Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(ill]]~ VOICES LffiE RSTO America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Volume XXXV Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher THEED /TOR ~- No fault Afte r reading the "In the Wi nd " (Issue #39, Oc tober 7) item regarding Brett Me tzgers recovery from the injuries he sus tained at th e AMA Loudon roa d race earlier th is year, I saw some quotes from Brett tha t suggested I might have been at fa u lt fo r his horri fic accident. I feel com pe lle d to a d d a ny informatio n I have to help clear u p any confusion. I wo uld firs t like to say that I am glad that Brett is recov ering quickl y and is well eno ug h no w to eve n compete o n th e race track once agai n . But fo r the record , I hav e a clea r recollection of my part in th e in cident w hic h resulted in Brett hitting the w all, and I maintain that I did not run in to him exiting the turn and I did not force him into the wa ll for any reason . Th is cras h occu rred during an untimed practice session, with mysel f pa ssin g him on a shallow line exiting the fina l comer ou t onto the front straight. I had no rea son to ass ert a dangerous o r aggressive pass ou t of a co rner w hich has a cement w all s tan ding a mere five feet off the normal racing line - es pecially d uring a practice sess ion . Immed iatel y after the sessio n w a s red -flagged, I stop ped in the hot pit area an d spoke wi th nearly every pe rso n w ho was sta ndi ng exactly adjacent to where Brett hit the wa ll, because I was baffled as to why he had fallen. Every ind ividual I spoke to (over a d ozen ) who saw the crash, including severa l team members from m y co m petitors at Erion Racing (wit h a cou ple from Honda's factory race " team ) as we ll as Tea m Valvoline Suzuki, all said I exited the corner well inside Brett' s line and allowed amp le room for his bike between myself an d the wa ll. I recall there being at least 12 feet to my right, from m e to the wa ll , at the point that I had go ne by Brett's bik e on the straight. Each w itness said something to the effect of Brett makin g so me sort of lurch up towards the wall, then correctin g a b r u p tly a n d co ll idi ng hi s fro nt wheel with my rig ht exha ust canis ter. I know Brett is a good rid er , and I si mp ly d on 't kno w w ha t h a ppen ed beh ind me. I also know ho w frustra ting it ca n be for a rider to now remember a terri ble fall. This confusion ca n get even m ore co mplicated w hen everyone yo u know each relates d ifferent ve rsions of what ha ppened . I've been in tha t si tuation, a nd it sucks. But in lig h t of w hat w a s qu o ted last week regard in g this incident and w hat part I played in it, I felt I s hould comment wit h wha t I kn ow . Mark Miller Long Beach, CA [.!! S ber IP! MillIT rides a Graves Motorsports Yamaha Rl in the AMA Formula Xtreme Series... Editor. Th e candy man In response to Matt Arant's letter in the "Voices" section (Issue #39, October 7) - I believe Arant is the candy-ass. I think I can speak for a lot of people out there when I saw tha t Jeremy McGrath has put in his time as far as riding both supercross and out door motocross. I certainly wouldn't call a five-time champion a "candy-ass." Mayb e if Mr. Arant were to race a supercross o r an ou tdoor mot ocross, he w ould see the skill and determination it takes to win such an event. I think it's a little sad when an armchair racer su d d en ly becom es th e foremost critic on a su bject th at he probably has no u nd ers ta n d in g of. So until w e s tar t seeing yo u r na m e in th e to p 20 in th e p o in t standi ngs, I'd refrain fro m calling Jer emy McGrath or any Pro a candy-ass. Tim Nocotra Sa n Bernard in o, CA Reader poll I just vo ted in the opinion poll th a t is feat ured on th e Cycle News we b site in regard to Open-class motocross bikes being allowed to run in the 250cc clas s. While I vo ted that I believe they should be allowed to ru n in the 250cc class, this is only because my choices were