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/128148
o o o c c Continued from page 2 c can have them inspected at no charge. according to Yoshimura. They will also have EMS tech assistances available during the race weekend. @Cf1@@0r1Cf1[JDSJ f:{D[JD@ @(J D[JD@@@[? WDffJO Malena Browning. general manager of the Leesville 171 Speedway in Leesville. Louisiana. has announced that the AMA n has sanctioned her facility. The SpeedI...J way is now part of AMA's District 19. which is made up of Louisiana. Mississippi. Arkansas. and Alabama. By virtue of being a sanctioned track. 171 Speedway can offer its amateur riders a chance to win points at every race. according to Browning. Motorcycle events are scheduled one Saturday per month beginning on April 13. For more information. call 337/238-5000. Spaniard Albert Cabestany sewed up the Indoor Trials World Championship at the final round in his home country. "It's like a dream.· Cabestany said. "When I WllS a child I watched trials on lV, and I thought one day I would be at the top. Now. after 1111 this time and sacrifice, this title rewards 1111 my effort lind the work I did.' Cabestany's crown ended the supremacy of Brit Doug Lampkin, champ for the last five years. "This indoor championship featured a very high level of riding," said Cabestany. 22. "All the riders have suffered a long time during Lampkin's dominance. He didn't give llny possibility to win. But now we hllve done a great step in reducIng the difference to the number one." Cabestany won five rounds on his way to the title, and for once, it appears that there will be some chance of someone giving Lampking a serious challenge in the upcoming World Championship Trio als Series, which begins in Spain on April 13-14 (the first round, originally scheduled for Luxembourg the previous week, was can· celed). "All the riders in indoor and some of them in outdoor have chances," Cabestany said. "This season won't be easy for Lampkin, but obviously he is the best and will try to prove it.· Mario Candellone " L o o o C r AHRMA has announced two changes to its Progressive Suspension Historic Cup Series/Motorcycleindustry.com Singles. Twins & Thunder Series: The September 7-8 rounds at New Mexico's Sandia Motorsports Park have been canceled due to scheduling problems. The event will not be replaced: Because of a conflict with a NASCAR race in the area on the original weekend. the October 5-6 rounds at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway in Alabama have been moved to September 2829. with a practice day on September 27. There are now 20 rounds in the 2002 series. An updated entry form is available for downloading on AHRMA's Web site. www.ahrma.org. AHMRA has also announced that its Speed & Sport NationI.....J al Trial at Willow Springs in Rosamond. California. has been moved to one day LJ earlier and will now take place on May' 4. For more information. call 615/851-3674. " o o o o o o o BMW is inviting all BMW motorcycle owners to join BMW as part of a photo shoot for the 2003 BMW Motorcy· cles Full Line Catalog on Wednesday. April 24 at the New Hampshire Intemational Speedway in Loudon. New Hampshire. Up to 180 riders may participate in the event. which will include open track time. a catered breakfast and lunch for all attendees. plus free gifts and a 8!X®[fJ[jJ O O C O O O O O O o chance to mix with fellow BMW owners and celebrate the opening of the new riding season. according to BMW. This year. BMW has added an hour-long • Slow School" component. allowing riders to receive group instruction by the same motorcycle police officers who train the police motor officers in riding techniques. For more information and to register online. visit www.bmwmotorcyc1es.com and click on the "News. Previews and More" section on the home page to the "Loudon Track Day" blurb. Reg Pridmore's CLASS Motorcycle Schools will offer a special class just for two-up riders. The session will be held on September 16 at the Streets of Willow in Rosamond. California. "Since I was 15. I've enjoyed two-up riding. on the road and on the track." Pridmore said in a release issued by his company. "And this is something I've always wanted to do. There aren't many places in the country where you can conduct a school like this. APRIL 3, 2002' Daytona 200 winner Nicky Hayden stopped by Sears Point Raceway on March 21 to do an informal shakedown of the 12-tum. 2.32-mile racetrack in preparation for the AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike round scheduled for the Sonoma. California. racetrack. May 3-5. Hayden was part of a CLASS Motorcycle Safety School that spent the day at Sears Point Raceway. Hayden was riding a 2001 RC51. He was impressed with the safety improvements at Sears Point. which is in the final stages of a $50 million Modernization Project. Increased runoff has been added at Virtually every turn on the road course. Hayden was especially pleased with the runoff at tums seven through nine. according to racetrack public relations. "The track looks a lot better. and the runoff is a lot nicer." !1@fi]\!l@0 @®[j@ff[JiJ According to II press relellSe issued by the tellm just before this issue went to press, former /VIlA Grllnd Nlltionlll Chllmpion Joe Kopp will no longer be riding f~r, or llffill~ted with. Tellm Corbin Reclng. These changes are effectiVe unmedilltely for the 2002 /VIlA Grllnd Nlltional Championship Series. Although the tellm Contrllct enabled Corbin to force the rider to pllrticipllte under the same provisions as the prior year. Corbin will not be enforcing the contract and .wlll 1l!low Kopp ~o pursue other llVenues per his. Wishes. This proVISion m the Corbm contract hilS been standllrd since the flat track tellm was formed ~n 199~. It has, however, never been enforced even when Rich King was approached with the Harley·Davidson factory sponsorship three years ago. "Joe had some issues [with the contract] thllt he could not overcome," said Mike Corbin. "He wanted to eliminate Olive Burks Motorsports from the contrllct, and we were not willing to do thll!. We've had a great relationship with Burks, and he's mllnaged the team for years now, including the season that ellmed Joe the Chllm. pionship. He's done a great job of representing Corbin in a profes· sional mllnner and I just couldn't see severing the relationship as Joe requested.· Kopp's teammate Kenny Coolbeth has decided to stay with Burks lind Team Corbin, who had picked up additional sponsorship n118 but I was able to make special arrangements with the Streets of Willow. It will be a lot of fun." For more information. call 805/933-9936. II: U II: I _ n __ s from Samson Exhllust ellrlier this Yellr. Kopp responded by telling Cycle News thllt while he mllY no longer be with the Corbin Recing tellm. he sliD plans to chllllenge for the Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Chllmpionships crown full-throttle. "The whole situlltion was between Dave Burks lind me lind not Mike Corbin lind me," Kopp said. "I reaDy want to thllnk Mike Corbin for everything that he did for me. We had a great couple years together, and we won the championship together. I was looking for. ward to continuing on with Corbin, but that just couldn't be worked t th II ted 'It be· y ou A efwa we at wfathn 10 , th t h' b' . s. or th e res 0 e season, Kopp says a IS Iggest concem . IS fi~dlng a new name to put on hIS leathers. Darrell Jones of Jones Pow:rsports a~d ~t7ve Howllrd are the two. guys who are bllcking me, Kopp Sllld. I m ndmg the same eqUlp~ent tha~ I started the year WIth. I plan to go lind run for the championship. Kopp sllid thllt he lliso will retain his factory-backed KTM 505cc deal through the transItion. As II footnote to this story, Kopp reported that Burks Motorsports mechanic Dennis Town has also left the team for reasons unrelated to Kopp's departure. Hayden said in a release issued by Sears Point. "There's so much more room here. I think it's going to save us a lot of injuries and make for better racing. I think once the entire track is repaved it has the potential to be one of the best road courses on the series. Guys used to only race at 95-percent at Sears Point because they were afraid of the walls. but now I think guys will take more chances. You'II see more guys pushing to the edge. which will make for better racing." Hayden is in the Bay Area for next week's test session at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. "I really appreciate all the work they've done here." Hayden said. "Any time I can get a little bit of track time. it's always good. That's especially true on a course I'm going to compete on in a few months.· On Friday. March 22. Hayden did a little dirt tracking with new HMC Ducati rider Doug Chandler. Cycle News test rider Jeff Haney and Bruce Transportation Group's Jake Zemke on a short track located at a friend of Chandler's in Monterey. Russ Wageman of Pit Pro Cycle is offering a bike maintenance class th second Thursday of every month at hi shop in Newhall. California. The c1asse begin on April 11 and will run from 7 to p.m. For more information. call 909/255 5101. The Westem States Racing Associatio will hold the second annual Mother' Day Invitational. May 11-12 in Day ton, Nevada. The race will be dual sanc tioned by D-36 and MRANN. For mor information. call 775/849-9688. MXers for Jesus has announced tha they will be on hand for the NMA Wort Mini Grand Prix in Las Vegas. Nevad April 16-21. with services slated fo Wednesday and Sunday. For more info mation, call 256/490-6460. c