Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Elm GUIC9 CVJJ C C o unfortunately could not come up with a workable solution. This is a decision none of us wanted to make, but we reached the point where we could no longer wait for something to come together. Angelle has obligations she has to meet. and I have a stack of bills and 15 families at Star Racing depending on me for their livelihood. We needed to know what we were doing for 2003 and beyond, so after lengthy discussions between myself, Angelle and our people at Star Racing, we have deCided to close this chapter and move on." Despite her many accomplishments, the one aspect of this relationship that Savoie is most anxious to take with her is the friendship she has forged with the Bryce-led team. "More than anything, I want everyone to know that we are not stopping because we wanted to or that we broke up because of problems with the team," Savoie said. ·We are being forced to move on, so we will. Honestly, this is one day I was hoping would not come for quite some time. It's very hard to break up something that has been working so well. The way we see it, we were pretty much unbeatable. For the last seven years, Star Racing has been a major part of my life, extending well beyond what we did on the racetrack. George and Jackie Bryce have been in my life longer than my husband Nicky has. Although the business side of this relationship must unfortunately come to an end, I hope the family aspect will continue for the foreseeable future. As long as we can do that we'll be fine. I was also fortunate to make many friends among my fellow competitors and the fans, and that's something else I would like to continue. These have been, without a doubt. the best years of my life. We accomplished things people never expected us to do, from setting records to winning races and championships. Those will always be a part of us, something we can look back on and be proud of. " Adam Raga (G-G) won the fifth round of the World Indoor Trials Championship in Barcelona, Spain, on February 2, topping Albert Cabestany (Bet) and Dougie Lampkin (Mon), Raga's win ~ o puts him atop the championship point standings over Lampkin, 90-86, The sixth round takes place next Saturday, February 8, in the Italian city of Turin, o o Brian Garrahan (KTM) won the opening round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series by winning the Hollister National in Hollister, California, for the third year in a row on February 2. Defending series champion Fred Andrews (Kaw) finished second overall, while Russell Pearson (Yam) claimed third. Andy Grider (Hon) and Jason Raines (Yam) rounded out the top five. o o 8 o o o KTM Sportmotorcycle USA Inc. has officially announced what we reported in last week's issue: Larry Brooks has taken over the position of team manager from Ron Heben for the Red Bull KTM team. Also, Heben's new position with the company has been announced as well. The following is from the press release: - KTM Sportmotorcycle USA. Inc. announced today that Ron Heben will be moving to the newly created position of motorsports marketing manager. Larry Brooks will take over the duties of team manager for the Red Bull KTM 125 and 250cc SX/MX racing teams. As motorsports marketing manager, Heben will be responsible for sponsorship management, budget coordination, corporate identity, and internal and external marketing of KTM's race teams through KTM's Central Marketing resources." o o o " w n C n ~ U J J o o o o o o o o o o o o Team owner George Bryce announced on January 31 that. due to a lack of funding, the Star Racing organization would no longer be fielding an entry in the NHRA's Pro Stock Motorcycle division. The Georgia-based team and rider Angelle Savoie were coming off a notable 2002 campaign that saw them defend the NHRA Powerade Championship for the third consecutive year. However, when it became apparent that the necessary funding for 2003 would not be in place, Bryce and Savoie made the difficult decision to forego competing further. "We fully expected to be racing in 2003, defending our title and helping Angelle win her fourth consecutive championship," Bryce said .• But this is an expensive business, and in order to compete at a championship level. we needed to find a primary marketing partner who would work with us and our associate sponsors such as Mohegan Sun, Snap On Tools, and others. That has been our number-one priority since last September, and we spent a lot of time and money trying to secure the proper funding. We've exhausted every possible option but 8 o o o 2 FEBRUARY 12. 2003' cue I The Star Racing announcement came hot on the heels from a similar announcement from three-time NHRA Pro Stock Bike Champion Matt Hines, who also announced that he will not race during the 2003 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing season. "I've been racing for seven years now, and our program has been very successful," Hines said in a team release. "We've grown to the point where we can't run our operation at the high level we have come to expect without major sponsorship. The contract with our former sponsor ended prematurely, and we have not been able to secure a sponsor that we feel comfortable with yet." Hines became the youngest champion in NHRA history when he won his first Pro Stock Bike title in 1997 at age 25. Hines was the first rider in Pro Stock Bike history to earn three