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/128228
in the Southern California area. He's already ridden the bike at least three times. including at Glen Helen Raceway. If Reed feels comfortable on the bike. he might choose to ride it in a few. if not all. of the remaining rounds of the outdoor Nationals. Reed looks quite fast and right at home on the bike. The next round is at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville. Minnesota. August 17. The entry list for the Fay Myers Suzuki Supermoto Classic: continues to grow as more big names join Jeremy McGrath and Jeff Ward for the Copper Mountain. Colorado. race that's scheduled for August 23-24. So far. RPM has confirmed road racers Jake Zemke. Larry Pegram. Mike Smith and Mike Hale. World Champion Kevin Schwantz. Mike Metzger and Micky Dymond. Riders interested in registering for the Fay Myers Suzuki Supermoto Classic should contact Kerri Gunderman of RPM at 303/377-3278. James MBubba" Stewart. who only started surfing two weeks ago. and renowned big-wave rider and event cofounder Mike Parsons utilized consistent results in both the Pro Motocross and Pro Surfing events to capture the top spot in the Fox Surfercross. More than 84 competitors from surfing and motocross competed in the annual event in both the Pro and Industry classes. The list of professional motocrossers participating made the event look like a National. Jeremy McGrath. Chad Reed. Grant Langston. Michael Byrne. Stepane Roncada. David Vuillemin. Ernesto Fonseca. Buddy Antunez. Josh Hansen. Eric Sorby. Mall Lalloz and tewart all showed up and were ready o battle. The who's who of the surfing ommunity was impressive with Kalani Robb. Nathan Fletcher. Dino Andino. Brad Ellinger. Ryan Sakal. Ronnie Geising. Micah Pills. Damien Hobgood. Mike Parons and others participating. When the o-day event c~me to a conclusion and he results were posted. the combined eam of Stewart/Parsons came out on op. with Michael Byrne/Kalani Robb in econd and Buddy Antunez/Garth Tarlow ounding out the podium. In the Industry lass. Yamaha's Terry Beal/Dustin Nelon won the combined overall. with Oakey Lehman/Pete Murray in second and event co-founder Jeremy (Jbonel Albrecht/Matt Armstrong finishing third. Mike Metzger has changed his mind and will compete in the X Games competition slated for Los Angeles. California. "All summer long I've been able to ride with and be inspired by some of the best freestyle motocross riders in the game." Metzger said. "Four times a day we get to put on a show for the crowd and try to outdo one another - it has totally reinVigorated my passion for freestyle motocross and made me want to go to X Games in Los Angeles and see what I can add to my medal collection." His newest trick debuted at the X Games Xperience produced by MXi on Monday. August 4 - a fully inverted heel clicker that he's dubbed the" McNasty." Southern California road riders might want to check out a special memorial ride being held in the name of Sgt. Edward "Gunny" Smith. who was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Military reserve Smith was a 20-veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a SWAT officer for the Anaheim Police Department. He leaves behind a wife and three children. Registration for the escorted ride begins at Checkered Flag Pizza. 5458 Beach Blvd .. in Buena Park. and will run from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The ride will end at The Phoenix Club. 1340 S. Sanderson Ave .. in Anaheim. There will be live music by the critically acclaimed blues/rock band "Home Cookin·." The cost to participate is $25 per rider or $35 per couple. with all proceeds going to the Edward Smith Memorial Trust Fund. For more information. check out www.choirboysregionl.com. International Speedway Inc.. the promoters of Costa Mesa Speedway have announced the cancellations of two of their upcoming promotions. The September 6-7 Arena Motocross event at Costa Mesa Speedway has been canceled. and the remaining regular season speedway races at the National Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino have also been canceled. For more information. visit www.cmspeedway.com Despite few federations having officially announced the riders that will represent RESCHEDULED: The Norm Carr Classic half mile dirt track sched- uled for Belleville. Ontario. Canada. on August 9 and postponed due to wet weather. has been rescheduled for Saturday. September 20. For more information. call 905/522 5705. them at this year's ISDE in Brazil. a clearer picture is starting to form as to which riders are planning on competing including Motocross Grand Prix stars Stefan Everts and Joel Smets for Belgium. as well as a possible appearance by Jean-Michel Bayle in the French Trophy team. As expected. team Finland will start the event as clear favorites. with their Trophy team expected to be the same as last year. Although no official word has yet been given to who will ride for the "dream team" or in which class. Juha Salminen. Samuli Aro. Pelleri SiIvan. Petri Pohjamo. Mika Ahola and Jani Laaksonen are the riders expected to represent Finland. The Italian squad is a bit of a mixed bunch. with several riders switching classes in order to try to strengthen the team's chances. Husqvarna rider Roberto Bazzurri will ride as the team's only 125cc rider. while Giuseppe Gallino and Mario Rinaldi will compete aboard 250cc four-stroke Yamahas. Giovanni Sala will race alone in the 250cc two-stroke class. while Honda Italy's Alex Zanni and Farioli KTM rider Alessandro Botturi will compete in the 450cc Four-Stroke class. One team that could produce a surprise result in November is Belgium. With Stefan Everts' long-rumored and highly anticipated participation looking more and more certain. former ISDE finishers