Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Sup ercross.com will be webcasting from the Toyota World Supercr oss round in Pasad ena, California, on Nov ember 20. A prerace show will begin at approxima tely 2 p.m. with the live audio of the race set to begin at 2:30 p.m. Supercross.com was founded in 1995 by seven-time AMA National Motocross/Supercross Champion Rick Johnson. Mark Moreland of More land ' s Motocro ss in Sta n to n, Michigan, su ffered seri ou s inju r ies o n O ctober 30 while competing at his track. Moreland suffered head injuries, facial lacerations, a fractured wrist and a compressed vertebra. Moreland , however, did not suffer any paralysis. Card s and letters can be sent to Moreland at 5235 E. Pakes Rd., Stant on, MI 48888. Three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts will be on hand for Sport Bike Night at In Cahoots in Sacramento, Californ ia, on No vember 29 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. For more informatio n, call 916/ 3731557. The FlM drug tested the following riders at th e October 31 ro u nd of th e World Ch ampionship Ro ad Rac e Series in Bu en os Aires , Argen tina : Roberto Loca te lli, Mirko Gi an santi, Ivan Go i, Kenny Roberts [r., Carlos Checa and Sete Gibernau . All sa mples were negative. SCRAMP, the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula, paid out more than $450,000 to over 70 Central California Coast charities and civic organizations at a reception in Seaside, California, on Thu rsd ay, Novem ber 11. The 1999 donation brings SCRAMP's two-year total to just under $1 million and its 42-year gra nd total to more than $9 million. This year' s Day in the Dirt, sched uled fo r Los A ngeles County Rac e wa y in Palm d ale, California, November 26-28, will be presen ted by famed movie d irector James Cameron, the director of such movies as Titanic and Termina tor, and artist Troy Lee. Frid ay' s activities will includ e a Ricky Jo h nso n School of Cha m pio ns and the Troy Lee Ha p p y Hou r, a snea k peak at the race track. The race is exp ected to attract the lik es of Bro c G lover, Dann y La Po rt, Bob by Moore, Jeff Stanton, Jeff Wa rd, J.N . Roberts, Marty Moates, Ron Lechien , Ricky Johnson, Guy Coop er and more. For more information, call 661/263-8722. Vallejo Speedway2 is the nam e of the new eighth-mile d irt oval that has been constructed at the Solan o Cou nty Fairgro unds in Vallejo, Californi a. The new track ran a short seaso n of kart events to close out 1999, and promoters Steve and Bobbie Hazelt on of Top Prop, Inc., are planning to include sho rt track motorcycle races in their sche dule for th e yea r 2000. The Hazeltons wou ld like to make contact with sanctioning clubs or orga nizations that would be interested in run nin g races a t the facility. All inquiries sho uld be d irec ted to To p Prop, Inc., 707/ 544-3140. Motorsim s' AMA Superb ik e - the firs t and only AMA Superbike simula tion for personal com pu ters - is now avail ab le, and AMA members are en titled to a d iscoun t of almost 40 percent off the $39.95 retail pr ice, acc ord ing to th e AMA. In order to receive AMA Superbike for the m embers hip ra te o f $25, call 888/33MOTOR, or visit Motorsims' Web site at www.motorsims.com. The Hollister Independence Rally Committee (HIRC) was recen tly gran ted a two-year contract with the city of Hollister, Californi a, for the exclusive rights to promo te its three-d ay motorcycle rall y. Under the terms of the contract, the rally wi ll take place on the first weekend of July in 2000 and 2001, beginni ng on Frid ay morning and conclud ing on Sunday nig h t. Th e contract also gran ts HIRC a $50,000 cred it agains t city expen ses - a credi t based on the estimated amoun t of sales ta x generated in Hollister d u ring the rally. Law enforcement will be increased at the . Imperial Sand Dunes near El Centro, California, on ho liday week ends, and other new services are being ad ded for the th ou san ds of en th usiasts wh o visit th e dunes, accord ing to th e Bureau of Land Management. "We are listenin g to th e public and a re makin g impro vements based upon their comments," said Gre g Thomsen, fiel d manager for th e BLM' s El Ce n tro field office. "We a re able to use fu nds