consecutive championships in n iii! _ S iii! 1999. He has finished in the top three of the standings each year of competition. While he may not be racing down the dragstrip, he will remain heaVily involved with the sport, according to the release. Hines will serve as the technical consultant to the Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson program throughout the season. Vance & Hines Motorsports combined efforts with HarleyDavidson last season to produce the first Harley-backed Pro Stock Bike in NHRA competition. The team failed to qualify for eliminations in seven attempts - something the Vance & Hines team is determined to change. "We are experiencing a lot of momentum with the Harley program right now, and it would be very difficult to stop the progress we've made and split our attention between the two teams," Hines said. "It's a big challenge for us, and I think it will help me in the long run. This is going to help me look at tuning the bike in a different aspect. " Jet-setter Nicky Hayden is off and flying again, thiS time to Japan, Belgium, Malaysia and Australia, followed, possibly, by Daytona. The rookie MotoGP rider headed to Tokyo for the offiCial launch of the Repsol Honda team. From there he flies west to Aalst. Belgium, the town outside of Brussels where Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) has its European base, for meetings with the team. The next stop is back to the Far East, Kuala Lumpur, MalaYSia, for three days of testing at Sepang followed by another plane flight or two to Australia for three more days at Phillip Island. The panPacific testing means that the Repsol Honda team will miss the first all-teams IRTA test at Jerez, Spain, on February 21-23. Hayden returns to Owensboro, Kentucky, on March 1, a little more than a week before the Daytona 200. Whether or not he'll make it to Florida to cheer on his brothers, Kawasaki's Tommy Hayden and Erion Honda's Roger Lee Hayden, has yet to be determined. Further team obligations may get in the way. "If it works out and I can make it, I'd like to go down there," said Hayden, the defending Daytona 200 winner and AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Champion. The Honda Pons team of Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa will be backed by Camel for the next three years, according to the team. ·We are extremely excited about the new partnership with Honda Pons," said Camel commercial vice president Patrick Enright in the release. "To enter into the MotoGP arena as title sponsor of a team is a significant milestone for Camel, and we are delighted that the Camel brand will be represented around the world by such a prestigious and successful team. We are convinced that the technical expertise and experience of the Camel Pramac Pons team, coupled with the brilliance of born-winners Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa, will bring much success both on and off the track to everyone involved in the project." The FIM has announced that the FP1 the firl't Malaysian Superbike - has passed homologation for competition in the 2003 World Superbike Championship. The inspection saw the first 75 units of the road version of the FP1 examined for compliance with the FIM regulations governing the eligibility for competition in the championship, the highest echelon of Superbike racing, according to the FIM. With this latest development, Petronas has also now been granted a manufacturers' license, automatically confirming the addition on February 14 of the FPl to the 2003 World Superbike Championship. Production of the FP1 road bike will continue at a new Petronas facility in Malaysia. In keeping with the unique race-to-road nature of this project, further development of the road-going FP1 will be in tandem with, that of the race machine, which will make its debut along with Foggy Petronas Racing at Valencia, Spain on March 2, according to the release. The FP 1 road bike will be officially unveiled in the near future in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to our European correspondent. Geoff Meyer, six-time World Motocross Champion Stefan Everts will compete in the 2003 International Six Day Enduro in Fortaleza, Brazil, November 3-8. The MotocrossGP star has deCided to contest the event haVing recently signed with Acerbis, the sponsor of the Brazil ISDE. "It should be a lot of fun," Everts said. "I have to practice my tire changing and that sort of thing. I always wanted to do one, although they usually run around the same time as the Motocross des Nations; this year it's going to be in November, so it's time to enter." Other recent and famous GP motocrossers who have competed in the ISDE include Joel Smets and Darryll King. Speaking of the Brazil ISDE, according to the official website of the 2003 ISDE, there will be a couple of important rule changes implemented this year. For one, the final motocross test will now be a final "supermotard" test. There were no details regarding the change other than that the final test will be held in the Autodromo Virgilio Tavora. Also, mechanics will be allowed to work on the bikes in the time controls and work areas; however, riders will still have to change their own tires. Harley-Davidson. Inc. (NYSE: HDIl announced record revenue and earnings for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2002. Revenue for the

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