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/128313
Penhall Rides Again! I The man w ho o rganized many a spo rt bike night in O range Cou nty, Caiifornia, and o the rs in conjunctio n with the championship events at Laguna Seca , Frank Steeves, 3S, was killed Satu rday afternoon in a car crash nea r his hom e in Southern California. Steeve s' Infiniti went off th e right side 01 Alton Parkway in Irvine , Ca lifornia, at roug hly 3 p.m. o n Satur day and struck a light pole, acco rding to Irvine po lice . Ste eves was take n to Irvine Medical Cen ter where he was pronounced de ad. Steeves was well known in So uthe rn Calilornia lor his sportbike nights, held at variou s res ta uran ts in O range Co unty. O ne 01 his bigger events was a Wayne Rainey book signing that was he ld in Newport Beach several year s ago. Steeves also hosted nights in Monterey, Ca lifornia , in co njunct io n with the AHA and Wo rld Superbike events there. He is survived by his wife, Claire, and a you ng daughte r, Sara. A memorial service w ill be held at the Waverly Cha pel, 1702 Fairhaven Avenue , Santa Ana on Friday, February 27, at 3 p.m. In lieu 01 flowers, do nations can be made fo r Sara Steeves at 89 Three Vines Court, Ladera Ranch, CA 92694. o rme r World Speedway Champion Bruce Penhall returned to F racing action on February IS when he competed in an interna- tional ice speed way race in Telford, England - 22 years afte r re tiring from pro fessional racing. Pen halltoo k part in six match races against his lifelong California friend Bobby Schwa rtz and England 's Les Co llins - bot h forme r Cradley Heath teammates of Penhall's. "This is it, absolu te ly the last time I will race speedway," Penhall said prio r to leaving his Orange County, California, home prior to departing for the race . ''At 46, I'm too old fo r speedway, and I have hardly been o n a bike lor years. I wo n a lew world titles at power boa t racing alter I finished riding spee dway, but I gave that up three years ago because it was becoming a bit too dangerous." Penhall enjoyed a pop-star lollowing in England after thrilling a packed Wembley Stadium when he won the World Finai there in 1981. And he retained his title a year later in the Los Angeles Co liseum, then announced his retiremen t Iro m the sport. As part of the lestivities in England, eve nt promoters held a Bruce Pen hall Night, with horde s 01 speedway fans waiting in line to get a Penhall autograph. Penha ll (left) rode in a series of match races against h is o ld b uddy Bobby Schwam (r igh t), monies lor a "roast" 01 Bo b Hannah. O th er champions told stories about racing with Hannah and w hat a to ugh com petitor he was. The best story 01allwas fro m his mechanic at the time , current Y amaha Racing division director Keith McCarty. McCa rty said th at Hannah was always playing tricks on othe r tea m mem be rs . On e day they lured him into a room at th e hotel th ey were staying in, stripped him naked and d uct-ta ped him to a chair. They the n carried him to the elevator, set him in the middle 01 it , and punched the butt ons lo r eve ry floo r. At the lobby, a guy waiting lor th e elevator just calmly removed the tape Iro m Hannah's mou th , asked him which floo r he wan ted , put the tape back and Briefly... Bonds Tops Texas W ORe S The second roun d of the World Orr-Road Cham pionship Series was held lor the first time at Cross Creek MX in Austin, Texas, February 2 1-22 , and a first-t ime WO RCS preva iled . Fo rmer full-time w inner mo toc rosser Bobby Bon ds, on a Team Green-backed Kawasaki, too k top hon ors on w hat turned o ut to be a race cou rse that many woul d have gues sed lavored th e mo re orr-road savvy riders. Finishing as the runn er-u p was another former motocrosse r, Montcl air YamahalZipTy Racing's Natha n Woods, who battled back and forth with Bonds for most of the race . Kawasaki Team Green's Destry Abbott also had his hands full with a number of riders before crossing the finish line in th ird place . Y amaha-mo unte d Ty Davis was in the hunt all day as we ll, finishing fourth ahead of Suzukimounted privatee r Robe rt Naughton, who re turned to action alter skipping the opening round in Texas with an injured loo t. Hare & Hound National Champion Russell Pearson se eme d to have a lock on third place late in the race when he sulfered a mechan ical prob lem that knocked him o ut 01 conten tion . Lance Smail, another motocrosser-turned off-rea der; who won rou nd one of the series in Mesq uite, finished ninth, sent him on his w ay. In addition , Eric Anderson cond ucted a live auction of the memorabilia items con- tributed by the champio ns. Several mo torcycle adve nt ures were also aucti oned to the highest bidder to raise mo ney for BRC's advocacy efforts. Malcolm Smith donat ed a 1982 Husky 430 cc six-speed moto rcycle lor the auction , and w he n th e bidding didn't go high eno ugh to suit him, Smith bought it back. Danny laPorte presented the BlueRibbon Coalition with an $8000 chec k Irom FMF's Q series e xhaust/ BRC support program . laPorte cha llenged the industry to adopt a "Iee l the power" program to show OHV e nth usiasts that they do n't need to "hear" loud pipes to achieve maximum pe rformance. Once again Dic k Bur leso n reinforced th at message, po inting o ut the impo rta nce of qu iet pipes to achieving succes s in the land use issues. www.cyclenews.com A new road racing circuit is be ing pro po sed in the Algarve in Portugal, a typical modern 2.8S2-mile affair with a multitu de of comers and bewild ering layout 01 po ssible con figurat ions. Th e track des ign has been mad e in associatio n with FIA, but it is also des igned to ru n mo to rcycle- racing events up to worl d standard. The loca tion is in th e ex treme southwest 01 the Algarve, with the usual modern lacilities 01 a 200- room hotel and leisure facilit ies built in. They ho pe to run the final race of the 2005 season, but nego tiatio ns are still in the early stages, acco rding to Wo rld Superbike contributor Gordon Ritc hie. Due to popu lar demand, the Team Hamm e r Tale nt Search Presented by A1pinestars has been opened up to riders on all brands of motorcycles and all brands 01 tires, and the sign-up deadline has been extended to March I . The prog ram is designed to prepare riders lor a profess ional career and to evaluate their potential. It covers all aspeets of a prolessional career, includ ing riding, bike setup, spon sorship, deaiing with the med ia and other major components 01 pro lessiona l motorcycle road racing, and it is open to Expert or Prolicensed riders. Two finalists in the program will earn the use 01 a Valvoline EMGO Suzuki raceb ike at the 2004 Suzuki Cup Finals, along with a mechanic, race entry fees , and a set of custom Alpinestars leathe rs in team co lors alo ng w ith A1 pine stars boo ts and gloves, and will be consid ered lor a 2oo5 -season ride with the team. The bes t-finishing finalist in the Suzuki Cup Finals will take home the GSX-R he or she races at the eve nt. Fo r more info rm ation. call 909/24 S-641 4 or visit www.team hammer.com. CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 3, 2004 7