Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Cycle News 2003 03 12

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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o [j o o Ty Davis (Yam) won the second round of the East WORCS series in Ocala, Florida, on March 2, topping Brian Garrahan (KTM) and Jimmy Jarret (Yam). o o Pat Mahoney, a top British road racer from the 1960s and '70s, died on January 15 at the age of 57. Mahoney, who was forced to retire in October of 1975 after suffering brain damage in a crash at Brands Hatch, was a popular racer and a teammate to the likes of John Cooper and Paul Smart. ·Pat was more than a friend, he was my brother," said Paul Smart. "I particularly do remember Daytona in 1974. I was then living in the States, and Pat was due to come racing. Pat was flying to America with cash hidden in his socks to buy a TZ. He was very nervous about this, but he didn't know that the chief of the Daytona police was a personal friend of mine. I shall always remember his face when he got out of the airport to be arrested by the police as if he was the public-enemy number one. Another time at Snetterton, I was leading Pat, and when I entered the long straight, my engine start to slow down. Then Pat, instead of overtaking me, pushed me all the way down the straight. All this at more than 160 mph! 'I didn't want you to have to walk to the pits,' he told me,· Mahoney's funeral was held at Eltharn Crematorium in London, England on February 4. H-M Leurette Midcities Motorsports (Suz) won the first race of Bike Week at Daytona International Speedway, the February 28 running of the 200-mile Team Challenge. Calvin Martinez and David Ebben came down from Wisconsin to ride the team's Suzuki GSX-R 1000 to the GTO victory by nearly a lap. "Not a single problem the whole day," Ebben said. "This is my fifth time at Daytona and my first win." Second went to New England Motorsports Aprilia RSV-1000 ridden by Mark Reynolds and Chad Healy, with the uncle and nephew team of Rick and Brian Shaw taking third on the Shaw Racing Suzuki GSX-R750. The GTU class win went to I&E Homes Racing's Thomas Pfuner and Darren Mulvaney. CornerS peed Racing's Aaron Stevenson and Eric Gray won the GTL class. 8 o o o 8 o o Ion Branda, Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen. Now there's a 2003 Triumph Bonneville in the new movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. "What's cool about a bike," exclaims McConaughey's character while on a motorcycle ride with Hudson, "it's great on gas, good in traffic, easy to park and at the end of the day, chicks dig 'em!" Recent requests from leading motion picture and television studios to Triumph Motorcycles have also resulted in key motorcycle placements in movies such as: Mission Impossible II, Daredevil, Tuck Everlasting, Torque and Terminator III, according to Triumph. o o o , Following its launch on Monday, February 24, the new Triumph ValMoto team has completed a successful first ....J test at Croft circuit, according to the team. Riders Craig Jones and Jim n Moodie were pleased with their first taste of the Triumph Daytona 600 and are both eager to get back out on the track and get as many laps as possible under their wheels as soon as they can. "It went very well today - there is no major work to do," Moodie said. "I am just familiarizing myself with the bike and the speed, but, to be honest, it only needs minor adjustments and could race right now. Considering that the track was cold and dusty today after not being used all winter, the times were fantastic. We just need a bit more fine tuning, but that's being sorted out. and I just can't wait to get on the bike again." '" ,J ,J o o o o o o o Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's James "Bubba" Stewart is featured in the current issue of ESPN The Magazine (March 3, 2003). The five-page story was written by ESPN The MagaZine reporter Chris Palmer, who has authored other motocross-related stories for the publication. The story is titled" Bubbalicious." In addition to the ESPN The Magazine story, Stewart will be featured in the April issue of Teen People where he was selected into a group of teens who were honored for their special performances, entitled "20 Teens Who Will Change The World." A gala event was held recently in New York to honor the teens. The April issue of Teen People is expected to hit the newsstands March 7. o Following the ousting of Ducati North America's Joseph Piazza, Ducati announced last week that he'd been replaced by Michael Lock, the man who ran Ducati U. K. and before that Triumph USA. Lock has been named country manager of Ducati North America, replacing Piazza, according to Ducati. "The American market has a strategic importance and offers the Company extraordinary potential for future growth in each category of the product," said Lock in the release. In addition, Piero Guidi will become president Ducati UK while continuing his role as director of the Italian market. He will be supporting Tim Macabee and Peter Brooking as, respectively, vice president sales Ducati U.K. and vice president marketing Ducati U.K. The changes will be effective as of March 3. 