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/128215
O\XIu Ij[i) Gi}KBA B o o Australian Stefan Merriman (Hon) won both classes in round five of the World Enduro Championship in Aigueperse, France, May 10-11, The two-time World Champion won the 250cc two-stroke class and overall honors on consecutive days. On the opening day, Merriman rode to an eight-second victory over Samuli Aro (KTM), Mike Ahola (Vor) and Juha Salminen (KTM). On May 11, Spaniard Ivan Cervantes (KTM) proved to be Merriman's ally in finishing second, with Aro taking third from Salminen. o C r L CJ CJ Coming off his poor debut of a month ago in Marseille, France, Belgium's Eddy Seel (Hus) rode to victory in round two of the FIM World Supermoto Championship Series in Heraklion, Greece, on May 11. Seel finished second in race one and then went out and won the second race. Italian Max Manzo (Ver) finished second with Ivan Lazzarini third (Hus). o C C o ~ David Pearson (Kaw) won his firstever AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series event with a victory in the Jericho, Utah, round on May 11" Pearson topped Destry Abbo" (Kaw) and his cousin Russ Pearson (Yam) to take the victory. Russ Pearson leads the championship point standings after four of six rounds, 106-96, over Abbott, 8 o o o o o o o o o o o o AMA Pro Racing will test a revised qualifying procedure at the Pikes Peak Round of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U,S, Superbike Championship, according to a release issued by AMA Pro Racing. Instead of dividing qualifying into two sessions determined by even or odd rider numbers, AMA Pro Racing will split the sessions based on times from Friday's practice sessions. The two classes involved are Pro Honda Oils Supersport Presented by Shoei and Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock, According to Ron Barrick, AMA Pro Racing road race manager, rider input was one of the considerations that led to this decision. "Some of our riders have suggested that we look at this," said Barrick. "Basically, it will enable riders that are closer together in lap times to qualify in the same sessions. The concept has been discussed a few times in the past. It was brought up again at Daytona, and we deCided to review the matter at the next road race adVisory board meeting." A road race advisory board meeting was held at Infineon Raceway on May 3 and attended by senior AMA Pro Racing staff. The decision to test thiS system for possible future implementation was Virtually unanimous, The AMA Pro Racing road race adVisory board is comprised of representatives and riders from several factory, support and privateer teams and meets several times per year to consider issues 'related to road racing. Riders' times from Friday practice will determine which session in which they qualify. Group one will be the slower group, and group two will be the c o ~c [) o o o o o n 2 MAY 21,2003ยท cue I e Former Harley-Davidson factory AMA Grand National dirt tracker George Roeder passed away from a heart attack on May 8 at the age of 66. Roeder was one of the top Harley-DaVidson flat trackers during the 1960s, winning eight national events and finishing second In the Grand National Championship in 1963 and 1967, Like many racers of the era, Roeder was versatile. He set a 250cc land speed record with the Harley-Davidson Sprint streamliner in 1965 and finished on the podium four times at the Daytona 200 road race during the 1960s. In 1972, he opened a Harley dealership in his hometown of Monroeville, Ohio. Roeder's Harley-Davidson is family owned and operated today by his oldest son Will. He is survived by wife Jessie, sons Will, George II (Geo) and Jess and daughters Paula and Kaml. A visitation will be held at the Jump-File Funeral Home, 109 Monroe St., Monroeville, Ohio, on Monday, May 12 from 7-9 p.m, and Tuesday, May 13 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p,m. There will be a prayer service at Jump's Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 14 at 10:30 a.m. Following the service, there will be a ride from Roeder's H-D in Monroeville to the Norwalk Fairgrounds, where a reception wiIJ be held with a lap around the track. Memorials may be sent to Calvary Baptist Church Youth Activity Center in memory of George Roeder at Calvary Baptist Church, 250 Benedict Avenue, Norwalk, OH44857. faster group. If groups cannot be divided equally, the extra rider will be placed in group one. Also, it will be the responSibility of the riders to qualify in the correct group. Riders that fail to qualify in the correct group will be. placed at the back of the grid, if qualified. Barrick pointed out that thiS test will help determine the Viability of the procedure. "If we like what we see and get positive feedback from the riders, we'll consider implementing the procedure for future events," said Barrick. French multiple off-road champion and former GP racer Jean-Michel Bayle will be testing the Suzuki GSV-R MotoGP bike thiS week in an effort to help speed up development of the allnew 2003 990cc GSV-R prototype. Bayle, who is riding for the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) thiS year, will be joined by team