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/128137
30 YEARS AGO••• JANUARY 25, 1972 Honda's new XL250, 350-4 and motorized lawn chair were photographed for the cover of Issue il2 from the Honda dealer show in Las Vegas. The XL250 represented Honda's entry into the burgeoning dirt-bike market after many successful years of making street bikes. It featured a 250cc, four-valve engine with a wet-sump lubrication system and a magneto ignition ... An article called "M.O.R.E. From the Capitol" let it be known that Californians would have to register their dirt bikes as of July 1, 1972. The registration was to set back an off-road motorcyclist $7.50 per year ... John DeSoto (Suz) topped the 500cc Expert class at the CMC motocross held at Uon's Dragstrip. Tim Hart (Mai) finished second. DeSoto won the same class at another event two days later at Saddleback Park... 20 YEARS AGO••• JANUARY 27, 1982 Round three of the CMC Golden State Series got under way in Brentwood, California, on the cover of Issue il2_ B....d Lackey (Suz) won the 500cc Pro class for the second week in a row, while Bob Hannah (Yam) remained undefeated in the series in the 250cc class. Donnie Hansen (Han) finished second in the 250cc Pro class, while Larry Wosick fmished third. Johnny O'Mara (Hon) repeated to win the 125cc Pro class, ahead of Ron Lechlen (Yam) and George Holland (Suz) ... We interviewed Tammy Kirk, the second-ever woman to race professional dirt track in the Winston Pro Series. The 19-year-old blonde finished second in the 1980 Eastern Regional Championship Dirt Track Series in the Novice class and would be a rookie in the 1982 Grand National series. She listed among her goals that she would like to become the first woman to earn a National number... We went from Mexico to Canada on a Honda MaS. 10 YEARS AGO••• JANUARY 22, 1992 Team Kawasaki's M.ike LaRocco topped round one of the AM.A Supercross Series in Orlando, Florida, and graced the cover of Issue il2. Twemy-two-year-old two-time Supercross Champion Jeff Stanton (Hon) chased 20-yearold laRocco down with a few laps left, only to fall on the last lap. Jeff Ward finished second, while Stanton came home third. Defending 125cc Eastern Champion Brian Swink (Suz) topped the 125cc main, ahead of new teammate Ezra Lusk. Jimmy Button (Yam) finished third... In our Supercross Preview, we predicted the top five of the 250cc Supercross Series to be Jean-Michel Bayle, Damon Bradshaw, Jeff Stanton, Mike Kiedrowski and Jeff Ward, in that order... M.ichael Craig (Kaw), Erik Kehoe (Han) and Mike Jones (Suz) each won a main event during three days of racing at the Dormund, Germany, Supercross. Kehoe was determined to be the overall winner. as Britain's top Grand Prix road racer bitten off more than he can chew? In the first year of the all-new and massively powerful MotoGP series, Jeremy McWilliams is returning to the class in which he made his GP debut nine seasons back. And he is doing it on the would-be giant-killing threecylinder Proton. This is entirely in character for the outspoken McWilliams. He has spent a career outside the factory bike loop, railing against the establishment, and a year also in a similar role on the Aprilia 500 V-twin. He put it on the rostrum twice, easily outpacing teammate Tetsuya Harada. This time, it's different. It's one thing killing giants when you at least have the same sized engine. Putting the junior two-stroke up against the new-generation big brutes is more like tilting at windmills. The Proton, nee Modenas, is by now a well-seasoned Mk3 design, in its sixth season. For almost all of that time, the feisty triple has been almost there. Last season, in the hands of Jurgen van den Goorbergh, it was almost always closer than it's almost ever been - a couple of front rows, regular top lOs and some fast race laps, too. The bike was its best ever, and "Grow-Bag" lacked nothing in finesse. Just perhaps a little in aggression. Since the triple's main advantage lies in late braking and high corner speed, it needs a bit of aggro. Step forward McWilliams, with his out-of-my-way corner lines and his elbows-out late braking. Remember how he played spoiler to Roberts and Rossi in the wet at Donington in 2000? Will it be enough in 2002? McWilliams believes so, with some vigor. He's sure the triple, with its latest developments and him on board, can give the 500cc V-fours a hard time. Especially at favorite tracks like Mugello and Phillip Island. But will this be just a race within a race - the H two-stroke also-rans, overshadowed by the new big-time four-strokes? McWilliams is not so sure of that. Like many, he was struck by 250 champ Daijiro Katoh beating Rossi's two-stroke and four-stroke times at the recent Jerez tests, in his first ever full-on ride on a 500. McWilliams has also heard the rumors about drastic tire wear on the Hondas. So maybe it won't be so cut and dried. Like I said, McWilliams is used to swimming against the tide, and he's doing so again. One hears many more good things about the performance of the four-strokes than bad and, on balance, the best he can realistically hope for is the occasional good result if the big fours do burn up their tires, and even better results if it rains. By the end of the year, he could be well satisfied if he has merely proved that the triple ·can run up among the V-fours, and even beat them. And never mind the big 990s, eh. But there is more good than bad, even in this. Jeremy has also noticed what seems to have escaped attention elsewhere - that Kenny Roberts' Proton team, and the fully-equipped design and engineering base back in Oxfordshire, could hardly be better positioned within the racing world. Apart from the major factories, this is the only facility that can design and build a racing motorcycle from the ground up, and in-house - from engines to exhaust hangers, from crankshafts to handlebars. Coming up In Cye/eNews This will be an interim season for them, too. Roberts has promised they will have their own four-stroke for 2003. His original threat - to become an Fl-style race-engineering specialist - remains all the more active. In the years that his bike has been achieving mediocre results on the tracks, the entire operation has progressed considerably in capability and stature. Put all this together, and if McWilliams can endear himself to the team, he, too, will be well positioned for 2003 - the head honcho development rider for a highly exciting new motorcycle. One more question - is he not just too old? Jezza turns 38 in April, more than double the age of the new young lions of the smaller classes, and far and away the oldest guy on the grids. This fact has told against him for years now - some considered him too old back in 1996! Age hasn't slowed him down, though, and he can look to several examples of British riders who improved with passing time to pursue long and fruitful careers. Not to mention Aprilia factory tester Marcellino Lucchi, who still races with the best as a not infrequent wild card. In March, Lucchi turns 45. Of course he isn't too old, and if any team will recognize that, it is the one he has just joined. He may have a tough year ahead, but it may also be the best career move he's ever made. CN • san Diego Supercross • Grand Rapids Arenacross • Benelli Tornado Superbike Test • 2002 Triumphs cue I e n e vv S • JANUARY 16. 2002 75