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/128182
Continued from page 3 an indoor trial in France, have forced David Cobos to retire from the sport of trials. Cobos, who for the past two seasons has been with the Montesa-HRC team, has called it quits. "I knew this moment would come some day, but I had hoped it would be put off until the natural end of my sports career, without having to bring my retirement forward," Cobas said in a HRC press release. "I am about to leave what has until now been my whole life - firstly as a hobby and then a profession. I've been playing this sport since I was a child, and as I said, it has been my whole life. Now is the time for me to remember all those who have been at my side, supporting me. And although the farewell is very hard, I leave with good feelings, because my two seasons with Montesa-HRC have been very positive. Last year I finished third in the Spanish Championship, and this year I have achieved my best result in the world series - fifth in the final standing. I hope to leave a good record behind me, not only as a trial rider but, more importantly, as a person." Alpinestars product line. Helping present , the line will be members of Umbrella Girls USA. The show will take place at McGee's Grill. For more information, call 916/373-1557 or visit their website at www.sportbikenight.com. ... I r I Motocrossers Paul Carpenter and Spud Walters have re-signed with the White Brothers Honda team for the 2003 season. Carpenter, meanwhile, has been assisting Honda with the testing of the CRF450 while Nathan Ramsey is out of action with a broken leg. None of this, however, will affect Carpenter's role on the White Brothers team, according to White Brothers. "We had a tremendously successful year in 2002," said John Anderson, White Brothers' team manager. "Paul Carpenter captured the championship in both East and West Coast AMA Four-Strokes, coming on the heels of the previous year's championship honors going to Spud Walters. We have an incredibly talented team in these two guys, and we're all stoked to kick it up some more in '03!" Both Carpenter and Walters will be competing in the AMA Four-Stroke West and East Coast Nationals as well as Carpenter riding for Team White Brothers/Honda in selected Supercross events, according to White Brothers. " r- u C c E Suzuki's Japanese factory rider Yukio Kagayama will race a GSX-R1000 in the British Superbike Championship in 2003, according to a release from Suzuki. Kagayama rode for Suzuki's factory MotoGP team as recently as July at the Sachsenring in Germany and will join former two-time British Superbike Champion John Reynolds on the team. Kagayama will become the first-ever Japanese rider to take part in the British Superbike Championship. "I am really looking forward to riding in Britain next year," Kagayama said. "It is known as a very competitive championship, and I couldn't ask for a better proving ground for my talent. With the Crescent Suzuki squad, I will be riding for a profeSSional team that already has a long history with Suzuki and knows our bikes and how to get the best from them. I do not think I have anything to worry about and will be going for race victories right from the start. While I respect the riders in the championship, I am not afraid of riding with them - and trying to beat them ... c c o Keith Code says, "Doing wheelies ranks high on the list of the most frivolous and decadent things in the history of mankind!" So therefore he will offer a wheelie school. "I look at it from the perspective of skill and control," says Code in a press release. "It just happens to be one of the skills every top rider I have ever worked with has perfected. The wheelie school, appropriately named On One Wheel, will reduce fear... which is the best part," says Code. Code's ,....... school will feature the whee lie training bike which has two anti-flip-over mechau nisms - one kills the power, and the other n applies the rear brake. "Your eyes will pop out of your head when it goes up but flipping it won't be easy," says Code. For more information, call 727/447-4992. 8 o t LJ n l,; I' I..,j " '--' --, J -.. Pivot Works has announced that it has signed a deal with seven-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath to use Pivot Works bearings and seal kits exclusively. Pivot Works has also inked a deal with off-roader Ty Davis to utilize Pivot Works bearings and seal kits in his 2003 championship quest. Hot Cams has also announced its continued support of Davis. Limited movement in his left knee and constant pain since the fracture/dislocation he suffered in 1999 while contesting The AMA has announced that AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2003 will be held July 18-20 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The AMA has also announced that Harley-Davidson will be the featured marque at the event. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of HarleyDavidson Motor Company, the event will feature an exhibit of classic motorcycles and memorabilia. Motorcycles previously honored with this distinction include BSA, !%G!J[Jj]~@D U®[f)rB fij(/{1@lf r!l@[jJ @(1®fI2.J..,::..--.