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/128140
o Elm G'IllCB o\X/ EJ cD C Continued from page 3 the EPRC Open Track Days, riders will be grouped according to their skill level novice, intermediate, and expert. The expert level group is for licensed racers only. The track riding school will offer separate courses for street riders and racers. Two levels of each course will be offered an introductory course and an advanced course. For more information, see their Web site at www.edgeracing.net.. or call 612/202-1196. Capirossi was the faster of the two. He is in good form early this year and confirmed it with a time of 2:05.39. Teammate Barros slid off his NSR, but escaped unscathed. Team Kanemoto did not complete the test as its NSR500 was too badly damaged when team rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh crashed the machine on the opening day. o o o This from a recent column in the Orange County (Caiifornia) Register, penned by columnist Randy Youngman ... "If the Angels want to improve attendance, all they have to do is let their players ride motorcycles on the field. Motocross (actually supercross ... Editor) always sells out at Edison Field. " Due to the unexpected sudden decision of the Jerez Circuit to close the circuit permanently on January 28 in order to complete its reconstruction in time for the Jerez Grand Prix in May, the Marlboro Yamaha team has been forced to cancel its scheduled test dates of January 28-30, according to the team. With the team transporters already in Spain, the alternative venue of the Almeria Circuit in southern Spain has been confirmed for a two-day test, January 29-30. Carlos Checa will ride the Yamaha YZR-M 1 at this test. Due to the fact that Almeria does not feature on the World Championship calendar, Max Biaggi, with the support of his team, will not attend the test, but will be back in action at Valencia for the group IRTA r-'\ test beginning on February 15. o c ~ c it appears that the 2002 Motocross des Nations, which was set to go off at the Spa track in Belgium, will now take place in another country altogether. Five-time World Motocross Champion Georges Jobe, who is the man in charge of the '02 des Nations, is in talks with other tracks, but he felt it best to wait a few weeks before giving an official answer as to which track or country might ultimately host the important race. "The peopie who own the track in Spa do not want to run motocross there anymore," Jobe said. "It's very political, and to be honest I am nearly sure the event will not happen in Belgium. I am talking with other tracks at the moment and will know something soon. " c o c C '-' r, The three-day HRC test session for the RC211V MotoGP machine at Sepang, Malaysia, ended on January 23 with a """ string of fast times on the one rain free day of the three-day test, according to >"'- HRC. HRC team manager Noriaki Nakata returns to Japan satisfied with the LJ results and the technical data recorded over the three days. "We can be quite satisfied with the results of this three'::... day test. We tested everything we came here to test and ended with an endurance test, the results of which were very good. We will go back to Japan and work on the information we gained here. I must say development of the RC211 V is going in the right direction, very encouraging," said Nakata in - the release. Despite sliding off the RCV, Tohru Ukawa was again the fastest man around the 3.43-mile track with a time of 2:04.78 the best from his 54-lap I stint on the five-cylinder, 990cc GP machine he will race this year. HRC test rider Shinichi ltoh also improved his lap times on the final day of test. lapping at a best of 2:05.86. r Australian Shane Watts will race the famous Le Touquet beach race in France on February 24, according to contributor Geoff Meyer. Watts, who begins his American assault with the opening round of the National Championship Hare Scrambles Series on February 10, will also do the Daytona Supercross again in 2002, just as he did in 2001. "I arrive in America on February 8," Watts said recently. "I then do the Hollister round of the Hare Scrambles, followed by the opening round of the WORCS series on February 17, before going to France for the Le Touquet on February 24. When I get back to America again, I will race the first two rounds of the GNCC and the Daytona Supercross." Former factory motocross rider Ryan Hughes held a benefit motocross school on Martin Luther King Day at Perris Raceway in Southern California to Reigning 250cc World Champion Dai· jiro Katoh continued to impress while riding the NSR500 two-stroke V-four he wili run in the MotoGP ciass in 2002. The Honda Gresini team rider Katoh fired a warning shot across the bows of his MotoGP class rivals when setting a time of 2:04.86 at Sepang. Team West Honda Pons riders Loris Capirossi and Alex Barros both improved their lap times on the last day of the test. 72 FEBRUARY 6. 