either yes or no . I voted yes because I felt that a no vo te might be misinterpreted as a vo te agains t Open-eIass bikes in general. I don't think there is anything more awe-insp iring tha n a Pro rider on a welltu ned Open bike - whether that be twostroke or four. I feel that the Open class need s to be brought back to AMA Nationa l Mo tocr oss competition. With the resen t resurgence of the fou r-s troke to competition, it only makes se nse to bring this class back and a llow ei ther two- or four-strokes to com pe te. Wh ile I in no way feel that Doug Henry's wi ns ca me from a n unfair a dvan tage, th is qu esti on w ould not even be raised if he had been on an Open-bik e class. My hat is off to Dou g H enry for wi nning the Na tional Cham pionship and to Yamaha for bri ng ing this class back to life. I only hope this is the firs t step in resurrecting the Open class so that it can regain the title of King of Mo tocross. Lan:y Posto n Palm Beach Gardens, FL Not true Mr. (G iu se p pe) Luo ngo, whose Action Group holds the rig h ts for FIM 's MX and SX World Championships, recently accu sed in a Cycle New s "Briefly..." column (Issue #38, September 30) tha t the Paris-Berc y SX has " .. .been giving money to Jeremy McGrath to no t compete" in another race , scheduled by him jus t three weeks before Bercy at another Pari s stadium . " It is a shame for McGrath," added Luon go. In the name of the Bercy SX, I cannot let such an accusation go unanswered. To make a long story sho rt, Mr. Luongo is extremely frustra ted that his attemp ts to force our event into his World Championship schedule remains unsu ccessfu l. M cGra th ha s n o t mis s ed a s ingle Bercy SX s ince 1991 a n d is th e win ningest rider in Bercy' s history, while he has never compe ted in an Action Group even t. Wh en w e informed Je remy that Mr . Luo ngo openl y threat en ed to thro w our race out of the calendar (as a bizarre FIM ru le allows) and, in th e m eantime, was advertis ing hi s (McG ra th's) name and image for the other Pari s event wi thout permission , Jerem y op ted to ap pear exclus ively in Bercy this year, leading to Mr. Luo ngo's biased sta tement. The Bercy eve nt has bee n credited by the U.S. press as the reason behind the emergence of Frenc h tal ent o n th e SX scene. It is the on ly successful SX in Europe, and the inven tor of the "race/show" concept now imported by the U.S. Open of SX. Johnny O' Ma ra, David Baile y, Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Jeff Stanton and Jean-Michel Bayle have all won there (Paris). By prot ecting his own sport's history against Mr. Luon go's supremacy goals, McG rath should feel not "asham ed " but honored. Bercy will support him (McGrath) as lo ng as his career lasts. He is the greatest champion our sport ever had, on and off the track. Finally, no ot he r rider has bee n offered an ex cl usive Bercy d e a l, a s reported in Cycle New s. Xavier Audouard Paris, France Editorial Paul Carruthers. Editor Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor Mark Hoyer, Managing Editor Keith Bush. Assistant Editor/Copy Editor Alan Cathcart. European Editor David R Ho lther, Corn! Editor Deborah Von Regiu s, Editorial Assistant Advertising Terry Pratt, National Accounts Mana ger Mark Thome, Western Sales Monager Thomas Genter, Western Sates Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Greg Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager Jim Clark. Eastern SaiL'SManager Rhonda Crawford, Wester" Ad Coordinator Bridgett Bobrofsky, As sistant Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinator Ma rketi ng & Promotion Mark Thome, Director Forrest Hayashi, Ma"ager Kory Klinger. Dealer Rcpresentatiue New Media Development Rick Matheny, Webmaster Stephanie Leamon. Assistant Classified Ads Teri Kerr Graphics and Production Mandy Loo, Art Director Dennis Greene, Lob. Tech. Amanda Wollny, Graphic Artist Sandi Gettys , GraphicArtist Paul FISher, Graphic Artist Administration Judy Klinger, Coordinator Leanne Sims, AdministratioeAssistant AccountingIData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond. A/R Coordinator Geneva Repass, Assistant Theresa Milburn, Credit Ci rculation Alma Anguiano, CirculationMonager Carol Maggio, Processing Coordinator Pam Klein, Billing Coor dinator Joy Lau, Dealer Coordinator Service and Support Shannon Clark, Receptionist Jim Olson, Serviceand Support Na tional Headquarters Xavi er Audouard is the promoter of the Paris-Bercy Supercross... Editor. 