~ B=---_ r Before leaVing the supermotard world, KTM's Thierry Van Den Bosch wanted to close his perfect season with another win at the Australian SuperMoto GP on November 17, but a bike problem stopped him cold, and German Jurgen Kunzel became then the only other rider to win a GP in the inaugural FIM SuperMoto World Championship. From the very beginning of the main event. it was obvious that Van Den Bosch was going to dominate once again. He got the holeshot and ran away extremely easily. He led for 15 laps, but when his bike quit (the carburetor manifold broke), he .had no other option but to retire. That left Van Den Bosch's KTM teammate, Kunzel, alone in the lead, and with Eddie SeeI (Husqvama) not very close behind him, Kunzel made no mistakes and went on to win. SeeI finished second, and he expects himself now to be a contender for the title next year. Third went to Husqvarna's Max Manzo. Mario Marini Honda, Norton, Penton, Vincent, Indian and, most recently, Spanish rnotorcycles. The first AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days event was held in 1992; a companion event, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days West, was held from 1997 through 2002. The AMA will announce more details about AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2003, including the name of the event's Grand Marshal. in the coming months. Spectator tickets for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2003 are available from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at 1-800-MID-OHIO or www.midohio.com. The AMA has also announced that AMA Sports will crown its 2002 champions and recognize its AMA Horizon Award winners at the AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet. to be held on November 23 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Las Vegas. AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award; Logan Myers of Wheeler, Michigan; and Nicholas Cummings of Mount Morris, Michigan. AMA Motocross Horizon Award; Evan Laughridge of Hemet, California (Suzuki). AMA Road Race Horizon Award: Chris Caylor of Marietta, Georgia. AMAIWomen's Motocross League: Stefania Bau of Tallahassee, Florida. AMA National Hare Scrambles Series: Fred Andrews of Salem, Ohio (Kawasakil. AMA National Hare & Hound Series; Ty Davis of Hesperia, California (Yamaha). AMA/FMF Racing National Enduro Series: Michael Lafferty of Millville, New Jersey (KTMl. AMA Grand National Cross Country Series: Rodney Smith of Antioch, California (Suzuki). AMA/NATC Ryan Young Products National Observed Trials Championship Series: Fred Crosset of Kansas City, Missouri. AMA National I..,j .--.. Li .............. .................................................................................................. o·· o· J 'I OPENED: Mile High Super Motard's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the following address: http://www.milehighmotard.com. I..,j 'I ....,' (\ , MOVED: Spy Optic Inc., to 2070 Las Palmas Dr.. Carlsbad, CA 92009.760/477-2265,760/477-2266 (faxl. o L.. ACCEPTING: Sinisalo Apparel is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2003 season. Resumes can be sent to Kimpex USA, 4303 12th Ave E, Shakopee, MN 55379, attn: race support. • .....•..... r I 96 NOVEMBER 27,2002' AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Hammertime Sports in Belvidere, Illinois, Saturday, December 7, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Team Shogun/Yamaha's Josh Demuth, Tommy Hofmaster and Phil Lawrence, and SoCal/Hammertime Kawasaki's Chad Johnson and Pedro Gonzales, along with Miss Arenacross Heather Broderick. are scheduled to appear. For more information. call Hardkore Promotions 262/215-2598. • .........•............................ cue I e n e vw s Speedway Series: Billy Hamill of Carlsbad, California. ATVA/Maxxis Grand National Series, Motocross: Tim Farr of Canal Fulton, Ohio. ATVA/Maxxis Grand National Series, TT Scrambles: Shane Lee Hitt of Buckhannon, West Virginia. ATVA/Maxxis Grand National Series, Short Track: Darin Ogden of Dillonvale, Ohio. ATVA/Grand National Cross Country Series: Bill Ballance of Oakland, Kentucky. David Watson, champion of both the 800cc and 540cc classes of the AMA U.S. Hillclimb Championship presented by Pace American Trailers, has been nominated for the 2002 AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year Award. Watson, 24, of Ludlow. Massachusetts. narrowly won the 800 championship by a single point over good friend and rival Tiger Strank and also took home the title in the 540 class. Watson rode Hondas in both championships. "This is awesome," said Watson, an eight-year pro who was also a double winner of both the 540 and 800 classes in 2000. "Earning this nomination is almost as good as winning the championships. Hillclimbing doesn't get the kind of recognition that the other series do, so it's really special to be put in the same category as the other AMA champs." Watson is the first AMA Hillclimb racer to be nominated for the AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year Award since Paul Pinsonnault earned a nomination in 1995. Paolo Flammini. the president of SBK International, has announced that the World Superbike Organizer Award for 2002 has been awarded to the Assen Circuit in Holland. The top management of SBK International together with its staff, the SBK teams and a jury made up of the most representative international journalists, carefully analyzed each event from an organizational, promotional and sporting point of view and gave the award for 2002 to Assen, according to an SBK release. The CMRA will begin inducting riders into its Hall of Fame this year with Kevin Schwantz and Colin Edwards the first two racers slated to be inducted. The banquet will be held on December 7 at the Green Oaks Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas .