Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128087
By 30 rEARS AGtl.. JANUARY ~ 1971 The cover of Issue #2 featured two very different views of motorcycle recreation: 8 rider laying over his road rocket during a race at Willow Springs and a trail rider having fun in an unnamed OHV area in Southern California. Inside the issue, we investigated and rated legal riding areas in Southern California ... Walt Fulton (Kaw) showed up at the ACA Road Races at Willow Springs to tune his motorcycle for Daytona. He ended up winning the 500cc class, ahead of Dave Damron (Kaw) and Dan Hanebrink (Kaw) ... Whitey Martino won the Red Mountain San Bernardino MC Hare Scrambles, ahead of number-two man Rich Thorwaldson. It was the second win in as many races for Martino, who held the numberone plate in 1971... Barry Briggs presented a new column in Cycle News when he submitted "Speedway and Me," in which he talked of the risks that are taken to race speedway and posed the question, "Is it worth it?" He also made mention of recently deceased Gordon Guasco, an Australian speedway star who died doing exactly what he loved to do most - racing. 20 fEARS AGtl.. JANUARY 21, 1981 Issue #2 featured the new BMW R80G/S dual-purpose bike. For a mere $4800, you could own a horizontally opposed, 798cc dual-purpose BMW with all the frills, including a single-sided swingarm, a built-in tool kit and a full 7.8 inches and 6.6 inches of suspension travel on the front and rear, respectively... An advertisement for round one of the 1981 Supercross Series at Anaheim Stadium showed that the most expensive seat in the house was $25 (in the skybox) and regular seating ranged from $9 to $15, depending on the section... Round two of the CMe Golden State MX Series went off at Lake Madera, with Danny Chandler using his head to win the 125cc Pro class, and Rex Staten using 2-2 moto scores to win the 250cc Pro class and 3-2 scores to win the Open Pro class... Kevin Davis won the season-ending MRAN desert race in Beerbottle Pass, Nevada, with ease over Anthony Pasqualotto ... CRC held its Dunes MX race in Valencia, Califomia, with Johnny O'Mara easily topping the 125cc Pro class. Cycle News contributor Tony Alessi finished third in the 80cc Novice class. 10 rEARS AGtl.. JANUARY ~ 1991 Issue #2 was our annual Supercross Preview Edition, and because of this, it featured many photos from the 1990 Supercross season. The I 991 season consisted of 17 rounds, and we predicted that the top five at season's end would be, from first to fifth, Jeff Stanton, Jean·Michel Bayle, Jeff Matiasevich, Mike Kiedrowski and Jeff Ward... The first round of the 1991 AMA Camel Supercross Series kicked off in Orlando, Florida, and Team Honda's Jeff Stanton started off his title defense with II convincing victory. Jean-Michel Bayle (Hon) finished second, while Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw rounded out the podium. The 125cc main was won by Supercross first·timer Brian Swink, on a Peak/Pro Circuit Honda, with a finish-line pass over Ryan Hughes (Kaw) on the last lap... Jeremy McGrath (Hon) dominated round two of the CMC Golden State MX Nationals by winning all four motos in the 125cc and 250cc Pro classes. Steve lamson (Suz) finished second overall in the 125cc class, while Team Kawasaki's Mike Kiedrowski chased McGrath to no avail in the 250cc class. CHRIS JONNUlVI T here were many questions waiting to be answered at Anaheim, California's AMAlEA Sports Supercross opener - Would Ricky Carmichael be able to challenge Jeremy McGrath? Would Keuin Windham be competitiue on a Suzuki? Could Trauis Pastrana hold his own in the 250cc class? - but perhaps the one thing people were most eager to see was how Yamaha's much· discussed YZ250F four-stroke would fare in the 125cc class. AMA rules state that thumpers up to 250cc are eligible to contest the tiddler division, much as big-bore four-strokes may race in the 250cc class, and Yamaha built its allnew bike with this specifically in mind. Yamaha of Troy has been given the honor of officially debuting the 250F, and Ernesto Fonseca recently took it to a win in its premier pro race at the final round of the 2000 Japanese National MX Series. Anaheim would mark the bike's first Supercross effort, and the debut was successful to say the least, with Fonseca Final .010 completely dominant. Fonseca didn't Anaheim would seem to support pull the holeshot in the main, and he was passed on three occasions over the night's racing - once by Honda CR 125-mounted Tyler Evans in the this theory. Whenever Fonseca was passed, he was immediately able to get back by, and even after starting sixth in the main, he passed at the heat and twice by Suzuki RM 125mounted Danny Smith. "We were confident: said Yamaha of Troy manager Erik Kehoe, "but I rate of a rider a lap until he was in front. Once there, he didn't pull away significantly. Though Smith had