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/128175
o c c E ~ the event being changed to Spain, although having talked to him last night [September 29J he told me he thought I was talking about possibly racing in Glen Helen [had it been given the des Nationsl. It was a total misunderstanding and for that I am very sorry to Joel. I have since apologized to Joel. at which he said it was okay. I would like to state. though, that in the press release Joel mentioned that he had not spoken to me in several weeks, which was totally untrue. I had spoken to Joel at the Russian Motocross Grand Prix on September 15 and also the Belgian Sidecar Grand Prix on September 8, plus last Sunday evening. Joel obViously speaks to many journalists, and he had obviously forgotten about these three occasions." Robert will give a press conference to clear up the point of view of the Belgian squad. The other top Belgian riders (Everts-Bervoets-Caps-Ramon) are all having second thoughts about participate in Bellpuig either. They feel this is not the way to organize an MXdN and think it is too late in the season. After consulting other top riders of several teams, it is unlikely that most of the teams will appear in Bellpuig. c o o o o The news item above was in regard to an item written by Cycle News contributor Geoff Meyer. Apparently, the two have made up, however, with Smets' people sending the following on Monday, September 30. "Last week, we issued a press release on behalf of Joel Smets, saying that several statements were released regarding Joel's intentions on participating [in) the rescheduled MXdN in Bellpuig, Spain. In particular, Joel was very upset about an article, published on Saturday, where he was supposed to have given his approval to ride in Bellpuig. Joel, however, could not recall giving this statement to anyone. because he was not planning on riding the MXdN this late in the season anyway. Therefore, we issued the press release late Saturday evening. On Sunday, however. the journalist in question (Geoff Meyer). who had been reading the press release, contacted Joel to clear the situation. Indeed, he spoke to Joel on Sunday, September 22, when Joel was riding in Belgium. On Geoff's question to Joel for the chances he would ride the MXdN, Joel assumed the race was still to be held in the U.S., at Glen Helen on September 29. This is where everything started. Therefore, we would like to emphasize that there was no intention on behalf of Geoff Meyer to influence Joel Smets' decision to ride the MXdN." Meyer said the following: "I had spoken to Joel Smets on September 22 about the chances of him racing the reorganized Motocross of Nations [to be held in Bellpuig, Spain). I first asked Joel what he thought of the change, and he told me it was crazy and not good for the sport. When I asked him if he would race the rescheduled event, he said he would, he was a racer and it was an important event. I ·had thought that Joel knew about o o Loris Capirossi left the West Honda Pons team because he didn't feel he'd get competitive eqUipment read: V-5s, for 2003. Imagine how he'll feel when he gets to Motegi for the Pacific Grand Prix and sees a Honda RC211V in his pits, only with Alex Barros' number on it. Barros joins the four-stroke brigade at Motegi. the 13th race in a 16-race season. The Brazilian's fourth place in the championship puts him easily the best twostroke of the season so far. and his reward - a ride on the machine that has only been beaten once in 12 grands prix this season. "I'm looking forward to working with the four-stroke. although I really don't know what to expect." said West Honda Pons technical director Antonio Cobas. "It's very important for us to start understanding the machine in order to be ready for next season. I will be the only person involved in both the four-stroke RCV of Alex and the NSR two-stroke of Loris Capirossi because the rest of the team will look after their own rider. I will really enjoy trying to understand the problems of the fourstroke, and it should be a very interesting weekend." The addition of Barros brings the number of Honda four-strokes to four. Repsol Honda's Valentino Rossi and Tohru Ukawa have been campaigning them from the start. with Fortuna Honda Gresin;'s Daijiro Kato getting one for the previous round in Portugal. o o c o o o o o o 8 o o o o o o o o· o o CJ o o o· .............. " : " " Word has it that James uBubba" Stewart Jr. will be sticking to the 125cc Western Regional Supercross Series for 2003. Some had speculated that the Floridian would be switching to his "home" series for next year, and 2002 champ Travis Preston went on record. saying he hoped Stewart would stay in the west so that they could race head-to-head again in 2003. It looks like Preston will get his wish. Stewart will reportedly be in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks to watch the U.S. Open, and then Kawasaki wants to go do some testing and get ready to go for the 125cc West Coast Championship. Stewart will of course be mounted on the all-new Chevy Trucks Kawasaki KX125, which. word has it. is a much more competitive platform than Stewart's 2002 125cc Chevy Trucks National Motocross Championship-winning ride. Then again, there' s a strong chance that Preston will be defending his West title on Honda's new 2004 CRF250R four-stroke, so it should make for a good battle. Although Stewart will be on hand in Las Vegas watching the U.S. Open, he will reportedly not be racing, instead staying off a 250 and getting more experience on the 125. In a meeting