Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

California; November 12-13 - Anaheim, California; November 19-10 - San Francisco, Californ ia. Form er World Su perbike, Grand Prix, and World Endurance rac er Stephane Mertens is looking to secu re a rid e in the AMA Road Racing Championship s for 2000. The 40-year-old Belgian would like to participat e in Superbike or For mula Xtreme and says he is st ill "fast and motivat ed ." Mertens can be reached at 32/676-49113 (fax/p hone). According to the AMA , its me mbership has now reached 240,000. GFI has ad ded the Harvey Mushman Industry Race to its Elsinore Gra nd Prix sched ule, Novembe r 13-14. The industry / celebrity race will benefit the Boy' s Republic home in Chino, Ca lifornia , w he re Steve McQ ueen (a .k.a . Ha rvey Mush rna n) was raised. The race will feature teams of fo u r riders w it h ri d er s shar ing a bike and sw itching off ea ch lap. For more informa tion, call 909/3418002. Thousand Oaks Yamaha/Kawasa ki has announced its racing team for 2000. The Yamaha team will consist of Mike and Jeff Alessi, Michael Blose, Bobby Bond s, Jo shua H an sen, Jo h n n y Marley , Jona tha n Shim p and Scott Sim on. The Kawasaki portion of the team will consis t of Sean Collier , Ross Ga rcia, Josh Grant, An drew Short an d Justin Smith. Mer ced es Gonzal es w ill a lso return to motocross to race in selected events. DM Sports will host a wom en 's Open Pr o and Ama teur m o tocro ss a t Gl en Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Califor nia, December 17-19, durin g th e Ch ap arral Pro -Am. The eve nt will featu re a $1000 women's Pr o purse. For more information, call 949/837-2206. The Women's School of Motocross will host a benefit schoo l, December 13-14 at Glen Helen Racew ay w ith all proceeds from the school bei ng do nated to Scott O. H us ky, w ho is battling cance r. The sc hool is open to wome n, yo uth a nd m e n . Fo r m o r e infor mation, ca ll . 949/837-2206. Motu l U.S.A. is curre n tly accep ti ng resumes fo r th e 2000 raci ng season. Resumes can be se nt to Mo tu l .U.s.A., a ttruKr isten Jackson , 790 C Ind ig o Cou rt, Pomona, CA 91767. Kawa sa k i/Suzu ki Po wers ports o f Vallejo is currently accep ting res u mes for th e 2000 road a nd off-road racin g seaso ns. Res u m es can be se nt to Kawasaki/ Suzu ki Powersports, 33 Tennessee sr., Vallejo, CA 94590. SBS Brake Systems is currently accept ing resumes for the 2000 racing season. Resumes can be sen t to Rob Silva, 2040 Gillespie Way, El Cajon, CA 92020. m ot er s s ho ul d call 56 2/ 693 -2746 o r 562/945-7578. presid ent of the Commission for Leisu re Motorcycling (CML). Big Gun Exhaust Systems is curre ntl y accepti ng res u mes for the 2000 raci ng season. Resumes can be sent to Big Gun, 8628 U tica A ve ., Suite 50 0, Ran ch o Cucamonga, CA 91730. The AMA has named Nicky Hayden as the 1999 Ricky Graham Dir t Trac k Rookie of the Year. Over the course of this seaso n, H ayden won th e Hagerst own, Maryland, half-mile, and took th ree runner-u p finish es. By sea so n' s end he was ra nked ninth in the poin ts remarkabl e, co ns ider ing he e ntere d just 12 of 19 ro u nds . Hay den spen t a lot of this season racin g on he pavemen t, co n te sting this season' s 600c c SuperS po rt Seri es (w in ning the ti tle ) and Form ula Xtreme Series (finishing second in th e points), a nd d id so m e Su perbik ing lat e in th e season (notchin g a third -place fi nis h a t th e fi n a l ro und in Pikes Pea k, Col orad o ). " It was a p retty good yea r," said Hayden, w ho is backed by Tom Cu mmings Racing and the Michigan Harl ey-David son D eal e r s ' As socia tio n. "Th e wi n a t Hagerstown was special. It' s bee n a m a jo r g o a l o f min e to w in a Grand Natio na l race." When informed th at th e a wa rd w as recen tl y named a fte r three-time Gra nd National Champion Ricky Graham, Ha yd en rep lied , "When I wa s a kid I met Ricky several tim es at the local nationals. He was smooth on the miles, and had a really cool rid ing style." BORN: Robert Richar d Bette nco u rt, to David Bettenco urt and his wife, Pat, in We st Bridgewater, Massach use tts , on October 12. David is the son of the late Dick Bettencourt, and his brother was the late su perbike racer Joh n Betten cou rt. Th e Bettencour ts own and operate Bettencourt's Honda in West Bridgewater, Team APE Road Racing is currently acce pting resumes for th e 2000 racin g season. Resumes ca n be se nt to Team Ape, Box 6998, Burbank, CA 91510. We had heard some p retty craz y Internet-spread rumors involving FMF and its race team over the past few weeks, so w e put in a call to Danny La Porte an d asked him to se t u s s t ra ig h t. LaPorte assured us that although "we a re working o n a few p e r sonne l changes in an effort to better the team, " th e FMF/ Ho nd a 125cc squa d is still a go fo r 2000. O ne of t he p er sonnel