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/128125
3IJ YEAIIS ASO••• all but really essential foreign travel. Now the serious traveling begins to Japan for this weekend's race in Motegi, straight to Australia the next weekend, and to Malaysia the weekend after that. Malaysia - a Muslim country. Moderate and exceedingly well integrated with the west, and a friend to motorcycle racing, of course making the Malaysian Grand Prix in many ways the most enjoyable race of the year. But these things may not matter four weeks from now. Just the crescent on the flag, compared with the Middle Eastern countries, but part of the empire of Islam nonetheless. Who knows what state the world will be in in four weeks? Precarious, at best, one imagines. A bit like now, unless any more epochal events take place between the writing and the reading. I am careful to interpose absolutely no personal ideology when I suggest that not only a few Japanese engineers and executives might be reluctant to visit Malaysia - but anyone with an American passport, and potentially anyone with any western passport. Then there's Rio. Ex-GP winner Daryl Beattie, now a TV commentator, has already announced on Australian TV that this final round has been canceled. According to the FIM, this was not so much premature as a downright fib. Then again, the Grand n the USA, naturi\lIy, racing was cancelled; in Britain and Europe it went ahead on the weekend after doomsday, marked by the suitable respectful silences, but going on otherwise as normal. This is important both the overt display of respect for the victims, and going ahead. It's one way normal people can defy terrorism. And the rest of the year would proceed as normal, said a statement from FIM president Francesco Zerbi, with no rounds to be canceled. Except that every remaining Grand Prix would observe a period of silence, and champagne would be absent from the podium ceremonies. The sentiment was admirable. Zerbi does rather specialize in admirable sentiment. But in the deathly hush ,¥hile everyone awaited the USA's response, the forthcoming GP calendar took on rather a different complexion. In detail, as well as in the general sense, where a conflict of nations rather puts the on and offtrack spats between Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi into proportion. Apart from the recent round in Valencia, Spain, the remaining races are all long-haul flyaways. And for Japanese factory staff, for example, even Valencia is a flyaway. This accounted for a significant depletion in Spain of Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki factory personnel - engineers, managers, etc. The first thing the Japanese companies did was to can I Prix of Brazil has been subject to rumors of cancellation every two months or so since long before the first event actually went ahead in the late '80s. The way it looks now, I shall be surprised if the full calendar runs its 16-race course. Then again, I might yet be proved completely wrong. Because motorcycle racing has a long history of "going on as normal." The 1939 IT went ahead in June as usual, in spite of a rapidly deteriorating situation in Europe. Within a few weeks came the first gunshots of World War II. That was the first year of the new European Championship, cut short in its prime. Grand Prix racing resumed only in 1949 with the World Championship instead. Then there was the Argentine GP in 1983. While Freddie Spencer, Barry Sheene and Kenny Roberts were whizzing around the Buenos Aires motodrome, the Argentine fleet was sailing on the Falklands. I don't mean to be flippant about any of this. If the Malaysian .GP has to be cancelled for what we might call ideological reasons, this will be a . major tragedy not for motorcycle racing, but for the world. Because it will entail all the horrors of a brutal realignment of friendships and alliances, and the reconstruction of the very fabric of society. Meanwhile, let's carryon regardless as long as we can. I:N IJCTfJIIEII 19, 1971 The only photo on the predominantly textladen cover of Issue '40 was that of Dick Mann aboard his BSA road racer. It was stat.ed that Mann need only finish 14th or better in the then-upcoming Ontario 250-mlle road race in order to clinch his second Grand National Championship, ahead of Gene Romero ... After announcing that we'd learned from our first attempt how to run the Name the Baby Pro contest, we offered another baby to identify. This one was a motocrosser who had never been across the Atlanti<:, but one day wanted to. However, for the second time in as many attempts at the contest, the answer was not given in the next week's issue as promised... For the second week in a row, the Trans AMA series was a muddy affair, this time at Unadilla. Adolf Wei also won the 5OO<:c Internationals class for the second week in a row, and what may have been the longest headline in the history cA Cycle News read "Weil Wails While Rest Wallow When Rain Washes Unadilla·. Say that flve times fast. TIm Hart topped the 250cc National class. ZO YEAIIS ASD.•• IIt:JIIBEB '''' 111II1 Yamaha's all-new shaft-driven 650 Seca Turbo graced the cover of Issue #40. Yamaha also introduced its new YZ490, whlch featured five-link suspension, a 489cc engine and a works-type seat. The 1982 YZ250 was water-cooled for the neW year and featured the Yamaha Power Valve variable exhaust port, as did the YZ125 ... Broc Glover (Yam) won the 250cc International class at round three of the AMA Trans-USA MX. Series at Unadilla with a 2-2 score. Bob Hannah went 3-3 for second, while Darrell Schultz went 1-6 for third. Danny Chandler (Mai) won both motos on his way to topping the 500cc Support class... We reviewed the USA's winning Trophee des Nations and Motocross des Nations efforts. In 1979 and 1980, U,S. teams were entered but didn't run due to problems with money, equipment and conflicting schedules, but Honda sent the "B" team in 1981 with the recommendation of Roger DeCoster and achieved superlative results. 10 YEARS AGO••• OCTOBER 16, 1991 • Twin Ring Motegl Road Race GP • Las Vegas WORCS • Women's Trtals Wortd Cup • Pennsylvania HIIcImb 116 OCTOBER 10,2001 • lCl U lCl • _ n __ • Scott Russell graced the cover of Issue #40 after taking the pole position and winning round seven of the AMA Superblke National Championship in College Station. Texas. The win moved Russell to within four points of points leader Thomas Stevens with one round remaining. Russell also won the 750cc Supersport class in Texas ... Team Honda's JeanMichel Bayle swept both 500cc motos at round five of the AMA National Championship 500cc MX Series in Budds Creek, Maryland. The win extended his points lead to 21 with one round remaining in the series. Jeff Ward (Kaw) and Damon Bradshaw (Yam) finished second and third. respectively. Round 12 of the 13-round 125cc series saw Guy Cooper get his fourth overall win of the series, and his second in a row. Cooper still trailed Mike Kiedrowski (Kaw) by 28 points in tile championship with one round remaining.