Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127993
Todd Harrington (Kaw) won the EBC Brakes Sportbike class in round two of the NASB National Championship Series at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on May 2. David Rose (Suz) finished second with Larry Denning (Yam) taking third. Paul Edmondson (Suz) scored the overall win at the Moose Run off-road race in Fenton, Illinois, on May 2. Fred Andrews (Kaw) finished second, while Ty Davis (Yam) took third. The race was the opening round of the Parts Unlimited Off-Road Championship Series. North American Sport Bi.ke (NASB) owner Roger Edmondson has taken a job that will see him "working on some special projects for NASCAR," Edmondson said from his home on Monday, May 3. "I'll be working in Daytona, but not for the Speedway." When questioned about rumors that were running rampant at the AMA Superbike round in Laguna Seca over the weekend that he'd sold NASB to PACE Motor Sports, Edmondson said: "1 have a confidentiality agreement with PACE and I can't tell you anything - except to say at this point, no." Road racer Eric Gulbranson suffered serious injuries in a crash at New Hampshire International Speedway on April 27 during a test day. Gulbranson's Ducati 748 struck him from behind, ca using broken vertebrae and broken ribs, though the ew Englander didn't suffer any permanent damage or paralysis. Gulbranson won the Heavyweight Superbike and Unlimited Twins titles in the CCS/LRRS Series in 1998. Cards and letter can be sent to Gulbranson at BCM Motorsports, 229 Messer Street, Laconia, NH03246. An AHRMA Southeast Regional dirt track has been added for May 23 on the quarter-mile oval at Checkered Flag Speedway in Danielsville, Georgia. Sign-up for the day race will begin at 9 a.m. AHRMA has also tentatively scheduled a night race at the same facility for June 26. For more information, call 770/867-1676. New York motorcyclists and car drivers will be able to show their support for motorcycling and the AMA with special license plates beginning this summer, according to the AMA. The special plates, featuring the AMA's colorful red, white and blue logo, will be issued by the ew York Department of Motor Vehicles for an initial cost of $21.25 for motorcycles and $34.50 for passenger vehicles, in addition to the regular registration fees. The character on the plate can also be personalized for an additional fee. N ~ i:' ~ 2 The AMA testified on April 19 in Washington, DC, against a plan that could double the co t of some European motorcycles imported into the United States, according to the AMA. The plan, proposed by U.S. trade officials, would put a 100 -percent import duty on some 75 European goods, including two categories of motorcycles - 51cc to 250cc, and 251 cc to 500cc. It is designed as retaliation to the IS-member European Union's (EU) continuing import ban on American beef treated with growth hormones. EU officials have not lifted that 10-year-old ban, despite a World Trade Organization order to end it in May. "There is no logical link between European motorcycles and the dispute over beef," said Edward Moreland, the AMA's Washington representative, at a rederic Bolley, riding for the Honda factory, scored the win in l10-degree temperatures at the Venezuelan 250cc Motocross Grand Prix held in Maracay on May 2. Bolley posted 3-1 results for 35 points on the day, while Pit Beirer finished in second place with 1-4 results and 33 points. Finishing third overall was series leader Marnicq Bervoets with 2-3 results, which was good. for 32 points. "[ nearly died from the heat," BoUey said. "It was just enough to get to the finish. (Ryan) Hughes was coming on to me, and [ just had enough energy to keep him off me." American Ryan Hughes of the Pamo Honda team scored an impressive second place in the second moto, coming very close to his first moto win of the series. Yet he could only pick up a sixth in moto one, thus finishing in fourth overall. '1t was so hot," Hughes said. 'The track was rough, and that worked okay for me. I nearly got BoUey in the end." The conditions in Venezuela were terrible. The heat, combined with a rough track, really took a toll on the riders. F In the series point s!andings, Bervoets still leads with 152 points, followed by Beirer with 150, Bolley with 144, Hughes with 106 and David Vuillemin with %. In 125cc Grand Prix action, defending champ Ale sio Chiodi scored another 1-1 result and 40 points at the Spanish Grand Prix at Bellpuig, Spain, on May 2. Second place went to American Mike Brown with 4-2 results, earning 30 points. Third place went to Thomas Traversini, who combined 3-3 results for 30 points as well. Brown ran a strong second moto, holding off tough Italian Claudio Federici for runner-up honors. "I'm happy with this result," Brown said. '1£ I can get a little more speed, I can race with ChiodJ. My results are getting better every weekend-" Another American, Jeff J;)ement, posted 8-4 results for fourth overall. Brown is now third in the championship standings with 99 points, but Chiodi is way out in front with 154 points. Federici is in second place with 130 points. Fourth is Traversini, with 83, and fifth is now occupied by Dement, with 55 poiRts. ' In the 500cc Grand Prix, Yamaha four-stroke rider Andrea Bartolini came away with the overall victory after a posting a 1-5 tally at the Austrian Grand Prix, held in Schwanenstadt on May 2. Shayne King gave KTM its first four-stroke GP moto win, but a first-moto DNF relegated him to second overall in the overall standings. Third place went to defending champion Joel Smets, who failed to finish the first moto but came back to finish second in the second moto. Out of the top five series point leaders, Bartolini was the only rider to score points in both motos. American Trampas Parker placed third in moto two but failed to score in the first moto, giving him seventh overall for the day. In the series standings, Bartolini now leads with 85 points, followed by Smets with 80, Demaria with 69, Parker with 60 and Alex puzar with 55. public hearing on April 19. "ImpOSing the stiff tariffs on motorcycles would do nothing to resolve the trade dispute, but would punish American buyers of European motorcycles." Others who testified against the proposed tariffs included Kathy Van Kleeck of the Motorcycle Industry Council, Rod Bl.\sh of KTM Sporrrnotorcycies USA, Robert Keith of the Husqvarna operations at Cagiva USA, and Wiltz Wagner of the North American Trials Council. ers a race and is prefaced with an account by one of the participants instrumental in the event. The book has a limited printing of 3000 copies and will be distributed through Ducati importers and dealers around the world. Victory motorcycle riders are being invited to take part in a two-day Victory PRO Family Birthday Ride to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Polaris, the parent company of the Victory Motorcycle Divi ion. The ride will take Victory enthusia ts from Victory's corporate headquarter in Minneapolis, to Roseau, Minnesota, the birthplace of Polaris. The ride will begin on June 18 and will conclude on June 19, and will also help raise money for the Kyle Petty Charity Ride. How did he ride that? Ducati has also denied rumors that it would launch a new superbi.ke model at the Eicma Fair in Milan in September. There is no such project currently being carried out at the factory, according to a Ducati press release. "Ducati sustains that the existing 996 (the model that replaced the 916 in 1999) is the finest example of a sport motorcycle. Aside from its excellent commercial success, the 996 continues to prove itseU on the race track, where it recent- According to newspaper reports from ew England, off-road motorcyclists will be allowed to return to limited trails of the Myles Standish State Forest that were closed more than two years ago. The state Department of Environmental Management succumbed to political pressure and agreed to open eight miles of trails, far less than the 45 miles used in the past by off-roaders. Ducati is commemorating its 1998 World Superbike Championship with a book, "Ducati 1998." The book chronicles the. "anxiety, fear, technical ingenuity, and joy of the protagonists who forged the victory of the 996 a nd its rider, Carl Foga.rty." Each chapter cov- Kenny Roberts Jr. looks over an ex-Barry Sheene RG500 Grand Prix racer on his recent visit to the SUzuki factory In Japan.