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/128332
Pfeiffer Opens Stunt Riding World Championship ust one week after winning the European Championship title, German Ducati rider hristian Pfeiffer took victory in the first leg of th is yea r's Stunt Riding World Championship in the Czech Republic. Fifty-seven riders from 15 nations gath ered some 60 miles south of Prague to compete in the first of two rounds of the 2004 Stunt Riding World Championship. Eve n the "Godfathe r of Stunt Riding" Brazilian legend AC Farias acce pted the challenge after a "break" of three years l from competi tion. After the first qualifying round , where the top 12 riders were seeded, Pfeiffer ended up in second behind Hum bert Ribeiro of Portugal. But in the final round of freestyle riding, the 34-year -old from Halblech, Gemany, squeezed out a strong effort and took the victory. Riberio finished second with Farias taking third. For more infonn ation. vis www.christianp it feiffer .com or www.ducati.de. ;Briefly... Continued from page 7 owner of Yamaha of Troy. "Yamaha is not only a great organization , but an exciting company, and we look forward to continued success . Yamaha has an all-new YZ125 for 2005 that weighs only 196 pounds , 10 pounds lighter than last year. Out of the box, that's lighte r than any factory bike we 've raced! We can't wait for the gate to drop next year, as our plan is to race both the two-strokes and four at Anahe im." "Yamaha of Troy is an outstanding team, and we are confident they have the tools to win," said Keith McCarty, Yamaha Racingdivision manager. "We know Y.O.T. can carry the Yamalha banner in the 125 class, which enables the Yamaha Factory Race team to concentrate on the 250cc class, with our new YZ250 and YZ450F. Our goal is Simple: putting four different YZs on the podium next year!" Less than 24 hours after competing in the Rio Grand Prix, Fuchs Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann were back on track at the Ne lson Piquet circuit on the outskirts of Rio de janeiro in Brazil, testing new engine and chassis components, as well as evaluating the latest tires from Bridgestone. For Hofmann, the main focus of the test was to evaluate revised fuel-injection mapping, aimed at improving th rottle control and power delivery out of the corners . The 24-year-old German also tried minor suspension and chassis changes during four hours and 48 laps of testing . Faster in the test than he was in the race, Hofmann declared himself satisfied with the improve ments made to his Ninja ZX-RRout of the turns. But the Fuchs Kawasaki rider remains convinced that more power needs to be found from the 99Occ, inline four-cylinder ZX-RR motor for the straights . Nakano started the one -day test in Rio de janeiro by evaluating the new fuel-injection components that his Fuchs Kawasaki teammate used to such good effect during the Rio Grand Prix. Like Hofmann, Nakano also tested revised fuel-injection mapping before Lewis Earns Titles, Horizon Award at DT Grand C'ships When the dust settled on the AMA Progressive Insurance Dirt Track Grand Championships at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, which hosted a record-setting 1459 entries, the event's top honor - the AMA Sports Dirt Track Horizon Award went to john M. Lewis V. At the end of the biggest week in amateur flat-flat track racing, Lewis came away with an overall championship in each of three classes he ran. And the fact that all of those championships were in ultracompetitive premier classes made the achievement all the more impressive. The Horizon Award is given to the rider with the best chances of a pro career on the horizon. It went to Lewis after he earned overall Grand Championship wins in 450 Modified Prem ier, 250 Two-Stroke Modified Premier and 505 Modified Premier. Lewis won despite an equally impres sive chase for the Horizon by Aaron King, the son of factory Harley-Davidson dirt track racer Rich King providing a tough challenge for Lewis through the final day of the Grand Championships. Kinghimself came away with a grand championship of his own in 400 Modified and second -place finishes to Lewis in 4S0 Modified Premier and 505 Modified Premier. But the day belonged to Lewis, who was floored by his success . "I just can't believe it," he said. "To think of all the fast people who won this award , it's just amazing." There were two other big w inners on the day, with Kevin Snyder taking the overall AHA Sports Vet/Senior Dirt Tracker of the Year Award , and Michael Radley taking the Cycfe