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/128316
World Enduro Under Way • The opening ro und of the Maxxis FIM World Enduro I Championship got under way in Spain, March 13-14, w ith UFO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman and KTM's juha Salminen and Ivan Cervantes coming away from the event as the big winners. In the Enduro I (E I) division, for the 12Scc two-stroke/2S0cc four-strokes , Merriman came away the victor after topping Saturday's run and finishing runner-up on Sunday. Italian Simone Albergo ni took Sunday 's class win by one second over Merriman. Finland's Petteri Silvan finished second both days. In Enduro 2 (E2), for the 250cc two-strokes and 4SOcc four strokes, Salminen dominated, despite riding with an injured thumb. The Finn topped the class both days and finished second overall (scratch) both days , as well. Second and thi rd in class went to Arnau Vilanova and Alessandro Botturri, respectively. But the man of the weekend was Spain's own Cervantes, on the Farioli S2Scc four-stroke KTM. Not only did he win the Enduro 3 (E3) division (Open-class) Saturday and Sunday, but Cervantes was the top rider overall both days. Finland's Samuli Arc and Great Britain's David Knight finished second and third in class. Jonty Ed m o n d s Australia's Stefan Me rriman w as a cla ss winner a t the World Enduro Championship opener in Spain. Indian Hopes Dashed Again Record Turnout for Whitney Spring Classic MX T he 10th annual AMA Spring Classic motocross at Lake Wh itney MX Park in Whitney, Texas, March 9- 14, was an all-time record breaker w ith 3162 entries competing for 45 titles over the fou r-day event. Plagued with typical Texas spring weathe r, the Spring Classic started off with sunsh ine but ended o n a rainy note . Over half of the classe s had to be wh ittled down via d ivision races to a 42-rider main event; the 125cc B Mod ified too k the prize as the largest class with 2 13 tota l entries. Califomia riders left Lake Wh itne y w ith the most championships, 12 in all. North Carolina was runner-up with eight champio nsh ips, led by the Tre tt el brot hers, Ian and Gavin, claiming five between the two of th em , w ith Ian claiming fo ur in the 65c (10 - 1I) Stoc k, 65 -85cc Supe rmini, and bo th Stoc k and Modified 85cc ( 12-1 3) catego ries. Mike Alessi matched Ian Trettel with fou r championships in the 12Scc B Stoc k, 2S0cc Stock and Mod ified, and 2S0 cc Ope n. Washington's Ryan Villopoto won the Stoc k and Mod ified (14 -15) classes and the 8Scc Supermini for t hree championships. jo sh Grant also won three cham pionships in the 12Scc A, 12Scc A Pro Sport, and 2SOcc A classes . Honda was the top-winning manu facturer w ith 14 victo ries, dethroning Suzuki's twoyear winni ng streak. Suzuki finished ou t the w eek w ith I I wins , followed by Kawasak i with nine and Yamaha with six. The event, however, was marred by the death o f IS-year-old Matt hew Kirkpatrick, of Cal ifo rnia . Kirkpat ric k crashed du ring Tuesda y's practice o n the track's downhill section. He never regained co nsciou sness and was pron ounced dea d at the hospital after being air-lifte d from t he track. Kat Spann Everts Banged Up Stefan Everts suffered a rib inju ry in Belgium. 18 Seven-time Wo rld Motocross Champio n Stefan Everts injured his ribs in a crash du ring practice at the opening round of the Belgian Motoc ross Championship on March 14. The injury cou ld prevent the defending 2SOcc cham pion from competing in the opening round of the World Motocross Series in Zolder, Belgium, on March 2 1. Everts will make a decision to race or no t by Friday, March 19. Young Belgian sensati on Kevin Strijbos , riding a Suzuki 4S0cc four-st ro ke , took top honors on the day via 1-2 mo to finishes . Cedric Melott e went 2-4 for second, whi le joel Sme ts , coming back from injury, finished third ove rall with a 4- 3 tally. Geoff Meye r MARCH 24, 2004 • CYCLE N EW S According to newspaper reports from Gilroy, Californ ia, Michigan motorcycle collecto r Bill Melvin is no longer interested in buying the Indian brand of motorcycles, striking another blow to enthusiasts' hopes of the brand's revival. "I've , at this point , given up any ex tensive effort to go fo rward wit h that ," Melvin told the Gilro y Dispatch. "Co nsider ing the amoun t of time that has lapsed , our interest has chilled." Melvin said that Gilroy resident Rey Sotelo told him that he was also giving up on buying t he Indian brand. C huck Klaus, the estate manage r for Ind ian's liqu idatio n broker, C redit Managers Association of California, is hand ling the sale of Indian's tra demarks and logos, collec tively known as the brand o r "intellectu al property" and has said that his firm is now pursuing a deal w ith other bidders. "We have some serious contenders for the intellect ual pro pe rty," both from the U.S. and from overseas, Klaus told the newspaper. "We have one in particular we have been looking at. " An Indian asset sale began in O ctober - Indian folded on September 19,2003 - and has now dragged o n for 4 1/2 months. At its peak, Indian employed about 600 people in Gilroy. Wh en it shut its doo rs, it laid o ff a sta ff of about 380 . Judge Injures Motorcyclist According to the Orange Co unty Register (California) , a former judge of the Orange County Superior Court is being charged with two felony drunken-driving charges afte r he seriously injured a motorcyclist in Orange, California . Theodore E. Millard, a presiding judge in 1996 and 1997, was driving a Ford Explorer that collided with motorcyclist William Payne, 52, on December 5, 200 3. Deputy Attorney General Scott Taylor told the Register that he is filing two felonies against Millard: driving under the influence when he caused the accident and driving with a blood-alcohol level more than the legal maximum of 0.08. Two penalty enhancements allege that Millard caused "great bodily injUry" to Payne, potentially adding three years to any sentence. If convicted on all the allegations, Millard faces up to six years in prison, 4 0 th A nn iver sary according to the newspaper. Millard, 64, retired fro m the bench in 1999 after serving fo r 20 years . He served as assistant presiding judge from 1992 to 1995 before his fellow judges selected him as their top judge in 1996. He was named "Judge of the Year" by the Orange County chapter of the American Board of Trial Lawyers in 1996. During his tenure on the bench, Millard handled criminal law, family law and complex civil-law cases , the report says. According to po lice reports, Millard was driving his 2002 Ford Explorer south on Tustin Street at 10: II p.m. when he started to make a left tum into a gas station at Fairhave n Avenue . The SUV collided with Payne's Honda Nighthawk as it approached in oncoming traffic. Payne suffered a shattered left leg, a dislocated right wrist, a broken left forearm and a cracked sternum.