Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Montesa-HRC Signs Sanz stateme nt. "From a personal point of view . "II do my best to continue w inning among the girls and also to compete in the major world junior series. My objectives are just to revalidate the w omen's Wo rld and European championships and to get as high as possible in the w orld junior seri es, w here the guys will be my rivals." As a Montesa-HRC rider, $anz joins th e likes of Dougie Lampkin, Takahisa Fujinami and Marc Freixa on the team . Emissions Crackdown For 2006 The AMA is reporting that road-going motorcycles nationw ide will be require d to me et new strict em issi ns standards beginning with the o 2006 mod e ls, under ru les released by the feder- al Environmental Prot ection Agency. But the new rules, issued December 23, 2003, give small-volum e motorcycle manufacturers a break in meeting the new standards, and they provide for exemptions for certain motorcycles. The EPA rules set new emissions standards that are the same as those adopted by the state of Cal ifornia but will go into effect two years after Cal ifornia's standards. Th e first t ier of the new national standard s w ill go into effect in 2006 with a second tier in 20 I O. Th e new national emi ssions standards are expected to result in an increased use of fuel injection and catalytic converte rs on new motorcycles. Some motorcycles sold in the U nited States already meet California's strict 2008 standards, w hich ar e the same as the plan ned fed erai EPA 20 I0 stan da rd, Th e California standard that begins w ith the current mod el year, 2004 . and the federal stan- dard that will ta ke effect for the 2006 mod el year re quire new moto rcycles to emit no more than 1.4 gram s per kilo meter trav eled of hydrocarbo ns and nitr ogen oxides and kilome ter of carbon mono xide. J2 grams per Before passage of the new federal rule , fed eral emissions standards for street motorcycles we re 5 gram s of hydrocarbons and 12 gram s of carbon monoxide per kilom et er trav eled . Under the new rule. manufacturers who build fewer than 3000 moto rcycles a year and w ho have fewer than 500 employees don't need to meet the first-tier emissio ns standards until 2008 . The y also aren't required to meet the second-tier standards . The EPA also provides certain exempt ions S panish Laia Sanz, the curren t World Women's Trials Champion, has signed a deal that w ill put her on the official Mon tesa-HRC, according to the team . for "kif ' and custom m otorcycles. Sanz is w idely regarded as the best fe male ride r in t he histo ry of this spo rt , a sta tus proven by the four World and two European titles, Noth ing in the new rules changes w hat owners may do legally to customize t heir motorcycles, according to the AMA. "I am very excited about forming part of such a professional team and to be able to enjoy the resources that give best possibilities for good results," Sanz said in a Spy Shot: KTM's V-Four The first tier of the new national standards will go into effect in 2006 with a second tier in 2010. Here's one of the five KTM V-fours that w ere slated to be the backbone for KTM's MotoGP effort , an effort t hat has since been scrapped. On e of the main reasons t hat the project was scrapped was that t he company didn't wan t to spend the millions it was going to take to develop electronic engine manageme nt systems. SoCal Enduro Clubs Pull Together In an effort to att ract new riders, young riders and perhaps to reatt ract veteran ride rs to the sport of enduro, four AMAlDistrict 37 enduro club s - Un ited Enduro Associ at ion (UEA), Prospectors M.C.. Training Wheels M.e. and Ch eckpoints M .C . • have come together to create a new fun-for-all four-round enduro series, slated to be run in conjunction wi th the usual district series. Th e new Fun 4 Enduro Series. w hich ge ts unde r way January 18, wit h the UEA Enduro in Lucerne Valley. California, will have courses laid out with all skill-level riders in mind . According to UEA presiden t Lee Turrini, the district has seen a gradual decline in rider participation in D -37 enduros and wants to stop the bleeding before it's too lat e. "In years past, e nduro clubs tried to make the ir events tougher and tougher, trying to out- do ea ch other:' Turrini said, "Many A riders liked t his - many C and D riders never came back. To survive and pro sper, it was decided that our 8 JANUARY 14, 2004 • CYCL E NEWS events must attract - and retain - C and D riders, as these are next year 's A and B riders. To accom plish this, our events must be fun wh ile at the same time providing the tools necessa to ry educat e r iders new or unfami liar w ith t he enduro format . In addition, we must remain honest to what an enduro is all about - an endurance event - by providing an appropriate level of difficulty, both technical and timekeeping, for th e A and B riders. "Ou r goal is to offer a fun series of four races that the average C and D rider can participate in wit h confidence, and without fear or regret, w hile ma intaining the challenge th at more advanced riders deserve and expect - not necessarily an easy balance, but an important one. In addition, w e strive to make each race w eeke nd a family event that eve ryone in the family can enjoy and becom e involved w ith." Some of these th ings w ill include: a classic time keeping enduro on Sunday, a short $S fami- 40th Anniversary Iy poker run designed for the w hole fannily on Satu rday, first loops that will be first-t ime racer friend ly, and free enduro training sessions and/or materials. so one can learn how t o ride an enduro , learn the rules, techniques and st rategies, ask questions and get answers. T here will also be event finisher pins and year-e nd series awa rds. In addition. many of the events will offer other Saturday family activities such as kids' events, raffles and, according to Turrini, "other surprises." The four rounds willalso offer D-37 points, The Fun 4 Enduro Series race sched ule is as follows: UEA - Janua ry 17-18, Lucerne Valley, CA Pro spectors M,e. - Marc h 20 -2 1, Red Mountain, CA Training Wheel s M.C, - October 16-17, Red Mou ntain, CA Checkpoi nts M,e. - December 4-5 , TBA For more 949/677-1132. infor mation, call Turrini at

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