8 o o o o o o o o o o o o n The Louisiana round of the AMA/FMF National Championship Enduro Series, which was canceled due to rain last week, has been officially rescheduled for April 6. The AMA originally thought about rescheduling the enduro for March 23, but that date conflicted with a round of the Grand National Cross Country Series. The HRC three-day MotoGP test at Phillip Island ended on March 27 with Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden taking a second off his lap time from the previous day to end with a best of 1:32.47 in what was his first visit to the circuit in Triumph Motorcycles has long been a preferred motorcycle of Hollywood, starring with the legendary likes of Mar- 2 MARCH 12, 2003' eye I _ n _ _ os Australia. Hayden was able to follow his teammate, World Champion Valentino Rossi. and that helped him. "Today was good," Hayden said in a team release. "The weather was kind of iffy this morning, and I went out and did about 20 laps in the damp which was good experience. The bike felt good, and I was real comfortable. In the afternoon we did some longer runs looking at the tires. The coolest thing was that I got to get behind Valentino for a few laps and knocked off like a second from my lap time. He was cool enough to let me sit behind him, which was fun because I've been testing here for three days and basically been riding around here by myself. Not only did I learn some stuff by watching him, I also saw the areas that I need to improve in. I'm pretty excited about going home now and getting to Daytona, even though I don't get to race there. I've been going to Bike Week since I was a little kid, so for me it's a real fun week. Then it's over to Catalunya in March for the next tests. I like the track, and there will be a lot of riders there. It should be interesting." Rossi's best lap at the test came a day earlier when he lapped at 1:31 .6. Road racer/dirt tracker Cory West has reached an agreement to ride Honda CBR600s prepared by the Monlau Honda team in the Supersport class of the 2003 Spanish National Road Racing Championship. "This is a great opportunity for me in my career," said 18-yearold West, who just returned from his first test with the team at the Almeria circuit outSide of Andalucia. "I've got to thank Kenny Roberts, who helped put the deal together. I'm really looking forward to racing in Spain thiS year, but I'm going to have to brush up on my Spanish before I head back." West has competed in AMA and Formula USA road race and dirt track events since earning his professional license at the age of 16. He finished fifth in the 2002 Formula USA Grand National Championship, which combined selected road race and dirt track results for one championship, and he also finished 10th in the 2001 AMA 250cc Grand Prix Championship. The Monlau Competicion team has been competing in the Spanish, European and World Championships since 1997 with such notable riders as Toni Elias and Emilio Alzamora. The 2003 Spanish National Road Racing Championship, or MotoCEV, begins in May and ends in November, with events at the Albacete, Catalunya, Jarama, Jerez and Valencia circuits. West will also compete in selected rounds of the 2003 AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series, including the Daytona 200. Laconia and Laguna Seca hotel room reservations are now being offered by Travelcraft. As usual, rooms for these two events are already scarce, according to Travelcraft. For more information, call 800/241-1223. Two dirt track nationals have been added to the AHRMA vintage calendar and a replacement location announced for the Carlsbad, California, motocross rounds in May. The additions to the AHRMA Classic Motor Cycle/Metro Racing Dirt Track Series are May 31 at the DuQUOin, Illinois, mile and June 14 at Missoula, Montana (replacing a cancelled event at Billings, Montana). Due to uncertainties about the operation of Carlsbad Raceway, the May 24 Northwest Maico & CZ/Pro-Flo Post-Vintage National MX and the May 25 Speed & Sport/Pro-Flo Vintage National MX have been moved to Cahuilla Creek MX Park in Anza. A motocross school will take place Saturday afternoon, May 24. Cahuilla Creek is a new 1.4-mile naturalterrain course in Southern California. For more information, visit www.ahrma.org or call 615/851-3674. Former 500cc Grand Prix rider Brendan Clarke will make his debut in the premier Xtreme class at the upcoming second round of the Australian Yamaha Formula Xtreme n Series set for Sydney's Oran Park Raceway on the weekend of March 15-16. Nineteen-year-old

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