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/128144
o c c c c c all said it was an easy surgery. I'll be in a cast for a while but plan to be in rehab right away to help speed the recovery process, about six weeks I hope." This is the first time in seven years that laRocco will miss a race due to an injury. His last injury came in 1995 in Charlotte when he broke his wrist while chasing Jeremy McGrath in the 250cc points race. Still, laRocco did sit out a race more recently, when he passed on the April 12, 1997, Pontiac Supercross after temporarily quitting the factory Suzuki team (inter-team friction was high on the squad that year). "I'm definitely bummed - seven years without missing a race," LaRocco said. "And it'll be hard to not be there for my teammates, everybody else around me. I want to be out there as bad as everybody wants me to be. I have obligations to Dr. Martens and our 125 guys. It all depends on my rehab schedule, but I should be back to hang out at the races by Houston [March 23rdJ." LaRocco was then qUick to deny the rumors that the injury may be career-ending. "My recovery will be difficult - thiS is no joke: he said. "But I'm not scared to ride again. This is definitely not a career-ending injury. " Arnaud Demeester (Yam) won his fourth Enduro Le Touquet Pas-de-Calais (adding to his '96, '97 and '98 wins) in France on February 24, finishing ahead of last year's winner Thierry Bethys (Hon) and the unexpected third-placed man Jeriime Heremy (Kaw). It was Yamaha's eighth win at the beach race, equaling Honda's record of eight wins. 6 c Joel Smets (KTM) won the overall at the 2002 Motocross in Beaucaire, France, Winning the prestigious pre-GPseason race for the third time in his career. Andrea Bartolini battled with Smets in two of the three motos and eventually wound up second overall. Pit Beirer (Hon) was third overall. c o o o Darcy Lange (Kaw) won everything in sight at the National' Arenacross round in Sacramento, California, February 22-23. Lange won the 125 and 250cc mains both nights, as well as both Dash For Cash races. Series points leader Josh Demuth (Yam) finished second in all four main events. E " Shane Esposito (Kaw) was the big winner at the Best In The Desert, Desert Vipers MC Adelanto Grand Prix on February 23 and 24 in Adelanto, California. He won the $10,000 Pro Race on Saturday, then followed that up with a win in the Best In The Desert Pro Team Race on Sunday with teammate Destry Abbott. Montclair Yamaha's Ty Davis (Yam) finished third in Saturday's Pro race, then teamed with Russ Pearson u to finish runner-up in the Pro Team Race. / ' Johnny Campbell (Hon) made the podium in both races a varied affair by finishing second in the Pro race on Saturday aboard his Honda XR650R and third in Sunday's Pro Team Race with teammate Steve Hengeveld. According to sources in Europe, German road racer Katja Poensgen may be coming to America to compete in the AMA 750cc Superstock class - beginning with the series opener at Daytona on March 9. The woman racer is likely to join the Corona EBSCO team with Steve Rapp. Jimmy Moore and Jordan Szoke, though she is expected to be bringing an outslde-the-industry sponsor with her. Poensgen is familiar with Suzuki GSXR750s, haVing raced one to sixth in the Superstock European Championship for the Alstare Corona team in 2000. Last year, she raced in the 250cc Grands Prix with the Shell Advance team. ~ LJ c; o o o Marc Colomer (Mon) beat Dougie Lampkin (Mon) to win the World Indoor Trials Championship round in Vienna, Austria, on February 23. With his secondplace finish, Lampkin has taken over as the leader of the championship over Albert Cabestany (Betl, who failed to qualify. Lampkin now leads Cabestany by two points. Kevin Windham crashed dUring a daytime practice session for the Atlanta o c: U c: I ~ · · · : : BORN: A baby boy, Cole James Gress, to American Suzuki's : motocross support manager Cole Gress and his wife, Antoinette, on February 11 in Anaheim Hills, California. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Chesterfield Valley Power Sports in Chesterfield, Missouri, on Friday. April 5 from 6 to 7 p.m. Jeremy McGrath, David Vuillemin, Tim Ferry and Yamaha of Troy riders Chad Reed and Greg Schnell are scheduled to • appear. For more information, call 636/449-1500. Amsoil/Dr. Martens Honda rider Mike LaRocco went through what his doctors described as an "easy" surgery on Wednesday, and is expected to make a full recovery and continue with his professional racing career this summer, according to a press release from OMS Ltd. laRocco, who suffered an acute dislocation of the lunate (wrist joint) in Minneapolis last Saturday in an incident with SoBe Suzuki's TraviS Pastrana. said that his doctors reported there wasn't as much damage to his wrist as initially expected. "I tore the ligaments, but not all the way through," LaRocco said in the release. "So I got it pinned, and they pulled some bone chips out. The doctors MARCH 6. 2002' . · • • • • AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At the Suzuki display at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, March 8 from 3-4 p.m. Team SoBe Suzuki's TraviS Pastrana and Kevin Windham, Team Blimpie Suzuki's Buddy Antunez and Branden Jesseman, Team Motoworld.com Suzuki's Damon Huffman and Andrew Short and Escondido Cycle Center's Michael Craig, Michael Brandes and Josh Woods are scheduled to appear, on Saturday, March 9 from 10-11 a.m. Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin, Aaron Yates, Jamie Hacking and Kevin Schwantz are scheduled to appear, on Sunday, March 10 from 10-11 a.m. Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Tom Kipp, Chrls Ulrich and Josh Hayes, Team Attack Suzuki's Jason Pridmore and Ben Spies, Team Corona Ebsco Suzuki's Jimmy Moore, Jordan Szoke and Steve Rapp · ....... • n ~ _ and Team Arclight Suzuki's Lee Acree and Craig Connell are: scheduled to appear. : . . ACCEPTING: AFAM USA is currently accepting racer: resumes for the 2002 season. Resumes can be sent to AFAM : USA, 5953 Engmier Dr., Huntington Beach, CA 92649, : 714/379-9040. MOVED: Design Works, to 3724 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807.562/424-2722,562/424-3422 (fax). ADDED: The Yamaha line of motorcycles and ATVs to the existing Ducati and Triumph lines at Ducati/Triumph/Yamaha of Marin in San Rafael, California. For more information, call 415/456-3345. RESIGNED: Tim Clarlk, Director THQ U.S. Open. "After four years of working on the Open, it's time for Cindy and me to pursue alternative projects. The U.S. Open is a great event, and with the excitement supercross is generating thiS year, thiS year's Open will undoubtedly be a huge success, but it's time for us to move on." OPENED: MXposters.com, by Tim & Cindy Clark. The site is a one-stop source that creates custom autograph posters at a~ affordable price. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.mxposters.com. ; .. s " , t' ~ - 1 f, Motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle riders need to act now to tell the U.S. Department of the Interior that motorized v recreation should be an important part of the department's new strategic plan, according to the AMA. The U.S. Department of the Interior has set a March 1 deadline for public comments in 1 its effort to develop a new strategic plan. The new plan will be a single agency-wide plan that will replace the department r overview and nine bureau plans now in place. "It's critical that motorcyclists and ATVers let the department know that continued motorized recreation should be an important goal in the new strategic plan because the department controls the Bureau of Land Management [BLMl," said Royce Wood, AMA legislative affairs specialist. "The BLM manages 264 million acres of public land, including some of the best riding areas in the country. . . . . . . . : : Adam Raga (G-G) won the opening round of the Spanish Trials Championship in Valencia, Spain, on February 24. Raga topped Albert Cabestany (Bet) finished second with Marx Freixa (She) taking third. Dougie Lampkin (Mon) ended up fourth. 2 Cheney came to national prominence when he took BSA's aging Gold Star motor and housed it in a lightweight chassis. Not only was the bike highly effective as a racing machine, it carried Cheney's hallmarlk: "a transformation of form and function into a stunning beauty - motorcycling art of the highest order." With Jerry Scott riding the bike, Cheney's Gold Star proVided such a challenge to the works machines that BSA poached Scott to ride their factory bikes. Cheney's greatest success came after the BSA competition department had closed. In 1972, Cheney came to an agreement with the ex-BSA race team leader, John Banks, to make a serious attempt to win the 500cc World Championship - with Banks finishing second in the U.S. Grand Prix and winning the British Motocross Championship. In. addition to his success in motocross, Cheney's Yamaha-engined machines took Phil Read to the 1971 250cc World Road Racing Championship. He is survived by his wife, a daughter, and two sons. •••••• a c c c Eric Cheney, 77, died on February 23 in England. Cheney is known as the greatest post-war British motorcycle chassiS designer and, were it not for his very individual view on life, could have been acknowledged as the finest frame engineer of his generation, according to the London Telegraph. Despite operating from premises that were often extremely basic, he produced some of the outstanding motorcycle designs of his day, the Telegraph reports. His were the last British bikes to win a 500cc motocross championship, a world road racing cham. pionship and - the award of which he was most proud - the manufacturers' prize in the International Six Days Trial. After the war, Cheney began racing motocross and was soon acknowledged as one of the best riders in the world. Cheney's riding career came to an end in 1961 when he contracted a serious blood infection while competing in Algiers. After retirement, according to the London Telegraph, · · · · · · o o o c c c c Supercross on February 23, breaking his right femur in the process. The SoBe Suzuki rider was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he had a rod inserted on February 24. "He's still in the hospital," said team manager Roger DeCoster on Monday, February 25. "It was a clean break, but it should be about four months if everything goes well. It depends - some guys are better at it than others. Alby [Greg Albertynl did it at the same race [two years agol and still rode Glen Helen. I think for him, the second and third race back were actually more difficult. You're more excited for the first one." Windham is expected to return home to Centreville, Mississippi. later today, according to DeCoster. This has been a horrible season for Windham, who is in the final year of his contract with Suzuki. The Louisiana native has suffered sub-par results, and he also incurred a concussion at Anaheim III, forcing him to sit out the Indianapolis round. ~~ ; ~ ...•...........•.. ~ .