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/128160
Continued from page 3 SOOcc World Championship four times. a record for American riders. His world titles came in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1989. He won the first three championships with Yamaha and his final title with Honda. During his World Championship career, Lawson won at total of L,.. 31 SOOcc Grands Prix, which. when he retired from the series, placed him third on the all-time wins list behind Giacomo Agostini (68) and Mike Hailwood (37l. In addition to his world titles, Lawson also won two AMA Superbike Championships and two AMA 2S0cc Grand Prix titles. "It is a real honor to have Eddie Lawson inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame," said AMA Pro Racing n CEO Scott Hollingsworth, accepting on LJ Lawson's behalf. "Lawson helped Amer(1 ica reach its pinnacle in Grand Prix racLJ ing during the 1980s and is clearly considered one of the best road racers in the history of the sport," Lawson -J becomes the 13th motorcycle racer to be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame. C o o o o C C C Lawson joins a very select group of AMA racing greats in the Motorsports u Hall of Fame that includes Carroll u Resweber, Bart Markel, Cannonball I ' Baker, Kenny Roberts. Joe Leonard, Joe Petrali, Bob Hannah, Dick Mann, Roger DeCoster, Malcolm Smith, Jim Davis and Freddie Spencer. In addition to Lawson, seven other motorsports legends were inducted in separate categories. This year's inductees include Gaston Chevrolet (Historic), Dale Earnhardt (Stock Cars), Eddie Hill (Drag Racing), Gordon Johncock (Open Wheel), Paul Mantz (Air Racing), Fred Offenhauser (At-Large), and Brian Redman (Sports Cars). Lawson began his profesl...J sional racing career on the dirt tracks of Southern California during the mid1970s. He made the switch to road racing by the late-1970s and won his first road racing championship in 1980, After winning four AMA national titles, he moved on to the World Championship arena in 1983. He won his first Grand \..J Prix in South Africa in March of 1984. During his decade on the GP circuit, Lawson rode for Yamaha. Honda and Cagiva, In July of 1992, Lawson won his U final GP in Hungary - it also marked the 'I first SOOcc Grand Prix win for Italian u maker Cagiva. That would be Lawson's u last full year of motorcycle racing. He did come back to race the prestigious U Daytona 200 and Suzuka Eight Hours ' I races for Yamaha. He twice won the Daytona 200, America's top motorcycle racing event. Lawson went on to a brief career in Indy Car racing. He was considered one of the top up-and-coming drivers during the late-1990s. r r' LJ ~ C LJ C C " C C r r u " n " U o o ~ c AMA Pro Racing has formed a new fivemember Medical Advisory Board to implement new standards for track- 108 JUNE 26, 2002' side medical support of AMA Pro Racing competitors, according to AMA Pro Racing. The medical advisory board is made up of members with extensive experience in motorcycle racing, including: Bob Moore. former FIM World Motocross champion and chairman of the Road 2 Recovery Foundation; AMA Supercross and Motocross doctors John Bodnar, Medical Director, and Stephen Augustine; Duke Finch, AMA Motocross/Supercross manager; and Hugh Fleming, AMA Pro Racing safety and equipment director, "The medical advisory board was formed by AMA Pro Racing to implement better safety and medical policies for our professional racers, - said Scott Hollingsworth, CEO, AMA Pro Racing, "Our goals are to standardize medical services in all of AMA Pro Racing with the eventual aim of providing a mobile hospital that would go to as many events as possible. We will shortly announce our first medical policy dealing with concussions and we hope to establish a medical database of our riders to help better evaluate their condition in the event of an injury.• The mission of the medical advisory board is to promote the safety of the AMA professional athlete, to improve and elevate the quality of on·site med· ical care available at professional races, and to promote safety and performance research as it relates to professional motorcycle racing, the AMA says. "The adVisory board is working to form policies to benefit the rider's health and safety first and foremost." said Fleming. "The work being done in supercross and motocross is acting as a template for other disciplines. Future goals include augmenting the medical staff with professional trainers and therapists." The team of Dr. Bodnar and Dr. Augustine work together in covering all AMA Supercross and Motocross events this season thanks in large part to the support of Asterisk, a sub-division of the CTI Kneebrace Company. The addition of these sports-specific doctors. working in conjunction with existing track medical staffs, is helping to better assess and deal with injuries suffered by riders. The board is also formulating standardized policies on how to best deal with specific types of injuries. especially when dealing with head injuries. Asterisk provides financial assistance for the doctors' expenses for both supercross and motocross. Additionally, they have organized and funded the Kawasaki Medical Mule that has been used at the races to provide a prompt response vehicle to assist with injured riders. The AMA Pro Racing Medical Advisory Board is the latest effort by AMA Pro Racing to