Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Five-time World Champion Mick Doohan emerged from the final preseason Grand Prix test of the year with the quickest time after three days of testing at the Motegi Circuit in Japan, March 3D-April 1. The Austr~lian barely bes~ ed a group of top 500cc GP riders, indud\ng Yamaha's Max Biaggi and Suzuki's Kenny Roberts Jr. Doohan lapped at 1:51.053 to lead Biaggi's 1:51.061, Roberts' 1:51.287, John Kocinski's 1:51.541, Tadayuki Okada's 1:51.722 and Alex Criville's 1:51.771. In all, six riders lapped 6n the same second as tbe Grand Prix series gets set to open on April 18 in Malaysia prior to returning to Motegi on April 25. "We we-re ready to do some good times right at the end, but a couple of guys crashed and the session was redflagged," Biaggi said. "J feel I've been riding on the limit here, but that's the way it has to be when you're trying to be fast. Even so, I think I would have been able to push harder in' that final hour. Overall, things are looking good I feel quite confident for the first races:' The Motegi test completed Yamaha and Biaggi's rigorous off-season, four months of testing that saw. Biaggi complete some 4300 .!piles on the new YZR500. "It's been pretty hard on my body," Biaggi said. "But I think it's worth it. The Yamaha is a very delicate bike, so we've had to do a lot of work on setup. II Struggling somewhat at the Motegi test were the Red Bull Yamaha riders Simon Crafar and Regis Laconi. Laconi crashed twice en route to the 14thquickest time, and Crafar only managed the 16th-best time of the test. The 250cc Grand Prix regulars were led by Yamaha's Shinya Nakano at Motegi, wHh the Japanese rider lapping at 1:54.060 on his Chesterfield Yamaha Tech 3 entry. Little-known fact: When Yvon DuHamel won the Champion Spark Plugs Motorcycle Classic at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, in 1973, he pocketed $28,700. This year, 26 years later, Miguel DuHamel, Yvon's son, wins the Daytona 200 and takes home $16,000. II I III .I!II ~ .. o • ~ ;::: ..;: a. ce 2 With the United States and Europe apparently headed toward a trade war over hormone-treated beef, the war's victims could include motorcyclists, according to the AMA. The trade war involves U.s. beef from cattle that have been injected with hormones designed to encourage faster growth. The European Union has threatened to ban hormone-treated American beef by May 13 and, in response, the United States has announced that it will impose massive tariffs on soine European products. The proposed tariff list involves 75 items, 70 of which are food-related. But the last itemhon the list is Eluropean motorcycles d WIt engines isp acing 500cc or less. The tariffs, which could go into effect by June 13, would effectively double the importation cost of such machines, resulting in steep price increases at the retail level. Because of the displacement limit, these tariffs would mostly hit buyers of off-road motorcycles from European manufacturers such as KTM and Husqvama. "The AMA is working with U.S. trade officials to get motorcycles removed from the proposed tariff list," said Ed Moreland, the AMA's Washington representative. "It's our feeling that motorcycles have no part in a trade war over beef, and we hope to convince federal officials that hurting American motorcycle purchasers is not an appropriate way to deal with this dispute." Virginia has become the first state to pass a law against motorcycle bans on many roads, according to the AMA. The new law, supported by the Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists and ABATE of Virginia, will prohibit motorcycle bans on any Virginia road built or main_tained with federal or sta te funds. The measure was signed into law by Governor James S. Gilmore III on March 22 and takes effect on July 1. "This law marks the first time that any state has taken the step of protecting motorcyclists against bans in this way," said Sean Mahler, AMA legislative-affairs specialist. "It is a landmark step in recogniziRg the rights of legally licensed motorcyclists to operate their vehicles on public roads." For the eighth time in-its 17-year history, Bob Dron Oakland Harley-Davidson has received Harley's Bar & Shield Award of Excellence, the company's highest dealer accolade, according to a press release issued by Dron. The Dron dealership was one of three national dealers to score 100 percent in all six performance categories: customer sa tisfaction, sales, service, cleanliness, parts and accessory inventory, and presentation: . Yamaha Belgarda factory rider Massimo MeregalIi, who suffered a broken bone in his right hand, smashed nerve endings and a cracked forearm in the World Supersport accident that took the life of South African Brett MacLeod on Sunday, March 28 in Kyalami, South Africa, underwent surgery in Milan, Italy, in which a metal plate and several screws were inserted into his right hand. The 28-year-old Italian couldn't avoid hitting the fallen MacLeod on the opening lap of the World Supersport race at Kyalami. Three-time AMA Grand National Champion Bubba Shobert has been named the 1999 Honoree of the AMA Dirt Track Grand National Championships, scheduled for July 3-9 in Indianapolis, Indiana. "We are honored that Bubba has agreed to be our 1999 Honoree," said Bill Amick, the AMA's vice president of events and entertainment. "His 33 wins and three championships in the AMA Grand National Dirt Track Series are remarkable accomplishments, especially considering he achieved all that in a span o£ just seven years." Shobert will take part in numerous activities leading up to and during the championships, including media visits and autograph signings for dirt track racing's stars of tomorrow. "I have great memories from Indy and it's really nice to be invited back," Shobert said. "I look forWard to seeing old friends and talking to the Amateur riders who are at the beginning of their careers:' Several readers have inquired as to the identity of the mystery man featured in a pre-Daytona issue who claimed to be the world's fastest short tracker. The mystery man was former Speedway World Champion Barry Briggs, who completed demonstration laps on his combination ice racer IJapanese-style speedway bike. The Rhode Island