Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Voices America's weekly motorcycle newspaper V olu m e XXXVI Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor KitPalmer, Associate Editor Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor Keith Bush, Assistant Editor/Copy Editor Matt Freeman, Associate Editor Chris [onn um . Managing Editor Alan Cathcart, Europ Editor ean David R. Holther, Assistant Editor Jennifer J. Dutcher, Proofreader Advertising Western Sta tes (714) 751-7433 Terry Pratt, National Aceaunts Manager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Dan Legere, Western SalesManag'" Rhonda Crawford, Ad Coordinator 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 Thom e, Director Forrest Hayashi, Manager Shannon Clark, Dealer Representative New Media Development KoryKlinger, Site Manager Classified Ads Melissa Parker Graphics and Prod uction Mandy Loo, Art Director Amanda Wollny, Lead Graphic Artist Paul Fisher, Graphi Artist c Lynda Vu, Graphic Artist Administrati on Judy Klinger, Coordinator Pam Klein, Administrative Assistant AccountingIData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, A/R Coordinator Geneva Repass, Assistant Theresa Milburn, Credit Manager LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A Day in the Dirt I' m writing not on ly to pra ise Kenn y A lexand er a n d Ji mm y Rob e rt s for puttin g on such an incred ible event, but also to clear up a mi scon cep tion abo u t "A Da y in th e Dirt. " The event is not closed - everyo ne is invited. I attend ed th e firs t run ni n g of th e event w ith a sing le camera and a cre w of enthusiastic motohead /film maker s. The eve nt that was intended as a hom ecoming , of sorts, for film and industry professiona ls who share a love of d ir t riding, wa s a ru naway success. This year's p lan was to open up the "p riva te party" to anyone who'd like to compete. Last year' s requirement of an industry union card to sign up had been elimi na ted. In fact , -w h ether yo u ' re a movie executive or a movi egoer, there was a class for you to ride in. The LACR facility was d ressed up to the nines. The racing was sp ectacular. In the "Top Shop" eve nt, over 40 National Cha mp ionship s were repre s en ted more tha n in an y ot her event in the history of our sport. Jeff Wa rd, Rick Joh nso n , Broc Glove r , Eric Keh o e , Guy Coop er, Ty Davis - the list goes on an d on. . The tw o and a half hour "Coupe de Grace" ha d th e winner Chris Gossalar a nd run n er-u p Mike Young s lurri ng their wo rds from exha ustion like a coupl e of drun ken sa ilors in th e podium interviews. Kenny an d Jimmy hit anot her home run wi th the second running of "A Day in th e Di r t." Mos t of u s n ever had a chance to race in the West Lake or Elsinore GPs, but Ken ny and Jimmy have given us our own classic event. I can't wai t un til next year's race . Michael Bryant via the Internet Circu lation Alma Anguiano, Circulation Manager Carol Maggio, Processing Coordinator DonnaSharp, Billing Coordinator Ashleigh ~lein, Dealer Coordinator Service and Support Amber Hill, Receptionist Jim Olson, Serviceand Support National HeadQll.~J1l:n 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 Office 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA30084 P.O. Box 805, Tucker,GA30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX (770) 934-3112 e-m ail editor®cyclenews.com subscribe@cyclenew s.com A Day in th e Dirt II A "Day in the Dirt" means a da y in the hospital, or w orse . Thi s s ho u ld have b een a fun wee ke n d of ra cing, but in stead it was a n exa m p le of the fil m industry' s ineptness of putting on a safe race. I witnessed man y thin gs that wer e, to say the least, unsafe for fans and racers alike. Here we have the film industry charging $60-240 per race, providing organized sign-u ps , vendor s, food and dri nk, en tertainment, etc., and com pletely leaving the racers and fans to look out for themselves. As I watc he d the first race of th e morn ing take off and complete lap one, a r ider went d o wn comi ng into t he mudhole section . There was no flagman to warn onco ming rid ers. Suddenly one yo ung flag kid shows up on the insid e wit h everyone railing around the ou tside and heading towards the d owned rid er - they cou ld n' t see the flagman. I yelled over and told him to swi tch sides so they cou ld see him . The next race was the Stunt GP team race and it had roughly 90 teams with all racers comi ng into the pits very fast (15-35 mph). Once again, on e yo un g flagman haphazardly waves the yellow fla g as racers entered the pits. The re were many, ma ny near misses and quit e a few collisions and crashes . And th e fans could jus t w al k th ro u gh and into the pit s and be part of the chaos - it was nuts. Th e tru e bummer of the weekend was the fourth race, the "Top Shop GP," when many top riders crashed har d ona small s tep-up doub le ju mp. This was caused by the fact that ther e we re no flag men w ho k new w ha t th ey w er e doing. It turned into a horrendous crash and it all could have been avoided . The flagman kid was on the downside of the d oubl e ju m p a n d wen t to help th e d owned rid er, ins tea d of flaggin g the top of the jum p or the preced ing corner. The second, third, fourth, fifth and ,sixth riders all flew u p and over th e chaos that was a head - a n d it was g na rly . Many riders were hurt, and two seriously eno ugh to be ai rlif te d away . It was obvious th at the even t lacked professional or eve n seasoned flagmen and the general understan ding or kn owled ge of motocross and l or the placement of per so nnel in proper positions on the track. These peo ple need to serious ly reconsider their p riori ties and make an unsafe race safe for all. Tha t would be a "Day in the Dirt." Cra ig Stanley Agoura Hills, CA All hail th e Kin g Thank you, King Kenn y, for coming out to In Cah oots in Sacramento to cha t and visit with some fans. Louis Dalmau Camer on Park, CA KellllY Roberts was a guest for Sport Bike Night in Sacramento last week... Editor Don 't say no , Willow I now have a firs tha nd feel for how our prelatic ances tors might have felt when th eir favorite d in o sau r s passed in to advertising@cydcnews.com INSIDE : ISSUE #49 DECEMBER 15. 