Joel Smets and Johan Boohnan. along with WEC regular Thiery Klutz. are also looking at a Belgian Trophy team spot. /f two more riders of a similar caliber can be found. then the sand specialist. depending on the conditions in Brazil. might be a tough bunch to beat. Other riders expected to compete are Stefan Merriman. Shane Walls and Ben Grabham for Australia. while Spain will field its strongest team for many years with Ivan Cervantes. Xavi Puigdemont and Jordi Duran the most noteworthy riders. France is playing its cards close to its chest with only the news that JMB might compete as a member of a team that is expected to be similar to that from '02. The a/ready strong Swedish team will be strengthened by the inclusion of Peter Bergvall. whose difference of opinion with the Swedish federation has kept him out of the national side for several years. Anders Eriksson. Bjorne Carlsson. Niklas Gustafsson. Rickard Larsson. Bergvall and one other are expected to be Sweden' s Trophy team lineup. RESIGNED: Eric Peronnard. from the position of vice president of international business for Clear Channel Motorsports Group. In 1998 Peronnard created the U.S. Open of Supercross that is held annually Inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Enc can be reached at EricPeronnard@aol.com. SIGNED: Road racer Jake Zemke to a deal with The Familie. an aclion sports agency that offers an array of marketing services that include public relations. creative services. event marketing, licensing, trend HIRED: Jan Plessner as Kawasaki Motors Corp.. U.S.A. (KMCl media relations manager. effective August 18. The post. which reports to research. promotions and athlete management. For more information call Nicole Carrico a 7601 602-6200. Kawasaki's director of communications, has responsibility for oversee- ing all of the company's editorial media communications for the brand's key product categories - motorcycles. all-terrain vehicles. Mule utility vehicles. and Jet Ski watercraft. Most recently. Plessner served as senior manager. media relations. for the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America's Discover Today's All-Terrain Vehicles program. Before joining the industry association. Plessner worked at KMC from 1992 through 2001 . ACCEPTING: Moose Racing is currently accepting rider resumes for the 2004 racing season. Resumes can be sent to Moose Racing. attn: RoxanelRider Support Manager. P.O. Box 5222. Janesville. WI 53545. ACCEPTING: HRP Sports is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2004 season. Resumes can be sent to HRP Sports. altn: race support. P.O. Box 190. Somersorth. NH 03878. FMF will be a track signage sponsor in support of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship. according to the AMA. FMF joins a growing list of leading motorcycle industry companies aligning themselves with AMA Pro Racing's newest championship. Andy Leisner. AMA Pro Racing vice president. welcomes FMF's involvement. "FMF has joined an elite group of companies that have recognized the opportunities associated with the AMA Red Bull Championship." said Leisner. "Their sponsorship package will provide them with significant on-site exposure at each and every round of the series. including the championship finale at Las Vegas." FMF's Danny laPorte sees the sponsorship as a way for FMF to continue growing its business by tapping into an all new market. "Our success in the motocross and off-road categories is well known." said LaPorte. "We believe Supermoto is here to stay and will ultimately be an important part of the motorcycle marketplace. It's imperative for us to test our products in the competition for which they were designed. That allows us to build the best possible products to benefit our customers. We'lI be involved with AMA Pro Racing's Supermoto series as both a sponsor and participant." LaPorte himself raced at the opening round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in July. The six-race series will conclude in Las Vegas on November 21 with round two slated for South Boston Speedway in South Boston. Virginia. on August 30. Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals. a brand of high-performance motorcyclespecific oils and chemicals marketed by American Honda. has also inked a deal that will make it a track-signage sponsor of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship. The agreement provides the Pro Honda brand with major visibility at each racetrack in the series. Andy Leisner. AMA Pro Racing vice president. says this sponsorship is an example of Honda's leadership within the motorcycle industry as well as its commitment to racing. "Honda is supporting our new Supermoto Championship on several levels. and it's proving to be extremely beneficial to the series." says Leisner. "In addition to the sponsorship by Pro Honda Oils. Honda is backing the Honda Red Riders Jr. Supermoto Challenge presented by the HRCA. offering a generous contingency program. and is supporting several riders. including the winner of the Supermoto class at the opening round. Jeff Ward. This multifaceted support will be good for Honda. and it's definitely helping get the series off to a strong start." Rick Mitchell. assistant manager of motorcycle parts sales & marketing for the Parts Division of American Honda welcomes the added exposure the sponsorship package will yield. "Pro Honda Oils is an important brand under the Honda umbrella. and involving ourselves with AMA Supermoto will help us raise the visibility of our product." says Mitchell. "The sport of Supermoto is already exploding in the United States. and it is Honda's intention to help fuel its continued growth while expanding our brand." Contilwed on page 104 cue I e • AUGUST 20, 2003 3 1 <.....J 'I .....J J J J LJ 8 n u J 'l