changes in volves former 125cc Wo rld Cha mpion Bobb y Moor e, w ho se con tract was not ren ewed . ("Bobby d id an excellent job wi th the team , and he was not fired," stressed LaPorte.) The team 's rid e rs fo r 2000 are Michae l Brand es, Casey Lytle, Brock Sellards and Dann y Smith. One rumor th at LaPorte wo uld not d isp el was the possibility that FMF is in discu ssions with a major ou tsideind us try company regard ing p ot ential involvement with the team by midseason 2000. MSR has signed on to sponsor the Plano Honda su pport team, wh ich will contest the 2000 AMA Supercross and National Motocross Seri es. The team consis ts of [ iri Dostal and Pau l Currie (125cc Eastern Regio nal SX a nd 125cc MX), Ivan Tedesco and Travis Elliott 025cc Western Regional SX and 125cc MX), and Grays on Good man (250cc SX and MX), w ith Wyatt Seals serv ing as the team' s chief tuner. Riders entered in Division classes at the West Coast Youth National on November 13 and 14 at ZLT Perris Raceway in Perris , California, will have a cha nce to wi n one of 12 Ho nda Z50s. Each of the 10 Division-elass winners will be given a ZSO. Also, each of the 10 eco nd- place finis hers ...::ill be includ ed in a d raw ing . for a ZSO and ano ther ZSO draw ing will , be held for the 10 third- place finishers. In ad d itio n, Tho usand Oaks Yamaha has d on at ed two Yama ha PW80s that will be raffled off at the event. For more inform ation, call Hemme Motorsp orts at 661/942-6040 . Te d He ilbron, road represen tati ve for L.A. Sleeve and Niks PrO'-X, is traveling the southeastern United States on a promotional tour, and offers his services to all race tracks in Virginia, North Carolina, Sout h Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Ala ba ma an d Flor ida . Int er est ed p ro- MOVED: Shoei Safety Helmet Corp ., to 371 Elizabeth Lan e, Ste. 100, Corona, CA 92880. The telephone and fax numbers a re, respectivel y, 909/ 520-0500 a nd 909/ 520-0600. CORRECTION: The ad vert isement that the Pro spectors M.e. ran on page 48 of Cycle News issue #42 (October 27 cover date) for its California Grand Prix contained two erro rs: All Su per Seniors and all wo men race at 11:45 a.m. on Sa tu rday, November 6. For more information, call 310/322-3612. OPENED: goshift.com's home page on the World Wid e Web. Th e site can be fo un d at . th e fo llowing ad d ress: www.goshift.com. AD DED: The Ap rilia line of mot orcycles, to Beaudry Motorsports on Int erstate 90 between Coeu r d 'Alene, Idaho, a nd Spo ka ne, Wa s h in g ton. Bea udry already carries BMW, Cag iva, Canno nda le, Duca ti, Excelsior-Hend erson, Hu saberg , Husqvarna, KTM, Mot o Gu zzi, MV Agu sta and Suzuki. For more information, call 800/735-2407. ELECTED: Dane Henrick No rgaa rd and Portugal's Jorge Viegas were elected to the two vacant pos ts of FIM vice preside nts for a one-year period at the 1999 FIM Biennial Sess ion he ld in An ne cy, France, Octob er 21. In add ition, England 's Geoff Wilson was a p pointed BORN: O ayton Jam es Gray, to off-road racer Jim Gray and his wife, Crystal, in Gunnison, Colora do, on Octob er 15. CORRECTION: The names of th e cha mpionship-wi nn ing team s fro m the WERA Na tio na l Endurance Ch ampions hip coverage fro m Road Atl a n ta were transposed. The story should read , " Semoff Brot he r s Racing w on th e WERA National Champio ns hi p... with the win at the final event, the Lafayette, Ca lifornia-based team , Arclight Suzu ki, ea rned second ." OPENED: BM W Motor cycl es ' ho me page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at th e following ad d ress: www.bmwusacycles.com . HIRED: Bra d Bannister, b y Ya ma ha Motor Corp. USA to serve as its motorspo rts group p ublic-relations man ager, effectively immediat ely. Ban nist er formerly serve d in a simil ar role at Excelsior Henderson . MOVED: Shoei Safety Helme t Corpo ratio n, to 371 Eliza beth Lan e, Suit e 100, Coro na , CA 92880, 909/5 20-0500, 909/520-0600 (fax), effective November 1. CORRECTION: O ur n e w s it e m o n Mike laRocco signi ng with Arnsoil had some inaccurate information regard ing snowmo bile racing. Schuering Sp eed Sp orts / Am soil is one of the top ind epend ent Snocross team s, and the circuit th e y ra ce o n is th e WSA Snocross World Wide Cha mpionship. MOVED: La Forza Sports, to P.O. Box 8882 , Ca la basas, CA 91372, 818 / 5918896,818/591 -8897 (fax). MOVED: A- Ride Suspension , to 5130 Walnut Ave ., Downers Grov e, IL 60515, 630/ 493-9216. O PENED: World Mot o rcy cles' home page on the World Wide Web. The site tan be fou nd a t the following ad d ress : www.worldmo torcycles.com. AUTO G RAP H SIG NI NG: A t Cen tral Yamaha Superstore in Plan o, Texas, on Satu rday, No vember 20. Former National Cham pion Dou g Henry is scheduled to ap pear. For mo re information, ca ll 972/423-2204. . eN en en en ~ o ~ ~ E ~ o Z 3

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