Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

!XJ@[JfJD@ D@@@0 LJ@l1@Do @@[}J@[Jb@@D[J@ ~@@@ Despite Heinz Kinigadner's winning the latest stage of the Total-Dakar-Cairo 2000 Rally. Monday, January 10. KTM's Juan Roma. Kinigadner's teammate, still leads the competition over Richard Sainct of the BMW team. Kinigadner won the day's "special: just ] 3 seconds ahead of teammate Roma, with Sainct coming in third. Less than a minute separated the leading teams after the fifth stage, which had little impact on the overall standings. Roma currently holds a 23-minute, 22-second lead over Sainct, with Kinigadner just a little over five minutes behind Sainct. Finland's Kari Tianen is currently fourth. KTM lost its third rider. with Giovanni Sala failing to start the fifth day after incurring injuries the day before. BMW also lost a rider, the team's first to go out. when John Deacon melted a foam insert and crashed heavily. A trip to the hospital revealed shoulder and leg injuries. and a broken bone in his hand. The only American in the rally, Jimmy Lewis. is still plugging away on his factory BMW. He finished out the fifth-day special in seventh place and is currently ranked sixth overall. dicts that he'll win the first two races at the World Superbike opener in Valencia. Spain. on March 12 on the new Honda RC51. "The bike doesn't do anything wrong." he said. "It steers well. brakes well. is easy on tires - all together a total package. "We'lI be there off the start and I'll win the first two races in Spain. " Team Kawasaki's Doug Chandler lapped at 1:26.9 on his factory Kawasaki Superbike during recent tests at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey. California. Chandler's teammate Eric Bostrom circulated in the low 1:28s. Erion Racing's Kurtis Roberts. meanwhile. was the fastest of the 600cc Supersport riders during the tests at Laguna. The Californian lapped at 1:29.7. On New Year's Day. Ducati Motor SpA rang up the biggest Internet sales in Italian history and became the first motorcycle manufacturer ever to launch a new production motorcycle on the World Wide Web. Orders for Ducati's MH900 Evoluzione became available on Ducati's website at 1 a.m. on New Year's .. ...... .... .... .. .. ... Day and within hours the entire first-year production was sold out. AMA Pro Racing has joined with SFI Foundation Inc. to begin a comprehensive third-party review of existing AMA Pro Racing safety procedures and to develop and strengthen safety standards in all race disciplines. according to the AMA. SFI was created by the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMAJ in 1963. but has been operating as a separate entity for several years. A number of national and international motorsport sanctioning bodies are among its clientele. including the FlA. HNRA. SCCA. IRL and USAC. "Today. NHRA incorporates no less than 48 product-related SFI specifications within its nules, as well as SFI Technical Inspector and Emergency Response Worker Certifications programs." said NHRA vice president Carl Olson. "Over the years. SFI Specification and Certification programs have significantly reduced injuries resulting from racing-related accidents. They have helped to make the racing environment much safer for our drivers. event workers and spectators." The program is the first for professional motorcycle racing. according to SFl's Arnold Kuhns. SFI staff are already working on the AMA Pro Marshals program and they are in the process of developing advanced training and certification standards for cornerworkers and incident response personnel working at AMA Pro Racing events. Fred: 12 grandchildren: and one greatgrandchild. Former Vance & Hines Ducati rider Anthony Gobert has signed a oneyear contract to race a factory Bimota in the World Superbike Championship for 2000. Gobert will race a Suzuki V-twinpowered Bimota SB8K in a team managed by Italian Virginio Fenrari. The SB8K is a new bike based on the SB8R - the main difference being that the new bike features much more chassis adjustability. Bimota will have to produce 75 of the new bikes for FIM homologation prior to the season opener. and then another 75 after six months. Despite the fact that Bimota has competed in World Superbike before. the FIM views the company as being new because of a name change Bimota Motor SpA. and a change in ownership. Therefore. they are eligible for the new-manufacturer break in the homologation nules. Former Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 rider Robbie Petersen is hoping to return to AMA racing. at least for Daytona. Petersen. who last raced in the U.S. on the Kenny Roberts-owned Marlboro team that competed in Formula USA. has been competing in the 600cc Supersport class in his native South Africa - and he won four races in 1999. He's also come very close to the World Supersport lap record at Kyalami. and now he'd like to race 600 at Daytona. Petersen can be reached at 263-4-304-131 in South Africa. Funeral services were held on January 2 for well-known AMA District 36 motorcycle rider and racer Jesse Goldberg. 73. who died on December 30. 