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
Briefly continued Ralf Waldmann is to make a racing return at Assen. Germany and the Czech Republic as a wild-card rider. The ex-125 and 250cc GP winner. whose proposed testing and racing contract with the MZ four-stroke has come to nothing. will race a 250cc Aprilia leased from Campetella. in UGT colors. Waldmann and Jose Luis Cardoso had been signed to test the proposed V-four four-stroke MZ MotoGP bike. and a place had been reserved for them on the grid this year. But although a mock-up prototype has been shown, neither rider has been testing, and they have now been released from their contracts. The project has lost credibility, and there are now serious doubts over whether they will ever make a machine. Waldmann. whose MotoGP career came to an end with a factory Aprilia ride in 2000, had also planned to race saloon cars. but that also came to nothing, Garry McCoy is on target for a racing return at Donington Park. for the British GP on July 14. The Red Bull Yamaha rider pulled out at the fourth round. the French GP. in agony after recovery from breaking both bones in his lower right leg in preseason testing took longer than anticipated. McCoy's place was taken in France and Italy by ex-motocross superstar JeanMichel Bayle. but he pulled out after the Mugello race suffering from muscle strain in one arm, Former 250cc rider Alex Hoffmann took over for the Catalunyan and the nex1 race at Assen, Jobless Australian rider Anthony West was at Catalunya after sitting out the first part of the season. "I still don't have a ride, but things are looking better." he said. "I'm hoping to get something before the end of the season - and being in the paddock IS better than sitting at home in Australia. " West is a former factory Honda 250cc rider. but found himself without a Danny Smith and Michelin Rule 1255 at Southwick AMA National The Southwick track is notorious as arim-swallowing sand pit Racers know that if your tires hook up here, they'll hook up anywhere. So it IJOeS without saying that when Suzuki's Danny Smith won the 125 overall at Southwick, he did it on Michelin'tires. And while Michelin' SlarCross' tires gave him incredible traction in the Southwick sand, Michelin' has a complete line of motocross tires that offer this kind of performance on virtually any type of terrain, sand or rocks, mud or grass. your nearest Michelin' motorcycle tire dealer can hook you up with the right tires for your ride, contract after a promiSing season last year on a V-twin Honda 500, Alex Crlvill6 was honored at Catalunya, with Honda making good on their previous rather churlish refusal (at Jerez) to let him complete a lap of honor on an NSR500. At a special meeting on race eve. the 1999 World Champion and 15-times 500cc GP winner thanked the Spanish press for their generous treatment of him during the protracted end to his career - he had signed to ride an Antena 3 Yamaha this year, but withdrew after one brief tests due to health reasons. It is believed that he is suffering from a form of epilepsy. but he has declined to give details. Criville thanked his sponsors Repsol and Honda for their support, but made a special point of thanking the press for their sympathy and support. "I no longer have the money or the bikes. but I still have the support of the press, who have put me in a good place. when they could have been very cruel. " Randy Mamola made another racing comeback at Catalunya, returning to take part in Satunday's BMW Boxer Cup race, and giving a performance that reminded people of just what a great, acrobatic and spirited rider he had been. Austrian rider Thomas Hinterreiter won the race by three seconds, but Mamola was a major component in a tooth-and-nail battle for second place. At the finish. it was won by former GP racer Stephane Mertens. with Mamola in a podium third less than two 10ths behind. ex-GP racer Jurgen Fuchs a similar distance behind in fourth. and German racer Andreas Hoffman running wide on the last lap to take fifth. sixth lOths adrift. If the drugs don't work. neither does the adrenalin. for former Verve singer Richard Ashcroft. He was at Catalunya for a ride behind Randy Mamola on the Yamaha VZR500 two-seater GP bike. but as the moment drew nearer his courage grew less, and he tumed the opportunity down after all. cue I e n e _ os • JUNE 26, 2002 23