Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ets a better idea Shane Watts (Kaw) scored the overall win in round two of the Grand Nation- al Cross Country Series in Macon, Georgia, March 7. Defending champ Rodney Smith (suz) finished second, followed by Paul Edmondson (suz), Scott Summers (Hon) and Steve Hatch (suz). AMA PJl National Arenacross Series rounds 29-30 were held in Portland Oregon, March 5-6 at the Memorial Coliseum, and it was Buddy Antunez (suz) corning out on top of both the 125cc and 250cc Pro classes Friday night. Antunez defeated Lance Smail (KTM) and Denny Stephenso'n (Hon), second and third, respectively, in both classes. Saturday, Antunez was tops in both classes again, defeating Stephenson and Jemomy Buehl (Hon) in the 125cc class, and Stephenson and Smail in the 250cc race. Antunez scored his eighth consecutive win. Antunez leads the series with 981 points, over Buehl with '865 and Stephenson with·809. Round three of the AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Series in Murphy, Idaho, on March 27, has been rescheduled to May 23. For more information, call 208/459-0910. Australian 500cc-class hopeful Mark Willis and the new Kiwi BSL threecylinder racer will get their place on the GP grid, after IRTA added another slot to the original allotment of 25. Problems arose with the BsL entry after official first reserve team Tecmas kicked up a fuss after it seemed likely that IRTA had included the newcomers at their expense. The new move makes space for both teams, with the French outfit again fielding Sebastien Gimbert, who claimed one points-scoring finish in his debut season last year. Willis, who also scored poin ts in his sole GP outing at Phillip Island, is scheduled to take part in this week's second round of IRTA tests at Phillip Island. He rode the new high-tech triple at the last tests there and at sepang in Malaysia, but with only one bike running it was more in the nature of a shakedown. John Kocinski's name is still on the entry list, although there is no confirrna tion of a team sponsor for the Honda V-four squad led by longstanding' GP guru Erv Kanemoto. . Kocinski and Kanemoto were a t the IRTA tests with the 1998-spec bike that Max Biaggi rode to second place over. all - and Kocinski was flying, fastest right up until the last day, when he was narrowly pipped by Movistar Pons rider Alex Barros. "We have a little time left - I'm not sure what will happen," said Kanemoto at Jerez. The Japanese-American team owner, who. has won titles in the past with Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Luca Cadalora and Biaggi, has a history of last-minute team rescues, precariously financed. He hasn't missed a season since 1982. Kocinski has a more checkered past World Champion in 250s and superbikes, his GP comeback last year was an injury-hit disappointment, finishing 12th overall, with a best of one fourth place. 2 It's official: Four-strokes will be back in GP racing.after just two more seasons, according to a statement from the FIM. But the ruling ~o-strokes will not disappear immediately, it seems. According to Yamaha racing chief Toshirnitsu lio, some sort of handicap formula will be devised, so that at first the fourstrokes and two-strokes can race togeth- arley-Davidson announced that it hap reached an agreement with the Ford Motor Company to join forces, with Ford sponsoring the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer's VRloo0 superbike team for the next five years. In a press conference held at Harley-Daviason's media center in Daytona on the Wednesday of Bike Week, the two companies, which both celebrated their 95th anniversaries last year, will enter into a series of technical and marketing ventures, starting the VRl000 team and blossoming toward Ford's and Harley's centennial anniversaries. . . "Both of these companies are leaders in their field, with loyal customers and very, very long histories," Harley-Davidson president Jeff Bleustein said. "We look at this as being an opportunity to share technical and marketing info~mation between the two companies, and there is no better way than to start that off than with Ford's sponsorship of the Harley-Davidson Racing Team." The additional technical as well as financial support from Ford, a company with a tremendous history of racing success, should provide a tremendous boost for the VRprogram. .. '1 don't know," Harley-Davidson rider Scott Russell commented. "I just want a new truck. No, I'm sure there's a lot of money in the deal, and that's probably what the program has been lacking - from what I understand. Every time it comes to the end of the year, they wonder if there's going to be enough budget for next year - at least that's what I've been hearing. But now they've got this deal and there's some money there. I think that's been holding them back for a long time. We can get this bike working - you throw enough money at anything and you can make it work That's what Honda always does." H er. The FIM statement described how the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA) had approached them at the end of January to propose the introduction of four-strokes in 2001. The FIM had in turn asked "its concerned Commissions to evaluate the technical conditions of such a change." The next step, in March, would be a meeting with its concerned commercial partners - Doma for GPs, sBK International and Action Group International for superbikes - "in order to reach an adequate new rule." FIM President Francesco Zerbi will then meet with the chief executives of all the manufacturers involved at the Japanese GP on April 25. "This change should receive a broad approval of all the parties concerned," the statement concluded. The move was not unexpected, but the timing is one