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/128310
McWilliams Makes His Aprilia Debut G rand Prix veteran Jeremy McWilliams had his first outing o n the Aprilia RS Cube MotoGP bike in a two-day test in w ...- -- s - -- s '" 9 o CJ in (J) 5 I Q. Valencia , Spain , January ]0-] I, th e Ulsterman a ta d slowe r than his teammate Shayne Byrne , the Brit having ridden the bike in a previous test. McWilliams clocked a 1:] 5.7 - within two seconds of Co lin Edwards ' qualifying time from last year's Grand Prix at Valencia. "Tod ay I built up a re lationship with the bike wh ich just was n't there yesterday," McWilliams said in a team release. "I have to admit that I had a torrid time yesterday, and I wo ndered what I'd got myself into, but we changed the map ping of the bike complete ly t his morning, and it suited me much mo re . I was able to go into the corners w ith both wheels o n the gro und and w ithou t feeling as if I was going to fall off. I am o nly a second off wh at I was do ing here with the Proton, but we 'r e not chasing times just yet - just t rying to get a feeling for t he bike . As far as that is co ncerned , I am much hap pier tod ay - w e have got it w orki ng muc h mo re smoo thly, and it doesn't seem to have a mind of its own , Je remy McWillia m s rides t he Aprilia RS Cube for the f irst time in Spa in. which is what it w as like yesterday. It rea lly is th e mo st powerful bike I have eve r ridden, and that takes some ge tting used to , but I am optimistic abo ut t he wo rk we have done here and about t he potential of the bike in the future." The Cube s h owed u p in Valencia with a n e w exhaust system . A Quickie At Pikes The fifth roun d of the AMA Ch evy Truc ks U.S. Superbi ke Championship at Pikes Peak Inte rnational Race way will be a two- day event , according to an AMA official. Becau se th ere 's on ly on e 5uperbike race , the race wee kend w ill be two days , May 222] , at the infield ro ad course in Fountain, sou th of Den ver, Colorado, acco rding to AMA ro ad race manager Ron Barrick. Barrick said the schedule had not yet bee n se t, but there would "po ssibly" be a race on Saturday. "It depends on TV," Barrick said. The teams had been told to ex pe ct t he change for both Pikes Peak and Brainerd Internatio nal Raceway, the o nly two stan dalo ne single Superbi ke w eekends on t he I 1race ca le ndar. But despite having o nly one Superb ike race, Brainerd w ill remain a threeday race weekend. "T hey have a ve ry strong campi ng cro wd that like s to come for a longer term ," Bar rick said. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca ho sts the only other single Superbike event, though it' s part of the combined AMNWorid Superbike w eeke nd. H e nn y Ra y Ab r a m s Briefly... I Con'lnued from page 9 video prod uct io n in the mo to rcycle industry of supe rcro ss, motocross , freestyle, supermoto and roa d racing. according to the com pany. Service s include flag-to-flag race series production, te levision feature packages, te am me dia, documentaries, fr eelance shooting, direct ing and more . McLe more , ]7, has over 2] yea rs o f video production experience, including as the executive vice president of pro gramming and product io n at Seals Communicati o ns, produ cer of the "MotoWo rld" television series. Direct ing credits include I0 years on the AMA Supercross Series and AMA U.S. Motocross Ch ampio nships o n ESPN2 and the first-ever Supercross race to air on ABC's "W ide World o f Sports." In addition to twowheeled spo rts , McLemore has produced hunting and fishing, fitness. soccer, music videos, wakeboarding and water skiing program ming. "Time bomb has been an idea for a couple years now, and I'm proud to say it' s finally a reality," said McLemore, president and CEO of Timebomb Entertainment. "My niche in th is business isn't just experience. I'm an enthusiast of the sports I cover. I've jumped into th is pr oject head first, and I can't wait to see where it takes me. " Supercross/motocross announcer Erv Brau n is offering motocross racers/students an opportunity to learn how to project their pub lic image by attending "Guardian-X" sem inars, a parallel teach ing co ncept wit h motocross racer management as its theme . "Th e seminars wi ll touch on crucial problems that plague the motorcycle racer co mmun ity and will fill a communication void in the amateur and