Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Voices America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Volume XXXV I Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor KitPalmer, Associate Editor Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor KeithBush.Assistant Editor/Copy Editor Malt Freeman. Associate Editor Chris [ on num, Managing Editor Alan Cathcart, European Editor David R. Holther, Assistant Editor Jennifer J. Dutcher. Proofreader Advertising Western States (714) 751-7433 Terry Pratt, National Accounts Manager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Dan Legere, Western Sales Manager Rhonda Crawford, Ad Coord inator Bridgett Bobrofsky, Assistant Advertising Eastern States (770) 934-7850 Greg Mitchell, Eastern .Accounts Manager Jim Clark, Eastern Sales Manager Carla Allen, Ad Coordinator Marketing & Promotion Mark Tho me, Director Forres t Hayash i, Manager Shannon Clark, Dealer Representative New Media Development Kory Klinger, Site Mam ger Classified Ads Melissa Parker Graphics and Production Mandy Loo, Art Director Amanda Wollny, Le Graphic Artist ad Paul Fisher, Graphi Arte,t c Lynda Vu, Graphic Artist Ad ministration Klinger, Coordinator Pam Klein, Administratioc A'Sistant [ udv Acco untingfData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, A/R Coordinator Ge neva Repa ss, Assistant Theresa Milburn, Credit Mom ger Circulation Alma Anguiano, Circulation Manager Carol Maggio, Processing Co ordinator Donna Sharp, Billillg Coordinator Ashleigh Klein, Dealer Coordinator Service and Support Amber Hill, Receptionist Jim Olson, Service and Support National Headquar ter s 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751-7433 FAX (714)751-6685 Easte rn Q ffice 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA30084 P.O. Box 805,Tucker, GA30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX (770) 934-3112 e-ma il editor@cyclcnews.com subscribe@ cvc1enews .com advcrtising@cydcncws.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Good idea ra ce s on Su n day b ecau s e the AMA National on Sa turday will be thei r only priority. Wha t we' ll end up with on Su nd ay, wit hout the AMA teams, is a very borin g 15-20 rider pa rade of je t- lagged Wo rld Superbike riders w ho are onl y interested in leaving Laguna Seca wi th their sa me stan dings in the points that th ev came with. There will be no rea I racing at all, and it wi ll hardl y be wo rth going to watch. What we want to see is our bes t rid ers k ick in ' b utt o n t h e world's best - jus t like we d id this past Ju ly, a n d jus t as the Ja p a n ese di d a t Sugo in September. A nd w ha t woul d rea lly be g rea t besi des combin ing bot h champion ships is to run one co m plete race on Sat u rd a y, a nd th e o ther co mple te race o n Sund ay - a d ay apart. That wo u ld really help to bu ild th e te nsi o n and exci teme nt ov e r th e w eeke nd , ra th er th an blow it all in on e sw ift swoop on Su nd ay . Also, th e p oint s a nd the p urses shou ld be pa id se para te ly - a Wo rl d Superbike ride r might be conten t to sit back in th ird pl ace a nd coas t be hi nd t w o AMA r iders if t he wo rl d g uy thinks he's still ge tti ng those first-place p oin ts . And v ice-versa. Let 's make these guys fight it out and earn every point tow ards their respect ive champions hips. Readers should conta ct Dan Murphy a t Speed vis io n and let h im know we want to see a combined two- race World Superbike/ AMA National, with a combined purse an d po int s awarded for a rider's exact finishi ng position. Jim Gianatsis Woodland Hills, CA I ag ree th a t a co m bi ned ra ce a t the World Superbike rou nd at Laguna Seca would be