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
Jordan To Back Racing Team? T he re has been many a rumor of late that basketball legend Michae l Jordan is gett ing ready to field a motorcycle road racing team . Add ing fuel to that rumor was a Jordan sight ing at Parts Unlimited. According to Gazette Extra, a local newspaper in Janesville. Wisconsi n, the home of Parts Unlimited , Jord an was at the distributing giant last week and spe nt about three hours with Jeff Fox, the company's pres ident and CEO. "He's a huge motorcycle enthusiast , which a lot of people don 't know," Fox to ld the Extra. "He has several sport bikes and wanted to come up and see operation." Jo rda n and entourage OUf his _ _ ....._ 11.. Air Jorda n to go racing? toured the plant, where "he was seen by just about every emp loyee that stood up and took a look, " Fox said . "T he bottom line AUTOGRAPH SIG N ING: At Midwest Motorsports in Hartford, Illinois, on Friday, March 12, fro m 6 to 7 p.m . Factory Yamaha riders Chad Reed, David Vuillemin and Tim Ferry, Mach I Yamaha's Ezra Lusk and Heath Voss, and Yamaha of Troy's Mike Brow n, Kelly Smith and Dan ny Smith are schedu led to appear. For more info rm ation, call 6 18/2S 1-3902. AUTOGRAPH S IG N IN G: At Dreyer Motorsports in Ind ian apo lis, Indiana, on Friday, March 19, fro m 7 to 8 p.rn, Team Chevy Trucks Kawasak i and Team Pro Circuit Kawasaki's James Stewart, Michael Byrne, Paul Carpenter and Eric Sorby are schedu led to appear. For more info rmatio n, call 317/243 -2203 . ANNOUNCED: D. Edward Sauer as the chairman of the board of directors for the 2004 Falken T ire Pikes Peak Internatio nal Hill Climb, effective immediately. Sauer previously served on the Hill Climb Board as vice chair. "We are very focused to maintain the value of an event that is so steeped in histo ry to the Colorado Springs community while it continues to gain national and inter- national recognition, " Sauer said in a press is that he's an enthu siast who likes mo torcycles. It's something that's a part of his personal life ." re lease . Saue r is presi de nt/CE O of The Bank at Broad moor. The Hill Climb boa rd has also an nounce d Mike Cimino as first vice chairman and Lou Me lli ni as second vice chairman fo r 2004 . I Briefly... Parts Unlimited's Minibike Nationals will race in conjunction with the Moose Dunlo p Hu r r icane GNCC on Monday night, March I in Palatka, Florida. After a successfu l run at the final round of the 2003 AHA Grand National Cross Country Series and appearances at several rounds of the AMNChevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships, the Minibike Nationals have become one of the most popular attractions of any race weekend . A special GNCC-style minibike course will be set up at the Rodman Plantation, the home of the Hurricane GNCC. Industry officials, sponsors and crewmembers will compete in a variety of classes, and the dead-engine start will provide a GNCC flair to the races . The minibike national will run in conjunction with a Parts Unlimited dinner on Monday night, with activities set to kick off at S:30 p.m . W ERA West Roadracing's inaugural event March I3-14 at Cali fornia Speedway in Fontana, California , will include classes for Supermotard and Mini GP Sportbikes. David Pyles, WERA West race director, says "The great thing about Ca lifornia Speedway is, we can easily switch from the 2.3-mile AMA track con figuration to a 1.7-mile infield road course layout that is perfect for Supermotard an d Mini GP racers," said Pyles. "If the inte res t is there for these two classes, we will run them at all of our WERA West road racing events in 2004 . Larry Pointer, my partner, and myself attended WERA's first event of the season at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway and came back enthused by the interest in these two classes ." WERA West Road racing events will all be timed using AMB timing and scoring equi pment, which will require all riders to have a transponder on their bikes. They are currently for sale at WERA's cost or can be rented at the track for the weekend. A limited number of rental units are available. For more information, visit OPE NED : Dirt Digits' home page on the World W ide Web . The site can be found at the following address : http://www.dirtdigits.com . HIRED: Dave Danish as dragst rip manager fo r California Speedway 's quart er-mile dragstrip, Californ ia Dr agway, effective