Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

With a total of two pole positions and eight race wins, defending Australian Formula Xtreme and Supersport Champion Kevin Curtain (Yam) was the star of the opening round of this year's Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series held at Sydney's Eastem Creek Raceway in Australia on February 16. Curtain won each of the four eight-lap Xtreme races and repeated the winning streak in the Supersport class. Suzuki's two-time World Champion Mickael Pichon underwent surgery on February 14 to have an infected appendix removed, according to Suzuki. Pichon had been training in California but was suffering increasing discomfort. A local hospital confirmed that he had an appendix infection, and Pichon chose to return home to France for the operation. The team's test program is continuing in Europe and Pichon is expected to re-join the tests on February 28. Ryan Hughes (KTM) swept both motos of the AMA Western Four-Stroke National Series opener in Surprise, Arizona. Spud Walters (Hon) finished second overall, while Chris Wheeler (Hon) finished third overall. Defending champ Paul Carpenter (Hon) finished ninth verall with 7-9 moto finishes. Road racer Doug Chandler finally got o test the No Limits Motorsports Honda BR954RR that he'll be racing in the aytona 200, but the real test will come n Thursday, February 20, when he tests ide by side with American Honda and its satellite teams. "We're going back to Willow Springs on Thursday with the rest of the Honda people, so we'll find out." Chandler's longtime crew chief Gary Medley said. "Nothing better than seeing if we can run with the [Honda RC51] SP2. If the bike runs with the SP-2, I don't feel so bad." And, according to Medley, "I think everyone's going to be a bit surprised." Chandler is more circumspect. The first impression came during a track day at Willow Springs International Raceway last Thursday. The track was dirty, there were intermittent machine problems, and they didn't have unlimited use of the track. With all that, Chandler was impressed with both the 954 and the new Honda CBR-600RR. "I was pretty happy with it," Chandler said of the Honda CBR-954R R. The last time he raced a Honda was in 1988, when he finished third in the AMA Superbike series on a Honda VFR750. "It was pretty good. Better than I expected." The shakedown was run in less than optimal conditions. Chandler and teammate Jason Curtis were sharing the race-ready 954 and a mostly stock 600. Since it was a track day, they got out for about 15 to 20 minutes at the top of each hour, with Chandler concentrating on the 954 and Curtis the 600. Chandler said the Honda CBR954RR reminded him of his old Kawasaki ZX-7R, and the 600 was the best 600 he'd ever ridden. "I thought I wouldn't fit the thing," Chandler said of the CBR600RR. "I was a lot more comfortable on it than I thought I would be with standard bars. We didn't have pegs. We were dragging [?@[fUiJDGfJDfiJ {}j}@5j 5j!JD!JD@GfJ!JD@@~ @@W@@GfJD@D@W@!JD~@[f Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports has announced a three-year agreement with K&N Filters which will see K&N be named as the title sponsor for the Fonmula USA National Dirt Track Series. The series will now be known as the K&N Filters Pro National Dirt Track Series. The deal was announced at the Dealernews International Powersports Expo in Indianapolis on February 15, "K&N got its start with products for motorcycles, and we will never forget the enthusiasts, racers and fans who helped make our success possible," said K&N president and CEO Rodney Mall. "The entire K&N family couldn't be happier to increase our support for motorcycle racing by putting our name on such an awesome racing series, such as the K&N Filters Pro National Dirt Track Series." Riders will compete for their share of a $50,000 K&N point fund, with $20,000 going to the series champion. With the success of the of the Formula USA Pro Single National Championship class, dirt track motorcycle racing has generated a variety of competitive brands, The stage is set for an extremely competitive 2003 season, where racing fans will have the opportunity to witness many of the nation's top dirt trackers at premier facilities. Clear Channel VP of motor sports Mike Kidd was extremely pleased with the commitment that K&N is shOWing at the national dirt track level. "K&N has always been a very loyal supporter of race teams and the K&N Del Mar Mile," Kidd said. "To have K&N Filters as our title sponsor shows the support and commitment they have to America's true fonm of motorcycle racing." The nine-race K&N Filters Pro National Dirt Track Series schedule is as follows: May 31 - Indiana Downs, Indianapolis, Indiana (mile) June 7 - Sheboygan Fairgrounds, Plymouth, Wisconsin (short track) June 13 - Rochester Fairgrounds, Rochester, New Hampshire (half mile) August 2 - Houston Raceway Park, Houston, Texas (half mile) August 23 - State Fair Speedway, Oklahoma City, OK, (half mile) August 30 - Powercom Park Speedway, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin (short track) September 13 - Cal-Expo State Fairgrounds, Sacramento, California (mile) October 4 - Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, California (short trackl October 5 - Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, California (mile) ~@@~ D[JD@DfiJ[JD @WD@(J c o \YlD[JDf]fiJ@@ D[JDf][f@@GfJ@@@ Indian has just introduced its new Chief Vintage rnodeJ, which is a throwback to the