the best idea. To see Chand ler smo ke Fogarty (hey, I can d rea m) and the res t of the World Superbike racers would be worth the price of the ticket . The first (and only) time I visited Lagu na Seca was w hen I bo ug ht my brandnew 600 inja (1985 ) a nd ro de wi th some frien ds from Southern Ca lifornia to watch Kenny Roberts, Rand y Mamola and Mike Bald win racing the GP bikes for the las t time (wa tchi ng Randy and Kenn y trying to out-wheelie eac h othe r leaving the Co rkscrew lap after lap as Bald win, alt hough he was the defen ding Formula One cham p, was not match for those two) . Fo r a co m b ined AMA / Wo r ld Su pe r bike race , I wo ul d m a k e th e d rive / rid e from Riversid e to wa tch the U'S. riders stick it to the World Superbike guys. Steve Adams Riverside, CA Bad idea I fly out from the East Coast every year for the World Superbike races at Laguna Seca and I don' t wa nt a combined race. I don't thin k it's fair for a ny of the regu lars in either se ries . Let ' em race their own race in their own seri es without in terference. You can 't grid all the AMA gu ys w ho d eserv e to be the re and all the World Superbike guys in one race anyway. The track would be a like a freeway - clogged wi th too man y vehicles. We don 't need the weekend turning into a match race. The real men in AMA racin g w ill en ter the World Su perbike race, 50 I expec t we'll have so me Americans to cheer for on Sunday. Ed Siccard i cnsess@lyondel l.com Speedvision Promotions can be reached via fax at 303/377-3290... Edilor Bad idea As a racer and race fan , I' ll give you seve ra l re a s o n s w h y a se pa ra te fo r ma t wou ld b e b est for th e AMA / Wo rld Superb ike weekend at Laguna . Fir s t of all , a se p a ra te A MA ra ce wou ld g ive u s ye t a n o t h e r ex ci ti ng race a d d e d to th e weeke nd , whi c h may help ease th e p ain of th e outra geous ly esca la ting prices we p a y to ea t, slee p and be en tertai ned in Monter ey eac h year. Second ly, runnin g tw o dist inct races si m u lta neo us ly pre s en ts to o ma n y oppo r tu ni ties fo r in te rfere nce. If a Wo rl d Su perbi ke rid er too k out a n AMA rider, or vice-ve rsa, it could ru in Good idea This week' s ed itor ia l re gard in g co mbining the AMA and World Superbike r a ce s toget he r a t Lag u n a Seca was right o n. Raci ng is a s pectator sport and su perbi ke fa ns on ly wa nt to see the best racing possibl e. The only way to do tha t is combine th e weekend 's AMA a nd W orld Su pe rbi k e r a ce s together into tw o combined races. O therwise, th e AMA factory tea ms won' t co mpete in the two World Superbike E : ISSUE #45 NOVEMBER 17. 1999 Internet www.cyclenews.com Weekly Website Password: enduro '" I I IIiii Cycle News (USPS 141·340) is published weekly except the Jd",t two weeks of the calendar year for S58 per year by .00 Cycle News, Inc, 3505-MCadillac Avenue, Costa. Mesa, CA 9~. Periodicals Postage Paid at Costa Mesa, ~ and at. additional mailin~ office. Canada Post International Publications Mail'54661 5. I.. POSTMASTER: Send address changesto Cycle News, r.o. Box 5084 Casu Mesa. CA92628-5084. , . III U lii Q en en en ,..: :;; To determine the expiration date of your subscrip tion, check the four numbers on the first line of your address label. The first two digi k indicate the last issue number you'll receive and the last two characters indicate the year of the last issue. FEATURES DEPARTMENTS CN MOTO FASHION 2000 SPECIAL See inse rt after page 18 EVENTS MOTOCROSS Vintage Iron Wor ld Championshi ps from Glen Helen, California WANT ADS l0 o Cycle Nl'WS welcomes unsolicited t. ditor!al ,!,ateri~1 including stories, cartoons, photos, etc. Such material, If pubhs~L~ . . becomes the exclusive pro~rty of Cycle Ne~s. Repnn tln~ In whole or part ,?nly by re!'nu..slon .of th~ publisher. Advertis-' ing rates nnd circulation information W i ll besent upon requ es t. St'l'S.R.D.S. RIDINGIMPRESSION 2000 Hon da XR650L.. 12 DRAG RACING Round 13 - NHRA /Wins ton Drag Racing Series from Houston , Texas 14 ~ W/BD'A V ~ n::- z Printed in U.S.A. 4 CO'?