from th e Recreati on Fee Program that wen t into effect on Janua ry 1 of th is yea r, and Gree n Sticke r grants awarded from the California OffHighway Motor Vehicle Recreation Divisian ." Fo r m ore infor ma tion, ca ll 760/ 337-4400. The AMA has ann ounced the nominees for the 1999 Speedvision Athlete of the Year Award. The nominees (in alphabetical order ) are as follows: AMA 250cc National Motoc ro ss Cha m pion Greg Albertyn; AMA Grand Natio nal Champion Chris Carr; AMA 600cc Sup ersport Champion and Dirt Track Rookie of the Year Nicky Hayden; AMA Su pe rcross Na tio na l Ch ampion Jeremy McGrath; and AMA Superbike Nati onal Champi on Mat Mia din. The w inner w ill be announced at the AMA National Champions Award Banquet on December 11 at the Caesa rs Palace Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevad a. Althoug h he was sworn to secrecy on lap times, Colin Edwards II couldn' t contain his exciteme nt when ta lking abo u t his recent tests on the new Hond a RC51 that he'll race in next year's World Superbike Cha m p ionshi p. " It was a wesome," Ed wards sai d . "I' m rea dy to go right no w ." Edwards tes te d th e new bike immed iately following the Sugo roun d of the World Superbike Championship and then aga in at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. The Na tional Mo to rcycle Mu seum & Ha ll of Fame is cu rrently accep ting atlar ge nomin ations for the Hall of Fam e in the yea r 2000. Those who know of a wo rthy indivi dual and are interested in receiving a nomination form can contact the museum at 605/ 347-4875. There are cu rre ntly 35 inductees in the Na tional Mo tor cycle Museum & H all of Fam e, located in Sturgis, South Dako ta. President Clinton a n d Sec reta ry o f Commerce William Daley visite d th e York, Pennsylvania , final assembly facility on November 10, as part of a national dialog ue on trad e and jobs being held by th e White H o use a nd Departm ent of Co mmerce. Ha rley- Davi dson was chosen to host President Clinton and Daley becau se of the company' s u nique relation ship with its un ion work force and its successful efforts to expand prod uct sal es in international markets. "We are honore d an d proud to host Pre si d ent Clinton an d Secretary Daley at our York fa cil ity," said H a rl ey- David son In c. cha irman and CEO Jeffrey L. Bleu stein. "At Harley-Davidson, we are com mitted to growing our bu sin ess be yond U.S. borders as well as w ithi n, and we are confident that international trade can be a win -win pr oposition for our compa ny and our employees. Our empl oyees have alwa ys su pported the compa ny's growth strategies, and they understand we must be competitive in the worldwide motorcycle market:' The Edge Sports confirmed on Monday, November 15 that the y will be backing Jeff Emig at the Pasade na round of the Wo rld Su percross Cha mpio ns hip on November 20. There is also a strong p0ssibility that The Edge and Ernig will hook up for a deal for the entire 2000season. Th e Californ ia Su perbike Scho ol' s redesign ed Web site fea tu res video clips of race tracks on w hich the schools are held. The clips include a lap of Laguna Seca lookin g over D ou g Ch a nd le r' s sho ulder. Che ck it out a t www.superbikeschool.com . Sega Pinball Inc. is now seIling a new pi nb all game - Harley-David so n!. Th e ga me has suc h fea tu res as au th en tic Harley-Davidson en gi ne sou nd , and a Heritage Sp ringer motorcycle ball lock that does wheelies. The Muscu lar Dystrophy Associa tion has annou nced th a t its O ff-Ro ad For Hope II rid e will be held February 4-6, 2000 at the Oco tillo Sta te Veh icu la r Recreation Area in Sou thern California. For more informa tion, call 858/492 -9792. The Los Ang eles Tr ade-Tech will hold is ann ua l stude nt awa rds banquet a t the Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, California, Mc.GrathNuillemin showdown set for Pasadena A lthough both ride rs disco u nt the real-w orld importance of the World Supercross title! it is apparent that some sort of a friend ly rivalry is developing between Yamaha riders Jeremy McGra th and David Vuille min. The latter wo n the ser ies' first round at Paris' Pare de Stad , then backed it up with a win at the Bercy Supercro ss (not a World