Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

The AMA has been at the table in roundtable discussions with the department, representing the interests of motorcyclists and ATVers. Written comments from motorcyclists and ATVers would help send a clear message that there is a critical need for motorized recreation to continue in the future." To tell the Department of the Interior that you support motorized recreation as a key goal in the new strategic plan, e-mail your comments to doistratplan@usgs.gov, send your comments by fax to 202/208-2619, or write: Department of the Interior, Office of Planning and Performance Management, Mail Stop #5258, Washington, DC 20240 Injuries plagued the IRTA test at Estoril, Portugal, last week as both Tetsuya Harada and Garry McCoy suffered broken bones in unrelated crashes during the opening day. Harada broke his left collarbone, the same one that already has a metal plate inserted in it. The Japanese rider, however, has opted not to undergo surgery after being told that resting for 18 days should be enough for the bone to heal. He is hoping to be fit for the IRTA test in Catalunya, Spain, March 9-10. McCoy suffered a broken tibia and fibula in his right. The Australian, who was qUickest throughout the day, crashed in the afternoon session after posting his quickest time - a 1:40.185 that was just outside the lap record. Soon after McCoy suffered the fractures - both about 10cm above his ankle - he was airlifted by private jet to Austria for specialist treatment, according to a release issued by Yamaha. Even though the 2002 MotoGP World Championship kicks off in just six weeks, McCoy is hopeful that he will be able to grid up for the opening round, due to be held at Suzuka, Japan, on April 7. Red Bull Yamaha WCM Team Manager Peter Clifford confirmed McCoy's determination not to miss a single race but realized the possibility hinged on the outcome of the medical assessment. "McCoy wants to race as soon as possible, and we will know more after the treatment in Vienna," he said. McCoy was 0.1 of a second shy of the Estoril circuit's best ever lap with a time of 1:40.18, and had been the fastest rider throughout the session. It appears the notoriously gusty winds played a factor in the crash. "The wind got under me just as I tumed for the that fast right comer around the back of the circuit and there was just nothing I could do to control it. " McCoy said. "It's a real disappointment because the test session had been going according to plan. The bike was feeling good and I had really taken to the new, wider, choice of tires from Dunlop, which were giving me a lot of positive feedback. Everything was shaping up for a good start to the season. Now I just have to wait and see what the doctors in Austria say about when I can get back racing. " Loris Capirossi (Hon) finished the second and final day of IRTA tests in Estoril, Portugal, by improving on McCoy's time by a hundredth of a second. The Italian bettered his own lap record from last year's race and got to within a hundredth of Max Biaggi's pole position record. Capirossi and his West Honda Pons entry headed Daijiro Katoh, Shinya Nakano, Ale" Barros and Jurgen van den Goorbergh on the lap charts. Marco Melandri CApr) was the quickest of the 250cc riders, going eighttenths faster than rival Fonsi Nieto. According to a press release issued by his team, three time and reigning AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion Jimmy filice will turn his attention to the Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Championship in 2002, aboard a Jimmy Filice RacinglTeam Corbin ZX6R Kawasaki. Filice will be not only the rider, but also the team owner. "After last year, with all the help Mike Corbin provided me with, I just wanted to continue to improve," Filice said in the relase. "James [Siddall] and I worked really well together in winning the 250cc championship last year, and I wanted to step up to the challenge and get more quality exposure for our sponsors. I want to build a team with a bright future, that may soon help to bring up some young American riders as well." Filice will be the team's sole rider in 2002. Dennis Zickrick will build the team's engines and Steven Scott will be Filice's mechanic. Filice brings with him his race engineer and team manager from World Sports/Team Corbin, James Siddall. Corbin will again be the main sponsor of the team, with Jimmy Filice Racing/Team Corbin being the official team name. The new Suzuki four-stroke GP racer completed a round of tests at Phillip Island in Australiaon February 21, with no hitches and steady progress, according to the team. Now the Telefonica Movistar Suzuki team and riders are eagerly awaiting the next stage of development of the all-new MotoGP machine. Regular riders Kenny Roberts Jr. and Sete Gibernau, along with factory tester Yukio Kagayoma, battled high winds at the circuit, but still managed to bring the first part of the program to a successful conclusion, a release from Suzuki stated. The team now takes a short break while the factory race department incorporates important changes to the machine's settings and electronics. The next stage of the high-intensity development takes place at the Catalunya GP circuit outside Barcelona early next month, where the new bike will be seen in public for the first time. "We're under no illusion, there is a lot to do before this bike is ready to race," Roberts said. "We've started the work and the first stage is over. Now we wait for the factory to make the changes we've asked for, to take the bike to the next level. Everybody is working really hard and we need to keep up the pace to the start of the season and then for the rest of the year. The machine goes well and sounds fantastic. The potential is there, and