Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

no t race for peanuts," Capirossi said . Friday, November 26 was the HRCmandated for a factorv Honda to be reserved for Capirossi, 'and the Italian has sent the factory a fax requesting that an NSR250 be reserved for him - though he hasn 't includ ed a team name or sponso r. His best option at th is time is to move to the Tino Villa Racing team . "We are very interested about this program, but now we need talking about with our sponsors to find the budget th a t we need to race with a sta r like Capirossi" said Villa, the owner of the team that featured Stefano Perugini on an NSR250 in 1999. O ne of KTM's newest member s to its 2000 motocross team , Donovan Mitchell, su ffered spinal inju ries wh ile competing at the A Day in the Dirt GP in Palmdale, California, on Novem ber 28. Mitchell is cu rrently at the Northride Med ical Center in Northridge, Californ ia. Ca rds and letters can be sent to KTM Sportmotorcycles, clo Donovan Mitc hell, 930 Fesler St., EI Cajon, CA 92020. Du cati No rth America and Dunlop tires have has teamed u p to announce the North American Ducati Sport Turismo Ride Series. The events, which number over 40 a nd will be conducted across No rth America on weekends betw een March and September of 2000, are open to all motorcyclis ts, regar d less of bra nd. Each rid e ro ute will send participants d ow n some of th e bes t motorcycling roads in tha t p ar ticu lar region, with many of the planned sto ps at scenic and hist ori cal pl aces. Duca ti will also have models from its ST sport tou ring family on ha nd for d emos. There is a $10 entry fee for eac h rid er, and space is lim ited . For more info rmatio n on planned rides scheduled in your region, see yo ur local Ducati d ealer. More Ducati news: Ducati Motor Holding and Moto Cinelli International Ltd. hav e announced the esta blishme nt of Ducati UK, which will handle the distribution , promotion and after sales of Ducati prod ucts in the United Kingd om . The mov e w a s d eem ed necessa r y b y DMH a n d Moto Cinelli - the latt er being the lon gs ta nd ing di st ribu tor res po nsib le fo r build ing the Ducati fran chise in the UK in order for the br and to move forward by bringing Ducati headquarters closer to fans of the marque in the UK mark et. The D irt Di gg er s MC wil l host the last d esert ra ce o f the m ille nnium and the final date on the 1999 AMA District 37 competitio n calenda r in Red Mountai n on Sunday, on Decem ber 12. Laid out in a ha re-scrambles forma t, th e starti ng banner will drop a t 9 a.m. A separate kid ' s race will take p lace on Satu rday. For mo re d etails, call 909 1875-8520. Au strali an ro ad racer Peter G od d ard wrill be a bus y man in 2000, acco rding to Cycle News contributor Dar ryl Flack . In addition to sig ni ng a contact to ride a Kawa saki in th e Brit ish Su pe rbi ke Champion ship, Goddard will also enter seven of the Euro pea n World Superbike round s. " It's going to be a busy yea r wi th 19 meetings and 38 races over eight months," said Goddard . "Th e British Champions hip is important for Kawasa ki. At the same time I' m pleased the program allows me to keep doing a lo t of racing in the Worl d Superbike Championship." The one-time All -Japan 500cc l Cha mpion said he hop ed to test ride a . Kawasaki ZX-7RR for th e first tim e in early Fe brua ry a t either the Eastern Creek or Phillip Island in Aus tralia . Kawasaki's World Superbike Ch arnpi- onship riders Akira Yanagawa and Gregorio Lavilla are scheduled to test at Eastern Creek and Phillip Island at that time. "I've never ra ced a Kawasaki before, so it would be good to do some testing early next year to ge t used to the characteristics of the bike before I go to Britai n," said Goddard. Facing the likes of Chris Walker, John Reyn old s, Steve Hislop and Niall Mackenzie, Goddard is under no illusions of the tough task at hand . "Britain has one of the most com petitive Superbike championships anywhere, so I'm expecting the racing to be tough and ha rd ," sai d God dard . "Having said that, I' m confident the tea m and Kawasaki will give me the support and equipme nt to do the best possible job." You ng Ale x Gobert, th e 16-year-old bro the r of former Vance & Hines Ducati rider Anthony Gobert, has signed a two year