Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

onn GiJ)(9E1 8 o n C Continued from page 3 The other Grand Prize winners were Brian Taylor, Pee Wee 0-6 Stock; Eric Yorba, Pee Wee 7-8 Stock; Colt Hubbs, Super Pee Wee 0-9; Austin Politelli, 60 0-8; Chris Plouffe 60 9-11 ;Trevor Reis 80 7-11; Donnie Kearney 80 Novice; Adrian Fuller, 80 Intermediate;Cas Swift, Supermini; Michael Parker, 125 12-15; Brock Harden 125 Novice; Kevin Frisbe, 250 Novice; and Chris Wheeler, 250 Expert. Beginner and Modified Class winners did not race for grand prizes, but were rewarded for their effort with a trip through the prize line. C C o o o o o Italian Paolo Casoli and Brit Jamie Whitham will again be Yamaha Belgar- da's riders in the World Supersport Championship in 2003, according to the team. Both riders will be using the new Yamaha R6, which can be seen else- 8 o where in this issue. r n u Colorado AMA member Jim Bensberg won his primary election for EI '-J Paso County Commissioner, District 5. Bensberg will now advance to the General Election November 5, 2002 to face Democrat Dean Tollefson in the heavily Republican county. o o o o o o o o o o c u c o As part of their title-sponsorship package, Diablo Paintball donated a Honda CR 125 to be given away in a drawing at the final round of its road race series. Riders who entered all six rounds of the series were given three entries; riders who entered five races were given two; and one entry was given for riders who entered four races. Diablo Paintball CEO Richard Italia drew the winning name on the podium after the final round of the series, and Andrew Hiller, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was the winner. Hillier, who competed in all six events this year, finished 17th in the series championship and was the fourth overall amateur. According to Aprilia USA's marketing coordinator Robert Pandya, Aprilia will definitely not field an AMA Superbike team in 2003 though the company is planning on hitting the ground running in 2004. "Just as we're sitting on our hands, and you guys are sitting on your hands, and the race teams are sitting on their hands waiting for the /\MA, unfortunately the planet keeps rotating and we're past the point of doing anything for 2003," Pandya said today from the company's U.S. headquarters in Georgia. The main stumbling block for 2003 is the fact that the rule changes for the Superbike class are still uncertain, and Aprilia is hopeful that eventually the rules here will mirror those of World Superbike. The company, Pandya says, just isn't big enough to develop Superbikes for two series with different rules. As for the /\MA, Pandya says the association has been very open in regard to listening to Aprilia, and the dialog has been both plentiful and constructive. "They want to see us in there," Pandya said. When Aprilia does field an AMA Superbike team, one thing is certain - it will be done with an already-established team, "When we do go racing, it will have to be run out of an outside race team," Pandya said, "There won't be a big Aprilia truck parked out back of the corporate offices here," And there definitely hasn't been a lack of interest from parties wanting to participate, "There has been considerable interest teams from all different levels," Pandya said, "There's been guys who think they have the hottest race team in all of central Oklahoma City, and they think they are the perfect guy for Aprilia Racing on a Superbike level, all the way up to some surprisingly big names and some people who have had weJl-established race teams for some time," Pandya is quick to point out that going AMA Superbike racing won't be an easy thing to do for a company that has yet to participate, "For us to come into a racing series as difficult and competitive as AMA Superbike and not be able to do it at the highest possible level is pretty dangerous," he said. "If we are not able to support a privateer team or whatever to the right level, then the last thing we need is a trail of smoke with an ApriUa logo on the front of it. Racing definitely sets the tone for the quality of the product. If I want to look forward into the future, I'm guessing the effort in 2004 will be big in the scale of the team and the highest for presentation and technical support, but may not be a full effort for the entire season. For us to come out with basically no testing in the U.S. whatsoever, and for our first race in America to be at Daytona, that's a big chunk of pie. If you were to start a Ducati team, for instance, and you didn't do very well for whatever reason, a lack of technical support or preparation, or whatever, it's still not going to reflect that negatively on the Ducati brand because they have done so well already in America. You would just discount it as a development year. But if we go out with our nice, clean slate and don't succeed very quickly, then it will hurt our brand for the long term, It's pretty dangerous for US to jump into it half-assed." Aprilia will be careful - and that goes for selecting the proper rider, or riders. "We really want to be an approachable brand," Pandya said. "Whoever is selected for the team is not only going to be selected for technical merit or past history or whatever, but is going to be selected on the basis of their ability to tune in a new product for this racing environment, and for their ability to work with us in the marketing and sales department for consumer relations. That's a huge, huge, huge part of whatever we do in our first year of racing, There are definitely riders out there who are fast but who would be the last guy I would put