1999 as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on December 12 while riding in the Pine Nut range near his Gardnerville. Nevada. home. An original member of the Prospectors M.C. and a fonmer KTM motorcycle dealer. Goldberg was heralded by the off-road community as "a man who never knew his age." and who "pretty much did it all." He proved it on several occasions. such as when he competed in the Incas Rally in South America in 1988. at age 62. or more recently. when he was on the winning Senior-class motorcycle team at the 1997 Vegas-toReno off-road race. Goldberg was an AMA life member and was very active in District 36 off-road and dual-sport events. According to his family. the longer and more physically demanding an event. the better Goldberg liked it. Goldberg is survived by his wife. Ginny: daughters. Julie and Lee Ann: sons. Robert. James and Former 750cc Supersport Champion ' Richard Alexander Jr. will return to action on Yamahas in 2000. after his '999 season as a member of Chaparral Suzuki was cut short due to a bout with Lyme's Disease. Alexander plans on nunning both the AMA and PACE Formula USA Series as a privateer with help from Star Motorcycle Schools. Dunlop and :::= Yamaha. He's already taken delivery of a Yamaha R6 and he will shortly add Yamaha's R1 to his stable. "I did it once on my own. I can do it again," Alexander said. As of last week, CNN and MSNBC polls asking online readers if off-road vehicles should be banned from unpaved areas of U.S. Forest land were most definitely in favor of OHVs not being restricted. The MSNBC poll. with 5286 votes. had the no vote at 84 percent. With 14756 responses. the CNN poll had the no vote at 73 percent. uary 20 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Ricky Carmichael. Larry Ward, DaVid Vuillemin and Emesto Fonseca are scheduled to appear. SIGNED: Travis Pastrana and Chicco Chiodi. to 9099le and sunglass deals with Spy Optics for the 2000 racing season. PROMOTED: Keri Gunderman, to sales manager for Speedvision Productions, effective immediately. HIRED: Dennis Scully. as midwestern advertising manager for the Hachette Filipacchi Motorcycle Group. effective immediately. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Chaparral Cycle Supply in San Bernardi- no. California on Wednesday. January 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. Every factory and support team rider currently competing in the AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series is scheduled to attend. For more information, call • 909/889-2761. . AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Yamaha Suzuki of Arizona in Phoenix. Arizona. on January 28 from 6:30 to 7:30 p,m. Team Suzuki Motocross and Primal Impulse Suzuki are scheduled to appear, For more information, call 602/992-8620. SIGNED: Sebastien Tortelli, to a contract by Smith Sport Optics. to wear the company's goggles and sunglasses in 2000. Tortelli joins Greg Albertyn. Tim Ferry, Damon Huffman and the FMF Honda team in endorsing Smith products in 2000. - AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At The 0 Store in Irvine, Califomia. on Jan- OPENED: Road racer Richard Alexander Jr.' s home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.richiealexander.com. HIRED: Jeremy Richens. as agency manager for Gold & Goose Photography. effective immediately. SIGNED: An agreement between Acclaim Sports and Team Kawasaki's John Dowd. Dowd will appear In Acclaim Sports' upcoming Video game. Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000. which is due out in the spring. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Motoworld of EI Cajon in EI Cajon. Cali- fomia. on January 21. Team Yamaha's Jimmy Button. David Vuillemin and Team Motoworld of EI Cajon's Michael Craig. Greg Schnell and Dustin Nelson. and special guest Jeremy McGrath are scheduled to appear. For more information. call 619/442-0941. MOVED: Works Stand Motorcycle Accessories. to 6215 Lou Ave .. Crystal Lake, IL 60014,815/455-6800.815/455-6806 (fax). AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At North County Yamaha in Escondido. California. on January 21 at 5'p.m. TheEdgeSports.com's Jeff Emig and the factory KTM team is scheduled to appear with a raffle scheduled to be held to benefit injured racer Donovan Mitchell, For more information, call 760/432-9501. CORRECTION: Our Supercross season-preview team rosters incorrectly listed the classes Team Yamaha of Troy riders are competing in for 2000. Here's the way it should've read: 125cc West - Casey Johnson and Justin Buckelew: 125cc East - Stephane Roncada and Emesto Fonseca. Continued on page 60 eye I e .....I :=:! Kevin Atherton update: The Michigan dirt-tracker is getting set to undergo surgery number eight on the leg that was broken in the multi-rider crash at the Du Quoin Mile last July. "They're going to go in and put my foot strai9ht." Atherton said. "Right now. it has gotten a little pigeon-toed in from the fixator. Otherwise, everything is going great. The bones in the lower part of the leg are fusing together. and there is already some bone growth just below the knee. where they had to break it in order to stretch it that 40 mm. They say that I'm going to be in the fixator for at least another month. and then I'll be in a cast. We've been working with a doctor who specializes in this work. and he said that it will probably be one year before the bone under the knee is completely formed up and healed. but I don't know. My bones have always healed pretty fast. and we can already see where it is starting to calcify on the Xrays." In the meantime. a fund has been established to assist Atherton with the astronomical medical bills that continue to pile up during the recovery process. I Checks can be made out to Kevin Atherton and sent to the White Pigeon Banking Center. 122 W. Chicago Rd .. White Pigeon. MI 49099. The account number is 3049120. For wire transfers. the routing and transit number is 272471632. _ ......... ,. ..... AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Escondido Cycle Center in Escondido. California. on January 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. Among those expected to appear are Jeremy McGrath. Ezra Lusk. Sebastien Tortelli. Kevin Windham. Mike laRocco and Team FMF Racing. For more information. call 760/745-1615. r-- n e _ so • JANUARY 19, 2000 3

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