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa , CA 92626 P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751-7433 FPlX (714)751-6685 Letters to th e editor s hou ld be sen t to Voi ces, Cycle News, P.O. Bo x 5084, Co sta Mesa, CA 92628 -5084, faxed to 714/751 -6685 or e- m a il , ed it o r@cycl enews. com. Publish ed letters do not nec essa ril y reflect th e po sition of Cycle News, In c. Letters sh ould not exceed 200 words and all letters are subject to ed iting. Anonymous letters will not be considered for p u blication. All letters should contain the write r' s name, address an d daytime phone number ... Editor. Eastern Office 4188First Ave., Tucker, GA 30084 P.O. Box805, Tucker, GA 30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX (770)934-3112 e-mail editor@cydenews.com subsa'ibe@eyclenews.com advertisin gfscy clenews.com Internet http:/ /www.cyd enews.com Cycle News (USPS l·n·340) Is pu bhsbed weekly l"XCt.- pI the last two weeksof the calendar yearforSSO.OO pt..,. year by Cvde News. Inc.. 3505-M CadillacAvenue.Costa Mesa, CA 14, 1998 FEATURES ROAD RACE AMA Su pe rbike finale fro m Vegas Wor ld Superb ike from Japan Wo rld RR GP fro m Australia DIRTTRACK GNC Series fro m Las Vegas RIDING IMPRESSIONS 1999 Husqvarna TE610 1999 KTM 200 E/XC 42 44 6 20 .32 PROJECT BIKE Honda XR250R 16 CROSS COUNTRY GNCC from High Point Racew ay ........48 MOTOCROSS MX des Nations fro m Eng land 36 Fall Classic MX from Red Bud .56 Eastern Fou r-Stro ke MX Na tiona ls from Red Bud .57 Branson USA MX Championships 60 CM C Trans-Cal MX Series Sout h from Com petition Park 61 RM Cu p Ch all en ge fro m Coope rland ..64 GR Fall MX North from Oakfield Raceway 65 46 HILLCLIMB AMA National Hillcli mb fro m Pennsylvania .50 INTERVIEW Vintage Iro n's Rick Doughty 52 HARE & HOUND AMA Na tional H&H fro m Idaho .........54 SPEEDWAY AM A Na t' I Speedway Cham pionships fro m Auburn 58 ENDURO SETRA Long Cane Enduro HARESCRAMBLES NETRA Stateline HS 63 62 .. DEPARTMENTS WIND EUROFILE EVENTS CALENDAR LEADERBOARD WANT ADS HOWL LOOKING BACK 2 4 70 84 90 91 108 108 ON THE FRONT COVER Champions all: Ben Bostrom, Carl Fogarty and Mick Doohan ca me away from this past weekend with championships. I 9i02s. Periodical s Postage Paid at Costa Mesa, CA and al addinonal mailing office. Canada P05t Inlmtationa l Publications Mail #546615. POSTMASTER:Send address changes to Cycle Nt'WS. P.O. Box 5084 CosLJ. Mt5oI.,. CA 9".6zs..5084.. , . To determine the expiration d.1lr of you r subscription, chf'(k the fou r num bers on the first li ne of yo u r ad dress label, The finol tw o digits ind icate the l~sl iss ue num ber you'l l recei ve an d the last two ch.uac:ttD in dica te the yur of the l~,.t iss ue'. Subscription rates: Rates for the United States and its JX}S..~ sions for one year (SO issues), 551100; two years (100issues), $95.00; six months (25 issues), $2b.00; trial sub (15 issues), 0 $19.00. Canada and Foreign, one ye. r (SO issues), 590. 0; two l years 000 iSSUl'S), 5175.00;six months (25 iSSUl'S) , 545.00; trial sub OS issues), $38.00. Cycle Ne ws welcomes unsol icited editorial material including stories. cartoons, photos, etc. Such moltl·riill. if published, be come the exclusive property of Cycle News. Reprinting in s whole or part only by permission of the publishe-r. Advertis ing rates and circulation informati on wiUbe sent up:m re uest. See S.R.O.5. q W~ ~c\m1l0N ,8 Pri nted in U.S.A. Co~yright" Cycle News Inc. 19'J8. Trademark Cycle News . registered U.s. Patent Office. All rights reserved,

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