Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Shane Esposito and Kellon Walch (Kaw) closed out the 2001 Best in the Desert Silver State Series by scoring their first win of the series at the Vegas 200 on December 1 in Jean, Nevada. Steve Hengeveld and Jonah Street (Hon) were second, good enough to wrap up the championship. Third went to Ty Davis and Nick Pearson (Yam), and Doug Chiapuzio and Paul Krause (KTM) took fourth. Mike Childress and Robert Naughton (Hon) rounded out the top five. Defending champions Johnny Campbell and Tim Staab were running a strong third but DNFed after Staab crashed and was knocked unconscious. He was taken to the hospital with a suspected concussion and possible dislocated shoulder. 80 ~ !P@li@ 7J @7J @D~@@ 7J Hall of Famer Pete Coleman, a man who dedicated his life to motorcycles, died on November 28 in Southern California at the age of 85. Coleman, who was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 1999, was a world-class speedway racer from 1933 to 1948, racing with the likes of Jack Milne in international events from New Zealand to France. Following his racing career, Coleman didn't stray from the sport and instead concentrated his efforts on building Triumph racers for the likes of Joe Leonard, Bill Tuman, Johnny Gibson, Dick Dorrestyne, Sammy Tanner and Bud Ekins. In 1969, Coleman started his tenure as the team manager of the factory Triumph and BSA teams in the U.S., selecting the riders and crew who would make up the team from 1970 through 1973 - riders such as Gene Romero, Gary Nixon, Don Castro, Tom Rockwood, Gary Scott, Mike Kidd, Jim Rice, David Aldana, Dick Mann and Don Emde, Along the way, Romero won the Grand National Championship for Triumph and Mann did likewise for BSA. Coleman was also an industry executive, serving as vice president/general manager of Johnson Motors Inc. He was Several top racers got together at Florida's Dade City Raceway last month for Randy Yogo's annual fundraiser for Tony Haynes, a local racer who was paralyzed in an accident nearly a decade ago. Present were Ronnie Tichenor, Tim Ferry, Ezra Lusk and James Stewart, and in addition to the winter series finale race, there was a riding school and an autograph session. In addition, the pros on-hand auctioned off several items, Ferry sold T-shirts and Yogo donated a large portion of the gate fees. J national media coverage of late, including "Winning Women" (for Women's Entertainment TV): "High Octane" (for Fox Sports Network): "Destination Danger" (for the Travel Channell: and an asyet unnamed show by Fox Sports (for Fox Sports Network). All of the above shows will air in spring of 2002. In addition, the December/January issue of Sports Illustrated for Women boasts coverage of women motocross racers. Also feeling in a philanthropic mood for the holidays is factory Yamaha motocrosser David Vuillemin, who is holding an on-line Ebay auction of autographed Fox jerseys for Gaetan Cabrol. a 22-year-old French racer who was recently paralyzed. The jerseys, which bear Vuillemin's name and number (934), are on sale through December 9 and were worn by the Frenchman during the outdoor MX season. Vuillemin will forward the winning bidders' payments to Cabrol. For more information, log on to www.davidvuillemin.net. or go straight to www.ebay.com (keywords: david vuillemin fox motocross jersey). Keith Lynas, of Spring Valley, California, was the lucky winner of the autographed, blown-up, mounted Cycle News cover from last year's MX des Nations. Featured on the cover were team riders Ryan Hughes, Ricky Carmichael and Travis Pastrana, and all three riders signed Lynas' prize (as did team manager Roger DeCoster and photographer Steve Bruhn, who took the cover sholl. All proceeds from the raffle will go to the Team USA fund for next year's effort. The Women's Motocross League reports that it is garnering significant u C CJ o o ,......, r >=! AMA Pro Racing and its new Supercross promotional partner, JamSports, announced a strategic alliance with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation (IMS) on Monday, December 3. Initially, IMS Productions, the corporation's broadcast arm and video-production company, will work with AMA Pro Racing and JamSports to develop and execute long-term television plans for the AMA U.S. Supercross Championship, beginning with the 2003 season. The three organizations also will collaborate to cross-market AMA Supercross and other AMA Pro Racing series with the Indy Racing League and other IMS motorsports properties, according to a release issued by the AMA, "IMS Productions has tremendous experience in producing racing broadcasts," said Tony George, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Our alliance with AMA Pro Racing will benefit both organizations - and since Indy Racing and AMA Supercross share fans, we're confident that both sports will grow as a result. " "Partnering with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation was our number-one choice," said Mike Held, a JamSports principal responsible for television and marketing. "Mr. George's