held on September 29 in Imola. Italy. the Superbike Commission. composed of Claude Danis (FIM), Paolo Alberto Aammini (SBK Internationall, Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA) and Giulio Bardi ITeam representative) unanimously made the following decision. according to the FIM: The rules concerning the air restrictors have been confirmed. The application procedure has been approved. Details will be communicated within the following weeks. EmphasiZing the "we race what we sell" approach. Yamaha Motor Corporation USA officially announced on September 24 that it will campaign a fourrider road racing team for 2003. The team will consist of Damon Buckmaster, Aaron Gobert. Jamie Hacking and Jason DiSalvo riding all-new, fuel injected, factory-prepared Yamaha YZFR6s in the AMA US 600 Supersport class. DiSalvo will also compete on his YZF-R6 in the AMA US Superstock " NAMED: Pro-Motion Motorsports. as the advertising/marketing agency for Motorex USA - The Oil of Switzerland. For more information. call 818/957-1166. • 6 . . . ACCEPTING: Motorex USA is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2003 season. Please fax your resume to 818/957-3533, or attach a Word document or PDF and send to info@c1arktime.com, or fill out a resumes on-line at www.promotionmotorsports.com/motorexusa. PROMOTED: Cher Darling. to sales manager of Corbin's Hollister. Califomia. headquarters and factory. "Cher has done a wonderful job at Corbin's now for 18 years," owner Mike Corbin said. "She started here as a cutter/seamstress back at the old Watsonville shop. Cher has continuously moved up through the company. doing excellent work along the way. delivering very high value to the company, product and customer. - ACCEPTING: Through October 31. Tom Morgan Racing is accepting rider resumes for the 2003 racing season. Resumes may be sent to Tom Morgan Racing. 1155 Aviation Drive, Suite A. Lake Havasu City. AZ. 86404. • BORN: Luca Henri Peronnard-Nordstrom, on September 24, to U.S. Open founder Eric Peronnard and his wife, Carol Nordstrom. OPENED: MotoExotics in Brea. Califomia. MotoExotics is an authorized Benelli and MZ dealer. For more information, cali 714/256·6705. • ACCEPTING: Through December 30. Selfdestruct Industries is accepting • racer resumes for the 2003 season. Resumes may be sent to Selfdestruct Industries. Attn: Robert. 1340 Mulberry Dr.. San Marcos. CA 92069. ACCEPTING: The Gaeme Boot Company is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2003 racing season. Resumes can be sent to Gaeme Boot Company. 27833 Avenue Hopkins. #2. Valencia. CA 91355. 8 o o· o ..............................•........................................................................................................ 6 OCTOBER 9. 2002' cue • e n e _ s class. According to a relase issued by Yamaha. in addition to racing the YZF-R6, Buckmaster. Gobert and Hacking will battle for the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship on the proven Team Graves Motorsports-prepared Yamaha YZF-R1 s. According to Keith McCarty. Yamaha racing manager. "This arrangement with Graves Motorsports allows both teams to focus on one specific machine and put forth our best effort in each class. I expect some great results this year from the entire team that we've assembled. We've got the perfect combination of young guns and guys who have already delivered great results. ' The THQ U.S. Open has announced that fans who purchased tickets for the Motocross des Nations will be granted a $20 discount on a $100 Friday ticket to the THQ U.S. Open. Fans can obtain the $20 discount by faxing a copy of their Motocross des Nations tickets to 630/566-6184, attention: U.S. Open. Name, address and phone number must be included in the fax as well. A select amount of seats are on hold for the first 100 fans to fax in their request. Tickets for Las Vegas MGM Grand's Fifth Annual THQ U.S. Open, sponsored by Thor/Parts Unlimited (October 11-12, 2002), and the Second Annual Amateur Arenacross World Finals (October 13, 2002). are currently on sale. Fans can purchase tickets through TicketMaster at 702/474-4000, the MGM Grand Box office. or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com and WWW.ussx.com. Hotel space goes qUickly for the U.S. Open, so for reservations. contact the MGM Grand Hotel at 800/9291111 or the Las Vegas Reservation system at 800/233-5594. Clear Channel Entertainment's motor sports division has confirmed that the Hayden brothers - Nicky, Tommy, and Roger Lee - will compete at the K&N Filters Del Mar Motorcycle weekend, October 4-6. According to Formula USA, the three have secured rides for the Formula USA Short Track National Championship to be held on Saturday night. The short track proved to be a favorite last year for the fans and riders, with Nicky Hayden taking second behind National Dirt Track Champion Terry Poovey. Gates open at 4 p.m .. with racing at 6:30 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds Arena. The Hayden brothers are also looking to compete on Sunday at the K&N Del Mar Mile, which is the final event of the 2002 Formula USA National Dirt Track Series. Additionally. six-time U.S. Trials champion Geoff Aaron will be performing his balancing act all weekend, while the Del Mar weekend freestyle motocross show also returns to round out the lineup of events. This year's Grand Marshall duties are shared by three legendary racers, including Joe Leonard. three-time Grand National Champion (1954, '56, '57); Carroll Resweber, four-time Grand National - - - - - - - Continued on page 110