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/128151
o o c Cantinued from page 3 (\ w n 1.J U n sports and entertainment venues in the country. In addition to fan amenities, increased runoff has been added at almost every tum on the road course to increase rider safety. Portions of the track have also been repaved, and the road course has been permanently separated from the drag strip. The entire track will be repaved immediately following the 2002 main-event season, according to the track. "It's good to see all of this happening. Once we get all of these stands filled during the bike weekend, it's going to be great." said Chandler, who sits ninth in AMA Superbike points. c c o o o c c Jake Zemke, who competes in Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport and Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme, and Jimmy Filice, the defending MBNA 250 Grand Prix champion, joined Chandler at Sears Point. "Fans are going to be pleased with what they see when they come out here," said Filice. "You are going to be able to see so much of the track from just about anywhere, and that's amazing. I don't know that you can say that about too many places." Said Zemke: "Overall, this place is a lot safer now, and that's the main thing. The runoff is going to help us quite a bit." A major project that raceway officials were unable to complete for this year's AMA event was the creation of increased runoff at turn one. The runoff cannot be created until officials abandon the existing wastewater treatment plant located inside tum one and convert to a newly constructed facility located further from the track. The new plant is complete, but it will not be connected and operational by the AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge because of time constraints and county approvals. Once the new system is activated, track officials will be grading for additional runoff and installing new longer bridges at both tums one and six. That was the only real criticism Chandler, Zemke and Filice voiced on Friday. "That's really the only thing I see. We will be carrying a lot of speed into turn one the way I see it," Chandler said. "Tum one is the only suspect area, but everything else is a lot better. And we know they [track officials] will take care of that. [The projectJ is just not finished yet. " 8 o c o o o o o o c o o o o o o o o o c Pier-Francesco Chili underwent surgery on Wednesday, April 10, in an Imola hospital to fix the broken collarbone he suffered in his run-in with Ruben Xaus dUring Sunday-morning warmup for last weekend's World Superbike round in Kyalami, South Africa. The operation, coordinated by doctor Guglielmo Vicenzi, who operated on Chili after his crash at Misano in 2000, took an hour and a half with his previous plate being replaced by a new, bigger plate, held in place by six screws. Chili is slated to begin rehab on Monday, though he won't race in Sugo, Japan, instead concentrating his efforts on retuming to action in Monza, Italy, on May 13. "I prefer to miss Sugo's race, also if the doctor told me that I could be able to race," said Chili in a release from his team. "After the fall in Misano, two years ago, I was back racing in Valencia, just four days later, but Sugo is a more demanding track as the Spanish one, and also my injury is harder. Now we have to C G o 8 o o o f1 104 APRIL 24,2002' c u e • • @[l)@ [j)®DfJD(1~ [1@@@]®f? [fjJ(}j)f?[j)Wf?@@ DUDD(}j)f?@@] Following a solid fourth-plac~ run at the Claremore, Oklahoma, Mile - in which he assumed the AMAtprogressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships series points lead - Coziahr Harley- Davidson/Country Wide Mobile Home Sales-backed Johnny Murphree suffered a broken right leg while play-riding aboard his motocross bike on Sunday, April 14, and will miss at least one round in the series. The 23-year-old Murphree was racing in a local motocross event in Illinois when the accident occurred, "I just bought a new KTM 520, and I was racing a motocross to just play around, have fun and stay in shape," Murphree said. "I was having a blast all day. I was riding in the A class, and I got the holeshot, then, coming into the first tum, this squid just cut across the corner and T-boned me wide open and broke my right leg. It was broken before I even hit the ground." Murphree is was hospitalized at Decatur Memorial Hospital in Illinois, where he underwent surgery to have a rod placed in the leg to speed up the healing proc~ss. Despite the setback, Murphree has remained positive through the ord~al. "It could have been worse," Murphree said. "It's not a compound [fracture], They were clean breaks, The doctors just stuffed a rod in ther~ to speed it up. I have bionic healing powers anyway, so we'll see how it goes." prepare to be in the best conditions for Monza, not only me but the team too; they will have a lot of work to repair the bike which has been almost completely destroyed in the accident. " Former GNCC champ Shane Watts, who has sat out the first few rounds of the 2002 season due to a wrist injury incurred in an off-season supercross accident, recently sent the following (slightly edited) note to his sponsors and the press: "G'day mates. This [damed] wrist is really starting to [botherl me. Yep, it is a lot worse than what I thought and expected it to be. Yesterday I went and again saw my specialist (same guy that operated on Rick Johnson's wrist> down here in Orlando, Florida, where I've been staying, and he says I'm not ready to race yet. And he's right. 'cause I went out a few times on the bike this week, and I can only last a total of 25 minutes at 75percent speed each day. The bone's pretty much healed, but the problem I have is that the tendons that run through my wrist are still very swollen and thus are causing me to experience pain and complications almost identical to Carpal Tunne Syndrome. Because of this, I have extreme difficulty using my fingers to hang onto and control the motorcycle. He says that all I can do is sit tight and rest it, and wait for the swelling to subside. [DamJ. I'm sick of waiting, though. It's [bothering] me big time. So, apart from that, I'm just going to the gym twice a day for an hour-and-a-half session each time (I hate that [darned] Stairmaster more than my wrist!