Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

8 filJ look forwa rd to ride the 'evolut ion ' ver sion - the new bike, I'm confident to say that I w ill do my best to bring the RS Cube to its highest perform ance." OOJ'"E][i)CO o o o o o o o o o o o o Following a career spanning more than 20 years wi t h Kaw asaki M o t ors Corp . U.S.A., John Hoover, director , product management. has announced his ret irement. effective January 5, 2004 . Hoover jo ined Kawa saki in 198 3 as a di st rict manager, moving to the California corpo rate offices as manager , marketing der vices, in 1988. His cont ributio ns to the co mpany have range d from the im plementation of InfoMIC, an aggregate datamining soft ware package that provides sophisticate d sales data t o Kawasaki's sales and market ing department s, to an integral role in developing and marketing th e Vulcan line of cruise r moto rcycles, beginning in 1996 , accord ing to Kawasaki. Hoover also orchestrated Kawasaki's involvement with the AMA/Prostar dragracing se ries , and Kawas aki ca n no w bo ast of mo re tha n 20 team ch ampi onships and nume rou s man ufacturers' cup award s. "J ohn's impact on product design, racing and the company in general has been fe lt througho ut our entire organization. " said Tom Orbe , vice presi.dent. marketing, for Kawasaki. "His passion for this industry has remained strong for two decades , and Kawasaki's heritage of build inq powe rfu l, high-p erform ance product s will thrive thanks to his dedicatio n to exce llence . John will be missed tremendously, and we wish him well in his future endeavors." died on De c ember 2 at the age of 67 after losing her batt le with cancer. June Briggs is survived by her husband. Barry, and two sons, Gary and Tony. Clear Cha nnel Entertainme nt ' s M o t or Sports division has announced that the Lit· tle Rock IFMA Freestyle Motocross event at the Alitel Arena has been rescheduled for March 5-6. Customers who have already purchased tickets for the January 16- 17 date can get a full refund at the same point of purchase at which the sale was made, All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new show dates, Irishman Jeremy McWilliams has signed a co ntract with Aprilia that will see him team with Shane Bym e in next year' s Mo to GP Wo rld Championship. The 39year-o ld M cW illiams rode for Ap rilia in 199 9 an d 2000 in the 5 0 0 cc W orld Championship and in 2001 in the 250cc class. Last year, McW illiams rode Kenny Robert s' Proton in the M otoG P clas s, " l' rn very satisfied with this choice," said Apri lia boss Ivano Beggio. "I know Jeremy very well , and I esteem him . He is fight ing on track and a very good tester, and we believe he will help us to improve the performance of the bike. On one side, we have [Shayne] Byrne, that is enthusiastic for his fir st season; o n th e othe r side, we have Jeremy, who is very experienced and the right man to improve our project. Our aim for the 2004 season is to make a good performan ce in the championship and to develop at his best this bike 'made in Neale.' which is improving d ay by da y . " McWi lliams was also pleased w ith the deal. " I'm very happy. Co ming bac k to work for Aprilia is like co ming back ho me. The presi de nt, Jan Witteveen , and all the technical staff are for me a big family, and I always have had a special feeling with this com pany. I really look forward to start tes ting, but unfortunately I have to wait until January. I really look forward to this adventure. I will do my best ; I believe in this project and in its big pote ntial. It wo n't be easy at t he beginning, but I'm sure that thiS project can give us a lot of satisfaction . I really o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o MARRIED: Road racer/d irt -trac ker/ superm ot o racer Larry Pegram , to his longtime girl friend , Heath er M cK ee . in the Bahamas on December 6. . OPENED: LR's MotoZ one 's home page on the W orld Wid e Web . The site can be found at the following address: www .lrsmotozone .com . ACCEPTING, Fast Lap Racing Suspension is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2004 season. Resumes can be sent to Fast Lap at 424 Tupelo W ay, Birmingham, AL 