golden era of American iron. The Chief Vintage is a full-bodied, fully dressed cruiser featuring the company's proprietary Powerplus 100 engine. Among the bike's key features are a handcrafted leather seat and saddlebags, front and rear engine guards, windscreen and a polished aluminum luggage rack. The Powerplus engine is a 100 cubic-inch (1638cc) 45-degree V-twin designed by Indian. The engine is fed by a 42mm flat-slide Mikuni carburetor that is mounted on the left side of the engine just like vintage Indians. The bike features a five-speed transmission and a belt final drive. Key styling elements are the Chief Vintage's sculpted full-valance fenders, ornate horn covers, and the leather saddlebags with leather fringe, chrome-plated buckles and decorative buttons. The Chief Vintage is available in two colors, Jet Black and Century Red, and carries a $24,995 MSRP. For more infonmation go to www.inclianmotorcycie.com. o o o c o o o G I '....; do this as long as I've done it - it takes a lot of time and effort and a lot of help from a lot of people." The major roadblock standing in the way of the record for Shaw is the qualifying session on March 6. It'll be no easy task for Shaw to crack the field for the Daytona 200. He's a privateer running on a shoestring budget against top factory teams. "There's always a concern," Shaw said. "You have to be within a certain [speed] percentage of the [factory] Superbikes. These Superbikes have raised the bar so high, it's made it difficult for privateers to compete. The factory Hondas are putting 175 or 180 horsepower down on the track, and we're sitting around running around with 135 or 140. It's bad enough that they are getting special qualifying tires and running special qualifying motors and everything else. They make the bar so high, it's difficult for a privateer to make the grid anymore. Qualifying is a major issue." Shaw says he first competed at Daytona in 1974 and made his first Daytona 200 start in 1981. our feet a bit." What also impressed Chandler was the suspension. The complaint over the past few years with the 600 was a problem of adjustability with the front forks, Chandler said. "You could get it to [al certain limit and couldn't get through that. It leveled the playing field. Everyone could go so fast before it chatter so bad. This thing is good. It didn't have an issue with the front being so bad, which is nice, because now you can take it one step farther, which I always thought we needed to do to stay in front." The test was also the first chance Chandler had to ride on Michelin tires, The last time he used them was almost a decade ago, on the Cagiva 500cc GP machine. He tried two standard compounds but didn't feel he gave them a proper test. "The track was pretty dirty because they had a pretty good storm go through there," he said. "It was just eating up the right sides of the tires. The DOT seemed pretty good, and we got a lot of laps on that." There was some question about whether the Honda CBR-954RR had been homologated for Superbike use in 2003. Gary Medley said that American Honda had taken care of it when the new Superbike rules for 2003 were announced, and that they were selling race kits. Even so, Medley said he and his team were either making or having made many of the parts for the Superbike. Carillo is making the rods, and MTC Engineering is making the pistons. The team will be using exhausts from Arara, a Japanese company new to the American race scene, for both the 954 and 600. The 600s will run Showa suspension and the 954s Ohlins, though they could change the big bike to Ohlins later in the season. U II: I e n LJ The Tul-aris road racer has reached the 160 rear wheel horsepower mark for the first time during extensive dyno testing on Doug Lofgren's Dynojet dyno at Manley Cycle, Minneapolis, according to the team. A five pound ($8) congestion charge went into effect in London, England, on February 17, with 800 cameras checking license plates of cars entering central London. The good news? Motorcycles and scooters are exempt. In recent years, motorcycles have been touted in England by Trainspotting actor Ewan McGregor (who rides a Ducati 748) and Prodigy singer Keith Flynt (Honda CBR900), while members of Blur and Oasis have touted scooters. On the morning of February 17, BBC's ironic-comic deejay and filmreviewer Jonathan Ross beat traffiC on a scooter, extolling the freedom of two wheels, according to Cycle News correspondent Bruce Scholten. Road racer Rick Shaw hopes to celebrate breaking a major record in the Daytona 200 By Arai on March 9 after just the second lap of the race. Shaw, a police officer from Miami, Florida, needs to complete only two laps during the Daytona 200 to eclipse the mile completed mark of 3187 miles set by Warren Sherwood. Shaw currently stands at 3180 miles. "The record has stood for such a long time, and it represents the pioneers of the sport, and to be included and recognized with the pioneers of the sport, to me there's a lot of pride in that." Shaw said in a release issued by Daytona. "To II: r w r Long-time Northern California race enthusiast and sponsor Mike Macedo died on February 11. Macedo had helped many Lodi area racers, including Rich Arnaiz, Aaron Hill and Jamie Aguilar through the local dirt track ranks and on to the AMA Grand National Championship. Services were held on February 11 in Manteca, California. e _ os • FEBRUARY 26, 2003 1 ---J r o o r

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