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/128167
o [] c Chuck Woodford (Kaw) scored the overall win at round seven of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series hosted by the Little Egypt Off Road Motorcycle Club in Crab Orchard. Illinois. Doug Blackwell (Han) finished second. with Fred Andrews (Kaw) overcoming a crash at the first turn to finish third. Brian Garrahan (KTM) ended up fourth. with Blair Bersano (Suz) rounding out the top five. E [ c [ The 25th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours was an all-Honda affair, with Cabin Honda's Colin Edwards (the tall one) and Daijiro Kato (left of Edwards) taking top honors on August 4 in Suzuka City, Japan. The win was Edwards' third and Kato's second, and the 17th for Honda. In addition, Honda swept the podium for the fourth time in 25 runnings of the Suzuka 8 Hours. Though the Edwards and Kato team was a minute up on eventual second-place finishers Tadayuki Okada and Makoto Tamada with an hour to go, a light rain started to fall after seven hours of strength-sapping humidity. "This win is more special than my previous two 8 Hours wins, because we had drama at the end. But the rain stopped after a few laps and Daijiro [Katol rode brilliantly_ I want to thank him for the win," said Edwards. "When it started to rain during the final session, I was anxious because It was my .first night race and the track condition was unstable. I am really happy we won the race," added Kato. Edwards and Kato completed 219 laps, better than the distance record set last year by Edwards and Valentino Rossi by two laps. Okada and Tamada finished second, some 25 seconds behind, on a Cabin-spensored Honda identical to Edwards and Kato except for tires. Edwards and Kato rode on Michelins, whereas Okada and Tamada went with Dunlops. Using different tire brands on two factory bikes is quite common in the 8 Hours, as factories strive to cover all the bases. "Although we couldn't catch the winner, Makoto was riding aggressively and I am happy with the result," said Okada. Sakuri Honda's Alex Barros and Yuichi Takeda soldiered through the race to third. As he had all weekend, Barros was brilliant on the Honda Superbike, and set the fastest lap of the race. Takeda was also his same self in the race. With no sign offire in his belly, Takeda gave time away to the other Hondas, double the amount that Barros could make up. The duo took third, 23 seconds behind Okada and Tamada, making the finish across the first three teams the closest in the history of the 8 Hours. The only team that tried to poke Honda in the eye was Team Suzuki. Suzuki riders Akira Ryo and Yukio Kagayama kept themselves in the top three until their overworked engine had a heart attack 00 lap J56. Except for the speed from the Hondas, Yamaha had a trouble- Defending 800cc National Champion Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. (Yam) l....- scored his first win of the season at the All-Star Challenge in Norton Shores. Michigan. on August 4. Strank outran points leader Dave Watson (Han) and Gerry Bennett (H-Dl. In the 540cc class, John Hamilton Jr. (Tri) held off Watson (Han) for his second win of the year. Hamilton's teammate Chad Disbennett (Tri), winner of the last two rounds. finished third. In the money round. Strank put together a flawless run to edge Watson and Hamilton Jr. r e c c [ o o c [ Hillclimber James "Jammer" Large, the winner of the last two AMA National Hillclimbs. put in the day's fastest run at the All-Star Challenge. Large's blistering run was the only four-second run of the day, but in a crash Similar to Tim Frazier's two years ago. he couldn't stop at the top and went down the backside of Mt. Garfield. Large suffered a broken rib. a punctured lung and a lacerated liver in the crash. He should be released from the hospital by the end of the week and will likely miss the rest of the season. Cards and letters can be sent to: Reiser's Cycle Service. Attn: Jammer. 2865 South High Street. Columbus. OH 43207. [ r t t c "No comment." was the answer given by KTM's Scot Harden, Monday, on August 5. when we asked him whether or not seven-time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath has signed a contract with the Austrian manufacturer for the 2003 season. "There's nothing we can tell," Harden reiterated. It is known, however, that McGrath has ridden KTM's all-new 250 SX and, reportedly, likes it very much. c o o Kyle Nelson (KTM) took top honors at the Parts Unlimite9 Off-Road Championship Series round in Waukon. Iowa, on August 4. Nelson crossed the finish line with a comfortable two-minute lead over John Strangfeld eGG). Third overall went to Kirk Foster (GG), while Matt Stavish (Hbg) and Adam McKillip rounded out the top five. o o GSE Racing has announced that Chris Walker will join James Toseland on the team's HM Plant Ducatis in the 2003 World Superbike Championship. Both riders will be aboard the team's factory- o c C [ljJ@71@ [gil@0 O C C C C C C O O C C } 2 AUGUST 14, 2002' cue I • supplied Ducati 998 F02s. Walker, a four-time British Superbike Championship runner-up. signed a one-year deal with an option for GSE Racing to extend the agreement at the end of the 2003 season. Known for his gritty determination and all-action riding style. Walker is currently racing for the Fuchs Kawasaki team in the 2002 World Superbike Championship. "I'm incredibly grateful to have been given such a fantastic opportunity," said Walker in a release issued by his new team. "I worked with [team managerl Colin Wright in '98 and have wanted to repeat the experience ever since. GSE Racing is one of the best teams in the paddock and it will be good ©@!JiJDilDDfi1:.