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/128331
Merriman Marches On FO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman again proved a level above his Enduro I class competitors at the GP of Slovakia, round six of the 2004 World Enduro Championship Series, June 26-27, U claiming two convincing class wins to extend his lead at the top of the EI World Championship. So dominant was Merriman that the Australian rider also finished the event as the best overall performer, irrespective of class, on both days aboard his UFO Corse Yamaha WR250F. Topping day one by less than one minute, Merriman's winning margin on day two was a massive one minute and 23 sec- onds. Placing second on both days, and in doing so keeping his hopes of an end-ofseason top three EI class finish alive, was Honda's Simone Albergoni . Yamaha's Bartosz Oblucki scored two third -place finishes to hold on to the runner-up place in the EI champ ionship behind Merriman . "I've had a really good feeling with my bike this weekend, and I've also been able to keep my concentration right until the end of all the special tests, ' Merriman said. "I went to watch a round of the MXGP series a couple of weekends ago In Italy, and I was able to learn more about how to get the best from a 250cc four-stroke. I'm now riding a little bit more aggressive, and it seems to be working - to win the overa ll on both days is great. With the tests being quite slow and technical, I didn't really get out of third gear on the cross-country test, but I guess It was the same for all the rid- ers . My goal was to try and win every race this season in the EI class, and I was able to do that here In Slovakia. I opened up a gap from the second-placed rider on both days, but I didn't want to stop pushing because that's when mistakes happen . I knew that It was going to be safer to keep pushing, and that is why I wanted to focus on the overall. It's great to have won the overall on both days." Merriman now leads Oblucki in the championship by 56 points, 2B5-229 . Albergon i is third with 220 points. In the Enduro 2 class, Finn Juha Salminen and his factory KTM was again the rider to beat , claiming a doub le class win ahead of Britain's Paul Edmondson on day one and Italian Alessandro Botturi on day two. With Salminen finishing 50 see onds clear on Saturday and just under one minute ahead on Sunday, the real excitement in the E2 class was for the remaining podium positions. With only one second covering the second-, third- and fourth place finishers on day one , it was Botturi and Spaniard Vilanova who followed Edmondson home. On day two there was again little to separate the riders who followed Salminen, with Edmondson dropping off the podium while Honda -mounted Arnau Vilanova claimed the third place spot behind KTM's Alessandro Botturi. Salminen leads the ser ies standings ove r Edmondson, 272-238. Ride To Work Day: July 21 broad range of ot her public benefits." Each work day mor e than 80 million cars Motorcyclist's 13th annual Ride to Work Day is set for Wed nesday, July 21, with event promoters claiming that the year ly demonstra- and light trucks commute o n American roads , tio n triples the numb er of motorcycle riders on the road. ride t hei r motorcycles to work, acco rding to "Riding to wo rk on this day shows the positive value of motor cycling for transport ation," said Andy Goldfine, this year's eve nt orga nizer. "C om m uting motorcyclists everyw here are seeking em ployer recognition and appreciat ion of riding, and greater govern- but only abou t 200,000 individuals regularly Briefly... , ReigningTHQ AHA Superc ross Champion Chad Reed has bee n nominated for the prestigious 2004 ESPY Award In the category of Best Action Sports Athlete. This years ESPYswill be held July 14th, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles with Jamie Foxx as host of the star-studded sports awards. For the first time, this year winners willbe decided entirely by an online fan voting system that runs June 21st - July9th. To vote for Chad Reed , please go to www.espn.com. keyword ESP To check out the ESPYs and all the Ys. winners , tune into ESPNJuly 18th at 9pm EST. Chad Reed has become the man to beat in the world of Supercross . In three years of racing in the USA, Reed has managed to daim th ree separa te tides: 2002 THQ AHA I25cc East, 2003 THQ World Supercross GP title, and most recently, the 2004 THQ AHA Supercross tide . The Screamin' EagleNance & Hines team was surprised to find its championship-conten ding machines slapped with a new minimum we ight (bike/rider conmbined of 6 15 poun ds - up from the previous 57S pounds - heading into the Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, June 24-27. Accordi ng to a press release by the team , the NHRA annou nced the "unpreeed ented rule ame ndment" w ithout giving the team en o ugh time to test the 40-pound weight increase before the start of the Gateway event. "NHRA:s decision came as quite a shock to us," said Screamin' Eagle racing manager Anne Paluso via the release issued on June 23. "The timing and magnitude of the rule change is very frustrating at this point in the season, and since th e tea m leaves fo r Gateway today, we will have no time to test before the race. But this tea m has overcome so