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/128164
30 YEARS AGO••• AUGUST " 1972 NBA great BUl Russell posed with a couple of kids for the cover of Issue *29. Inset on the cover was a photo of Russell aboard his moto machine at Saddleback - and he looked like a giant on the little bike. Apparently, a week prior to the event, Gary Bailey tutored Russell on the basics of MX, and Russell actually holeshot his first moto before falling midway through the race... Cal Rayborn (H-D) won the AMA Road Race at Laguna Seca Raceway. Gene Romero (Tri), Kenny Roberts (Yam), Paul Smart (Kaw) and Kel Carruthers (Yam) rounded out the top five in the 125-mile event... Tom Brooks won the overall at the Desert Vipers Hare Scrambles in Lucerne Valley, California, on a 125cc DKW... At the Elkhorn Inter-AMA 250cc motocross, Hakan Andersson (Yam) won the overall, with Americans Jimmy Weinert (Yam) and Gary Jones (Yam) completing a Yamaha sweep of the podium. Dennis Law (Mai) won the 500cc Support class. 20 YEARS ABO••• AUGUST 4, 1982 We tested the 1982 Kawasaki KX250B I and slid it across the cover of Issue *29. We were a fan of the machjne~ even if, according to the article, Kawasakis weren't seiling too hot. The frontdisc brake was the best in the business, and the bike retailed for $2079... Ricky Graham (H-D) topped the DuQuoin Mile, round 16 of the AMA Grand National Championships. The win extended his points lead to a whopping 47 over Jay Springsteen (H-D), who finished second in the race as well ... Ricky Johnson (Yam) won the CMC/White Brothers Four-Stroke MX Championship aboard a 600cc machine. Eric McKenna (Yam). Ron Turner (Hon) and Pierre Karsmakers (Yam) rounded out the top four overall in the Open Pro event... Franco Unclnl (Suz) won the 500cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix Road Race and extended his points lead in the process to 20 over Kenny Roberts (Vam) and Barry Sheene (Yam), who were tied for second in points. 10 YEARS AGO••• JULY 29, 1992 The start of the Unadilla 250cc MX GP was placed on the cover of Issue *29. Team Honda's Jeff Stanton won the event for the third year in a row, winning all three motos along the way. Edwin Evertsen (Kaw) finished second overall, while Mamicq Bervoets (Vam) finished third. Doug Henry (Yam) swept both motos of the 125cc Support race, topping Ryan Hughes (Kaw) and Tim Ferry (Kaw) over· all ... Will Davis (Hon) won the Parkersburg round of the Grand National Dirt Track Series. Chris Carr (H-D) and Larty Pegram (H-D) chased him home to complete the podium. Scott Parker still led the points by 13 over Carr at the conclusion of the event... Eddie Lawson gave Cagiva their first-ever Grand Prix win, in the 500cc class no less, while polesitter Doug Chandler (SOl) finished second. Even though he hadn't competed in the last two rounds because of a broken leg, Michael Doohan still led the points after nine rounds by 43, 130-87, over Kevin Schwantz. ell, it was a wonderful, freakish day. Freakish in that the weather held not just for Sunday, but for the whole weekend; freakish (in British GP terms) because of the crowds that came - more than 60,000 thus reversing a dismal trend, making the biggest spectator attendance in 10 years. And freakish in that just as things seem to be getting good, they are also getting a lot worse. With the downward trend of the past apparently reversed, the only problem that the British Grand Prix now faces is its future. There should be a race, of course. But where? Basically, the country is running out of circuits. Brands Hatch is probably the best of them, but while it's safe enough for World Superbike, with its lower standards, it's not good enough for GPs, and never will be without extensive alterations that simply aren't going to happen. Silverstone might be a candidate, but then again ... Which leaves Donington Park. I try to avoid running down Donington. The owners are able to do that (in the other sense) all by themselves. Now the race is over, it is time to say it. With the possible exception of Rio, this is now the worst track on the calendar. There are all sorts of reasons for this, ranging from basic spectator facilities to pits and paddock facilities that have by now deteriorated to a state of disgrace. Neglect and lack of investment are redolent of the Third World. As one paddock wit put it: Donington is the Railtrack of GP,racing. These aspects pale into insignificance compared with the circuit itself. W The layout has its problems: an uneasy mix of swooping curves and brawling hairpins, but that is not the worst point. That'll be the surface, always controversial for its low levels of grip, and getting more slippery and bumpier year by year. It has needed resurfacing for some time, but it's now really getting urgent. Just ask the riders. Vou'll meet plenty of them if you hang around the medical center. The weather and conditions were perfect this weekend yet there were no less than 59 crashes. This in a year when the crash rate is generally a lot lower, especially in the big class. This is a long-standing complaint. Over the years, I recall various scapegoats. Some suggested it was moss growing in the open-textured tarmac. Then came the theory that it was jet fuel particles raining down from the flight path of the adjacent East Midlands airport. And then came a TRRL survey, commissioned by baffled track operators, which established that in fact there was nothing actually wrong with the coefficient of friction. A resurface would at least have the effect of a clean sheet of paper, but the chances of it happening seem increasingly remote. After the hopes of a major upgrade to get a Formula One car Grand Prix were scotched last year when planning permission was declined, the short and long-term prospects for the circuit took a major dive. It might be that the success of this past weekend will change that, since this is now by far Donington's biggest racins weekend of the year. But I wouldn't count on it, for the same reasons as the circuit owners ... one swallow doesn't make a summer, and one well-attended race doesn't necessarily mean a reversal of a long-term trend either. Donington is on the calendar again next year, but the groundswell of complaints from teams and riders reached something of a crescendo this year. Nobody put it better than 125cc rider Lucio Cecchinello, who pointed out that while IRTA demand the highest standards of paddock facilities, parking, etc. from foreign tracks, at their home circuit they seem to have a blind spot. And that's without even getting on to what he described as the obvious danger. In fact, the real target for complaint should be Dorna, and who knows how long they will put up with the increasing pressure from the troops? It's important for them to have a round in Britain, but less important than having three rounds in Spain, where there are more than enough world-class circuits to go around. Ah, well. Who knows what might happen? I have my own dream, of Donington upgraded to change it from dismal to marvellous. It wouldn't need that much of a physical change, just a rebuilding program of the sort done twice at Jerez during the 16year period that Donington has hosted the race. But it would need a big change of heart from the circuit operators, and from the planning authorities, who would need to be convinced of the real value of a world-class racetrack. In the meantime, I'll remember how good this last weekend was, and hope that it will be at least as good next year. Because it just doesn't do to think any further ahead than that. eN • Sacbsenring Moto6P • Unadilla National MX • Georgia AMA Dirt Track • 2003 WSO Ant Ride cue I • n • _ so • JULY 24, 2002 111