2002' ... U ... aid the family of Shane Kelley, a young rider who lost his life recently. With the help of fellow SX superstars Jeff Emig, Jimmy Button, Nathan Ramsey and Gary and David Bailey, Hughes was able to raise $7200. After the school, Mr. Kelley turned around and donated one half of the money to the family of Bobby Bonds, who was recently injured in the second Anaheim Supercross. Hughes is now talking with industry friends about a I e n D vv S similar benefit for the injured Justin Smith. Fans can send cards and letters to Bobby Bonds at 5811 Ark Dome St .. Bakersfield, CA 93313. Former Supercross Champion Jeff Emig has teamed up with Clear Channel Entertainment in a promotion to present Nissan's all-new Frontier pickup truck at selected events during the 2002 EA Sports Supercross Series. Emig, who was recently announced as the new ESPN2 pit and supercross lifestyle reporter for the 2002 EA Sports Supercross Series, will make Friday appearances at various high-traffic locations, including malls, restaurants, dealerships, street festivals. concerts, and colleges, in EA Sports Supercross markets throughout the 2002 season to promote EA Sports Supercross. "This promotional opportunity is an excellent way to bring the EA Sports Supercross message to a diverse audience," said Emig. "I have been around this sport for a long time, and although I am not racing, I still want to give back to the sport and be a part of supercross for years to come." Through the Emig/EA Sports Supercross Preview Nissan promotion, Emig will meet and greet fans, while assisting in giveaways such as, EA Sports Supercross event information. EA Sports video games, EA Sports supercross merchandise, Scott goggles and sunglasses, supercross tickets, Speed Stick samples, and a chance to win a Nissan Frontier. Topping out the prizes in select markets will be the chance to appear on an ESPN2 broadcast with Emig. According to a press release issued by Kawasaki on January 28, Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA will soon provide additional information on the announced ailiance between KHI and Suzuki Motor Corp. to its U.S. dealer network. The alliance - created to allow the two brands to share certain production platforms, related sourcing, and engage in selected product co-development was announced in August and will begin to take form by the middle of this year, the release states. According to Bob Sheppard, KMC executive vice president. the alliance planning is "moving along as was anticipated and will, when all details are finalized, be recognized as a significant contributor to the dealer group's growth opportunities beginning in 2002." He said Kawasaki dealers will be able to offer consumers branded youth and sport ATVs, as well as additional small and mid-sized motorcycles. "There has been speculation from uninformed sources regarding the-extent to which the alliance will affect other segments, and this is unfortunate," Sheppard said in the release. "When the announcement was first made in Japan, the two companies were very clear that certain models - such as super sports motorcycles - would not fall under this alliance umbrella. Nutec fuels has posted over $120,000 in contingency for the 2002 WSMC race season, according to Nutec. Beginning on January 20, Nutec customers will also be serviced at Willow Springs and most other Southwest road racing events by Freddie Spencer's High Performance Product Line/Michelin race tire distributor, Dale Kieffer's Racer's Edge. WSMC riders interested in using Nutec fuels must pre-order fuel before each event from Racer's Edge at 702/257-3808. Pre-ordered fuel will be available for pick-up from Racer's Edge at WSMC events. On January 15, AMA Western States Representative Nick Haris attended and presented written testimony to the California Senate Transportation Committee in support of SB 1057, a bill that would eliminate the motorcycle helmet requirement for operators and passengers of motorcycles 18 years of age and older, according to the AMA. The bill, authored by Senator Bill Morrow, was presented by the senator along with representatives from ABATE of California and the California Motorcycle Dealers Association. Ultimately the bill failed to muster the necessary votes needed to pass out of committee and failed by a vote of 5 to 3, according to the AMA. The Gary Semics MX School has recently announced its class schedule for 2002. The classes will be held at Semics' personal track in Lisbon, Ohio, and bike rentals are also available. The first school will be held April 19-20, with several others scheduled for the rest of the year. For registration information, call 330/424-9295 or visit the Web site at www.gsmxs.com. Cycle News its drawing for those who entered on Cycle News Online to win the Hot Wheels Max Air Arena sets that ran in conjunction with our Issue #50 reader poll. The eight lucky winners include Jeffrey Barker, Virginia Beach, Virginia; Kris Keys, Eagle, Colorado; Donald Yates, Chandler, Indiana; Steve Shea, Apple Valley, California; Mike White, Huntington Beach, California; Todd Hess, Seattle, Washington; Russell Montgomery, Sun City, California; and David Kozlowski, Clinton, Utah. Team Nielsen EnterpriseslWSA Snocross has arranged a one-race sponsorship from Mike's Hard Lemonade for the Indianapolis Supercross, and to celebrate, the team will host an after party at World Mardigras follOWing the event. For more information, log onto the team's new Web site at www.lamontracing.com. eN