Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Cycle News 2003 05 28

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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8wEJu:x:D o o o Shawn Gann (Suz) bested Craig Treble (Suz) in the Pro Stock Bike final to win the 34th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, on May 18, In an unusual final round, both riders had substandard reaction times, leaving the starting line with a slow to Gann's terrible ,126 launch. But Treble enjoyed his lead for just a few seconds before his bike began to spin its rear tire wildly, which allowed Gann by for an easy victory. Gann posted a 7.100/188.49 to Treble's shutoff 7.752/130.32 mph. o o o o o o The 2003 AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series started the same way it finished last October, with an exciting head-to-head battle between Dave Watson and Walter "Tiger" Strank Jr. Strank (Yam) ended up taking the victory in the 800cc class over Watson (Hon), with Chad Disbennett (Tri) finishing third. Watson got revenge in the 540cc class as he covered the Goshen Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club Hill in 3.303 seconds to beat Strank. Gary Bauer (Hon) scored his first career podium with a third-place ride. 8 o o 8 o o o o o Australian Stefan Merriman (Hon) decimated his World Enduro opposition for the second time in as many weeks in Italy on May 17-18 and is now within sight of reaching the pinnacle - two titles in one year. Merriman now has a 44point lead over defending champion Samuli Aro (KTM) in the 250cc twostroke class and is just seven points behind Juha Salminen (KTM) in the battle that carries the most weight - the scratch (outrightl division. Victories in both would see the New Zealand-born Merriman leapfrog to four world titles. Merriman defeated Aro by 11 seconds on the opening day in Italy, with defending scratch champion Salminen a distant fourth behind Spaniard Ivan Cervantes (KTMl. Salminen upped the ante on day two, but it still wasn't enough to displace Merriman, who rode to a 22-second victory. Cervantes repeated his third place from day one. o o 8 o o o 8 o Lance Smail (Yam) won the WORCs race in Washougal, Washington, on May 18, topping Scott Sheak (Kaw) and Robert Naughton (Suz). Championship points leader Ty Davis (Yam) rode with a broken foot and finished fourth. 8 o o o o o o Takahisa Fujinami (Hon) took overall honors in the German round of the World Trials Championship, winning on May 17 and finishing third the following day. FUjinami topped Marc Freixa (Mon) and Adam Raga (G-G) the first day before finishing third behind Graham Jarvis (She) and Dougie Lampkin (Mon) on the second day. After three rounds of the series, Lampkin leads Fujinmai, 101-94. Freixa is third with 93 points. 8 2 MAY 28, 2003' cue • e I I Eric Crippa from American Honda stopped by the Cycle News office last week to show off the 2004 CRF450F. The bike features many "minor" changes, mainly in an effort to reduce weight. Honda claims that the '04 CRF450R weighs about three pounds less than the 2003 model. Some changes were incorporated to improve engine performance, such as going to a higher-compression piston, remapping the ignition, and a giving the bike a new exhaust system. It also has a lighter flywheel. The bike is reported to have more bottom and midrange power without sacrificing power on top. According to Crippa, the bike has so much more torque that they went to a two-toothsmaller sprocket in the rear. Honda claims the new 450 delivers 55 horsepower at 9000 rpm and 36.5 ft. -lb. of torque at 7000 rpm. Other new stuff includes a nonslip seat cover, a quick-adjust clutch lever, redesigned footpeg hinges that prevent dirt accumulation, Dunlop 742 (fJont) and 756 (rear) tires and updated fork and engine guards. The bike also gets a magnesium ignition cover. But perhaps the coolest change of all is the aluminum Renthal handlebars that are now standard equipment. The CR also comes in a slightly different shade of red. Suspensionwise, the inner surfaces of the fork tubes use the same honing process as the works bikes for less friction. Honda Shayne Byrne (Duc) won both legs of the British Superbike Championship at the Knockhill Circuit in Scotland on May 18. Byrne topped Paul Young (Yam) and John Reynolds (Suz) in the first race before beating Reynolds and Steve Plater (Hon) in the second race. After five rounds, Byrne leads Michael Rutter (Duc), 240-136, in the championship point standings. Steve Crevier (Suz) completed a perfect weekend of racing in the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada, on May 18. Crevier beat Francis Martin (Suz) and Clint McBain (Suzl. Pascal Picotte (Yam) won the Pro 600 Sport Bike main event, topping Andrew Nelson (Hon) and McBain. Formula USAlCCS announced on Monday, May 19 that the August 8-10 Formula USA Championship Series, Championship Cup Series, and XSBA Freestyle round of competition at Elkhart Lake's Road America has been moved to Heartland Park-Topeka near Topeka Kansas. The