Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Australian Chad Reed dominated the Sydney Supercross held at the Superdome Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on October 19, The Yamaha factory rider L,. raced throu9h the night, winning his three heats races, semi-final and the main event in front of a sellout crowd. In 2001, Reed also returned to his homeland and, on that night. he led home Suzuki's Travis Pastrana. Cameron Taylor finished second, with Craig Anderson finishing third. _ r The 2002 /lIotocross of Nations, held at the Bellpuig circuit in Northern Spain on October 20, was won by the Italian team of Alessio Chiodi, Andrea Bartolini and AJex Puzat. The Italian team entered the event as clear favorites, and not once throughout the weekend did they falter. In the all-important, single-moto final, the three riders placed second (Bartolini), third (Chiodi) and ninth (Puzar). With the two best scores being counted, Italy finished the day with five points, while Belgium came home second, with KTM-mounted Peter Iven in fifth place and fellow KTM rider Danny Theybers in sixth place for 11 points. Third place went to Finland with 12 points after CAS Honda rider Jussi Vehvilainen finished fourth and Marco Kovalainen picked up eighth. For home team Spein, it was a mixed day. Local favorite Javier Vico Garcia won the main event, but the second-best Spanish rider was Oscar Lanze in 12th - not enough to get the Spaniards on the podium. The Italian team of Andrea Bartolini, Alessio Chiodi and Alex Puzar lived up to their pre-event hype as favorites for the 2002 /lIotocross of Nations by taking pole position for Sunday's semi-final races after the quickest qualification times on Saturday. Twe of the squad, Bartolini and Chiodi, were part of the 1999 winning threesome, and both clocked limes in their respective qualifying groups to place the tri-color trio in the number-one slot ahead of France, F"m1and and Spain. C c o o o o World 500cc Motocross Champion Ste· fan Everts crashed in the first heat of the Masters of Supermotard race held in Belgium, on October 20, sustaining an injury to his ankle, according to Yamaha. The YZ-mounted motocross star went down in the first corner after making contact with another rider. Everts sustained an injury to his left ankle. Medics diagnosed that one of .his outer ligaments was ripped off, taking a piece of ankle bone with It, Yamaha says. Although Everts won't need surgery, the six-time World Champion's leg has been put in a cast and he will be forced to take a break from riding for six weeks. o o 8 o previous year). Qualifying in the 125cc class will involve pre-qualifying practices, two qualifying races (two groups of 25 riders, 20 minutes plus two laps) and a last chance qualifying practice. Only the Motocross GP and 125cc classes will be scheduled for overseas events. tNumber plates: the rider's number must appear on the front and the side number plates (compulsory number, FIM logo and background colors for the front plate). The calendar is as follows: March 30 - Bellpuig, Spain; April 13 - Valkensaard, Holland; May 4 - Teutschenthal, Germany; May 18 - St. Jean-diAngely, France; June 1 - Italy (tbc); June 8 ? Sevlievo, Bulgaria; June 22 Austria (tbe); July 6 - Uddevalla, Sweden; July 20 - Moscow, Russia (tbc); August 3 - Rushmoor Arena, England; August 10 - Lierop, Holland; August 24 Gaildorf, Germany (tbc); August 31 Loket, Czech Republic; September 14 Ernie, France. The 2003 Motocross of Nations will be held in Zolder, Belgium on October 5. o Here are the major changes to the World Motocross Championships. and also the calendar for next year's series. Classes: Motocross GP World Championship (250cc two-stroke and over 290cc up to 450cc four-stroke); 125 Motocross World Championship <125cc two-stroke and over 175cc up to 250cc four-stroke); 650 Motocross World Championship (500cc two-stroke and over 475cc up to 650cc four-stroke). Entries: for the 125cc, the number of entries to each meeting is limited to 50, for the Motocross GP and 650cc classes, a maximum of 40 riders each. In the Motocross GP class in 2003, at the first meeting, the first 12 riders of the previous year's 250cc classification, and the first 8 of the previous year's 500cc classification (fOf 2004, a maximum of 20 riders of the Motocross GP World Championship classification of the L C C r L C Harley·Davidson. Inc. (NYSE: HDD announced record revenue and earnings for its third quarter ended fPDfi1J [fJ@D@&J0@0 ~@@@ fi1J®li®@[fJ @@[}D@@[![]D@ o o o o o fl The following is next year's World Championship Road Race schedule as released last week by the FlI'\: April 6 - Japan, Suzuka • April 27 - South Africa, Welkom • May II - Spain, Jerez de la Frontera • May 25 - France, Le Mans· June 8 - Italy, Mugello June 15 - Catalunya, Catalunya June 28 - Netherlands, AMen • July 13 - Great Britain, Donington Park • July 27 - Germany, Sachsenring • August 17 - Czech Republic, Bmo • September 7 - Portugal, Estoril September 20 - Rio, Jacarepagu, • October 5 - Pacific, Twin Ring Motegi October 12 - Malaysia, Sepang • October 19 - Australia, Phillip Island' November 2 - Valencia, Ricardo Tormo - Valencia' • Circuit homologation to be reconfirmed 2 OCTOBER 30, 2002' I: U I: I .. n e _ os In the serni-fltllli action on Sunday morning, it was again the italian team who dominated the first moto. Loaded with three former World /l\otocross Champions, the strong effort from Italy was of no surprise, Three-time World 125<:<: Motocross Champion Chiodi finished with the victory, just ahead teammate and former World 500cc champion Bartolini. Finland's Vehvilainen, on the CAS Honda machine, came horne third, Belgian Danny Theybers (KTM) fourth, and Antti Pyrhonen (Honda) rounding out the top five, Former World 125cc/25Occ Motocross Champion Puzat, on a Husqvama, and the third member of the Italian team. managed to claim sixth place, giving Italy the best spot on the grid for the main event with their first, second and sixth-place finishes. The second semi-final was won by Ireland's Gordon Crockard, on a KT!'\. He was followed by fellow KTM rider Garcia of Spain, Roman Jelen (Honda) of Slovenia, and two French riders Thierry Bethys (Honda) and Serge GUidetty (Honda) in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Further back, in sixth place, was Chris Martin (Suzuki). Seventh went to Czech Republic's Jirl Cepelak (Honda) and In eighth place came another Siovenian rider, l'Ik:hal Kragelj (Yamaha). France took the main points in the second moto with their fourth, fifth and sixth positions, pitting them alongside Italy on the grid In the final. September 29, 2002. The company's third-quarter revenue was $1.14 billion, an increase of 31.8 percent over the third quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share were 54 cents - a 50-percent increase compared with last year, according to a release issued by Harley. HM Plant Ducati's new signing Chris Walker was injured in a Supermotard crash in Belgium, according to a release from his new team. The British rider was competing in a race meeting at Mettewhen he suffered a painful injury as a result of his collision with a tire wall, the release says. The impact was on the entry to a left-hand turn, where Walker was unfortunate to tangle his left foot in a tire wall. The force twisted his ankle so severely that he has been diagnosed with a broken ankle bone and tibia. "The circumstances behind this crash remain unclear," explained HM Plant Ducati Team Manager Colin Wright. "However, I have consulted with the medical team dealing with his injuries and they have assured me that he will be available to ride in the next four to six weeks. Chris is a fighter and I know him well enough to say that it won't affect him that much as we prepare for our pre-season test schedule. So, if everything goes according to plan, he'll be making his debut on the HM Plant Ducati in December.• According to Kawasaki road race team manager Mike Preston, the company is still unsure what the just-announced AMA Superbike rule changes (see Windbox) will mean to its racing program. "I really don't know,' Preston said today from his Irvine, California, office. 'We'll send the information to KHI [Kawasaki Heavy Industries - the parent company) and see if they want to play the game. We're happy that they [the AMAJ finally came up with something, but it's pretty late. I'm surprised about the 1000cc rule - surprised that they allowed that. It was such a struggle for us to get the 2mm overbore, but now you can ride a 1000cc Superbike. I'm kind of surprised by that. We thought that was out the window for next year. It's so late right now and they [Kawasaki! are still trying to sort out the GP stuff. There's still a possibility that Eric [Bostrom) could go to Grand Prix. We'll just see what happens and make the most of it - we always do.· Speaking of Kawasaki, the company issued a press release on October 16, stating that Bob Moffit, Vice President Marketing & Product Management Motorcycles and Watercraft at Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., has announced his plans to retire after 32 years in the power products industry. He will continue in his current role through the end of this year. Moffit, who joined Kawasaki as a district manager in 1975, has served the company in various executive positions since moving to its Orange County headquarters in 1978. Among the other positions that he has held are director, marketing research & industry relations; vice president, marketing; and vice president, sales. Moffit's broad experience with the company's various operations has paralleled his commitment to the industry. After a highly successful 2002 AMA/Chevy Truck U.S. Superbike Championship season, OMS Sports client Jake Zemke got the ride he was looking for as he'll spend next year with the Honda-backed Erion Racing Team, competing in the AMA Formula Xtreme and 600cc Supersport classes, according to a release issued by OMS on October 16. Also, Zemke's deal with Honda includes a full-time Superbike ride with one of Honda's race teams in 2004, the release says. "I couldn't be more pleased with the way things have tumed out," said Zemke. "I worked very hard last year and, despite a couple bad breaks, wound up tied [at year's end) for the points lead in the Formula Xtreme class. I've had a great relationship with Honda and Kevin Erion over the years and look for-

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