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/128120
c c c c 540cc class at the AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series held in Weirton, West Virginia. Thomas put together a come-from-behind win to beat John Hamilton Jr. (Tr;) and first-round leader Anthony DeHart (Hon). Thomas also assumed the 540cc points lead. as David Watson recovers from injuries suffered prior to round 10. In the BOOcc class. Bobby Templeton (H-D) Shortly before this issue went to press. the opening day of the International Six Days Enduro in Brive la Gaillarde. France. concluded with team France leading the World Trophy division. followed by Australia. Sweden. Spain and Italy. The U.S. team, made up of Nick. David and Russ Pearson, Brian and Patrick Garrahan, and Fred Hoess, is currently 10th. CThe U.S. team finished 10th last year.> In the Junior World division, Sweden currently leads the way, followed by Italy. France. Spain and the Czech Republic. The U.S. team - John Beal, Craig Wesner. Ben Hale and Rob Zimmerman - is also 10th. In the Club team division, the top U.S. team is the Merced Dirt Riders - Kevin Bennett, Ron Schmelzle and Steve Silvestri - in 19th. The top individual rider after the first day is Finland's Juha Salminen (KTM), followed by Australia's Stefan Mariman (Hus) and France's David Fretigne (Yam). The U.S. is, so far. not represented in the top 50, though Hoess (Hus) is currently ninth in the 250cc (four-stroke) division. Sweden's Niklas Gustavsson (KTM) is the current leader of the 125cc (two-stroke) class, Fretigne heads the 250cc (two-stroke) class. Sweden's Peter Bergvall (Yam) is leading the 250cc (four-stroke) division. and Salminen is tops in the 400cc (fourstroke) class. c 8 o rebounded from a tough day at Weirton, West Virgina, earlier this season to put o o together a perfect first run for the fast time of the day and his second win in 2001. Walter uTiger" Strank Jr. (Yam) finished second, passing Watson for the BOOcc points lead. James Large (H·D) took third. 8 o o c o o Q C [ C C Terry Poovey (RW won the Pro Singles main event at round six of the SFX National Dirt Track Series at Fraser Downs in Vancouver. British Columbia, Canada, August 25. Dave Durelle (Suz) was second and Willie McCoy (Yam) was third. C ~ o o WlJDD [§)&J\!7D~f} C For the second week in a row, Jeff Thomas (Hon) took the top spot in the [ [ E c " c [ C [ r-. '-' n l.J C r-. Archlight Racing's Lee Acree (Suz) was the weekend's big winner at the Formula USA National Road Race event at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. August 26. Acree won both of the Lockhart Phillips Unlimited Superbike races, and to put the icing on the cake. he also won the Formula USA Pro Sportbike final. Acree started from the pole position and was able to run away in both races to finish ahead of Shawn Higbee (Suz). In race one. Higbee crossed the line almost eight seconds ahead of Michael Him· melsbach (Aprl. In race two, it was Brian Parriott (Suz) following Higbee home. Jeffery Wood won the 12-lap Aprilia Cup Challenge final from the pole position, followed home by Brian Kcraget, and Dan Fischer. In the Buell Lighting Series race. Michael Barnes won his third event of the series this year, beating Jeffery Johnson and Anthony Fania Jr. SEPTEMBER 5. 2001 ' cue • Nathan Woods (Yam) captured the overall win at round 10 of the AMA Western Four-Stroke Motocross National Series in Milliken. Colorado. August 26. Second overall went to Jimmy Lamastus (KTM). while third place went to Ryan Terlecki (Hbg). Spud Walters (Yam), the series leader going into the race, went 1-15 in Milliken, slipping back to second in the series behind Woods. Woods now has the series lead with 400 points. and Walters is second with 391. Walker Garrison. 65, passed away at his hometown of Greenville, South Car· olina. on Friday. August 24. Garrison was the race event coordinator at Parts Unlimited and was a long-time fan of motocross and Supercross racing. Garrison is survived by his wife. Joan; two daughters. Beth and Lois; and two sons. Greg and Mark. Funeral services were held Monday. August 27, at Taylors First Baptist Church in Greenville. In 1999, Garrison received a heart transplant and the family requests that memorials be made to the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, 3501 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, LA 70002. Petronas-Sauber's new GP fourstroke will be out on the track at this f} @@t{Jofd@@ f} Fasthog.com/Moroney's Harley-Davidson rider Will Davis, 36, of Goldsboro, North Carolina, died Saturday night, August 25 after a multi· rider accident on the fIrSt lap of the main event during round J 5 of the AMAIProgressive Insurance U,S. Flat Track Championships at State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Missouri. Davis was leading the race when he, and subsequently several other riders, went down in tum four as the 18-rider field raced on the first lap of the 25-lap final. Davis was transported by ambulance to Bothwell Regional Health Center, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. A representative of the hospital cited multiple traumas as the cause of death. Davis was a top contender in the AMA{Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships. He had won four races in the series this season and was the third-ranked rider in the championship coming into Sedalia. His most recent win came in Harrington, Delaware, on August 4th, on the heels of an emotional victory in front of his home-state fans in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 