-<--_~_@_@_DD Cycle News Publishing Group has announced the launch of a new magazine produced entirely for the young off-road motorcycle enthusiast, The magazine will be titled Mota Kids. The brainchild of current Cycle News editor Paul Carruthers, who will also edit the magazine, Mota Kids will be different from any other motorcycle publication in that it will be written and graphically designed for a vital demographic that has until now been mostly ignored: The young enthusiast. A full-color, all-glossy motorcycle publication for the young motorcycle enthusiast, rider and fan, Mota Kids will be written and edited by professional journalists with strong, established reputations in the powersport industry, using valued input from our target audience. Ditto for the professional photographers who will bring top-notch photography to the publication. Molo Kids will evaiuate the newest youth-targeted motorcycles and AlVs, featuring them in stories designed to entice and educate the young reader. In addition to product evaluations, Molo Kids will feature the stars of the sport in both personality profiles and advice stories - again, presented in an easy-to-read, friendly and exciting manner for our young readers. Regular Molo Kids columns will include basic technical tips that are safe and simple for aspiring young do-it-yourselfers; riding-tip stories to help young readers of varying abilities; and Visually appealing presentations and evaluations of a wide range of youth-focused products, from riding apparel neVIl's free race and had all-Japanese teams finish fourth and fifth, albeit two laps and five laps away from the Hondas, respectively. There were plenty of support classes in the 8 Hours to help fill the grid_ In the F1M Super Production suppert class, the two Zongshen Team entries gathered first and second with 2JO laps. Stephen Mertens and Warwick Nowland took top honors with Bruno Bonhuil and Igor Jerman second. Third in Super Production were Corona Extra riders Adam Fergusson and Jordan Szoke, also on 210 laps and just nine seconds away from Bonhuil and Jerman. Fergusson and Szoke rode fiawlessIy, but a series of miscellaneous mechanical problems cost them the class win. American Jason Pridmore salvaged an 18th-place finish overall with Brit Mike Edwards for Phase 1 (Suzuki, Super Production). The team was forced to start from the pits, six laps down, after the radiator pepped a leak on the warm-up lap. American Doug Polen had a brief moment in the sun by pulling the holeshot from 13th on the grid and leading the first third of the first lap. The sun went down on Polen 49 minutes later, when his Honda ran dry of fuel halfway around the circuit. Look for a full report in next week's issue of Cycle News. Tracy Hagen _ to video games. "I'm excited about the project," Carruthers said. "As the father of a son who rides, I know that there's really nothing out there for him and others in his age group when it comes to motorcycle publications. This magazine will be written for the young reader. I plan on making the magazine very interactive, using reader-created art, expert advice columns, games, puzzles, etc. We plan on producing a quality publication with content geared directly to the vital and growing youth powersports market. These young riders and fans are the future of our sport, our future riders, racers and fans. I'd like to see them have something to further their excitement about motorcycling." for the fans to have a third year of two British riders campaigning for a British I team. I realize that it's not just a case of jumping on a great bike and winning races, but it is going to be brilliant to I have access to machinery that's capable of winning the championship. I realize how hard Neil [Hogdsonl and James have worked to get where they are at the moment and I'm prepared to put in just as much effort. My confidence is up to 99 percent now and the other 1 percent will come from the knowledge that I have a great team behind me for next year. I've spent thiS season learning the tracks and I know that I won't have any , problems getting used to riding a V-twin I again, so things are looking good." I Wright sees the signing of Walker as a perfect move for the team. "We've been on the lookout for a second rider ever since it was decided that Neil [Hodgson] would be moving to the Ducati Corse factory team at the end of the season," explains Wright. .. Chris is the ideal man to ride alongside James Toseland and we are delighted to have him on board. Despite a lot of obstacles being placed in his way, he has performed exceptionally well in only his first season at world level, and the whole team is unified in it's belief that the combination of Walker and Toseland will be a force to be reckoned with in 2003. " As we reported earlier, Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin has discovered that he has a surgery-requiring break in the shoulder that he injured in a magazine photo shoot back in March. Yamaha has made it official, announcing that the Frenchman will indeed sit out the rest of