further the cause of rider safety in motorcycle racing, according to the AMA. Last year, with support from throughout the industry, AMA Pro Racing implemented the use of hundreds of feet of additional air modules at AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship races. Two weeks after being officially unveiled to the world's press at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello on May 30. the Desmosedici. Ducati's new prototype for the FIM MotoGP Championship. made its first public appearance at Misano Adriatico's Santa monica circuit on June 15. Misano Adriatico is the scene for World Ducati Week, Europe's largest one-make motorcycle rally, which attracts 'Ducatisti' from all over the world to a week of festivities involVing the Italian manufacturer. WDW2002 takes place from June 14-20, the week leading up to the San Marino Round of the World Superbike Championship, scheduled for the same circuit from June 21-23, WDW participants are the first to get a look at the final version of the Ducati Desmosedici, a 989cc fourstroke, "double-twin" machine. with a unique twin-firing order (called "twinpulse'). The Ducati Desmosedici is a brand-new prototype and will be on display in the red livery of Team Ducati Infostrada, which. in the hands of reigning champion Troy Bayliss from Australia, is currently leading the 2002 FIM World Superbike Championship. The new bike will undergo nine months of development and testing before making its debut at the first round of the 2003 World Championship in Suzuka (Japan), "Competition has always been the main vehicle of promotion for Ducati," declared Ducati Motor Holding President Federico Minoli in a press release, "and the new Desmosedici represents the icon of our philosophy: the construction of technologically advanced bikes, representing Italian genius and style in circuits throughout the world. " MX Sports announced in a recent press release that Air Nautique, a world leader in wakeboard boating. as the official title sponsor of the 21 st annual AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's. The announcement makes Air Nautique. a division of Correct Craft and a company from outside the motocross industry. a major player on the amateur motocross scene. "Correct Craft boats have been helping families have fun together for generations,' MX Sports Director Tim Cotter said in the release, "We're excited to link their business philosophies with ours." "We think motocross is a great complement to wakeboarding," said Air Nautiques Director of Marketing Scott Mohr, "The demographics of the two sports are very similar." Air Nautique first entered the motocross industry several years ago by sponsoring Ricky Carmichael, a former AMA Amateur National Champion and Loretta _• _n e ._ _ _ _ _ _ _lIIIIIiIiIiIiiIIIIiI__.... _ .... • cue Lynn's graduate. Air Nautique's pioneering efforts in motocross sponsorship continue with its support of this year's AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn·s. A custom-made Super Air Nautique Team Edition boat will be on display at various MX Sports events throughout the summer. including the Loretta Lynn's event itself. In addition. Air Nautique will host an interactive family area at Loretta Lynn's. With over 15,000 entries, the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's is the largest amateur motocross event in the world. Loretta Lynn's Ranch. in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. hosts the event every August. After discussion with U.S. Forest Service and City of Colorado Springs officials, Falken Tire Pikes Peak Inter· national Hill Climb race director Phil Layton has announced that the 80th running of the race is still on-track for June 29, A large wildfire about 25 miles north and west of Pikes Peak. coupled with dry conditions in the area. has created some concern about the running of this year's race. PPIHC officials have remained in daily contact with the Forest Service and city. Both entities support haVing the race. "Obviously. we have no control over acts of God, but at this time there is no reason we can't run the event," Layton said. With Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom automatically seeded into the World Superbike round at Laguna Seca Raceway on July 13, there are six entries remaining for North American riders. And that's where the problem lies. According to event promoters, nine riders have entered the race: Nicky Hayden, Aaron Yates, Miguel DuHamel. Anthony Gobert. Pascal Picotte, Jamie Hacking, Mat Mladin, Doug Chandler and Kurtis Roberts. It will come down to a choice that will be made by the promoter in conjunction with the AMA as to which six are chosen. Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd. will host the closing-ceremony party for the 100th Year Celebration Party and Tri· umph Across America Closing Ceremony on June 30 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Pasadena Lodge in Pasadena, California, The party will be open to the public with no admission charge. though there is a food-service charge of $6 per person that includes beverages. Entertainment is set to include Scott Wallenberg from RacerX's Blue Sky Band and also Road to Blue. Special guests are set to include: Skip Van Leeuwen, Eddie Mulder, Bud Ekins, Pat Owens, Gary Bryson. Don Brown, Craig Vetter and several other Triumph luminaries. eN .J