d eal wi th Honda Australia to race a C BR600 a n d th e ne w fu el -in je ct e d C BR900 in th e Aus tra lian Road Ra ce Championships. Gobe rt will also race in selected rounds of the Formula Xtreme Tri-Stat e alongside inc u m bent Honda tea m me mber Ada m Fergusson. Ho nda Australia race manager Mick Smith, who said Gobert is a long -term project of the world's largest motorcycle manu factu rer, made the announcement. "We have set out a schedule for Alex, and we are working towa rds building a long-term association with him," Smith said. "It's a simila r pro gra m we ha d w ith Da ry l Beattie when we signed him in 1989 - to take him from d omestic to international racing. It'll be Alex's first year on the big four-strokes so we want to expose him to as mu ch local racing as possible." Gobert raced to grea t success in the Moriwaki 80cc class in 1998 and '99 and recently won the New Sou th Wales 250 Production Champions hip on an Aprilia RS250 fro m rei g nin g Aus tra lia n Cha m p ion Broc Parkes. With his senior road -racing career barely u nderway, the yo u nges t Gobert has alrea dy sha ded his 18-yearo ld b ro th er Aaron, while 24-yea r-old Anthony observed at the 1999 Aus tra lian Grand Pri x that Alex has the po tential to be fas ter than him . Motocro sser Ben Riddle was inj u red w hi le co mpeti ng a t th e Florid a Mini O ly m pics in Gai nesville, Flo ri da, on November 28. After al ready wi nni ng 11 races, the 16-year -old Riddl e cras hed in his fina l race, chip pi ng the T1 vertebra te in his neck. Riddle also broke th ree ribs, broke and dislocated his collarbo ne, and bruised his heart and lungs. The ea rly prognosis is that no surgery will be necessary an d he is expected to be back riding again early next yea r. Cards and lette rs m a y b e sent to Ben Rid dl e , 576 Pleasan t Union Chu rc h Roa d , Campbellsville, KY 42718. T he in augural STTARS S u p e r TT American Raci ng Series will concl ude with a d oubleheader, December 11-12. On Satu rday, r a cers will co m pe te a t Mesa Marin Speedway in Bak ersfield , Ca liforn ia, in the fi na l round of the SITARS Su per ITriple Crown Series, with th e c h a m pion w innin g a n a llexpe nse- p a id trip to compete in th e presti giou s Guidon d 'O r (Gold en Hand le b ar) at Bercy Stadium in Par is , France. O n Sunday, champions will be crow ned in the 12th and final round of the Su per IT Sou thwest Region Championship at Buttonwillow Racewa y in Bu ttonwillow, California . For m ore information, call 949/768-4626. Five-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McG rath is a confirmed entry for the 4th a nnua l Chaparral U.S. AMA Edwards and Co. test twin at Philli Island onda began its preparation for the 2000 World Superbike Championship with Castrol Hond a' s Colin Edwards II (right) and Aaron Slight, testing the VTRloo0 SPI for two days at Phillip Isla nd in Australia, ovember 25-26. Although Honda ran the test behind closed doors , photograp hers were able to talk their way tracksid e, and it is known that the pair circulated for two d ays wit hout any mec hanica l fa ilures. Edwards reported ly turned a 1:34.6 about a half a seco nd quicker than what he'd lapped on the prototype V-twin back in January. The Texan also cras hed twice u nderb raking for the first-gea r Hon da Hairpin, escaping both times wi tho u t in jur y. Slight, mean while, lapped at a best of 1:35.2. Yama ha also tes ted at Phill ip Island, wi th five riders on ha nd for the test, inclu ding Yama ha's lon e facto ry World Su pe rbike racer for next year, Noriyu ki Haga (left). The Japanese rider tes ted new engine parts for the first time, with good resu lts. "This engine is the fastes t tha t I have used on board the R7," said Haga at the end of the seco nd day. He recorded a best time of 1:34.4, a tad better than Edwards. The Yamaha was also reportedly faster than the Honda in top speed at the end of the Phillip Isla nd front straight. Both Honda and Yamaha wil l continue their tests at Philli p Island on November 30 and December 1. Paol o Gozzi H Prol Am Motocross Championships at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, on December 19. Severa l other top-n a m e rid e rs have en tered, including AMA 250cc atio na l Motocross Champio n Greg Albert yn, Tim Ferry and Jeff Emig. The