Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Ryan Hughes Is th e lone American compe ting in the 250cc World Champions hip. team to be continu ing their effort while already knowing things are goi ng to end . Any les ser team m ight s truggle after such a blow, but these gu ys come back and win two races in a row. , I am hopeful that Rob Muzzy will d ecide to continue ra cin g . I also hope that he knows how loyal a following he has created with excellent p rodu cts, serv ices, sta ff an d co r po rate atti tu de. Thanks for the mem ories, and hopefully there are more to come. John Breitbach jbreitbach@oshtruck.com Flag-flying It's hard to believe that yo u cou ld go to a World Championship motocross race with 12,000 fans and be the only one carrying an American flag. It's happened to ine twice this year. The racing is fast, the crowds are hu ge, and the championship df the wo rld is a t stake. Sure, it's a little lonely bei ng w hat feels like a cheering s ec tio n o f two (Ryan Hug h es and myself), but it's worth it. I just re tu rned fro m the 250cc Grand Prix in Gydnia, Poland, where the racing was incred ible. The track was beautifu l, a la Budd s Creek, bu t on the beac h (for those w ho are geographically challen ged - the Baltic). An d, yes, Hughes turned in another absolutely heroic rid e. He cam e from a first-turn crash to sixth in the first mota and second in the second moto - for third overall. He moved up in the poin ts from fifth to fourth and is stead ily gai ning experience and speed on the World circu its. I've been over here working for HBO for the last four years. We've been lucky en oug h to fulfill a life tim e dream and catch the last few Mot ocross des Nations and several 125/250 / 500cc GPs p er yea r. You reall y have to hand it to the Americans who wa lk a w ay from th e sec u rity of Am erica and take the huge ri sk o f b eing a stra nger in a s tra nge land. It's not always easy and ther e is a lot more to lose tha n ga in . Of co urse, there is a little bit of incen tive - a chance to repres ent America a n d becom e a World Champion . There is so me thing about racing for you r coun try . Most American motocross fans know the feeling of roo ting for an Am erican win at Motocross des Nat ions, but outside. of America, sports are a ll about the riva lry between countries. The passion and excitement from the fans and all the flag waving brings a huge amount of energy to the races. For all we like about th e Motoc ross des Nations, th e sa me excitem en t exists week in and week ou t on the GP circuit. The only rea l p ro b lem h as b een a shortage of American riders. Hughes is a lon e in the 250cc GPs, Pa rker in th e 500s and Dem ent and Brown in the 125s. Ac tua lly , th at is a p re tty good lin eup compared to last year. Believe it or not, ove r th e las t few yea rs it's been ve ry possible that you could attend GPs and no t have America represent ed at all. Or cou rse, you can argue that the racing ove r her e isn't as fast as in the states. Fro m an Am erican point of view, that may be a po pular belief. But I just don't buy it. If yo u look at riders who have rid den on both sides, the results are simila r in the GPs to th e result s in th e States. For example, Hughes' recent ride in the AMA National net ted him a similar res ult as his 250cc GP outings (give him a factory bike and wa tch out). Vohland's resultS in the U'S. and Europe are compara ble, a nd Tortelli d ominat ed in Europe and was on his way to doing the sa me in the AMA Nationals. The fact is, the ra cin g is fas t a nd exciti ng on bo th sides of the ocean. Why am I wri ting? First, to say "hats off" to our guys who have taken a shot at the World Cha m pions hip by d edi cat in g themselves to 'the Grands Prix. Second, to say th at th er e is a s ho rtage of riders represen ting the old USA over her e. Co me on, gu ys - the food 's a little different, but the lifestyle can be one to ap preciate. Finally, I want to give credit . to th e guys I've ha d the plea sur e of wa tch ing over the last few years - guys like Vohland , Moo re , De rnend , Hancock, Hamill, Brown, Hughes, Kocinski and Roberts. Grea t job and thanks for waving the flag for all of us. Ph il Rot er postmas ter@ro terfam.at om nel. pl Priorities in order Abo u t a half -hour before Da vey Camlin's accid ent, J.B. Norris called him up to th e s tag e to in ter view him . Norris talked abou t Ca rnlin's tw o w ins at Du Qu oin a nd Springfield and said th at must have been one of the gr eatest da ys of his life. Davey said an immed iate No. The grea test days of his life were wh en he met a nd ma rried his wife, Melissa, and when he found and took the Lord Jesus Christ as his lord and savior - and then came the racing . Camlin was a neat yo ung man w ho had his life and priorities in order. Godspeed, Davey. . AI Burk e 0ld91@aol.com More on Camlin Every time I swi ng my leg over my d irt bike or Ha rley, I wi ll re member Davey Carnlin. During the time I was associated with him, Davey always impres sed me with his riding ability and his love of life and racing. I am d eeply sa d dene d that the time we knew each other was so short. Davey was a person wh o tru ly loved what he did, a nd he em bodied all th e qualities of a cham pion. He inspired all w ho had th e pleasu re of mee ting h im, a nd m ade everyone welcome in his company. Only his cha rm a nd wa rm personality su rpassed his incredible riding ability. All w ho kn e w Da vey Camli n a n d love bo th motorcycles and racing ha ve suffere d a terribl e loss. We wi ll never forge t Davey and will cherish the memo ry and th e contribu tions he ma de to m o t orcycl es as well a s th e posi tive impact he had on our lives. Tom Reese Geneseo, IL Reese spons ored Cam/ill in 1997, 1998 and 1999... Editor Too much $$$$ I have faithfull y attend ed every AMA N a tio na l Mo to cross a t Kenwor thy's (Troy, Ohio ) s ince its incep tion . Th is year wo uld be the first time that I wo uld be unable to att end on Sunday, bu t wa s p lanning to race the Amateur event on Saturday. Upon arrival at the ga te with m y wife, I p repared to pay ad missio n w hen the w orker informed m e th a t I ow ed $95 to en ter - $25 to pa rk and $35 per ad u lt. Th e $35 ad mission included entry to the Nation al on Su nday. I inform ed th e ga te worker that we were only ther e to race on Sat urday, but she said she w as told to charge th at amount per adu lt for everyone entering o n Satu r d ay . This was co nfirmed by another gate worker. Co nsidering I had not ye t paid th e e n try fee to ra ce or incurred any othe r expenses, I drove ou t the exit and returned hom e. I race motocross and a ttend arionals because I en joy the spo rt. I also like the fact th a t it is affor dab le to ge t involved in. Well, that is until now. At $95 to ge t into the gate, I say, No thanks to Kenworthy's. Da vid Heckman Minster, OH Letters to th e editor should be sen t to Vo ices, Cycle News, P.O . Box 5084 , Costa M esa, CA 92628-508 4, faxed to 714/751 -6685 or e- mailed to e ditor@ cycl en ews.co m. Pub li shed letters do no t necessa rily reflect th e pos it ion of Cycl e N ews, Inc. Letters sh ou ld n ot excee d 200 words and a ll lette rs a re su bject to editin g. Anony mous lett ers w ill no t be consid ered for publication. All letters should contain th e writ er's ' n ame , ad dre s s and d a ytime p h o ne number... Editor. I· I ~ ~ Q en . en en uf N u; ; ., .....-- - = = C> « 5

• Cover