there in a room full of Aprilia fans. And there are other guys who are in the rniddle of the pack who can help us establish the brand. I point to guys we have already helped support - guys like Aaron Clarke and Mike Himmelsbach and Tray Batey. They are fast, well-qualified riders, and one of the reasons we chose to help them is because they can help ApriUa from a PR standpoint. Chuck [Sorensen) is awesome at that. I could get a phone call from certain AMA guys and, just from what I've seen of them and how they treat the public, I'm not interested. "I think we need somebody who can present a first-year effort for what it truly is - a testing year and a year to lay a positive and solid foundation for Aprilia Racing. So that may not be a Nicky Hayden equivalent or something like that." Paul Carruthers fari, which will take place October 21- sors in the motorcycle industry, continues to grow, adding events in according to SponsorHouse.com. New York, South Carolina, and Min- 29. Participants, who pay $4100, will SponsorHouse.com offers motocross nesota, which increases the series to start in Johannesburg and ride through and off-road racers throughout the 22 total stops in the winter of 2003 . To game reserves on Suzuki DR-Z400E nation the ability to sign up online in see the extensive schedule, visit motorcycles, with the opportunity to see order to easily submit their resume to www.pacefmx.com. over 120 major companies for 2003 such wildlife as elephants, lions, hyenas, rhinos, cheetahs, zebra, giraffe, and hip- sponsorship. For more information, ESPN2 will air the THQ U.S. Open, pos visit www.sponsorhouse.com. or call scheduled for October , 1-1 2 at the Overnights will be in the best lodges, MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. according to Malcolm Smith Adventures. 845/987 -2014. (and spectacular scenery). ESPN will air a 90-minute show on Octo- For information, call 909/275-0455, e- The International Freestyle Motocross Association (IFMA) and ber 27 at 1 p.m. (Pacific). mail Adventures@MalcolmSmith.com, or Clear Channel Entertainment's motor Three-time World Champion Wayne SponsorHouse.com is the first and sports division have announced the Rainey will be on track September 21- only website on the Internet that suc- schedule for the 2003 IFMA Freestyle 22 at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, Motocross winter series. The IFMA competing in a kart race along with four- cessfully helps connect racers to spon- time World Champion Eddie Lawson. 8[i!j]1J ~@@@ o " L, J o o o Rainey and Lawson recently spent Labor Day Weekend getting Rainey's new kart sorted out, and they were scheduled to take part in a test at Laguna on Septem- AMA Pro Racing has announced the schedule for the 2003 AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship. The series will open in Southern California in May and conclude near Pittsburgh in late August. A total of 12 rounds will again make up the championship. "With the growing popularity of motocross each year, AMA Pro Racing receives numerous requests and inquiries about additions or changes to the schedule," said Duke Finch AMA Pro Racing's motocross manager. "We work closely with each of our motocross promoters to pick the best date for their event considering local activities that could impact the success of the events, then balance that with team travel patterns, weather and the historical dates for each national." The schedule is as follows; May 11; Glen Helen Raceway Park, San Bemardino,California May 18; Hangtown Classic, Sacramento, California May 25; High Point Raceway, Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania June 8; Motocross 338, Southwick, Massachusetts June 15; Budds Creek MX Park, Budds Creek, Maryland July 6; Red Bud Track -N-Trail, Buchanan, Michigan July 13; Kenworthy's MX Park, Troy, Ohio July 20; Unadilla Valley Sports Center, New Berlin, New York July 27; Washougal MX Park, Washougal, Washington August J 7; Spring Creek MX Park, Millville, Minnesota August 24; Broome-Tioga Sports Center, Binghamton, New York August 31; Steel City Raceway, Delmont, Pennsylvania 8 g n 84 SEPTEMBER 18, 2002' cue I log on to www.MalcolmSmithAdven- e n e _ s ber 6 .• Eddie and I have been going flat out - just trying to get ready,· Rainey said. tures.com. The Toyota 200 will take place at Willow Springs International Raceway on Sunday, September 15. The total purse for the event is a whopping $150,000, with the winner taking home $50,000. The provisional polesitter as of Monday, September 9, is Vincent Haskovec with a 1:22.557, averaging 109.016 mph, a time he set in pre-qualifying on Friday, August 16. He joins Jeremy Toye and San Jacinto, California's Competition last month's fast qualifier Aaron Gobert Park, the site of the upcoming on the front row for the 200-mile race. Motocross des Nations, will be closed Toye now sits second fastest with a from Sept 16 until after the September time he set in June at 1 ;22.960 29 race, while work is performed on the (108.486 mph) on his Suzuki GSX- facility. Tickets for the race can be pur- R1000, and Gobert on his factory Yama- chased ($35 for three days) at area FMF ha YZF-R6 600 Supersport-spec bike dealers and No Fear shops, as well as running a best of 1:23.896, averaging through www.competitionpark.com. over 107 mph around the 2.5-mile Wil- Malcolm Smith Adventures, Inc., is cur- more low Springs road course in July. For information, visit rently accepting reservations for its lowspringsraceway.com, eight-day South African MotoSa- 661/256.6666. www.wilor call eN

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