commitment to motorsports, in all its forms, is unparalleled, and IMS Productions' 2 DECEMBER 12,2001 • cue @@D@DfJDCfJfiDf} I e n e _ also vice president/general manager of BSA MotorcyclesWestern, vice president of The Birmingham Small Arms Company Inc., vice president of Triumph Motorcycles Inc., general manager of Western Husqvarna, president of Sachs Motors Corp. and executive vice president of International Helmet Corporation. Coleman also served two terms as the president of the Motorcycle Industry Council (MlC) and is generally' acknowledged as the man who created the AMA Congress. Coleman stayed in the motorcycle industry until the time of his death, consulting and handling special projects for Lee Fleming at Champion Motorcycles in Costa Mesa, California. He is survived by his brother, Lorring, his sister, Betty, his children, Susie, Sally, Richard, Cendra, Christine, Jim and Debra, and 14 grandchildren. A memorial service for Coleman will be held on Thursday, December 6 at the Golden Circle Church of Religious Science in Santa Ana, California. For more information, call Debra Coleman at 323/931- 7261. Reigning 500cc World Champion Valentino Rossi and teammate Tohru Ukawa tested their RC211 V fivecylinder Hondas in Europe for the first time November 27-29. The test. held at the 2.74-mile Jerez circuit. in southern Spain, was the first time the 990cc Grand Prix machine had been put through its paces by Rossi on European soil. Ukawa had previously tested the machine in Japan. "The bike is good, and it has great potential, - the young Italian said after the first day. "Honda have been very skillful in developing and modifying the machine after the Suzuka test [August 7l. They have improved the bike in almost every area that I asked them to. Today we just started on the set-up of the bike to suit Jerez and, of course, we have a lot of work to do over the next two days. In general, I must say everything is posi. tive." Rossi qualified on pole position with a 1:42.739 back in May and his fastest lap of the race - which he won was a 1:43.739. During this test, Rossi experience in building brands through television packages for the Indy 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix provides a solid foundation for the future of our television product. With that support behind us, we believe that AMA Supercross will get the attention it deserves." Scott Hollingsworth, CEO of AMA Pro Racing, added in the release: "IMS Productions' position in the market is an invaluable asset that positions us for some big moves in teievision. Having a partner with the reputation and resources of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation will help advance the AMA Pro Racing brand, as well as our vision for professional motorcycle racing." The 2003 AMA Supercross season will consist of 16 events in stadiums across the United States, according to the AMA. The 2003 AMA U.S. Supercross Championship will begin in Los Angeles, visit many of the major media markets in the country, and conclude in New York, where the champion will be crowned. Beginning with the 2003 season, IMS Productions will work with AMA Pro Racing and JamSports in other facets of television marketing and broadcast agreements. IMS Productions will also aid in the design and development of AMA Pro Racing broadcasts, including talent selection and support programming, the AMA says. s lapped at 1:43. 1 in what was his first' shakedown of the updated machine. He did not better that time on the second day, however. Here are the best lap times put in by the riders involved in the test, according to Honda: Valentino Rossi (RC211 V) 1:43.1 - 49 laps: Tohru Ukawa (RC211V) 1:43.00 - 58 laps: Daijiro Katoh (NSR500) 1:42.4 - 52 laps: Jurgen van den Goorbergh (NSR500l 1:44.1 37 laps. Meanwhile, The Marlboro Yamaha Team entered into MotoGP's new fourstroke era at Phillip Island last week, conducting four days of promising development work on the all-new Yamaha YZR-M1 racer, according to a release issued by Yamaha. Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa rode alongside Yamaha tester John Kocinski during the tests, the trio completing almost 600 laps on five different YZR-M 1s. The three riders met every target assigned for the four-day session, including lap times and durability, and will continue testing at Sepang, Malaysia, next week, Yamaha says. The week's tests are of particular significance. for this was the team's first outing with the YZR·M1 since the last-ever 500 World Championship concluded earlier this month. Both Biaggi and Checa are now totally focused on the YZR-M 1. For reasons of secrecy during this crucial interim period between the last 500 champi· onship and the first four·stroke-based MotoGP series, the Marlboro Yamaha Team has decided not to reveal lap times from Phillip Island and Sepang, but both Biaggi and Checa are qUietly confident after their Island outing, the Yamaha release says. According to a press release issued by Vance & Hines, Freedom Motor-

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