>, just concentrating and focusing on getting back out on the track. Plus, most days I also go mountain biking, play tennis, and have sex (the best training possible, don't you think?). So, this is the fittest I have been for years, and it's really making me agitated that I can't go and utilize it out on the track. From now until the Loretta Lynn GNCC (April 21l, I'm gonna try and keep it immobilized and keep on icing it down so as to hopefully reduce some or all of the tendon-swelling. If my wrist is good enough, I plan to gear up to race at Loretta's for the victory. Here's hoping. Catch you later, Wattsy." n e ... s Murphree said that he hopes to return to action during the Memorial Day Weekend events at Springfield, but he will miss the Columbus, Ohio, Half Mile. "This is just adding fuel to my fire," Murphree said. "All I'm going to be thinking about is me kickin' ass. This will Just give me even more drive, fire me up even more. If you thought I had desire before, you ain't seen nothing yet. While it might be easy to question Murphree's decision to race motocross from an outsider's perspective, Murphree's team owner, Tim Coziahr, doesn't. Coziahr has been 100-percent supportive of his rider through the incident. "Shit happens, but It could be worse," Coziahr said. "Of course I'm disappointed. We were on a roll. We have got It together, I believe. We are doing a lot better than we anticipated with such a new team. If Johnny got fourth every race, then we would win the championship, but I know that he can do better than that. Johnny is my guy for sure. I won't let him ride hurt, but nobody else will ride his motorcycles while he's down. We'll be back, and we'll be stronger than ever." In the meantime, cards and letters can be sent to Murphree in of the follOWing address: Coziahr Harley-DaVidson, 350 South Route 51, Forsythe, IL 62535. car~ CRC is slated to kick off its 25th annual Dunestown Series on April 28 at Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale, California. For more information, call 661/272-8889 or see their Web site at www.crcmx.com. Mcallister Motorsports will be presenting round three of the Cycle World SuperTT series in Vallejo, Califomia, on April 28 at the Solano County Fairgrounds. An open practice will be held on April 27 at the same facility from 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. for $25. For more information, call 916/408-0758. Clear Channel Entertainment's Motor Sports division has announced that star riders of the IFMA Freestyle Motocross Series will appear on NBC television's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Friday, May 10. Mike Jones, Kenny Bartram, Dustin Miller, and Jake Windham headline a cast of IFMA Freestyle Motocrossers who will showcase their talents on the Tonight Show's property at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. Viewers can expect to see the riders perform a variety of aerial stunts including the coffin, rock solid, cliffhanger, and the kiss of death, according to Clear Channel. "When I saw freestyle motocross at last year's THQ U.S. Open in Las Vegas, I was amazed," said Steve Ridgeway, segment producer of the Tonight Show. "This is going to be a spectacular feature on the Tonight Show and we're looking forward to it. " George Parsons, 83, died on April 6 from complications of the injuries he suffered six weeks ago when he was hit by a car in front of the motorcycle shop he owned in Lambertville, New Jersey - Parson's Auto & Cycle Supply. According to Ed Dunham, "George was a character. He was a self-taught engineer who held a patent for a device used in submarines dUring WWII. He was gregarious. Buying a set of sparkplugs could be a three-hour adventure. Once George grabbed your ear, he didn't let go without a struggle. He was a friend and a teacher. " Olympus America is the title sponsor of the 2002 Olympus U.S. Amateur Motocross Championships at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, April 26-28, according to event promoters. Olympus will be giving away a camera to a rider dUring the event. Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom has announced the launch of his first dedicated line of merchandise. For the first time, fans will be able to show their support of Bostrom by wearing specially designed Eric Bostrom gear. An agreement with AMA Pro Racing's new merchandising partner, Wateree Sports Group, will allow fans to purchase his gear at AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike events and also online at: www.amaproracacing.com/speedshop. Sam Arena Sr., 89, died at his home in San Jose, Califomia, on April 8. Arena began his racing career in 1932 and raced for the U.S. Team all over the world. He became a six-time national champion in hillclimb and won several championships in all forms of motorcycle competition. He took over the HarleyDavidson dealership, San Jose H-D, in 1952 before retiring in 1973 - at which point his son, Sam Jr.. took over the business until 1983. Arena Sr. was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio in 1998. Charitable donations can be sent to Motorcycle Hall of Fame, 13515 Yarmouth Rd., Pickerington, Ohio 43147. Arena is survived by his wife, Myrtle; son, Sam Jr.; daughter, Judy Adamson; son-in-law, Bob Adamson; five grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren; and one great, great grandchild. The Road 2 Recovery Foundation is auctioning off a Full Factory Supercross Weekend Las Vegas package that includes two playing spots in the May 2 Slots of Golf Toumament, two VIP tickets to the final round of the EA Sports Supercross Series on May 4, two invitation-only tickets for the Clear Channel/EA Sports Supercross Awards Banquet on May 5 and four nights at a major Las Vegas hotel. For more information, log on to www.road2recovery.com. Proceeds benefit the Road 2 Recovery Foundation. CN