1999 Internet www.cydenews.com Weekly Web site Password: trials a.dditio~ 1 DEPARTMENTS FEATURES Cycle News (uSPS 141-340) is published weekly except thelast 0\'0 weeks of the calendar year for $58.00 peryear by CycleNews, lnc., 3505-MCadillac Avenue, Costa Mesa. CA 92626 Periodicals Postage Paid at Costa Mesa. CA and at . ARST RIDE Kenny Roberts Jr:s Suzuki RGV500 han.. Mall #546615. . . POSTMA STER: Send address changes to Cycle News, P.O. Box 5084 Cost a Mesa, CA 92628-5084 , . To determine the expiration date of your subscription, check the four nu mbers on th t firs t lin e of your address label. The firs t two di gits indicate the lasl Iss ue number you'll receive and the las t two characters indica te the year of the last issue. Subscri ption rate!': Rates for the United States and its possessions for one year (SO issues), $58.00; two years 000 issues), $111.00 six months (25 i... ; . sues), $29.00 bial sub 05 issues), ; . sues), $105.1)0; two $21.00. Canada and Fore ign, one year (SO i... yea rs (100 issues ). $195.00; six months (25 iSSUl'S), $55.00; trial sub (15 i. sues), $42.00. s Cycle News welcomes unsolicited editorial material including stories, cartoons, phot os, etc. Such material. if published. becomes the exclusivepropertyof CyeleNews. Reprinting in whole or part only by permission of the publisher. Advertsing rates and circulation infonna tion will bese nt upo n request. See S.R.O.5 . W/B0'A V .,..r ~ AUDITEO CIRCULATION Printed in U .S.A. CO J?yrightc Cycle News, Inc. 1999. T rade mark Cycle News registered U.s. Patent Office. AU rights reserved. TIRETEST Dunl op Day tona tire test INTERVIEW AMA Pro Racing pr esid ent Scott Hollingsw orth MOTOCROSS Florida Mini Olympics from Ga inesville, Florid a A Day in the Dirt from Palmdale, California PROJECT BIKE Yamaha 540 dirt tra cker. 20 24 28 SUPERCROSS Round 4 - FIM World Supercross Series .30 from Leipzig, Germany 39 CALENDAR .40 .44 NEW PRODUCTS .48 IN THE TAPES .18 32 CLASSIFIED ADS .10 EVENTS LEADERBOARD 6 mailin g office. Canada Pos t lnt ema tional Publica- 63 LOOKING BACK 63 ON THE FRONT COVER Migue l DuH am el had his first ou ting on the Ho nda RC-51 at Daytona during the Dunlop tire test. Her e he lead s Mr. Dayton a, Scott Russell. Photo by Henny Ray Abrams. Inset: Kenny Rober ts Jr:s Suzuki RGV-500. We rid e it! Photo by Ke l Edge. . oblivio n. No, I'm not a pa leontologist I'm a fan of AMA road racing. Th e fir st vi ct im wa s the muc h maligned "track" at Pomona. While the rid ers d erid ed th e tr ack as merely a "p arking lot co u rs e," it was grea t for road racing fans be cause of the h u ge manufacturers midway and aftermarket in volvement. La st y ea r, w e los t La s Vega s a nd I cou ld never fa thom why there were nev er mo re people in attendance th ere - it's Las Vegas, for God's s a ke . But another ve n ue p a ssed into ob livion. This year we won' t be going to Phoenix eit her. Yet anothe r grea t stree t ride from Californ ia is forever los t as thi s yea r we see the elimi na tion of the AMA Superbike race from Laguna Seca. Sure, it' s go ing to so me how b e combi ned with the World Su perbike race, but that's another National off the calend a r. Th e lat est ru mo r is th at th ere' s a movement afoot to drop the National at Willow Springs. Wh ile I p revious ly wo u ld travel to n o less t han six ve n ues. p er yea r t o wa tch m y favorite sport, I now have a combined even t at Laguna Seca and a race at Sears Point (ano ther tha t always see ms to be endange red) . It seems to me tha t the AMA National Road Racing Series is commit ting su icide. You d on 't endang er interest in a racing series by slas hing thr ee-quarters of the eve nts from the calenda r. I guess I could atte nd all the road races combined wi t h th e Nationa l M otocross eve nts tagged in th e most heavil y p opulat ed state in the nation - that wo uld give me a tota l of four races a year. Maybe I'll just s ta rt w at ching high schoo l soccer ins tead . Rene LaPrevotte Novato, CA Weeping Willow It would be ve ry disa ppointing if the AMA Na tionaJ.for the yea r 2000 at Willow Springs Raceway we re canceled . I attended the event in 1999 wit h my wife an d frien ds, and , as usual, we had a bla st and the racing was fan tastic. Willow Springs is a g reat race track fo r spectators and racers alike and its location makes it very accessible from four big metropolitan areas. So why cance l the event? Is it politics? Mon ey? Egos? Please don' t di sappoint th e thousand s of roa d racing fans, and have the event. We will pu t our money wher e ou r mouths are and we'll be there. Jose Obando Phoenix, AZ

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