nist o Jim Olson. Service and Support Nationa l H ead q u a rters 3505-M CadillacAve., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751-7433 FAX(714) 751-6685 Eastern Office 41 88 First Ave., Tucker, GA 30084 P.O. Box 805, Tucker, GA30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX (770) 934-3112 e-mail edit or@cyclenews.com subscribe@cyclenews.com ad vertising@cyc1en ew s.com Internet http:/ /www.cyclenews.com Cycle News (USPS 141·340) is published weekly except the 1 two weekss of the calendar yCM for $50.00per year by ,1St Cvcle News, lnc., 3505- Cadillac Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA M 92628. Periodicals Postage Paid,11Costa Mesa, CA and at additional mailing office. Canada Post International Publications Mail# 546615. POSTMASTER: Send address changes 10CycleNews, P.O. Box 5OS4, Costa Mer- , CA 92628--5084. a To determine the expiration date of your subscription, check the four numbers on the first line of your address label. The s 03"1issue number you'll receive first two digit indicate the 1 and the last two characters ind icate the year of the last issue. Subscription rates: Rates for the United States and its posSt.'Ssions for one year (SO isSUL $50.00 two years 000 issues), 'S), ; $95.00; six months (25 issues), $26.00; trial sub 0 5 issues), $19.00 Canada and Foreign, one year (50 issues), $9(J.(X); two . S 'S), . s years 000 i. <;UL $175.00; six month..(25 i. sut>S). $45.00; trial sub (15is..sues), $38.00. , Just say yes I just wanted to comment on the recent trials and tribul ati ons of that notori ou s "po thead," An tho ny Gobert.'But w ha t I'd really like to do is use these even ts as a sp ri ng boa rd for a d iscu ssion o f th e larg er iss ue of p e opl e ' s a t ti tu des towards drugs. I find it iron ic that, only a cou ple of weeks ago, Cycle News was celebra ting th e career o f up-and -co m ing World Su perbike rid er Noriyuki Haga in a n int er view, com p lete w ith a descript ion of the young Yam aha pilot's practice of pounding a few alcoholic beverages the nigh t before a race . No bod y seemed to blink an eyelas h a t this particular ind iscre tion. But' let an equally talented rid er light up a joint after a race, and suddenly h e is a cri m ina I - th e likes of w hich should no t be allowed on a race track. I can al ready hear the back las h fro m this sta teme n t. Mar ijuana is illegal; it's "d ifferent" from alcohol. Agreed . Ho weve r, ther e is a major flaw in this reason ing , precip it at ed b y a socie ty w he re rule-m aker s drin k, but they don ' t smo ke pot. If they d id, they wo u ld kn ow that this substance is not the "evil wee d" it's mad e ou t to be. Gran ted, anyone who misuses this or any other d rug is look. in g fo r troub le, bu t in review in g th e ac tio ns o f th e tw o racers p rev iou sl y me ntio ned, a tr u ly ob jective observe r would have to conclud e that drinking th e ni ght b ef ore mountin g a fa cto ry s u per bi ke is clea rl y m or e d a nge rous than lighting u p afterwards . Non eth eless, one ca n drink like a fish, and in a relatively sho rt tim e this substance wi ll no lon gershow up in his sys tem . Pot, on the ot he r hand, s tays arou nd lon g enough to be probl em atic for so meone w ho is likely to be tested (e ve n th ou gh h e is le s s likel y to b e "u nder the influe nce" than the guy w ith the han gover). For th is reason, Gobert was d u m b. But un safe? Why don't we ask Dou g Cha nd ler, Migu el Du l-larnel, et al.? (An d w hile we're at it, let' s as k Sligh t, Foga rty and company the same about Haga .) As for Mat Mladin 's reference to "people smashed off their face" on the track, wa s tha t w hen Gob ert was smoki ng you? And as for Henny Ray Abrams' at tack on Gobert for go ing to th e b a rs af te r h is d is m is sa l from th e race, wha t di fference did it ma ke at tha t p o in t? Maybe he was drinking with Haga. I see the mari juana issue as one group of substance abusers aga ins t another, with th e a lco ho lics writing th e rules - and you can' t argue wit h a drunk. Steve Tyson Sa n Francis co, CA Anthony Gob ert is bein g treat ed ve ry un fair ly. Person all y, I have seen man y Pro mo torcycl e r ac e rs o f all ty p es (mo tocross , dirt tra ckers and road racers) away fro m the track, and many of th em drink a n d smoke mari ju a na . If th ey are go ing to test one rid er, all of them sho uld be tested . They sin gled ou t Gobert just because he is d ifferent and refu ses to conform to wh at the AMA and FIM want him to be. Dru gs are not good for anyo ne, but if he or anyone else does them , it sho u ld be their own bus iness as lon g as it is on their own time and aside fro m racing . They sho u ld be ab le to have their own lives. As far as Slight's an d Mladin's comments are conce rne d, they are just up