News Fast Brain Award , which salutes the top rider with the best grades in school. Other Grand Championship winners included Matthew Weidman in 250cc DTX, Travis Myers in 250cc Four-Stroke Modified Premier, William Stevens III in 600 Modified, Steven Nichols in Super Senior 50-plus Open , Gary Hite in 18-Plus Open Twin and Sam Halbert in Pro Sport. moving on to evaluate minor chassis changes and the latest rear slicks from the Fuchs Kawasaki team 's tire partner, Bridgestone . Nakano also tested a revised front fork on his Ninja ZX-RR, which has been designed to give the rider a more progressive feel from the front of the bike. The 26-year-old japanese rider was positive about the changes, finding the new fork to be an improvement over the old, especially under braking. "I was disappointed with my result in yesterday's race ," Nakano said. "I am very keen to give the team a good result in their home Grand Prix at Sachsenring, so today we have concentrated on improving the bike in a number of areas. Overall I think we've succeeded, as my lap times were more consistentthan they were in the race yesterday. We also tested some new fuel-injection parts with positive results, and I think we'll use these new parts at Sachsenring. The new fork we tried today was alsoan improvement, giving a more progressive feel under braking. So overall, I'm happy with what we've achieved today ; we've collected a lot of important information that will prove useful to my mechanics as they work to improve the bike www.cyclenews.com for the next race in two weeks' time:' California Police Activities League and Off· Road Pals, in cooperation with Huntington Beach State Park, will have 600 to 700 at-risk kids enjoying the beach for two days, and they are looking for volunteers to help man the Off-Road Pals area on july 27. Last year, several people from ORBA, SDORC, CORVA, NOHVCC and AMA Distr ict 37-38 voluntee red . For more information, call Harold Soens at 6191449-9648 . A unique event benefiting fIVe children's charities, Racing to Save Lives, closed its activities over the weekend, but the pledges are stillrolling in. A five-day endurance race culminating in an MRA(Motorcycle Roadrace Association) race weekend brought out over 200 competitors, riding over 32,000 miles (32,517) and raising over $67,000. Corporate sponsors donated tires, lubricants and items to be sold through silent auction . Riders donated their time at the track , as well as their wallets e ither driving pledges or breaking their own wallets to ride in the event, while a diversely committed group dedicated themselves to the event, ensuring a near seamless experience for the participants. For more information, visit http://www.racing2savelives.org . The FIM has announ ced that the final of the Individual Speedway Junior World Championship, scheduled in Wroclaw, Poland, will take place on Saturday, September I I, instead of Sunday, September 12. American dirt tracker turned road racer Kenny Noyes, who is in his third season in the Spanish Formula Extreme championsh ip with Wurth Honda BQR of Barcelona, had a one-off endurance ride on a Suzuki GSX-R 1000 as part of one of the two Catala Suzuki teams in 24 Hours of Catalunya, july 3-4, the modern continuation of the legendary 24 Hours of Montjuic that was discontinued due to fatal accidents in 1986. This was the 10th running of the revived classic at the state-ofthe-art Circuit of Barcelona, just north of Barcelona. "Since Honda Spain wasn't running the 24 Hours , I was free and had a couple of offers, but my contract with Dunlop meant this was the only ride I could take due to the other team's tires," Noyes saidin a team release . "We spent the whole 24 hours battling on the same lap with somebody. It was for the lead until we had to stop to change the clutch in the 18th hour, and then we had to really push to get back up to third . It was so much fun, I forget to get tired!" The Catala 2 teams of Lozano, Noyes and Delgado were chasing the Pons Yamalha team with a lap to go when one of the Pons riders crashed , givingCatala 2 the third spot on the podium . Catala I was second, with Folch Yamalha 2 winning the marathon for the fifth time in the last 10 years and avenging last year's loss to Catala Suzuki. The race was attended by 30,000 fans and given extensive coverage on TV3, the Catalan language channelthat covers all Cataluyna. Next week the 24-year-old Noyes will be back on his Wurth Honda BQR CBRIOOORR at Albacete for round three of the Spanish Nationals. CYCLE NEWS • JULY 14, 2004 9