35215 . APPOINTED: Todd Madsen and Chad Cadem, as new sales represen tatives for Spy Optic Inc.. effective immediately. Madsen will handle the Orange County, California, area, with Cadam taking care of the Inland Empire in Southern California. OPENED: A:XO America Inc.' s new office/warehouse in Valencia, California, at 26074 Ave. Hall, Unit 13, Valencia, CA 91355 , 661 / 257-0916 . CORRECTION: Our December 3 issue had some incor rec t info rmatio n reg arding Jamie Hack ing, accordin g to Hacking 's wife, Heather. Hacking did race the Nat ional SKUSA go-kart race in Las Vegas , but he did so for Yamaha and KLS Racing, not for the Full Circle Foundation. 2 JANUARY 7 ,2004. • eye I e nevus ACCEPTING: Stomp Design Inc, is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2004 racing season. Resumes can be sent to St omp Rider Support, attn : Ken Reid, 1279 Dedi Ave.. South Lake Tahoe, CA 96 150. CORRECTION: The top three finishers in the Junior Supermoto finale from Las Vegas won their Honda C RF150s from American Supercamp and not American Honda, as we reported in our cove rage of the event. ,. Supercro ss Fan Fest is free to all fans that have supercross event ticket s, Cl ea r Ch ann el Ent erta inm ent's Motor Sports division has released the 20032004 superc ross racetrack designs for the THQ W orld Supercros s GP/ THQ AMA Sup erc ro ss Serie s. Dirt Wu rx, the official track builders of supercross and Todd Jendro , director of supercross, Cl ear Ch ann el Entertainment Motor Sports, have been designing and devel oping th e 2003-2004 supercro ss track plans since the co mpletion of the 2003 season in May , This year' s track designs will incorporate the traditional mix ofj umps and obstacles, along with some mod ifi cati ons intended to increase the co mpetit ivenes s of the ci rc uits , while enhancing the entertainment experience of the fans, Some of the more noticeable change s w ill be the ad d iti on of lo ng, swe eping start turns at several ve nues and modifications to the " rhythm sec tions" to open up the tracks for greater pas sing op portun itie s . Severa l of the approved track designs will have acceleration lanes that cover the length of the stad ium floor wi th no obs tacles, w hich wi ll open up greate r op po rt unities fo r acceleration and brak ing poin t passing. " This year's program w ill again include one event , with the 'split start ' that was debuted at one of las t year's Anaheim events and the addition of elevated start line s at selec t venues , " Jendro said. "The track designs that have been completed by Dirt Wu rx for 2004 will also feature more 'off- camber co mers,' which are designed to test the skills of the world' s greate st supercross ride rs. By taking a page from th e past , to gether w ith the designs that have helped establish supercross as the 'or iginal extreme sport,' it is clear that this year's racing will be some of the best ever in the 30-year history of the sport. Our goal with thrs year's track design s is to open up the tracks' lanes and turn s to allow greater opportunities for passing. By co mbining a mix of the very technical obstacles that are common with the sport today, along with some of the better des igns used in the past, we are co nfident that the excite ment level at this year's races will be greater than any past season. We've listened to the reco rnmendatlons -of th e tea ms and riders and have come up with designs that balance the desire s of the rider s wit h the expectations of our fans. It' s going to be a great ye ar!" To vie w all of the THQ W orld Supercross GP/ THQ AMA Superc ross S eri e s track map s , lo g o n t o www .supercross.cc.com. Australia's Craig Anderson has confirmed hi s en t ry for th e 1 2 5 c c Pro Invitational at Glen Helen Raceway, on Friday, December 26 . Also, the Chapar~ ra l Pro/AM MX Championships will open with the Stadiumcross for both Pros and Amateurs on the same day and will conti nue with Am ateur racing on Satur day , De c em ber 27, o n the Grand Prix track and on Sunday , Dece mber 28, on the National track . For more information, ca ll 909/880-3090 , or visit www .qlenhelen.com. CORRECTION , Phil St even fini sh ed ninth overall in th e Pro/Semi-Pro race at the World Off -Road Championship final in Stillwater, Oklahoma. St even 's name was mistakenly omitt ed from our results. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Bert 's Mega Mall in Covina, California, on January 2, from 7 to 8 p.m. Team Chevy Truck's ........ .................... . .... . . ,. "" o Accordi ng to Clea r C hannel Ent ertainment , the 2003-2004 THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercro ss Se ries will make its annual Phoenix visit , January 9-10, 2004, at Bank One Ballpark, and in conjunction with the series, this year the ultimate Supercross Fa n Festival will fill the streets surrounding the Bank One Ball park C opp er Square area . Supercross Fan Fest , The Mu sic and Mot orcycle Festival. is a two-day stree t festival that will highlight the excitement and culture of supercross adjacent to Bank One Ballpark, near Fourth Street and W . Jackson. This first-time event will bring the riders and fans together and give the fans an up-cl ose loo k at the spo rt and the supers tars of super cross . Supercross Fan Fest will feature live on-stage ente rtainment from national recording artists and othe r loc al mu si cians and bands . Headli ning the live mus ic stage at the inaugu ral Supercross Fan ' Fest wil l be nat iona l rec o rdi ng art ist Cold . Other nat ional and lo c a l artis t s w ill be annou nced soon . In addit ion to the live music, Supercross Fan Fest will feature special supercross te am Q&A sessi ons, autog raph opportunities , a manufacturer and vend o r ex po, inte rac tive spo nso r boo ths , an extre me minicycle exhibition, and food-and-beer gardens. Supercro ss Fan Fest will also off er fans access to the new , larger supercross pit area and the Friday afte rnoon practice sessi on inside Bank One Ballpark. Festiviti es surrounding Supercross Fan Fest, The Music and Motorcycle Festival, will kick off with Friday practice (January 9) from 1 p.m. until midnig ht and on Satu rday (January 10J from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. The night racing for t he 20 04 THQ W orld Sup er cro ss GP/THQ AMA Supercross Series starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 10, inside Bank One Ballpar k. Ticket s for Friday' s S upercross Fan Fest are availa ble for only $ 15 through Ticketmaster by calling 480 /784-4444 or on line at www.ticketmas te r.co m. In addition, selec t mot or cycle dealerships that will be selling ticke ts t o Sup e rcro s s Fan Fe si w ill be announced soo n. Satur day' s porti on of Kawasaki and Team Pro C ircuit / Kawa saki' s M ichael Byrn e, Stephane Roncada, Ivan Tedesco and Matt W alker are scheduled to appear. 8 o o o o o. o C lear Ch ann el Ent ertainm ent' s M ot or Sport s division announced that the first A nahe im roun d of THQ W orld Supercross GP/AM A Supercross Series at Edison International Field in Anaheim, California, will air on ABC's W ide W orld of Sports Sunday, January 4, from 4-5 p.m. EST. " Throug h our exce llent relationship with ABC Sports, we have co nfirmed the first Anaheim round as an ABC broadcast ," said Ken Hudgens, vice president of marketing, Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports. "We are excited about the upcoming supercros s television package and will continue to make more announceme nts on schedules, prog rammi ng and ti me- s lo ts ve ry soon ." "Through six years of supercross broadcasts , our relationship with Clear Channel Enterta inment - Mot or Sports cont inues to grow." said Steve Ferrara, direct or of programming for ABC Sport s. " Showc asing the Anaheim event on ABC Sports is a great way to kick off the 2004 seaso n." . . The annua l clash of meet ing s between the co mbine AMA/World Superbike round at M azda Racew ay at Lagu na Seca and the British Grand Prix at Doningto n Park may be a th ing of the past, with the deciding factor in the hands of Formula One. With the propo sed cancellation of the Ju ly 11 French Form ula One GP at Magny Co ur s in 200 4, F-l mavens are considering moving the J uly 4 British F-1 GP at Silverstone to July 11 , the date of the British MotoGP round and

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