raCe w:iII again featu re a 125cc vs, 250cc Shoo tout. For more informa tion, call 909 1880-3090. The FlM has confirmed the two rou nds of the World Supersport Championship that will be held ou tside of Europe. The races w ill be hel d a t Ph illip Island in Aus tralia on April 23 and in Sugo, Japan , on A p ril 30 . Th e Wo rld Supersport Championship runs in conju nction with the World Su perbike Cham pio nship. PACE Mo tor Spo rts has ann ounced the ai r da tes for its Vans T rip le Crown of Freestyle Motocross on ESPN an d espn2 . ESPN wi ll air the San Diego ro und on November 30 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., the Anaheim round on December 15 from 4 to 5 p.m. and the San Francisco round on December 21 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Espn2 will air the San Diego round on December 11 fro m 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. (with a repea t show sche d u led for December noon from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.), the Anaheim round on December 18 from noon to 1 p.m. (with a repeat show slated to air on December 19 from 8 to 9 p.m.), Art Fredenburgh, 46, di ed on November 2 from inju ries sustai ned at a vi ntage flat-track race in Lancaster, Califo rnia on Sep tember 6. Fred enb urgh was an avi d mot orcycl ist and mot or cycle co llecto r, racing at Ascot Par k in Gardena, California, as a Novice and Jun ior before receiving his Expert license. Fred enburgh was also an accomplished stu ntrna n. Floridian motocrosser Jeremy Brown suffered serious injuries in a crash during the 250cc A class at th e Florida Winter O lympics a t Gatorba ck Cy cle Park in Gai nes ville, Florida, on Novem be r 28. Brown suffered a concussi on, multiple rib fractures, a collapsed lun g, and a bruised liver and kidney. Cards and letters can be se n t to Bro wn, clo Cy cle Na tio n, 1545 South Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32301. According to a p ress release from the company, Excelsior-Henderson will have a "Limited Edition Touring" model available to its dealers in Dece mbe r. The custom mo del featu res deep pearl oyster paint, white-wall tires and a one-piece seat. In addition, the bike w ill come with a windshiel d , saddlebags, a luggage carrier, a padded ba ckrest , a h igh w ay bar and driv in g lam ps. Speaking of Excels ior-Henderson, the company said it m igh t seek cre ditor p rot ection , acco rd ing to a sto ry in the St. Paul (Mi nnesota) Pionee r Press. The Belle Plaine- based com pa ny sa id it los t $5.2 mill ion , or 38 cents per sha re, for the th ree months ending on Oc tobe r 2, co mpa re d w ith a $7 .5 million, or 57 cen ts per sha re, for the sa me period a year ago. Sales were $9 million for the most rece nt pe riod . Last mo nth, the com pa ny d isclosed that it had d efaulted on a $7.1-million sta te loan. BOR N: Blake Ren ee Myers, to Pro motocr osser Scott Myers and his wife, Ste fani , on November 24 in Murrieta, California . CO RRECT ION: Our recent new s item rega rd ing ADA Motorsports had an incorrect phone number. The co rrect number is 630/294-031 7. ADA is offer~ ing privateers the opportunity to hav e their bikes transported to the AMA Supercross and Nati onal Motocross Series rounds in a 53-foot tracto r trailer . CH ANGED: The dates for the Quicksilver AMA Nati onal Enduro in Coalinga, Californ ia, and the AMA National Hare Scrambles in Wilseyville . California , have been swapped. The en d uro wi ll now take place on February 20 and the hare scrambles with take place on February 13. For more information, contact the AMA at 614/856-1900 . OPENED: Matto Cycle's home page on the World Wide Web . The site can be fou nd at the followi ng address: http:/ / w;vw. rnattocycle.com . COR RECTION : The November 10, 1999 Nu mbe r 44 iss ue of Cycle News stated that Dana Van Stee wo n the 12Scc National Ha re and Houn d cham pi. onship at the final round in Lucerne Valley, California . When points were totaled, it was Van Stee's Kawasaki teammate Kurt Case lli who had actually captured the title. Caselli also captured AMA Distric t 37's Best in the West, enduro, Big Six Grand Prix, mo tocross and desert radng number-one p late in all five separate series. CN '" '" '" cO ~ .8 E '" '" u C 3

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