professional ride rs' career," Braun said in a press release from his co mpa ny. "The SX and MX riders we have today are incredible ath letes; they just nee d a little coaching in speaking ou t and public presence. I use a unique teaching method that has been very successful in t he entertainment world, and with the use o f this method I can't wa it to enlighten t he motocross families. My son , Zegin, adds the perfect dialog, and we create an identifiable father/son scenario. Parents may attend the se minars w ith their son or da ughter and are encouraged to do so ." For more information , call 607/742-9428. The AHA has launched '~ MA Members Only" - part of award·winn ing AMADirectlink.com and the latest benefit for members o f th e w orl d 's largest and most committed group of motorcycling enthusiasts, according to a re lease from the AHA. Users can gain access to AHA Members Only by en tering the ir AMA num be r and ZIP code and then setting their own unique username and password. Spec ial features of this area of AMADireetlink.com include free classified ads, where memb ers can buy and sell mo to rcycles and riding gear; a natio nal database o f the best mo torcycl ing roads, rec ommended by ot he r AMA members (an offroad data base Is planned as we ll): mechanical advice; entertaining columns ; and insightful commentary available only in the AMA Membe rs O nly area; the full text - not just www.cy clen ews.com selected stories - o f each mon thly issue of Ame rican Mot o rcyclist mag azine; and co mpute r w allpape r, from sceni c road -riding shots to track-leve l racing photos. AMA Members Only also features a full array o f me mber services, allowing users to renew their memberships, check t he ir memb ersh ips' ex pira tio n da tes, and more. "T he AMADirect link.co m and Am erican Mo torcyclist magazine staff w orked hard to develo p and launch this unique be ne fit, and we're proud to offer it to o ur me mbers," said webmas ter Richard Ried. "We look forward to hearing suggestions and comments from me mbers so that we can cont inue to make it bett er." The second annual Ride to Read Motorcy. c1e Rally is set to take place in Boise, Idaho , o n Saturday, June 12. Th e 2004 Ride to Read Motorcycle Rally will repeat the 200 ] route along the scenic highways from the White Cloud Coffee roastery In Boise to Stanley, Idaho , where riders will lunch at the Redfish Lake Lodge before returning to Bo ise . Event founder Jero me Ebe rhart e r is enthusiastic and unrelenting in his mission to grow the Ride to Read Rally. "O ur goa l for 2004 is 200 riders," Eberharter said. Eberharter, pres ident and CEO of Boise -based White Cloud Coffee, is currently seeking corporate and media spo nso rs to rally around the Rally "All . of us be nefit fro m improving literacy in ou r community," says Eberharter. "Basic literacy is the bac kbone of an informed soc iety and a competent workforce." For more informa tion, call Eberharter at 208/]22- 1166 or email ride2 read@Whitec loudcoffee.com . Due to overwhelming demand and brisk sales, Je remy McGrath will do two additional book signings d uring the first week o f Fe bruary in Southern Ca lifornia, according to his publicist. On Thursday, February 5, McGrath will be signing at the B. Dalton boo k store at the Inland Ce nter, 252 Inland Center Drive , San Be rnardino, (909/889-8 ] ] S) from 6:30 pm to 8 pm . On Sunday, February 8 , McGrath will be signing at the WalMart in Murrieta , 4 1200 Murrieta Hot Springs Road, Murrieta (909/696-7 1]S) from I p.m . to 2 p.m. Moose Racing has signed a deal to become the official gear o f GNCC racing in 2004 . "Moose has always had a great re lationsh ip with off-road riders and racers, and with the participation that the GNCC series has garnered, it was only natural that we would get involved," says Moose Racing product specialist Brian Weber. "As a me mber of the Parts Unlimited family an d believing in the Parts Unlimited company motto o f 'We Support the Sport,' the com bination of Parts Unlimited, Moo se and GN CC Racing should be exciting." The 2004 GNCC Series kicked off w ith t he Lone Star GNCC in Gilme r, Texas, o n Febru ary I. The NH RA has annou nced an agreement that will make VP Racing Fuels th e "Official Racing Fue l" of NHRA Ch amp ionship drag racing through 2006 . W ith the agreement , Con,inued on pag e J 3 CYCLE NEWS . FEBRUARY 11, 2004 11