round). Both of those races we re in his home cou ntry , however, and McGrath - winless in the pr eseaso n d esp ite som e strong rides - is no doubt hungry. The pair will squa re off a t the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on November 20. Despite his recent success, Vuillemin - wh o will race stateside next year - is respectful of McGrath. on December 5, honoring those stu dents w ho grad ua te w ith a n A.S. d egree in Automo ti ve Techno logy. Pa r t of the entertai nment on th e nigh t will be th e sho w ing of the 100-lap As cot TT tha t was won by Skip Van Leeuwen in 1967. Other legendary racers will be in attend ance . Fo r m or e -in fo r m ati on, call 626/443-9630 or 626/442-8682. Moto Guzzi was featured as one of the hi st ori c motorcycle br ands in a se ries named "Mod em Marvels," which aired on The Hi story Cha nnel on Monday, Nove mbe r 15. The BMW K 1200 LT and R 1100 S motor cycles have both received the Good Design Award from the C h icago Athenaeum Muse um of Architecture and Design. The BMW R 1000 S was recognized for its use of advanced and innovativ e design in order to achieve a high performa nce threshold, while remaining aes the tically distinct. The BMW K 1200 LT was lauded as a design that bro ug ht fea tu res previously u nava ilab le into a se gmen t, while once aga in offeri ng a compelling visual presentation . TravelCraft is curren tly taking reservations for Bike Week a t Dayt ona, schedul ed for March 4-12, 200 0. For more information, call 800/241-1223. American Suzuki has ann ounced th at customers can now apply for fina ncing o nli ne over it s Web site . Visi to rs to www.su zukLcom can fill out a Suzuki Direct Finance loan app lication from any computer with Interne t access. Once the visitor has completed the online application an d selected a Suzuki dealer from th e d eal er locat or, their application is forward ed via fax to that d ea ler, who ' process the app lication as normal. AP POI NTED: Dominica "Miki" Keller as presi dent o f the Wom en 's Mot ocro ss Leag ue (WM L>,effecti ve imme dia tely. Keller is the founder of Wide Open maga zine and was executive director o f the 1998 MCD FreeRide MXChampionships . AUT OG RAPH SIGNING: At the Suzuki display tent at the 1999 World Supercross Championship roun d at the Rose Bowl in Pasaden a, Califo rnia, on N ovember 20 from 12:30 to 1:30 p .m. Team Suzuki's Damon Huffman , Trav is Past rana a nd Mike Kiedrowski arc scheduled to appear. PROMOT ED: Mike Fairbanks. to the posi tion of rider s upport coord inator for FMF Racing. effec tive Nov ember 10. by FMF's marketing d irector Tom Webb . Fairbanks formerly served FMF in technica l su ppo rt and sa les . Fairbanks takes OVloT fo r Hylton Beatti e, who resigne from his positio n . d HIRED: Sheryl Condon, as marketing analyst for eN Acerbis USA, effective immediately. "I won' t say I'm World Champion if I am becau se it's wrong," the French man said. "Jeremy is the Am erican Champion, so he' s Wo rld Ch am pion . It co mes with th e American title. Priority number one [for the series I is to ride the America n bike and just to begin my preparation for next year. It's to get used to the bike, and to the team and to everybody." Vuille min has never raced in Pasa de na's Rose Bowl, the site of the second round of the World Cha mp ions hip . "Everyone tells me it's a very big stadi um nor th of L.A.," he said. While McGrath has wo n there, no one has raced at the venue since 1993, and Vuillemin does ha ve ot her West Coast 250cc indoor experience (he con tes ted this year's Ana hei m I and II, Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego races). The orig inal second round of the series was canceled, leaving just Pas ad en a and Germa ny to ru n, so McGrath will ha ve his wo rk cu t ou t fo r hi m to overcome his points deficit. And althoug h Vuillem in wo n' t admit it, a victory by the new King of Bercy over the acknowl edged King of SX wo uld be a great harbinger goi ng into 2000. "Pasad ena w ill be a big race because it's my first race in the team in America," Vuillemin said. "So it will be important: ' Says McGra th, "I can tell he's [Vuillemin] thinki ng abou t next year:' 3

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