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/128321
! Briefly... Smith Again at Loretta Lynn's GNCC/Hare Scrambles Continued from page 7 Grand National Champion. In 1997 he sold his company and moved to Clear Channel. "I'm anxious to get started," says Kidd. "This is a grea t opportu nity to work with a stall I'm already very familiar with , and a company t hat shares my growth -o rient ed vision 01the futur e. I look lorward to exploring new areas of the industry with a our-time AMA Gra nd National Cross Country Series Champion Rodney Smith, on the FMF Suzuki RM250, captured his third stra ight w in at the comb ined Yamaha GNCC and National Hare Scram bles at Loretta Lynn Ranch, on April 's 18. Smith prevailed in yet another close last-lap due l with Am Pro Yamaha's Jason Raines, who took second for the third stra ight race . Heading into the sixth and finallap of the rough Loretta Lynn course, Smith and 's Raines had to fight thei r way around Smith's teammate Fred Andrews , who ran up front all day and tried to sprint away w hen the two-lap board came out. Andrews pushed hard but just ran out of steam down the str et ch but still he ld on to finish third. Finishing fourt h on the day was Thron lehead.com/Kawasaki's Steve Hatch, w ho spen t a lot of the race batt ling back and forth w ith fifth-place finisher Suzukimounted Doug Blackwell. Parts Unlimited/Moose Honda rider Scott Summe rs guned out a sixth-place finish, desp ite riding with a still-healing bro ken collarbon e. Summe rs dropped defe nding champ Barry Hawk Jr. and his Yamaha to seventh late in the race. F very exper ienced team of visionaries and enth usiasts." Kidd begins his new job immediately and will be working for the Powe rsports Group out 01 Fo rt Worth , Texas. MiniMot o Enterprises, the company producing the Parts Unlimited MiniMoto SX National to be held April 30 inside the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, has announced that it has concluded an agree ment with the Outdoor Channel to produc e a one-hour television program scheduled to air on Saturday, June 12, at 8 p.m. "I would say this is a huge step for all the sponsors involved with our event and for the Pit Bike industry in whole ," claims Tim Clark , president of MiniMoto Enterprises. '" cannot recalleve r seeing a program dedicated entirely to mini bikes. With the caliber of riders that we have racing the event, I think this is going to make a great show ." For more informa tio n on the event o r to do wn load race entries or to pur- chase tickets, visit www.minimotosx.com . Rodney Smith won his third G NCC in a row. Michael Taylor To Ducati Another Record Quarter For H-D Harley-Davidso n Inc. has again announced reco rd reve nue and ear nings for its first quarte r ended March 28, 2004 . Revenue for the quarter was $1.17 billion, compared with $1.11 billion in the year-ago quarter, a 4.7 percent increase. First quarter diluted earn ings per share (EPS) was 6B cents, an 11.5 percent increase compared with last year's 61 cents, according to Harley. "Harley-Davidson's first-quarter perform ance clearly demonstrates that the Co mpany is on track to deliver both the short and longtenn perfonnance objectives which we established earlier this year," said Jellre y L. Bleustein, chairman and chief execu tive officer of Harley-Davidson Inc. in a release. " By almost any measure, we are off to a very strong start in 2004, co ntinuing the momen- I tum 01 our 100th anniversary. We delivered solid financial perfor mance this quarte r, and our U.S. dealer netw ork posted the highest first-q uarter retail sales for Harley-Davidson motorcycles in its history -13 percent ahead 01last year. In addition, we achieved our firstquarter mo torcycle production target, sen ing the pace to reach ou r goal of 317,000 HarleyDavidson motorcycles by year-end. The Company's co ntinuing st rong performance supports our longer-range ob jectives to satis - fy demand lo r 400,000 Harle y-Davidson motorcycles in 2007 and to deliver an annual earnings growth rate in the midteens. HarleyDavidson's board 01 directo rs de monstrated their confidence in our stated direction by approvi ng the repurchase 017.8 million shares 01 stock during the quart er," said Ble ustein. Four-t ime C anadian National C hampio n Michael Taylor will be riding a 2004 Ducati 999S lor Z I Cycletec h in the Parts Canada Nat ional Superbike Series, according to Ducati. Taylor, who recendy returned from testing the Ducati 749R in Spain for Cycle Canada Magazine, came home from the press launch enth usiastic abo ut Ducati, and he will campaign a 999S in the Canad ian Superb ike series this year. "Five mo nths ago I asked mysell the question, 'Will I be strong enough to com pete?'" Taylor said in the Ducati release. "Indeed I w ill! My new team has the right bikes, the right peop le and the right tires, and I will be laste r this year!" Zaid Salee mi, owner 01 Z I Cycletech is also looking forwa rd to the challenge. "Having someone 01 Michael's caliber and experience certainly makes my job a lot easi- er. We're all really excited about the 999 everyone knows it's a grea t platform to go racing. And I think Canadian fans are going to appreciate seeing a D ucat i. I'm sure in some ways this will be a learning year lor both 01 us, but as the season progresses, be prepared for some surprises." The newly formed Z I Cycletech Ducati team is sup ported by Euro co rsa pe rformance, Importations Thibault Ltd, VP Racing Fuels, Steen Hansen, Shilt Art & Design , and Terminal Velocity Ducat i and w ill use D unl o p tires. www.cyclenews.com Ducati Austi n has announced the launch of its www.ducatiforums.com message board , a forum that provides Ducati owners the opportunity to find eve nts and rides, sell their bikes, come to a track-day eve nt or just discuss anyth ing in the world 01 Ducati. Ducati Austin is a Ducat i-only deale rship running the facto ry-backed Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin 999 AMA Supe rbike with ride r Eric Bostrom. For mo re infor mat ion, visit www.du catiforu ms.co m. N a no t ec h Fuel Corporation of San Ped ro , California. the pare nt company of the n-TEK brand , has launched its new line 01two-stroke Nano Tec hnology triester synthetic motorcycle racing lubricant. nTEK w ill soon be available at distribution and dealersh ip networks allover the USA, acco rding to a release from the compan y. Na notech is spea rheade d by C hris Agajanian, the president and CEO of the co mpany. For more info rmation, call 800/77 1-2 147. Muzzys Performa nce Products has announ ced that it will now ship all exhaust ord ers de stined for the Eastern and Midwe stern United States from its location in Hickory, No rth Carolina. In most cases this will ens ure a two -day delivery time using normal grou nd shipping service. As always, Muzzy exhau st ord ers are shipped "free freight," according to Muzzy. Dunlop Tires, Arai Helmets and A1pinestars will host a spe cial Spo rt Bike Nigh t at the Hard Roc k Cafe in downtown Sacra mento , California, on Wednesday night, April 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. The night willfea ture top riders Irom the upcom ing AMASuperbike Nat ional at Infineon Raceway. For mo re information, call 9 16/600-3742 or visit www.spo rt biken ight.com . Contin ued on page I I CYCLE NEWS • APRI L28,2004 9