event at Heartland Park-Topeka will take place on the same date, August 8-10. Heartland Park Topeka will feature the exact same line-up of classes originally scheduled for Road America on August 8-10, including complete Formula USA, Championship Cup Series, and XSBA rounds of competition. Premier classes on the schedule will include Formula USA Sportbike and Superbike classes, as well as Unlimited Grand Prix, Thunderbike, and the "Heartland 200" on Friday, August 8. According to Kevin Elliott, director of competition, "Heartland Park proVides a great central location for this classic midsummer Pro-Am road race event, and we are very pleased to be able to bring this event to the Topeka area, which has hosted an array of professional motor sports events over the past decade." All race entries for Road America will be applied to the Heartland Park-Topeka event, unless otherwise notifying CCS in advance. n e vv os claims this is a first for mass-produced motocrossers. The new CRF450F will cO.st $200 more than last year's, going from $6299 to $6499. According to AMA road racing manager Ron Barrick, there will be six slots available for AMA riders in the World Superbike round at Laguna Seca in July. "There are four spots the AMA can put up and two from the FIM, so there's the potential for six wild cards," Barrick said at Road Atlanta on May 17. "And we can certainly recommend to the FIM who the other two should be. " The problem may end up being who goes and who doesn't, When asked if they had plans to do the World Superbike round at Laguna, nearly all the top teams said yes. Yoshimura Suzuki plans to enter both Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates; Honda is expected to enter its three riders, Miguel DuHamel, Ben Bostrom and Kurtis Roberts; Austin Ducati is counting on Anthony Gobert being one of the wild cards; and Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom is planning on entering. That's seven entries for six spots, not including Larry Pegram, who also may try to get an entry. "We're looking at it," Honda team manager Chuck Miller said. "We're going to wait and see how the points are and see what everyone's health is like. They all want to do it, so we'll see how the stars line up." Miller also said there is a chance that all three of his riders DuHamel, Bostrom and Roberts - would be aboard CBR600RRs for the Pro Honda Oils 600cc Supersport race at Laguna. Former AMA Superbike National Champion Thomas Stevens has announced he will come out of retirement to take part in the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship that begins at Laguna Seca in July. Stevens, who won the AMA Superbike title in 1991, will race a White Brothers-prepped Yamaha YZ450F in the series. Stevens is seeking more sponsorship and can be reached at 239/489-4100. Suzuki's Travis Pastrana is calling it a year, according to a press release issued by his publicist on Thursday, May 15. The 19 year old has decided that he won't compete in the rest of the AMA Chevy KIt Palmer Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship because he wants to "focus on other opportunities for the remainder of the season." The oft-injured Pastrana suffered another knee injury at the Glen Helen National on May 11 in the first of two 250cc motos. "Motocross has been my heart and soul and will always be my heart and soul," Pastrana said in a press release issued by his publicist. "Injuries have made it impossible at thiS time to win a championship. Therefore, instead of racing injured, I am going to capitalize on the many opportunities that I have missed due to the intensity and commitment it takes to win a championship ... Thousands of people turned out at the Daijiro Kato Memorial Day, held in Japan, on May 18. The event was held at the Honda Motor Company headquarters in Aoyama. Over 9000 people were present to view the memorabilia on display recording Kato's magnificent achievements in his racing career, according to Honda. The display, a celebration of his genius, featured the race machine that carried him to victory in the All-Japan Championship, the NSR250 that that he raced to the 2001 250cc World Championship, and his Suzuka 8 Hour-winning VTR1 OOSP-W. Many of Kato's former rivals, team technicians, and Honda staff members were present, and Hiroyuki Yoshino, president of Honda Motor Co, Ltd, and Suguru Kanazawa each read an address to the assembly. Yoshino said: "Daijiro Kato made his debut in road racing in 1992, when only 16 years old. In the course of his career he competed in the All-Japan Road Race Championship and won the . Road Race World Championship in the 250cc class. Last year, he began competing in the MotoGP class, the pinnacle of motorcycle road racing. In 2002, Daijiro was granted an award for distinguished service to sports by the Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, an honor that acknowledged the pride shared by the entire Japanese nation in his outstanding achievements as a race

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