been substantially faster than Fonseca in don't think it was unfair at all. I think it actually proved it there. Danny Smith was right in there. I just think it's a their (separate) heat races, and though he was substantially faster than the other 125cc two-stroke rid- very competitive bike, and it's fair." Interestingly, Smith agreed, saying, "From what I saw out there, I think it's fair to race against it. I think it was my fault [that I lostl." ers, he wasn't able to keep Fonseca behind him in the main. And even DeCoster's case was apparently further weakened by the official timing results, which revealed Fonseca's heat-race win to be a full 18 seconds all of the major obstacles, the most important areas in Supercross are the start, the whoops, and corner exits. slower than that of heat-two winner more of those areas, and your chances of winning improve. At Anaheim, the YZ250F didn't appear to have a big advantage on starts, at when the 250F was (briefly) passed, it was usually due to a Fonseca bobble. Assuming that everyone is clearing Establish an advantage in one or least not in the main. It didn't have a big advantage in the whoops, but neither did it have the disadvantage that winning both his heat race and the main event. Immediately upon the heels of the 250F's official unveiling on www.cyclenews.com back in early June - well before it was raced many had begun calling it a cheater, saying that the rules were flawed and that it would make for unfair racing. This despite the fact that only days earlier, anyone who announced intentions of campaigning a 250cc four· stroke in professional motocross would have been assumed to be sadly misguided. Now that the bike has proven to be competitive, the controversy will only increase. In the Suzuki semi after the race, manager Roger DeCoster stopped short of accusing Yamaha of cheating, but he was clearly against the rule that inspired the YZ250Ps creation. "I've always said that it doesn't make sense," DeCoster said. "That bike should not be in here. I think it has the potential to destroy the 125 class. I'm not blaming Yamaha; they built a great bike. They saw the loophole in the rule, and Yamaha decided to build a 250 for it, but how much sense does it make when the announcer is going, 'Fonseca is leading the 125 class on his YZ250'?" DeCoster also called the AMA's rules regarding displacement "totally random," but while the 250F was impressive at Anaheim, it was not some had expected (pre-race rumor had it that the bike coughed in the whoops, and that its extra weight might hurt it there). But judging from Fonseca's Anaheim performance, the bike just might have an edge in corner exits, where the amount and style Emesto Fonseca on the Yamaha VZ250F: Is it too much of an advantage for the two-stroke 125cc class? of its power increase its line options, and in turn (pun intended), its passing opportunities. Obviously, Fonseca rode a great race and very well may have won were he on a YZ125. It's too early yet Smith, achieved on a traditional twostroke with half the displacement of Fonseca's bike. In reality, however, this fact could be used to support DeCoster's case. That's because the 250F's greatest attribute is arguably not top speed (at least not in Supercross), but tractability and low-end torque. These traits increase the number of passing lines available to a rider (something we noted in our YZ250F test in Issue #49), since he can square off a corner and still be able to hook up and motor by on the exit. Riders of 125s must take lines that rob as little momentum as possible. In other words, while the 250F is not markedly faster in terms of lap- or race times, it might be better at passing riders and keeping them behind it. This has proven true in GP road racing, where Aprilia 400cc twins and Honda 500cc twins turned qualifying times competitive with 500cc fours, but then lacked the corner-exit speed to get around those bikes in a race. to say with any certainty that the Yamaha YZ250F has a clear advantage over 125cc two-strokes, but the evidence is mounting quickly. As this is written, the bike is undefeated in professional racing, having won both motos in Japan, and the heat and main event in Anaheim. Whether or not this advantage (if it exists) is unfair is fodder for a future column, but for now, Fonseca's competition can take solace in the fact that the 250F does appear to have at least one chink in its armor: Following his victory, a deservedly happy Fonseca rolled to a stop and raised his arms over his head in triumph. When his celebration was finished, it took him an unsettlingly long time to re-fire his thumper· long enough, perhaps, for a fleeing Smith to get out of striking distance of Fonseca and his controversial new toy. eN • San Diego Supercross • 600cc Sportblke Shootout • We Ride Troy Corser's Aprilla Superllike cue I ... n e _ S • FEBRUARY 2, 2000 75