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/128092
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enough to be ready to race. As for Stefan, he is a very talented rider and his
speed in training has been very good."
fverts, who was disappointed with his
third place, said he was happy to be
back. Everts held second place in the first
moto, only to see Smets pass him with a
few comers remaining. "1 got really tired
in the arms," Everts said. "1 could hardly
hang on in the first moto, then in the second race I took it easier and had a nice
time."
Defending AMA/FMF National Enduro
Champion Michael Lafferty (KTM)
kicked off the 2001 series with an overall
win in Wickenburg, Arizona, on February
11. Russell Pearson (Yam) was second overall, one day after winning the
opening Silver State Series round, and
Randy Hawkins (Yam) was third overall on the new WR250F four-stroke. Ty
Davis (Yam) was fourth ahead of
Destry Abbott (Kaw).
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Ty Davis and Russell Pearson (Yam)
held off a last-minute charge by Destry
Abbott and Brian Brown (Kaw) to win
the Kawasaki Team Green Laughlin U.S.
Hare Scrambles Championship outside of
Laughlin, Nevada, on February 10. It was
the first round in Best in the Desert's Silver State Series. Third overall went to
Kurt Caselli and David Pearson
(Yam); Shane Esposito and Andy
Grider (Kaw) took fourth. Luca
Trussardi and Gordon Ward CTM)
were the first Vet Pro team at fifth overall.
In a rather stunning move, SFX Motor
Sports CEO Gary Becker is stepping
down from his position and will either
move to another position within the SFX
group or will walk away completely.
" Unfortunately, some internal situations
beyond my control have forced me to
look in a different direction," Becker said
on Friday, February 9 from his office in
Houston, Texas. "It's been a very difficult
six months for me. There are a lot of
things that have gone on. Some things
are going in a direction that I didn't want
thf:lm to go in - it's not the direction that I
wanted to take things. I couldn't keep my
word on some issues and I'm not going
to db that." Becker is likely to become
the CEO of SFX Sports Events, a
company within SFX that promotes golf
and tennis tournaments, among other
things. Becker has been involved in the
promotions business for 23 years with his
company, PACE Motor Sports, which
was bought out by SFX. "Six weeks ago,
the sports business changed internally,"
Becker said. "They've asked me to take
a look at it." Inarguably, Becker and his
company are responsible for taking
Supercross racing to a new level that
sees the series sell out stadiums across
the country on a regular basis. In addition,
thanks to the company's influence and
drive, Supercross is now a mainstream
sport. "1' m extremely proud of Supercross and the staff that produces it."
Becker said. "I'm also proud of how the
industry opened their arms to me five
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Four-time World 500cc Motocross
Champion Joel Smets (KTM) won the
first race of this year's European MX season at the Koersel International
Motocross in Belgium, February 11.
Smets went 2-1 taking the overall ahead
of Yamaha-mounted Marnicq Bervoets,
who went 1-2. Third place went to fourtime World Motocross Champion Stefan
Everts. Everts was making his first
appearance on the Rinaldi Yamaha. For
Smets, it was a perfect start to the season and a start he expected not to make,
according to Cycle News contributor
Geoff Meyer. "I'm really surprised,"
Smets said. "1 have not spent that much
time on the bike due to my operation last
year. I was not thinking about winning
here at all, just trying to get some time on
the bike." Bervoets, who many expected
to win in Koersel, was not too disappointed and never expected Smets and Everts
to be easy pickings. "Joel is fit,"
Bervoets said. "He's been back long
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Multi-time NHRA Pro Stock.Bike Champion Dave Schultz died Saturday, February 10,
after a six-month battle with colon cancer. He was 52.
Schultz won a recorQ six NHRA Pro Stock Bike titles (1987·88, '91, '93-94, '96) anQ
score