Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Jeff Willoh (Hon) won the 125cc final in rounds 15 and 16 of the AMA/PJ1 ational Arenacross Series in Hampton, Virginia, January 15-16, ·with Cliff Palmer (Kaw) and Buddy Antunez (Suz) splitting wins in the 250cc class. Willoh beat Antunez and Jeromy Buehl (Hon) to win Friday's 125cc final, then topped Antunez and Buehl again in Saturday's final. On Friday night, Palmer beat Buehl and Chad Pederson (Suz) to win the 250cc final, with Antunez topping Denny Stephenson (Hon) and Willoh in Saturday's 250cc main event. After 16 of 34 rounds, Palmer lead s Antunez in the series points standings, 495476, with Willoh third on 464 points. Contrary to rumors circulating after the San Diego Supercross, Team Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael did not break his hip when he crashed during the 250cc main event on January 16. Carmichael did, however, suffer a nasty gash on his upper thigh tha t will force him to miss at least two rounds of the series. While running in the top 10, Carmichael got sideways over a series of jumps and went down, taking hi J()('s footpeg in the thigh. "Basically, we dodged a bullet, considering the potential for serious damage," Kawasaki team manager Bruce Stjernstrom said. '''He has a deep laceration in his upper thigh; luckily it didn't get into the muscle and did not break his hip. A big concern right now is infection." Stjernstrom went on to say that Carmichael is in good spirits, and is expected to attend the next couple of rounds at Phoenix and Sea ttIe to hang out and sign autographs. Yamaha's World Superbike team turned out in force to test the new R-7 at Eastern Creek in Australia, January 14-16, with team riders oriyuki Haga and Vittoriano Guareschi being joined by Yamaha's All-Japan Superbike Series team of Wataru Yoshikawa, Norihiko Fujiwara and Takeshi Tsujirnura. Haga, who had tested the prototype R7 at the end of last year, ended up lapping under the superbike lap record, recording a best of 1:32.4 on the final day of the test. Yoshikawa lapped at 1:32.6, with Guareschi turning a 1:33.08, Fujiwara a 1:34.9 and Tsujirnura a 1:35, according to Cycle News contributor Paolo Gozzi. 'This bike has a great potential," Haga said. '1 tested a lot of solutions . regarding suspension, tires and chassis setup. We need to know the bike' feeling after each change. The engine is really faster than the YZF that r rode in 1998, so J am confident about the new season. J wi1l try to win races and the World Championship, if possible." The test marked the superbike debut of Haga's teammate Guareschi. ''I'm a beginner in superbike and 1 want to grow step by step," Guareschi said. '1 don't know the bike, slick tires, nothing about machine setup. But I'm enthusiastic - to race with a superbike was my dream, and now this is reality. I will do my best to thank Yamaha for this opportunity. My time here at Eastern Creek was not so bad, for me was first visit here, and I'm happy." One interested spectator at the test was Vance & Hines Ducati's Anthony Gobert, who watched the proceedings from outside of the turn-seven gates at EastE;rn Creek stopwatch in hand. Road racer Mike Hale - whose career floundered when, after a lackluster season he left the Fast by Ferracci team by mutual consent .in the middle of last season - will get a chance to move up to the 500cc World Championship when he tests Kenny Roberts' Modenas KR3. Hale, who's been working out at Roberts' ranch in Hickman, California, will test Mana ement shake-u at Brainerd T he management staff of Brainerd International Raceway resigned en masse prior to the Christma holidays, leaving in doubt the 1999 event schedule at the northern Minnesota road course and drag strip. The track annually hosts a round of the AMA Superbike National Championship and is home to Central Roadracing Association, a Minnesota-based Amateur road racing organization. . The li t of those leaving BIR includes Dick Roe, vice president and operations manager; Dan Roe, conces ion and specialevents coordinator; Dave Ferroni; communications and publicrelations director; Bev Heilicher, business manager, Heather Johnson, advance-ticket coordinator; Karen Owen, ticket sales supervisor; Bob Van Houton, drag racing event manager, and Dave Batters, security director. Ron Brown, preident of BIR since 1995, re igned in August 1998, following disagreements with Donald Williamson, the chairman 9f the board of The Colonel's, the parent company that owns BIR. That led to Williamson working directly with the BIR staff. But by December the BIR staff had concluded that Williamson was impossible to work for, and walked out. Among the contentions between Williamson and the former BIR staff was Williamsorfs orders to regard all existing contracts between BIR and racing organizations and sponsors as null and void. "We just strongly disagreed with Mr. Williamson on important operating issues," said Dick Roe. 'We felt that his attitude towards employees and sponsors made the environment unworkable. It wasn't just the lack of respect and appreciation for the continued growth and financial success for BIR, but also a complete disregard and disrespect to our exi ting sponsors. He could not accept that." Brainerd International Raceway was known as Donnybrooke Speedway when it opened in the 19605, but the operation became insolvent and the original owners filed bankruptcy. 