we are working on achieving it. " The IFMA Freestyle Motocross Series continues to set new attendance records across the country, according to Clear Channel Entertainment. During its recent stop at the Allstate Arena outside Chicago, the IFMA series set a new weekend attendance record with a groundbreaking 40,006 fans in attendance, including a sold-out, standingroom-only crowd on Saturday night while Nate Adams and Kenny Bartram racked up weekend victories. "Chicago marks the largest market ever for an IFMA Freestyle Motocross contest." said T.D. Lovett, vice president of freestyle motocross for Clear Channel Entertainment. "We brought our best show with the most premier line-up of riders for any IFMA Freestyle Motocross event in the history of the series. The results were beyond any of our expectations." This was the sixth event of the 2002 season credited with a sold-out event. In 2001, the IFMA tour visited six new venues with record-setting crowds. This year, the IFMA tour is scheduled to visit eight new cities, including Sacramento, California; Worcester, Massachusetts; Dallas; Pittsburgh; Chicago; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Birmingham, Alabama; and Indianapolis. Four of the six sold-out events thus far on the 2002 tour have been inaugural events, according to Clear Channel. Lockhart Phillips USA will be hosting a 15-year road race reunion at the The opening round of the GNCC Series during Daytona Bike Week always brings out a few big non-off-road names, and it looks like the 2002 rendition (which runs on March 5 in Okeechobee, Florida) will be no exception. Racer Productions Jason Weigandt just called Cycle News to let us know that MX great JeH Emig is planning to compete with the help of Kawasaki Team Green, though it is not yet clear which class he will campaign. Also planning to race are KTM Red Bull's Brock Sellards, who raced at the High Point, Pennsylvania, round last year, and MX GP hero Kurt Nicoll. Expect to see Sellards on a 200, while Nicoll will likely race a four-stroke. In addition, Suzuki's Mike Webb says that former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz is planning to race on an RM250. hospitality area in the infield of the California Speedway in Fontana, California, during the April 6-7 running of the Yamaha Superbike Challenge - rounds two and three of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series. The list of those who have said they will attend reads like a who's who of American road racing from the '70s. The reunion hospitality tent is open to all racers from AFM, ARRA, WERA, etc., their friends and family, and all road racing fans are encouraged to attend. The hospitality tent will be equipped with closed-circuit TV to view races, a PowerPoint presentation that will display photos of pre-1987 racers, video of selected vintage race events, and road racing memorabilia. The California Speedway has also donated space in which pre'87 road racers will be displayed. For more information on the event, call 800/221-7291. Despite being diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, a condition that causes temporary paralysis of the facial muscles, Chris Walker made the trip to Valencia for the offiCial SBK three-day test scheduled for February 23-25. Walker participated in all three days of the test. "I was looking forward to testing at Valencia, because it would be my first chance to ride the Kawasaki at a track I know fairly well," Walker said. "I was gutted when I discovered I was suffering from Bell's Palsy; I thought I'd be forced to sit out the whole test. That's not good when the first round is only a few weeks away; and at the same circuit. My biggest problem is that one of my eyes won't blink, which makes it difficult to clear, but I'm going to get out there and see how I feel on the bike." [ffJO@@f!I!2J(J[Jf0u@[l @@W@@(J[JO@ !p@[l @O@(ffJ[l @W(ffJ[JD[JD@OI![§)@[l[JD&] The AM held its 2002 Conference Meetings in Geneva, February 22-24, with meetings of the commissions, panels, working groups and the AM Management Council. Among the most newsworthy things that came from the meeting was the announcement of the World Supercross schedule, a schedule that includes aU of Clear Channel's Supercross Series rounds for 2003 - plus two rounds to be held outside the U,S. The scbedule is as follows: December 7, 2002 - (outside USA) December 14, 2002 - (outside USA) January 4 - Edison Intem8tion81 Field, An8heirn, California January 11 - Bank One Ballpark, Phoenix, Arizona January 18 - Edison Intemation81 Field, An8heim, California JanUllry 25 - Pac Bell Stadium, San Fr8ncisco, C8lifornia Febru8ry 1 - Edison International Field, Anaheim, California February 8 - Qu8lcomm Stadium, San Diego, California February 15 - Metrodome, Minne8polis, Minnesota February 22 - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia March 1 - RCA Dome, Indi8napolis, Indian8 March 8 - TBA March 22 - The Dome at America's Center, Stlouis, Missouri March 29 - Reliant Astrodotne, Houston, Texas April 5 .. Silverdome, Ponti8c, Michig8n April 12 - Texas Stadium, Dallas, Texas April 26 - Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah May 3 - Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Veg8s, Nevada cucla Gas Gas North America displayed many of its 2002 models at the recent dealer show in Indianapolis, February 1518, but according to GGNA there were rumors that they would no ionger be able to offer Gas Gas motorcycles to its dealer network. According to a release issued by GGNA: "Since 1996, GGNA has been the exclusive importer and distribu- n a _ S • Continued on page 88 6, 2002 3 MARCH o J J J 8 o o o o o J o o CJ J CJ o o o o o o o o c o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

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