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
World Endurance Champs Switch Brands Ciarletta Memorial Fund Established Wo rld Endurance cham pion s Phase On e have announced that they will switch brands for the 2004 World Enduran ce Championship, going from Suzuki's GSX-RIOoo to Vamaha's RI. The British-based team will be officially suppo rted by Vamaha, rece iving assistance from Vamaha Mot or Racing and Vamaha Mo to r UK. The decision to run the looocc RI means that Phase O ne is returning to the Yama ha brand after a IS-year abse nce . Veteran Stephan e Mert e ns w ill ride the mach ine along with Brits Dean Eilison and Andy Notman. "End urance racing is great way to pro mote the new RI," said Vamaha Motor Racing man ager l au re ns Klein Koe rkam p in a T he Woman's Auxiliary Of Motocross and Supercross has bee n chose n to facilitate a Memorial Fund for Jason C iarletta to benefit various positive pro· grams operating throughout the motocross community. Ciarletta was killed in a crash during qualifying at the THQ Supe rcross Series ro und at Qualcomm Stad ium in San Diego on Saturday, January 24 . His death was the first ever in the 3 l-year history of supercross . "We spok e with Jason's family regarding establis hing a memorial fund for whatever needs they may have duri ng this trag ic time ," stated Jamie Beavers of the Women's Auxiliary. "T he ir preference was that dona- release. "It requires not only perform ance and speed but is also a real test of a machine 's re liability. Fo r many years the Phase O ne te am has proven itself to be real specialists in the class, and naturally we're pleased that th ey have chosen the new RI to defe nd their wo rld title." tions made in their son's honor be given back to th e motocross community." The Women's Auxiliary will work with the Ciarletta family to distr ibute memorial funds among benevolent organ izations that support the sports of motocross and supercross . "We all mo urn for the Ciarletta family and for wh at they must be going through at this difficult time ," said Sharon Richards . "Endurance racing is great way to promote the new RI." "W e're sure the re st of the motocross community feels the same way and will want to contribute in honor of one of their fellow racers. We look forw ard to help ing make good things hap pen as a res ult of th is terrible loss." Donations can be made to: Women's Auxiliary of Motocross/Supercross (put Jason Ciar letta's name on the memo line of the check ), c/o Pro C ircu it Racing, 2771 Ward low Road, Corona, CA 92882. Race Of Champions To Homestead - Laurens Klein Koerkamp Acree To Empire Suzuki The October Formu la USA National Road Race Series/Ch am pionship Cup Series Race of Champ ions at Daytona International Speedway will be moved to Ho mestead Speedway to acco mmodate construaion at Daytona. Just after the July 3 Pepsi 400 , Dayto na Internatio nal Speedway will be shut do wn , and construction on new tunnels will begin. The-location hasn't bee n set, but it will e ither be in turn one o r tum three. The plan is to take a wedge ou t of the banking, insta ll tunnels large enough to accom modate semi-trail- ers, and then re build the banked segme nt. It's expec ted to ta ke into December. The tun nel is necessary because trucks can't enter or exit the track during test ing or racing. How it affects Biketoberfest remai ns to be see n. Biketo be rfest is a city-ge nera ted even t to go alo ng with the races . If the races don't happen, will Biketo be rfest go on? Or will it move to M iami? Henny Ray Abrams 12 After a tumul tuou s year, roa d race r lee Acree has some sta bility in his racing life . The No rth Carolinian will be teaming w ith Opie Caylor on the Emp ire Racing Suzuki te am, the pair of so utherners co mpe ting in the AMA:s Supe rstoc k and Supersport classes. FEBR UARY 11, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS Explaining the team's decision to join Vamaha, Phase O ne team manager Russe ll Be nne y ad ded : "It' s great to be recognized for ou r successe s, and the enthusiasm shown by V amaha is second to none. The quality of th e parts supplied by Vamaha is fantastic. We 'll be using VEC [Y amaha Enginee ring Corporation) parts for the engine and doing The Graham, North Carolinabased dea lership, w hich curre ntly competes in are nacross, is making its first foray our own chassis development. The technical amaha Motor into road racing. inpu t fro m Wilco Zeelenberg [Y Acree said all the Racing's tec hnical coordinato r) will also be a s p on s o r s hi p s grea t help. We 'll be starting the season w ith were n't in order less w eight and mo re power than at the end but t hat th ey'd of 2003 , which is a great place to be. It's a be using Pire lli massive uphill challenge to prepare for the tires." At th e first race at Assen in April, but we 'll be ready. rece nt Daytona tire test . Acree O ur chassis co nsultants have been warned to was aboard one ex pect a tidal wa ve of work , and we 'll be of the Kevin tes ting at Alme ria and No garo in March, as Schwan tz Suzu ki School GSX-R Iooos . we ll as runningat least one six-hour race dis. "T he bike was sitting o n a ta ble in th e tance shakedo w n be fore Assen." front of t he cla ss room a w e ek ag o ," T he 2004 Endurance World Champ ion Acree said. " It' s stoc k e xcept fo r the ship starts o n Mond ay, April 12, with a 500km sho c k and fo r ks ." race in Asse n, Holland . He nny Ray Abrams 40th Anniversary