111 1973, Dick the Modenas in Australia and Malaysia with an eye toward signing a contract to race the World Championships. It will be his fifth team in five years. "I've been talking witl1 Chuck (Aksland - the manager of the Roberts team) for a coy-pIe of years," Hale said. "And I tested the Lucky Strike Suzuki after the '97 season, and that went.,good. And I had a couple of tests on the Swissauto 500, the MuZ, that went pretty good. We were all set to sign with MZ and then (Jurgen) van der Goorbergh bought the ride. I was going to be (Luca) Cadalora's teammate. He (van der Goorbergh) brought a big sponor to the team." Team owner Kenny Roberts said that one of the reasons he chose Ha Ie is tha t, "I understand him," then amended it to say: "I understand him about half the time, when he's not talking Texan, and he's young, and he's available. I'm just helping Mike. I've got him here on the minibikes (Honda XR-100 ), evaluating him. We know he has the talent to ride a motorcycle. It just hasn't come out lately. To race for us, a rider has to be workable, be young and have talent. He has all those things. He was one of the names that 1 kicked around for a while." Hale tested for the Muzzy Kawa aki team during the December tire test at Daytona and might have gotten a ride had Doug Chandler not returned. Once Chandler, Muzzy and Kawasaki came to an agreement to resol ve their differences, Hale was left without a ride. Hale 'ees the chance to ride the Modenas as a tryout, though he's confident he can win the job as jean-Michel Bayle's teammate. "Phillip Island is my favorite race track," he said. "I'm going to Australia and Malaysia, and we'll see what happens. All the loose ends aren't tied up yet. We're both going in with the same mindset. We both have good faith. I'm pretty confident going into t11e test." If the Modenas ride doesn't materialize, Hale said that there's nothing out there that he really wants. ''I'd probably rather go car-racing." Roe and local sports-car racer and busines man Jerry Hansen bought the facility and reopened it the following year. In the mid-'80s, BJR became a publicly held corporation. In 1994, Williamson bought a controlling interest in BIR from BIR board member and drag racer Gene Snow. A \lew management team was installed this month, and the track intends to run a full chedule, including the AMA Suzuki Classic and four CRA events, according to Terry Fasching, the new busine s manager of BIR. 'We get hundreds of calls a day, people concerned whether or not we are going to be open," said Fasching. 'We are going to be open, and we are going to run a full schedule. We're working on the (rental) rates, contract, things like that, right now (for CRA)." According to Merrill Vanderslice of the AMA, there is an understanding with the new BIR management for the AMA National at BIR, scheduled for August 1. "Basically, we dan't have anything more than a verbal agreement to have an event at Brainerd at this point," Vanderslice said. "But with a longterm customer like Brainerd, it could be up to 60 days before the event (before there is a written contract)." Fasching also dispelled the rumor that had been circulating since mid-1998 that BIR property was going to be developed for nonracing use. "There are no plans, and I don't think that's even an option," he said. "To us it's a race track. It's not a hou ing development." Nevertheless, race fans will notice two thing different at BLR in 1999: a new name - "The Colonel's Brainerd International Raceway" - and the absence of Dick Roe. "Whenever a shipment would come in from UPS or Federal Express, Dick was a basket case," recalled former BIR pressman Dave Ferroni. "He always wanted to make sure (the package) got into the right hands. He would deliver'em to the race teams. He was a former racer himself." Tracy Hagen Mike Hale was joined at the Roberts ranch by Kenny Roberts Jr. and his Suzuki teammate, Nobuatsu Aoki. Aoki came to Northern California to train at the rancl1, as well as improve his physical conditioning by working with Roberts jr. under the watchful eye of trainer Dean Miller. Aoki was to be joined by 250cc World Championship runn r-up Tetsuya Harada, but a scheduling conflict sent Harada to jerez, Spain, where he was to test the Aprilia 500 V-twin which he'll race in this year's 500ce World Championship. The day before Aoki arrived at the ranch, Yoshimura Suzuki's Steve Crevier rode the XRs with Kurtis Roberts of Erion Racing, Roberts Jr. and Hale. 15, along willi the 125, 250 and 500cc Grand Prix teams. Team rider Peter Goddard failed to in1prove upon the lap times he recorded in December and ended up crashing on the third day and bruising his right foot. The Australian will be fit to test again when the first of the official World Superbike tests takes place in Kyalami, South Africa, February 1-3. Jason Pridmore's Star Motorcycle Schools will back road racer Greg White in a new team, Team Star Racing, for the 1999 AMA 750cc Supersport and Formula Xtreme Series. White will rid Team Suzuki Sport-backed Suzukis in the two classes. White will also be a guest instructor at the Star scI100ls throughout the season. The Aprilia superbike team returned to Jerez, Spain, for more testing, January 13- The March 6-7 running of the Malcolm Smith Motorsports Prairie Dog GP at Saine! and BMW win Dakar ench rider Richard Samct rode hi BMW to victory in the 1999 Total GranadaDakar desert rally, which began on ew Year's Day and concluded on January 17 on the African continent. Sainct, who just weeks prior to the 1999 event switched from the KTM to BMW team, said of the change: "I wanted to be one of few in the team and not just one of the many." It turned out to be a good move, as he battled against a long list of KTM riders throughout tl1e two-week event, finally finishing some four minutes ahead of KTM's . Thierry' Magnaldi, Alfie Cox and Jord; Arcarons. The win by Sainct was BMW's fifth in the rally, with its last win coming 15 years ago. Third-placed finisher Cox said of Sainct and BMW's win: "Richard has been lucky this year. Usually the BMWs have DNFed, but thi year he has oldiered on - credit to him." From week one, Sainct was the n.stest and most consistent of the competitor, and by the time the second week came around, he had built up enough of a lead to where he could relax and ride consistently. "1 was not trying to get a huge lead, but I was thinking very seriously about not letting the others come too close," Sainct said after his win. It was the last few days that really wrapped up the event for the BMW rider. His main rival, Magnaldi, was still close at that point, but a crash with only two days remaining sent the Spaniard to t11e doctors, where he lost vital time. At roughly the same time, third-placed Fabrizio Meoni dropped out. Five-time Dakar motorcycle winner Stephane Peterhansel finished in the top 10 in the car portion of the rally. Geoff Meyer A 1

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