regulars Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins for the tests, scheduled over three days at the Catalunya GP circuit outside Barcelona. The 33-year-old will ride the bike for the first time on Tuesday, May 13 along with his SERT team. SERT normally run the GSX-R 1000 machines, and this will be the first time their technicians have worked with the V-four GP bike. On Tuesday, they will be joined by the full GP team to work together for two more days of testing. "We are very pleased Jean-Michel will be able to help our test program," said team manager Garry Taylor. "He has extensive knowledge of how to set up a bike, expertise in many forms of racing, and experience also on four-strokes." As well as motocross and supercross titles, Bayle raced in GPs in both the 250cc and 500cc classes from 1993 to 1999. "Our results so far thiS year show that the MotoGP bike is not yet at its best, especially compared with Suzuki's successful programs in endurance, world, AMA and other branches of Superbike racing, and the Supersport class, as well as in motocross. Our bike has all the promise, but it is packed with innovative engineering, and we are working to get some of nevus the new ground rules established before we can move forward to realize the full potential," said Taylor. Bayle is looking forward to the experience, both for the interest and enjoyment of riding one of the new-generation four-stroke machines and also for the chance to help Suzuki. "I have been riding for Suzuki last year and this year, and this is a very interesting part of the job," Bayle said. "I know they are haVing some trouble with the bike. When they are racing it, the riders have the pressure to perform and not always time to concentrate on the small details. They are thinking only about lap time. In racing, you try to improve the bike for the next five minutes. I can concentrate only on the overall picture of the machine. The GSV-R is completely new, and I am sure it has some very good points. I have to find them and use them 100 percent. Of course it also has weak points, and I will work to eliminate them as well." As we reported in last week's Cycle News, the AMA impounded the cylinder heads from Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring's Kawasaki ZX6R following Hayden's victory in the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock race at California Speedway on AprilS. News that the AMA had the heads broke at Infineon Raceway, and AMA Pro Racing road race manager Ron Barrick said the AMA would be checking the heads as soon as they had stock ones to compare them against. Well, apparently the heads have now been checked because on May 7 the AMA announced that Hayden's cylinder head was determined to have "minor machining in the combustion chamber." In turn, Hayden was penalized 20 points and handed down a $2000 fine. Meiring's cylinder head was found to be within specification, according to the AMA. With 20 points subtracted from his points total, Hayden still leads the championship over Adam Fergusson, 91-85, heading into thiS weekend's round at Road Atlanta. Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports has announced that Memphis Shades will be the title sponsor of the Memphis Shades Twin Challenge at four events on the K&N Pro Series dirt track schedule. The Memphis Shades Twin Challenge will pit unrestricted 750cc1250cc V-Twin cylinder dirt track motorcycles head-to-head for the first time ever as an added feature to the K&N Filters Pro Series, according to Clear Channel. "Sponsorship of the Memphis Shades Twin Challenge is an exciting opportunity for our company," said Allen Mueller, CEO Memphis Shades. "We continue to market Memphis Shades through high-profile sponsorship opportunities to showcase our motorcycle windshields," Memphis Shades Twin Challenge rounds are scheduled for August 23 at the Oklahoma City HalfMile National; August 30 at the Snap-on Tools Dirt Track National in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; September 13 at the Sacramento Mile; and at the K&N Filters Del Mar Mile series finale on October 5. "Only through the enthusiastic support of sponsors like Memphis Shades are we are able to offer our fans the most exciting dirt track racing in the country, " said Mike Kidd, a VP of Clear Channel Motor Sports. American Honda's Miguel DuHamel underwent surgery on his broken left collarbone on May 5 at Dr. Arthur Ting's office in Northern California. "They made a mistake with the X-ray, and there's nothing broken; it was just a bad bruise," DuHamel joked in a phone call with Cycle News. "Just kidding. Actually Ting operated on it yesterday and put a pin in there. The new thing is a pin rather than a plate because they say it heals faster that way. I feel pretty good. luckily it wasn't very painful, and I haven't taken any pain medication at all since the accident. I go and see Ting and a physiotherapist today [May 6] at 1 p,m., and then I'll see what they have to say about when I can start to do something again. It really does feel pretty good, and' I'll try everything possible to partake at Road Atlanta," DuHamel crashed out of the 600cc Supersport race while dicing