} 'rightCCycle News, Inc.1999 Trademark Cycle News . registered U.S. Patent Offi ce. All rights reserved. AUDITED CIRCULA TION 50 66 68 LOOKINGBACK ENDURO Rou nd 15 - AMA / Acerbis Na tional End uro Series from Delaware City, Delaware LEADERBOARD IN THE TAPES 6 Subscription rate : Ratl'Sfor the United States and i ~ PffiSl"Ss sions for one year (SO issues), $58.00; tw~ years (lOO.lSSues), $111.00; six months (25 issues). $29.00; tnal sub (l5lSsucs), $21.00. Canada and Foreign, one year (SO issues), $105.00 two ; ye.us (100 issues), $195.<10; six months (25 issues), $55.00; trial sub (15 iSSUl"5), $42.00. ..c E CALENDAR RESULTS 17 43 .4 8 68 ON THEFRONT COVER If yo u' ve go t visions of new mo to gea r dancin g in you r head , tu rn to ou r CN Moto Fashion 2000 for a look at the new duds yo u might fin d in yo ur stock ing . O ur fron t page shows O' Neal' s Hardware pan t ($139.95) and jersey ($49.95), Pro Ci rcu it's Local Bar ha t ($25), Sid i's TAE Flex boot ($260) , a nd Ans wer's Edge pan t ($89.95) an d jer sey ($29.95). Photogra phy by Joe Bonne11o. the victi m's chances to wi n a title in his series . Why wo uld we want to see tha t? What d o you thi nk A ki ra Yanaga wa wou ld think about tha t? If the AMA teams wa n t to run the World Su per bike race, no one is stoppi n g them from ru nning th e race th e next d ay. As a fan, I really don' t care th at everv last facto rv AMA bike is entered in- the Wo rld Superbike race. If we re a ll y ha v e to k now w ho goes aro und Lagu na Seca faste r on a Superbike, the lap times will tell us . As for the FIM twisting the ru les to a llow t he H arl e y s to co m pe te, it ' s u nlikely, and in my opin ion, pointl ess. Enou gh sai d . Logistics wo uld be a problem as we ll. If they were to run the races concu rrently, h ow w ould th e bikes be g rid d ed? Whether you grid them mixed together or u sing overa ll qua lifying times, or in sep arate blocks with one gro up ahead of the othe r, the team s will not think it's fa ir eit her way . Also, would yo u run one World Su per bike leg by itself and the other wi th the AMA bikes includ ed? That wou ld b e weird . Or wou ld th e AMA run th e dou bl e- race fo rm at ? I doub t it. The way I see it ha ppeni ng is they will ru n an AMA Superbike Nationa l on Saturday, and two Wo rld Superbike ra ces on Sunday - possibly incl uding so me AMA bikes. I will be there as I have every year, a nd I will witness ter rific and memo rable races. And ju s t lik e every year, I w ill leave Mon terey missing not h ing bu t mo ney from m y wallet. Scoll Willock Tucson, AZ Good idea I a gre e co mp let e ly with Pa u l Carrut hers ' sc enari o o f t h e co m b ine d Wo rl d Supe rbik e / AM A Su perbike Na tional at Laguna Seca. I also agr ee w ith your proposed scoring met hod, as it w ill ensure the motivati on of the racers . I will not be able to at tend the races, b ut I a m lookin g forwa rd to th e live broad cast. I thin k th a t a d ver t isers w ou ld b e more mo tivated to buy TV time for an even t that could accu ra tely be described as the " Wo rl d ' s G rea tes t Su p erbik e Race." I, too, ho pe that it is not too late to conv ince the "decision makers" that we need this race. Scott Turner im ages@mind spring.com

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