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/128309
Briefly... Star's New Star tar Racing team own er George Bryce has named Angie McBride as the new rider of his Pro Stock Bike en try. McBride , 24, will fill the seat recently vacated by Fred Collis, last year's eighth place finishe r in NHRA POWERade points standings. With McBride , Star Racing is hopefu l that it can recreate so me of the magic that it enjoyed during its three-year class reign with Angelle Savoie. In fact, Bryce suggests that McBride is not unlike S Savoie in a few ways. "When we looke d at all the facto rs that make a successful rider, Angie was a natu ral choice," Bryce said. "She learns extremely quickly and has' the des ire and mo tivati on to be successful. The first t im e we met , it was ob vious to me that she is willing to work hard and put fo rt h the effort necessary to make th is a caree r. I also know that Angie has w hat it takes to do a great job for any potential marketing part ne r. ':<\ngie has been to ou r drag racing schoo l in Gainesvill e three times," Bryce continued. "The first time, she did very we ll. The second time, she was even better, and by the third time , we we re sold on her." In addition to the runs she' s made at Frank Haw ley's Drag Raci ng School, McBride is also the current Southeastern Motorcy cle Drag Racing Associat ion (SEMORA) Outlaw class cha mpion. She has run as quick as a 7.28 at ove r 191 mph o n a bike w ith a small rear tire and no w heelie bars. "It's a d ream com e true for me to be racing wit h the Star/ G Squared te am," said Mc Br ide , a nurse wh o resides near Winston Salem, North Carolina. "I think everyone who'5 ever raced a motorcycle wants to race in Pro Stoc k Bike. Eve n though my curr ent bike is fast , it was big step up to ride a Pro Stock Bike . In my first few runs, my bes t 60- Bar ros To Repsol Honda Honda an no unced on January 20 that Grand Prix vete ran Alex Barros will join Nicky Hayden on the Reps ol Honda Moto GP team for the 2004 season, tho ugh the Brazilian was not on hand for Ho nda's test at Sepang in Malaysia last wee k because of injury. The 33-year- old is cu rrently recuperati ng from shoulder surgery and will ride the 2004 foo t time was 1. 12, and then we made a few adjustments, and I had a 1.06. That 's when George asked me if I wan ted to ride his bike this season. O bviously, it didn't take me long to say yes. I can hardiy wait for the season to start." As a rider, team owner and crew chief. Bryce has won over 60 NHRA national eve nts and has claimed six season cham pionships with the late Jo hn Myers ( 1990, 1992 and 1995) and most recently with Savoie (2000-2002). "If you loo k at our history, every ride r we've ever had has do ne we ll, and I'm sure Angie will continue that tradition," Bryce said. "Ge o rge Smith (part owner and chairman of the board of S&S Cycle, the leading manufactu rer of go fast V-Twin parts) and I have form ed a new company, G Square d Moto rspo rts, and we are w o rking w ith S&S to refine our V-T win program ," Bryce noted. McBride w ill beg in the season on the Suzuki th at Collis rode last year, or the S&S powe re d V-T win Pro Stock Bike that Bryce is de veloping along with partner Geo rge Smith. "With all these new opportunities, this is the most excited and motivated I've been in years to start a new season! " said Bryce. Honda RC211V for the first time at a tes t slated for Sepang in Malaysia, Fe bruary 11- 13. His seco nd test w ill be at Phillip Island in Austra lia, February 17-19. Barros ' cre w chief will be Ramon Forcada, who worked with Barros when the Brazilian was a membe r of the West Hon da Po ns team in 200 I and 2002 . Barros won two races and finished on the pod ium two other times in his four outings on the RC2 11 V in 2002 . Alex Barros· free of his Yamaha contract and back to Honda. ill en o o CJ o '" ...J o CJ >- CD ~ I a, official stop will be at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eve leth on Friday, January 30. The legendary tro phy w ill be in Eveleth overnight, and on Saturday, January 3 I, the Cup will em bark on a crossstate snowmobile trek that will culminate at the St. Paul RiverCen tre on Tuesday, Feb ruary 3, to mar k the opening of NHLAll-Star FANtasy. Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty will receive the Stanley Cup at NHL All-Star FANtasy and will officiallydeclare th e start of 2004 N HL All-Star Wee k in Minnesota. This is the first time in the Stanley Cup's I I I-year history that it will tra vel through a state o r province aboard a sno wmob ile. Polaris has modified a Frontier Touring mod el to carry and pro tect the Stanley Cup d uring its wintry ride . Team Velocity Racing has annou nced that it w ill cam paign a Yamaha YZF-R I in the Heavywe ight Superstock class of the WERA Natio nal Endurance Se ries for the 2004 season. After finishinga close second in the Mediumwe ight Supe rsto ck class in its inaugural season , Team Velocity Racing felt rea dy to move up to Heavyweight Superstock , increasing its co mpetitiveness for an overa ll win, according to a re lease fro m the team. "We did so good last year o n a 600 Superstock bike," team manager Cindy Ivey said. "We placed third ove rall, and it's bee n eight years since that happened. We 've got the experience and the riders to move up, and we thought that we co uld on ly do better on a Heavywe ight machine ." T he Team Velocity riders for this seaso n include Chuck Ivey, Reuben Frankenfield, Steven 8 reckenridge and Bradley Champion . Chuck , Fran kenfield and Brecke nridge are all returning for the ir secon d season with the team . The first ro und of the WERA Natio nal Endu rance Series will be held at Jenn ings GP in No rt h Florida on March 27. For more informa tion o n the team, visit www.TeamVelocityRacing.com. Lo ng time Team Oliver Y amaha spons or Kushitani has inked a deal to become the "official boot supplier" of Rich Oliver's Mystery School , according to a release issued by O live r. "I've used Kushitani racing suits, gloves and boots for the past IS seaso ns," Ol iver said in a re lease . "I can say for a fact that I've wo n races because of the fit, mo bility, com fort and ven tilation that Kushitani offers . It's like a seco nd skin, allowing me to move arou nd on the bike witho ut any interference fro m my safety gea r hinde ring my performance . The Kushitani road race boots we use at the Mystery School are a pe rfect balance of protection, fit and we ight. You have a heavy steel shoe o n your left foot , so having a light boot rea lly helps you fight the added we ight o n that side, and o n the right side, you gain fine feel and con trol of the rea r brake peda l so needed with flat tra ck riding. They just work grea t!" Fo r more info rmation abo ut Rich Olive r' s Mystery School programs and sche dule visit www.richoliver.net or call 5S9/8SS3089 . www.cyclenews.com The International Motorcycle Safety Association (IMSA) has anno unced that its members hip has topped 40 ,000. The program, which began in O ctob e r, 2002, is des igned to help moto cross tracks with insura nce matt e rs in orde r to keep the facilities open year-roun d for practice and racing, accor ding to IMSA. Addition ally, in April, 2003, the IMSA introduced a $ 10,000 Excess Medical po licy that helps all lMSA riders. The Excess Medical po licy is included in the annual $20 membership fee , and mor e rider benefits will be anno unced in th e coming mo nths. IMSA is currently growing at 3000-5000 mem bers a mo nth , making it the fastest-growing mem be rship organizatio n cu rre ntly in the moto rcycle co mmunity, according to IMSA. Acco rding to a release fro m the com pany, Drive Systems USA is the new U.S. distribu tor for AFAM produ cts. AFAM products and services that were previo usly available from AFAM USA will now be prov ided by Drive Systems USA. As the new company deve lops, it will be offering a greater selection of products and services for the en thusiast , according to Drive Systems . For mo re Info rmation, call 800/290-9040 . AK Composite has announced that it will sponsor the Attack Kawas aki team for the 2004 racing seaso n, providing bodywork fo r the team's Kawasaki ZXlOsand ZX-6Rs. For more info rmation on AK Composite, visit www.akcomposite .com . Joe Rocket has annou nced the signing of Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies to a co ntract that willsee Spies as a mem ber of the Rocket RacingTeam . Spies is the de fending AMA Formula Xtreme Champion but w ill compete in Supe rsport and Superstock in 2004. Bridgestone/Firestone No rt h America n Tire , LLC (BFNl) has annou nced an increase in the amoun t of conting encies offered to riders who part icipate in 2004 events sanctioned by 14 various motorcycle clubs and organizatio ns aro und the cou ntry. W inners using Bridgesto ne tires w ill earn a minimum of $100 in ex pert classes , up to $2 S0 in Formula USA com petition and $500 in AMAsanctioned Nationals. "We wan ted to be sure that the ride rs who support our products are being rewarde d," said Bob Graham, Motorcycle & Kart prod uct manager for BFNT. "We have very competitive products that can get the job done o n the track , but somet imes it takes a little incentive to get riders to make the sw itch. Some of the technology that we have learn ed in o ur MotoGP tire develo pment w ill now be see n in a few of t he tires that we offer in American co mpetition." Bridgestone offers race tires for all motorcycl e roa d racing divisions, including Supe rspo rt , Superstock, Formula Extreme, Superbike, 2S0 Grand Prix and 125 Grand Prix. For a com plete listing of 2004 contingencies, visit www. motorcycle-kartt ires.com. CYCLE NEWS • FEBRUARY 4,200 4 9