set becau se a you ng punk is spa nking them Just say no Hen ny Ray Abram s' lead sentence in his Chicanery colum n (Issue #28, Ju ly 22) " If th e AMA ta kes no action aga ins t Antho ny Gober t fo r fail ing a n FIM admini stered d ru g test. .." - is spot on. Based on what I've read abo u t the incide nt, Gobe rt was w rong. He was a dope for usin g dope, especially when he had prior knowledge that he wo uld be tested for illegal subs tances if he intended to compete in the Lagun a Seca rou nd of FEATURES DIRTTRACK Round 8 - GNC Eldora Half Mile West Coas t Flat Track Series from Bakersfield 6 30 MOTOCROSS Rou nd 8 - 125/250cc Nat'l C'ship MX 10 Series from Troy , O hio World GP upd ate from Venezuela, Holland and Fra nce .32 HILLCLIMB Round 6 - AMA Na tiona l HC from Pennsy lvania ROADRACING Round 6 - WERA Cha llenge from Gra ttan Round 3 - Formul a USA from Port land, Orego n .36 .42 44 DEPARTMENTS Cycle News welcomes unsolicitededitorial material including stories, cartoons, photos. etc. Such material, if published, becomes the exclusiveproperty of Cycle News. Reprinting in ." whole or part only by permi... ion of the publisher. Advertising rates and circulation information will be sent upon ""1uest. SeeS.R.D.5. TESTS Ducati 90055 Triumph Legend Suzuki Katana 750 20 24 26 W/BD'A VI -!:""~ ARSTLOOK BMW Rll00s CO yrightc Cycle News Inc. 1998. Trademark Cycle News l? , registered U.S. Patent Office. All rights reserved. Just say yes INSIDE 16 Printed in U.S.A. Just say yes Just say no .Issue#30 Au ust 5, 1998 INTERVIEW Kenny Roberts AUDITED CIRCULATION I'm writing from Hou ston, Texas, a city wit h but one major new sp aper. With the exception of NASCA R. we receive virtually no motorsp orts cove rag e, especially mot orcycl e r acin g . Well , thank s to An tho ny Gob ert's drug-test failure and subsequent ban from racing, AMA road racing fina lly mad e the new s. Th is is cl ea rly a n exa m p le of " no news is goo d news." I w as d isap po inted that a class act like Vance & Hines hired Go be r t in th e first place. Su rely n ow they must wonder if what they gained is wo rth wha t the y' ve lost by being associated with him . Mic hael Owen s Houston, TX the Wor ld Su perbike Series . The AMA must take action , and it mus t be decisive actio n. Simply, if the AMA disciplines chea ters suc h as Ca rry Andrew wi th one-yea r sus pe ns io ns, then cer tai nly a dop e-user warra nts the same at tention. Perh ap s b y p u t t ing so me te e th sharp teeth - into its rul es an d bylaws, the AMA can take so me of the p ressure off of Du cati and Vance & Hi nes, who are governed by econ omics to retain rid ers w ith Gobert's tal en t. Tha t way, if Go be rt is re leased from h is con tract, ano ther team can' t hire him th rou gh the duration of his sus pe nsio n. I raced mot orcycles for 13 yea rs, and I tested bikes for magazines for nearl y 20, and I never needed d ope to ge t high. Without so u nd ing co rny, one of th e biggest high s I experienced d uring those years w as ri d ing ten -t enths a ro u nd a road race track. If guys such as Gobert need other stimulants, then I say to heck with them, The spo rt doesn't need them at all. Inst ead , give the contrac t to somebody who really wants to be in the saddle. My suggestion to the AMA: Award Gob ert - a nd any other dop ey ra cer cau ght using dop e - an immediate on eyea r sus p ensio n, followed by mandatory d ru g tes tin g (a t h is ' or th e team ' s ex p en se ) befo r e ev ery ra ce for th e remainder of his AMA career wh en, or if, he returns to the circu it. Have a nice high; Ant hony. Da in Gin gerel li M ission Vie jo, CA Again, I'm no t ad vocating d ru g use. I' m sim p ly as king th at people ta ke a mor e realistic look at this double standa r d co nce rni ng p ot a n d alco hol. Andrew Weil (no re lati on to Ado lf) , phys ician , resea rc her, and fo r mer e mp loyee a t th e Na tio nal Institute of Men tal Health, w rites in the 'T he Na tural Mind ; ' "No illegal drug ap proaches alco hol in medic al harmfulness. (This stateme nt) will see m star tling onl y if we cling to our biases; (it is) based on clear observational data ." To think ot herw ise, a nd to therefore s ing le ou t An tho ny Gober t as a villain, is plain foolishness. Stev e Fare nell Sa ratoga Springs, NY '; 28 DRAG RACING NHRA d rags from Denv er, Colorado ...35 Prostar drags from Columbus, Ohio ....:38 IN THE WIND EVENTS NEW PRODUCTS RESUL TS CALENDAR. LEAOERBOARD WANT ADS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC LOOKING BACK 2 .45 60 62 64 .40 71 87 87 ON THE FRONT COVER Ma rk "X-Large Helmet" Hoyer puts the new Duca ti 900 5upersport th rou gh its paces for the lens of Kinney Jones. Inset: First look at th e BMW Rll 00S. Photo courtesy of BMW.

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