much advers ity, we believe we 'llget through this." Bob Farchione, Harley-Davidson Parts and Accessorie s chief engineer, added "It will be tough to overcome the 40-pound pena lty and get back to a competitive position . Short term , we are very concerned about the effect of that much weight on the bike's launch and downtrack performance. Without time for testing , we will have to use some or all of this weekend 's qualifying sessions to assure we stillhave compe tent motorcycles." See ':After 19 Tries, Johnson Wins NHRA National" on page 8 for more info. Former AMA Grand Natio nal Champion Joe Kopp released his tu ner Travis Smith prior to the AMA Grand National Uma Half Mile on June 26, acco rding to AHA Grand N ation al announcer and Cycle News contributor J.B. Norris. Smith, in his first full season as tu ner/crew chief, wrenched Kopp to two GNC wins and 10 podium finishes last year, resu lting in a third-place finish in the Championship. The Kopp/Smith com bination is Ride To Work day organizers. In cou ntries whe re mobility is an issue, like Japan , Germany and England, the benefits of motorcycling for tran sportation are widely appreciate d. In the United State s, a smaller percent- currently seco nd in Progressive Insurance Grand National points, w ith third- and fifthplace finishes at the rece nt Springfield IT and Mile. Smith said that he had the bikes prep ped lor the Uma event and shared the age of t he seve n m illion curre ntly regist ered motorcycles are used fo r daity transportati on advantages o f transportatio n motorcycling. and com muting, the group says. For many peo ple, riding is a socially respons ible fo rm of personal mo bilitythat saves ene rgy. helps the environment and provides a Day visit wwwridetowork.org or 218/722 .9806. Kopp. Smith wished Kopp we ll.Smith has his tools of the tra de and is ready to spin the wre nches for another team. Anyone wishing to hire the GNC-winning tuner can reach him at 217/841 -623 1. Youthstream, the promoter of the Supermoto World Championship Series, has ann ounced that the round in Romania will no longer take place in Bucarest. The race w ill be move d to Arad on the same date. Arad is a tow n located in the west part of Romania, just near the border of Hungary (125 miles from BUdapest) which makes it closer and easier for trans port, acco rding to Youthstream . Vmoto has annou nced a new series fo r vin- tage road racing motorcycles on the West Coast and also a new series sponsor - Bell Microp roducts. The Be ll Microprod ucts Vmoto Vintage Challenge will be contested in a series of races at Port land (Oregon) on July 9-1 I, Reno (Nevada) on September 1819, Thunderhill (California) on O ctober 1617, and the final round at laguna Seca (California) on November 22-23. For more info rm at io n, visit www.vintagemoto.com or call 650/90 3-4882. Valentino Rossi won the hearts 01all who had the chan ce to hear him speak at his visit t o Yamaha's European headq uarte rs near Amste rdam, accord ing to a release from Yamaha. "This year has already exceeded my expectations," Rossisaid. "Before we began, we knew it wou ld be possible to have a good season. We thought it wou ld be difficult though to fight for the cham pionship, as I was basically starting from scratch with the bike. But we have already made three wins in five races , which is even better than we cou ld have hoped lor. We weren't anticipating to win at the circuits w ith long stra ights, like Mugello and Barcelona, but everyone has wo rked incredibly hard to improve the bike, and I can espe ciallyfeel the differe nce wi t h t he engi ne . I can spin the tires m ore and control the bike bette r for the who le race . W e have also im proved the suspension, and the M I feels very agile and prec ise. It's possible to go faste r into corne rs and feels generallygood to ride. Working for Yamaha is complete ly different to anyone I have worked with before. It is a great pleasure , it' s great fun, and great to work with this team, especia llythe Japanese enginee rs. I didn't expect such ded ication from Yamaha to he lp me with our mutu al challenge, but the support is fantastic. It is very good to be a part of this family." Rossi then went out and won his third MotoGP in a row in Yamaha's home race at Assen on June 26. wi nning setup notes fro m Uma last yea r with mental and public acknow ledgment of the Former I25cc East Supercross Champion Branden Je sse man willreturn to racing at Red Bud Track N' TrailAHA National MX in Buchanan, Michigan, on July 4. Jesseman dislocated his left wrist in late January and has patiently been watch ing the races from the side lines. "I'm excited to get back to racing," said Jesseman. "I wanted to be sure my wrist was 100 percent before I came back. Than ks to the peop le at the Unive rsity of Pittsburgh Medical Cen ter (UPMC), I feel confident that I'll be up to speed very soon . I'm looking forw ard to putting my Suzuki RM-Z250 on the pod ium." For more information about Ride to W o rk ca ll www.cy clenews.com The Virgin Mobile Samsung Y amaha British Superbike tea m has announced that James Haydon will continue to ride In place of Steve Plater in the eighth rou nd of the British Superbi ke Champ ionsh ip at Knockhill Continue d on page r3 C YC LE NEWS • JULY 7,2004 11