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/128317
Briefly... Merriman Doubles In World Enduro i Continu ed fro m poge 9 it seesso many similarities and opportunities with its ow n busines s. "RizlaSuzuki and www. mo rtgages.tv go tog ether han d in hand ," said www.mo rtgages.tv direc to r Richa rd Brooks in a team release . "We are all about speed, efficie ncy and leading ou r marke t, and that is exa ct ly what Rizla Suzuki do es in British Superbikes , so it Is a perfect fit. Not o nly will being in Superbike s reinforce ou r key attri butes of spee d and co mpe titiveness , but it will allow www. mo rtgages. tv to reach a whole new FO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman added a dou ble-class victory to his first-p lace result on day one of the season opener in Spain to come away fro m the GP of Port ugal with a 50-poi nt maximum score in the Enduro I class, March 20-21. Comfortably toppi ng the E I class on day one ahead of Ho nda Italy rider Simone Albergoni, Merriman found himself just seven seconds ahead of KTM Racing's 12Scc rider Petteri Silvan at the close of day two . With Albergon i claiming the runnerup spot on day one, before being pushed down to the third and final U audience and use exciting new promotions and initiatives to speakto customers. Mort- gages are pretty dull on the face of it, so Rizla Suzuki can help us to enth use ou r audience and stand o ut fro m the crowd." Longtime Peo ria, Illinois, mo torcycle deal- rostrum position on day two, French e r. avid mo to rcyclist and o utdoors man Yamaha rider Marc Ge rmai n claimed third on day one in what will more tha n likely be his second and last WEC even t of '04. As expected, Juha Salminen dominated the Enduro 2 class in Port ugal, Gerald (Rick) Underwood , a .k.a. "The Bear," d ied on March 19 at his home in Illinois at th e age of 71 afte r a long bout with cancer. A lifetime AMA member, Underwood was a Class C Flatracker and nat ional number holder, road rac er and e nduro racer, as well as a local dea ler who provid - finishing a m assive one min ute and 13 ed a "home away from home" for racers seconds ahead of Italian Alessandr o Botturi on day one. With Bott uri again placing o n the podium as he d id in Spain, Spaniard Amau Vilanova proved that his impressive rides at his home GP weren't just one-off performa nces as he finished th ird, just under 10 seconds beh ind Botturi. trave ling through th e Midwest to attend the Peoria TIs. VP Racing Fuels has anno unced th e signing of Red Rock Distributing as its newest bu lk distri butor. Red Roc k reached an agreement with VP to service the O klaho ma are a wit h bulk VP I 10 and Pe rfo rman ce Unleaded racing fuels along with VP's line of special ty fuels, lubr icants , per- Day two again saw Salminen run away with the class win, with the run ner- up spo t going to British Ho nda ride r Paul Ed mo nds on . Making his first visit to a WEC podium in 2004, Edm ondso n placed SO seconds behind Salminen but four ahead of Botturi . In the Enduro 3 class, victory was shared by Farioli KTM rider Ivan Cervantes and KTM Racing rider Samuli Aro . With Aro setting the pace on day one but then crashing twice and hand ing victory to Cervantes, the Finn made up for his day-one disappointment to claim the victory on day two - but only just. Finishing less than one second ahead of Ce rvantes , Aro proved that, while things are ce rtainly going to be close in the E3 class in '04, he's not pre pared to let the Spaniard wa lk away with the title , as many have suggested he might . Finishing as the runner-up on day one formance chemicals and accessories. VP II 0 and Perfo rmance Unleaded will be available at the pum p or in drums at Red Roc k's new facility at One NW 50th Stre et in Oklaho ma City and delive red in bulk to race tracks thro ugho ut O klahom a, according to VP. behin d Cervantes was David Knight aboard the D3-Racing KTM, wh ile finishing on the podium for the first time in '04 was Mika Ahola in th ird. With the KTM duo of Aro and Cervantes battling for the class w in on day two, Husaberg rider Marko Tarkka la joined Ahola in making his first trip to the rostrum with third on day two. were d ry and rocky with the three laps per day testi ng the e nduran ce of all but the fittest riders. And with most of the events course being litt ered in rocks, the event, like the Spanish race o ne week earlier, will be remembered as a difficult on e . wh ich eventually led him to the USA at the end of 2003 for a try- out with Corona Suzuki. Attard For Corona Team Australian Ben Attard will compete in the balance 01 the 2004 AMA Supersport Championship o n a Corona-backed Suzuki. The 23-yea r-old , from Queensland, w ill begin his cam paign in ro und two of the series at Califo rnia Speedway in Fo nta na, California, April 2-4, co mplet e with a 2004 version of the GSX-R6oo and an Australian mec hanic. "I actually signed the contract with Corona about a month ago, but there have been som e problems with the delivery of mach inery from While certainly no t as dusty as the season opener in Spain. condition s in Port ugal Suzuki," said Attard in a press release from Motorcycling Australia. "However, that's all sorted, and I'm hoping to make a real impression in Fonta na. Depending on how my results pan out in Superspo rt , there's a chance I may also compete in some Superstock and Formula Xtreme races late r in the piece . But my foc us is we ll and truly on performing well in Supersport - that 's w hat I'm being paid to do ." Attard began his career in m otocross before em barking on a roa d racing caree r - Attard 's teammate at Corona Suzuki hasn't been officially announced, but all indications are that two-time A ustralian Superbike Champion Marty Craggill w ill soon be announced as the second teamster, riding in the Supe rstock class o n a GSX-R I000 . Thirty -five-yea r-old Craggill, a ve teran of 45 worl d Superbike races, has finished seve nth in the past two AMA Formula Xtreme titles - in 2002 o n a GSX-RI 000 be fore piloting a Honda C BR954RR last year. www.cyclenews.com Supercross lege nd Jeremy McGrath issued a press re lease regard ing his 2004 supe rmoto plans last week. "For this upcomi ng supermoto season, I am pe rso nally helming my own race effort," the releas e said. "Because the Honda C RF450 is my clear choice for this race series. it was only natural for me to affiliate myself with Honda's American Supercamp, which alrea dy has a partnership deal in place with Wh ite Broth e rs Racing. I am affiliating my supermo to race effort with an already existing program as opposed to creating a whole new official team." As for the supermo to seaso n, McGrat h said, "I really want to kee p my op tio ns o pen . I may do two races or most of the series. I'm just not in a po sition to com mit to a full-time team ." Seven categories of side- by-side "mo to rcycle o nly" d rag racing will take to Califomia Speedway's quart er-mile dragstrip duri ng the AMA Yamaha Superbike Challenge weekend on Saturd ay, April 3. Th e John Burr Yamaha Superstreet Spring Fling w ill featu re Crui se r E.T., Street E.T., Pro E.T., Supe rstreet (9OO- 1300cc Street), Supe r Gas Cont inued o n page ' 3 CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 31, 2004 11