year earlier than most in GP racing had predicted. There are also grave misgivings in the GP paddock about the scale of costs involved in racing full prototype four-strokes. However, if the grand plan is to downgrade superbikes closer to production bikes, then GP bikes could still be the faster class even if production-base~L The problem then would be making sure that the top clas was faster than the 250cc two-strokes. Alstare Suzuki, the Suzuki factory World superbike team, tested at Monza in northern Italy on March 4-5, in preparation for the 1999 season that begins March 28, in Kyalami, South Africa, reports Cycle News contributor Paolo Gozzi. superbike pilots PierFrancesco Chili and Katusaki Fujiwara were on hand for the test, which saw rain on the first day and strong winds on day two. Fujiwara elected not to test on the wet track, though Chili braved . the conditions for 24 laps to test Dunlop's rain tires, tires that were last year clearly inferior to the Michelin wets used in World superbike racing. Chili's best time was 2:04.50 on the first day. Day two was sunny and windy, but the Monza surface was still wet because of the trees near the track. A cautious Chili rode to a best lap o( 1:49.70, well off the record set last year by Aaron Slight of 1:46.856. Fujiwara's best time was 1:52.6. "The weather conditions were too bad to push hard," Chili said, after he returned to his horne in Monte Carlo. "We had a lot of e~olution parts to test, but we need another session to know if these parts can be used at Kyalarni." Alstare Suzuki hopes to get in one more test at Misano. Alstare's Supersport riders were also on hand at the two-day Monza test, with 1998 Champion Fabrizio Pirovano and stephane Chambon putting the team's GsX-R600s through the paces. Dunlop had similar wet-weather difficulties in last year's supersport series as it had in superbike racing, and because of this both riders spent a good deal of time riding the wet track. Pirovano, an excellent wet-weather rider, put in 27 laps with a best time of 2:13.41, while his teammate Chambon turned in a time of 2:16.58 just prior to a crash in the chicane after 10 laps. Chambon was unhurt. The next day, Chambon turned in a best time of 1:55.1,.Pirovano a 1~55.7 before crashing without injury. The Monza supersport record was set last year by Pirovano at 1:53.508. Michelin has scheduled a tire test at Misano for March 9-11, at which several of the Michelin-supported superbike teams will get another opportunity to test their new machinery and tires. In addition to the factory Ducati team, Aprilia and Yamaha will be on hand. In addition, it will be the first time Doriano Romboni will ride his 1998 factory Ducati 996. It will also be Alex Gramigni's first time out on his Yamaha R7. The test is of particular importance for Yamaha, since the R7 - in the hands of Noriyuki Haga and Vittoriano Guareschi - got off to a slow start in tests last month at Kyalami.. Aprilia World superbike rider Peter Goddard has expressed concerns about the proposed 2001 four-stroke GP class, claiming that the new weapons will far-outstrip existing tire technology, according to Cycle News contributor Darryl Flack. The 34-year-old Australian also said that Honda will be unbeatable in any open four-stroke class. Honda is rumored to be developing a 1000cc V-six engine, possibly with pneumatic valve activation. "Honda will just dominate more than they ever have," said Goddard. "Honda has more four-stroke technology than all the other factories combined. Through their involvement with Formula One, they've spent more time and more money developing fourstrokes than anyone." In addition to these issues, Goddard also said that such a class will prove far more costly than the 500cc two-strokes which have dominated the blue-riband class since Giacomo AgOStini won the 1975 championship on an in-line Yamaha. "The expense will increase, oh, tenfold," he claimed. "The cost of four-stroke development is far higher than twostroke development." Goddard, who has ridden for Suzuki's GP 500cc team, the Harris World superbike team and the Suzuki France WJ?C squad, said that while an open formula would allow the factories unlimited horsepower, it will be restricted by current tire technology. "We've got to be realistic about it because superbikes are superbikes because they are 1000cc, and they've become too fast and too fast powerful. So there's no way they're going to have a 1000cc (GP) four-stroke, because the thing will be putting out over 200 bhp. It'll look good on the track but it will be melting tires. "They won't be able to put down that much power. They'll have to make a more ridable bike, which is good for the end-user, the road user. Whether this all pans out, or whether the class will actually happen the way it's been reported, we don't know yet," he added. The Australian Superbike Series is currently in crisis, after reports that the opening round of the 1999 Shell Advance Road Race Series Championships scheduled for Baskerville, Tas: mania, March 14 is being boycotted by the distributor-backed superbike teams, due to the expense of traveling to the island and the late inclusion of the round on the calendar. According to a press release from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, the U.S. Department of Transportation responded to inquiries abou t the proposed Chicago motorcycle ban on Lake Shore Drive. Illinois Cong;ressmen Ray LaHood (R) and John Shimkus (R) wrote to the DOT to inform department secretary Rodney Slater of the ordinance proposed by Alderwoman Holt of the Chicago city council. The ordinance would ban motorcycles from a portion of U.S. Highway 41 known as Lake Shore Drive between the hours of 11 p.m.

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