immediately. Danish will prima rily be responsible for sched uling and overseeing of races as we ll as the overall management of the Fontana, California, track and personnel. AUTOGRAPH S IG N IN G: At Proli ne Motorsports KTM in Duluth , Georgia, on February 27 fro m 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Team KTM's Gra nt Langston, Brett Metca lfe and Josh Woods are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 770/497-0994 . RESCH EDULED: The CRC Diamond Head GP has been res chedu led to February 29 because of rain. The race will be held at LA County Raceway in Palmdale, California. For more information , call CRC at 66 1/272-8889 . www.wera.com . A new Labor Day weekend date and an exciting entertainment package that includes the USA debut of the 2003 Stunt RidingWorld Champion will make the 2004 Suzuki Superbike Showdown September 3-5 at Road Atlanta an even better event, according to event promoters. The Suzuki Superbike Showdown moves to its new September date at the request of the AMA but will include the same Chevrolet U.S. Superbi ke doubleheader that has been featured the last six years at Road Atlanta . It will now be the penultimate event on the II -race AMA schedule. In addition , Christian Pfeiffer of Germany will make his North American debut with two stunt exhibition shows both Saturday and Sunday. Pfeiffer is the reigning Stunt RidingWorld Champion. Tickets are now on sale online at www.roadatiant a.com or by calling 800/849-RACE . T he Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has announced that Falken Tire is the www.cyclenews.com name and title sponsor for the 2004 eve nt. Falken Tire is an industry leade r in the development and production of ultrahigh performance tires, according to the hillclimb promoters. Richard Smallwood , Falken's vice president of sales and marketing said: "Our previous experience with the Pikes Peak International HillClimb have been very favorably received by our dealers and motorsports enthusiasts. That acceptance makes the decision easy to continue the title sponsorship of such a historical event." Parts Unlim ite d 's Minibi ke Natio nals will race in conjunction with the Moose Dunlop Hurricane GNCC on Monday night, March I. After a successfu l run at the final ro und of the 200 3 AMA Grand National Cross Country Series and appearances at several rou nds of the AMAChevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships, the Minibike Nationals have become popu lar attractions during race weekends. "With all the competition that takes place during Dayto na Bike Week, we thought it was time to have some fun," says series organizer "Rocket" Rob Buydos. "Racing with the GNCC familyis the perfect place to do it. Come watch the spectacle that is minibike racing unde r the lights on Monday night. This is all about big fun on little bikes." A special GNCC-style minibike course will be set up at the Rodman Plantation, the home of the Hurricane GNCC. Ind ustry officials, sponsors and crew members will compete in a variety of classes, and the dead-engine start will provide a GNCC flair to the races. The minibike national will run in conjunction with a Parts Unlimited dinner on Monday night, with activities set to kick off at 5:30 p.m . Coo lskunk Promotions, an orga nization focused on promoting youth in motorsports, has announced that it will be an associate sponsor of the 2004 AMA Sports Winter Short Track Nationa ls. Through its sponsorship, Coolskunk Pro mo tions will provide the overall series winner of each premier class at the 2004 Daytona AMA Sports Winter Amateur Short Track Nationals with a Coolskunk Sponsor Package . This package , which includes marketing tools to help young racers promote their efforts in a polished way, is designed to attract sponsorships from local, regional and national businesses. "We're excited to work with AMA Sports to provide usefu l, proven and powerful marketing tools to these young athletes," said Philip Rispoli, founder of Coolskunk Promotions and the Coolskunk KyDs RacingTeam . "These future motorsports stars already know how to be winne rs on the track, and now they can have the tools to be winners off the track as well ." The 2004 Daytona AMA Sports Winter Amateur Short Track Nationals will take place in Orlando, Daytona and Ocala between February 27 and March 2, with two days each at the Daytona and Ocala events. CYCLE NEWS . MARCH 3, 2004 11