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/128211
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Continued from page 3
titled "Motorcycle Suspension - Questions and Answers." will take place on
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Wednesday. June 18. and Thursday.
June 19. upstairs in the Jacobs Building
at Chilhowee Park. from 2-3 p.m. each
day. In addition. Progressive Suspension
is again sponsoring the Poker Run to
raise money for the Pediatric Brain
Tumor Foundation's Ride for Kids event
which will take place Saturday morning.
For more info. call Progressive Suspension at 760/948-4012 or visit www.progressivesuspension.com.
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The sale of new two-stroke off-highway
motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles
would be banned in Massachusetts under House Bill 1909. introduced
u
by state Representative J. James
Marzilli Jr. CD-Arlington). according to
the AMA. Under his proposal. it would
be illegal for anyone to sell "a recre-
ational vehicle containing a two-stroke
engine. including, but not limited to. a
snow craft. an all-terrain vehicle. a per-
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sonal watercraft. or a motorboat." "This
is the most sweeping ban ever intro-
A press conference was held on April 17 at the Barber Motorsports
Park in Birmingham, Alabama, in conjunction with a one-day test
session that several of the AMA Superbike teams took part in. Judging by what the riders had to say about the brand-new facility, Barber may already be among the world's best racing facilities.
Gene Hallman, president of the Bruno Event Team, the management company that handles all track activities at Barber, led off the
conference by saying, "We think it's the best road course in North
America and among the best in the world. We're confident that this
[the AMA Superbike National] will dearly be the biggest event [we'll
hold here) this year."
One of the riders who spoke favorably about the new circuit was
Austin Ducati's Anthony Gobert.
"l've ridden both the world series and come back to racing here
in America, and this is most like the tracks In Europe," Gobert said.
"l do a lot of motocross riding, and this is like a motocross track for
me,"
When asked if the track reminded him of any other tracks he'd
ridden on, Gobert said: "Some of the comers remind me of Phillip
Island, which, being from Australia, for me is good."
Team Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom concurred with Gobert.
"I'm trying to think if there's ever been a track I've had to watch
myself on this much, with all the blind areas," Gobert said. "I think
It's going to be real dose [the race at Barber). Parts are real tight
and twisty and favor agility, and other sections allow you. to get on
the throttle hard where you can use the horsepower, but overall I
think it will balance out and make for good, dose racing."
Hacking is another former motocrosser. He definitely tiked what
he saw at Barber.
"Uke what [Anthony) Gobert said about it j)eing like a motocross
track, I was telling my guys about the back section where there's
like a tabletop-type of deal," Hacking said. "I got to ride Suzuka in
Japan, and that took me two days to leam, and I'd say that this is
right up there with it."
Hacking said that on the moming of the test he went for a lap in
his rental car and couldn't wait to get out on his racebike. During his
first stint, he said his tires were well wom at the end of a long stint,
but he was having so much fun he didn't want to stop and corne in.
"I don't want to stand here and talk any more," Hacking said,
half-joking. "I look out and see the guys [other racers not participating in the press conference) going by, and it's making me a little
upset." .
American Honda's Ben Bostrom emerged from the test with the
quickest time of the Superbikes, the Catifornian lapping at 1:26.83.
"I did my fast time near the end after we made a gearing change,
which helped," Ben said. "Today was great weather, and the track is
so smooth that small, subtle changes make a big difference. We
leamed a lot at the Atlanta test and a 1.0t here, too. I wish we had a
second day here. Ever since I've got back on the Honda, I've been
looking for more front-end feel. I can't get the bike to turn before the
apex. The last few days we've made good progress, though, and I'm
really looking forward to Sears Point. This track is great; it's a mixture of a few world circuits with some PhWip Island, a little bit of
Brands Hatch, and the chicanes feel a bit like Assen. I've been to
tracks all over the world, but I've never been to a track more perfectiy manic,u.red than this one."
Eric Bostrom was the second fastest, the Kawasaki rider lapping
at 1:27.31 to lead American Honda's Miguel DuHamel and Gobert.
Yamaha's Damon Buckmaster was the fastest of the 600cc Supersport riders, 'besting his teammates Jamie Hacking and Aaron Gobert. Kawasaki's Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring led the Superstock riders with Corona Suzuki's Adam Fergusson heading the list
of Formula )