Trials Club will present the 199-9 Wagner Cup World Championship Observed Trials, June 26-27, in West Greenwich, Rhode Island. Those wishing to purchase tickets can The four-stroke furor ycle News World Superbike correspondent Gordon Ritchie went to some of the C team managers from the major World Superbike teams at the opening round of the World Superbike Series to get their opinions on the proposed rule changes that would change the 500cc Grand Prix class to a four-stroke class for 2000. APRILIA: Gianluca Montiron "As Mr. Witteveen (of Aprilia) has said, if the rules permit eight-cylinder 1000cc, Aprilia is not interested. If the rules mean that only one or two factories can participate, Aprilia is not interested. I think Aprilia prefers that we keep things the way they are. Howev~, we will reserve our official statements until the rules have been laid out." CASTROL HONDA: Neil Tuxworth "I don't think four-stroke GPs will affect World Superbike at all. J think four-stroke GP racing will be incredibly expenSive and I can't see many manufacturers being able to afford it. Sure, Honda can do it; sure, Yamalla can do it - but after that? Who can and -who wants to is the next question. 1 was a great believer that in the future, there would be one World Championship Series - with Superbikes, 250 and 125cc GPs. Now I don't see that happening - I think they will always be separate series_" YAMAHA SUPERB IKE TEAM: Davide Brivio . "Right now, Superbike is a strong class with a lot of good teams and top riders. 1 hope that Superbike -will continue and grow. 1 think Superbike will remain interesting for the manufacturers, because the manufacturers need to advertise their production bikes. I think that World Superbike will continue to- be at a high level, as it is now. I have not been involved in any discussion, but my understanding is that the GP classes will be four-stroke, but the philosophy will be very' different. GP racing will be based on a prototype machine:' do so by writing to RITC, 125 Arcadia Rd., Hope Valley, RJ 02832. For more information, call 401 1539-0715. Nick lenatsch will make a return to road racing in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix class at the upcoming Willow Springs and Laguna Seca rounds of the series. Ienatsch will ride a 1995 Extreme Lean-\>acked TZ250 tuned by Steve Biganski. Ienatsch finished secon<;l. in the series standings in 1995 while riding a Biganski-tuned Yamaha. White Brothers has joined forces with Clean Racing in an effort to further develop White Brothers' suspensionservice program. Clean Racing has over 25 years of !,!xperience in the field of suspension tuning and will be stepping in to oversee the program for White Brothers. "Our goal is to provide our dealers with the best suspension-tuning services available, allowing them to stay focused on the rest of their business," Clean Racing president Steve Searcey said, "including selling White Brothers performance parts and accessories. 1f There are still spaces available on Manufacturers' Row for any manufacturers interested in displaying their products at the Glen Helen, California, round of the AMA/Mazda Trucks National Championship 125/250cc MX Series. Interested parties should contact Gene Romero at 7141529-6054. The Southern California speedway regular season kicks off April 10, with international Speedway beginning its 31st year of weekly Class A motorcycle races at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California. For more information, call 949/492-9933. Eddie Mulder is still accepting entries for the opening round of his West Coast Vintage Flat Track Series, which is scheduled for Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California, on April 10. For more information, call 661 /268-0105. Texas Harley-Davidson has been named as the ti tle sponsor for the Ross Downs Reunion, scheduled for April 25 at Ross Downs II in Village Creek, Texas. The reunion will feature a full day of racing on the quarter-mile oval. For more information, call 8171572-1759. _ A two-day American Supercamp will be held two days prior to the Springfield Mile at the lllinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. The camp will be held indoors and will be limited to 21 students. Chris Carr wi1l be the guest insfructor. For more information, call 970/669-4322. Three-time Daytona 200 winner Dick Klamfoth will serve as the Grand Marshal of Vintage Days West, part of the 10-day event known as Sonomafest that kicks off April 16-18 with the AHRMA events at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California, and concludes with the AMA Superbike National at Sears Point on April 25. The 70-year-old Klamfoth will ride a Manx Norton on an exhibition lap of-the 2.52-mile Sears Point road course. "I don't think I'm too old to hop . on one and give it a ride," Klamfoth said. The motorcycle division of Dunlop Tire Corporation has announced the 1999 Dunlop Road Race Contingency Program. Participants in selected classes are eligible for Dunlop Superiority Certificates that are redeemable for Dunlop motorcycle tires at tire dealers and race tire distributors across the country. The program will be in effect at AMA Pro, NASB, CCS, WERA, WSMC, AFM, MRA, CRA, GLRRA, WMRRA, OMRRA and CMRA road racing events. Cycle World magazine will be the presenter of the Cycle World Classic Rolling Concours at Sears Point International Raceway in Sonoma, California, on April 17. Registration begins at 8 a.m. for the five judging categories, including Vintage (pre-1930), Classic (pre-1975), American Classic (pre-1975), Japanese Classic (pre-1975) and Street Specials (pre-1975). Rather than'a static display, the show will require entrants to complete a 50-mile loop (20 for the Vintage class). A lap of the race track will be optional. Course marshals and sweep trucks will be provided. All machines must be California-legal and proper safety attire is required. Trophies will be given to the top three in each class and Best of Show, and other awards will be presented. Entry is $i5. For more information, call 949/7205361. The Penton Owners Group. will have a display set up at the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days West at Sears Point

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