28. Davis was one of the best-loved riders on the dirt-track circuit by both racing fans and his fellow competitors. He started his professional racing career in 1984 and was a five·time Champion of the MARS Motorcycle Asphalt Racing Series. In AMA competition, Davis eamed his first Grand National win in 1989 on a half-mile track in Lima, Ohio. It would be the first of 32 career victories for Davis. BeSides his considerable on-track accomplishments, Davis was also known as a true humanitarian for his work off the track - most notably with the Racing for Kids organization, which arranges meet· ings between top motorsports personalities and terminally ill children at hospitals and hospices across the country. Davis had personally made over 1000 visits on behalf of Racers for Kids, and he was honored with the AMA Professional Sportsman of the Year Award last December for his efforts. "One of the things about Will is that he had friends in every AMA 2 Geoff Aaron (GG) won both rounds of the AMA/NATC National Championship Trials Series in Taos. New Mexico. August 25-26. and in doing so moved into the series points lead. On Saturday. Aaron took the overall win ahead of former series leader Fred Crosset (GG) and Ryon Bell (Mon). On Sunday. Aaron won over Crossett and Ray. mond Peters (She). e n e _ s paddock and no enemies in any paddock," AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth said. "Will was one of the kind of people you liked to be around. He was quick to be positive, never negative. He was a person of great humanity. We're all aware of his efforts of Racing With Kids and his time with kids in hospitals. This is one of those situations where it's not supposed to happen to a guy like will Davis. It's always hard when it does happen, but it's not supposed to happen to a guy like Will Davis. I'd ask everybody to take a moment to think about Will and his family." While Davis never reached his goal of winning the AMA Grand National Championship, he was a perennial front-runner, finishing in the top five a total of seven times, including eaming the runner-up spot in 1997 and again last year. Davis is ranked seventh on the all-time AMA Grand National wins list. Davis is survived by his wife, Rhonda, and son, Cole. Funeral arrangement information as of press time was as follows: A visitation will be held Tuesday, Aug. 28 from 7-9 p.m., at the Seymour Funeral Home, 1300 Wayne Memorial Dr., Goldsboro, NC 27534; 919/734-1761. The funeral will be Wednesday, Aug. 29. starting at 2 p.m. at the Trinity Baptist Church, Highway 111 South, Golds· boro, NC; 919/778-7591. year's Malaysian Grand Prix on October 21 - for demonstration laps at the Sepa· ng circuit, with full tests planned after the GP for the three·cylinder challenger. This was confirmed at a special briefing at the Petronas Sauber headquarters in Switzerland last week. according to Cycle News Grand Prix reporter Michael Scott, where engineers outlined the reasons for the choice of a three-cylinder motor, and confidently spoke of a potential race-winning design. But there are still questions. Who will ride the bike? And what chaSSiS will it run? "We don't know yet who will be our test rider at Sepang - it is diffic\,lt, because most rid· ers already have a contracts," said chief designer Osamu Goto. Spokesman Paul Fricker said that a chassis was already under construction, but refused to confirm or deny that it is being built by Harris Performance Products in England. "It is confidential," he said. The 1B,OOOrpm, 200-horsepower engine was on display in a "slightly more compact" form than that shown at the opening round at Suzuka this year, where critics commented on its size. Mounted on a bench alongside a V·four Swissauto two-stroke motor, which was wearing four large expanSion chambers, the engine's size was less obvious. Goto who has designed Fl engines for Honda and Ferrari before joining the Sauber Fl team - said the bike would be ready to race next year, but added it would take time for the full potential to be realized. "The first season will be difficult - but after research and computer modeling we believe that the forward-intake threecylinder design has many advantages, and will be fully competitive," he said. The three-cylinder configuration had been chosen after research into various alternatives, including a 60-degree Vtwin with a balance shaft, a gO-degree V·twin, an in-line four and a V-four, said project leader Luca Guerciotti. Nine different aspects of performance had been assessed, ranging from wheelspin to engine height and width to fuel consumption. Taking all into account, the three-cylinder option offered the best compromise. The target output of 200 hp was • easy to achieve" without Flstyle high technology, and a rev ceiling of a relatively low 18.000 rpm, though pneumatic (air) valve springs will be employed for the four-valve heads.•As it is, we can easily achieve more power without major changes," said Guerciotti. The Sauber is understood to have been guaranteed an entry for next year, but there has been no confirmation of which chassis or team will run the new fourstroke GP racer. "We are haVing discussions at the moment, and there is more than one possibility, but I cannot give any details," said Fricker. One pOSSible connection is with Team Roberts, currently sponsored by Proton, another Malaysian company. Petronas has a 20percent stake in Proton. This will be Sauber's first involvement in motorcycle racing, after several successful years in World Endurance and F1 car racing.