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/128345
• Sainct Killed In Pharaohs Rally Three-time Dakar Rally w inner Richard Sainct was killed in a crash in the Pharaohs Rally in Egypt on September 28, the 34year-old crashing his factory KTM in the fourth stage of the race. Rallyorganizers said that the Frenchman had been helicoptered to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The factory KTM team withdrew from the race after his death. Eurosport repo n ed that an Egyptian security official said Sainct's motorcycle "overt urned" around 55 miles east of the Siwa oasis . The official added that three other contestants were injured in the accident and two of them had been transported to a hospital near Cairo for treatment. Samet, w ho be came the French Endura nce Champio n in 1989, wo n the Pharao hs Rally in 2002, the Atlas Rally in 1997 and 1998 , and the Tunisia rally in 1998 and 1999. '" got the terrible news the morning it happened and I've been thinking about it ever since ," Red 8ull KTM team manager Scot Harden said in a KTM release. "I've known and admired Richard Sainet since he first came to America to co mpete in the Ne vada Rally I think it was 1995 . T his past . year I had the good fo rt une to spe nd some time with Richard during the Dakar Rally. A fierce competitor and certainty one of the greatest Rally racers of all time , Richard always took time to answer a question from or give advice to the U.S. tearn no matter how simple or curious it might have seemed. I'll never forget how he battle d back fro m that spinning high-speed crash the first day in Morocco to push Nani Roma to his limit for the win. I saw the gash in his arm , how many st itches it took to close , how painful it was . It would have stopped anybody else , but not Richard. "Two weeks ago I had dinner with Richard in Munich. We were at Intermot and KTM was hosti ng a company Night of Champions dinner. We sat together along with Nani. It was the first time I rea llygot to talk to Richard outside the racing environment. We benc h raced, I asked him about his training program, his future goals, past races and what he did for fun. He was very warm and friendly. We had some laughs, at Nan i's e xpense, and shared some good wine. Richard was a true gentlemen and champi on in every sense of the word. Now, I will never forget that evening." Seattle SX Rescheduled Russ Pearson scored his first WORCS w in in Colorado. The 200 5 Seattle Supe rcross has bee n rescheduled, moving fro m its original date of Apr il 2] to a week ear lier, April 16, according to AMA Pro Racing. Tickets purc hased for the o riginal date will be honored at the gate . The follow ing is the revised sched ule for th e 2005 THQ AMA Supe rcross Series: January 8 Anaheim , California, Angel Stadium of Anaheim January 15 Phoenix , Arizona, Bank One Ballpark J anuary 22 Anahei m, California, Angel Stad ium of Anaheim Ja nuary 29 San Francisco, California, SBC Park February 5 Anaheim, California, Angel Stad ium of Anaheim February 12 Indianapolis, Indiana, RCA Dome Feb ruary 19 San Diego, California, Oualco mm Stad ium February 26 Atlanta, Georgia, Georgia Dome March 5 Russ Pearson First in Berthound WORes Montclair Yamaha's Russ Pearso n re corded his first-ever win in the World Off-Road Championship Series in Berthound , Co lo rado , on O ctober 3. Pears on red much of the race and held on to take the victory ahead of KTM's Kurt Caselli and series points leader Nathan Woods. Lo cal motocrosse r Matt Karlsen finished fourt h, whi le Kawasaki Team Green's Destry Abbott ro und ed out the to p-five overall , Pearso n and Caselli pretty much checked out on what was considered a "fast" race course. Caselli, aboard a KTM 4SOcc fou r-str oke, mounted a late-race charge but co uldn't quite cat ch the YZ450 pilot. De fend ing champ Ty Davis finished seventh, w hile Kawasaki Team Green's Bobby Bonds ran out of gas while run ning among the leaders. Bon ds was credited w ith 16th place. Yamaha Steps to the Plate In a move that virt ually guara ntees that th e United Stat es Grand Prix will ta ke place in 2005, Yamaha has stepped to the plate and will fund the safety imp rovem ents required by th e FIM to ho mo logate Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, round nine of 17 in the Moto GP World Champ io nship, is scheduled for July 10. In add itio n to sponsoring the t ra ck improvements, Yamaha will become the official mot orcycle at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and a "Proud Spo nsor" of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix thro ugh 200 7. "We 're th rilled by th e interest fro m 6 Y amaha in particular and the motorcycle community overall in th is event co ming to the U.S.." said Gill Campbell, CEO/ge ne ral manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca . "Y amaha's gen er osity has made it possible to bring the MotoGP World Champ ion ship back to the USA fo r the fans to enjoy." "He lping br ing the Mo toGP World C hampio nship back to the U.S. was an ex cellent opportunity for us to show our apprecia tion for our customers and fans," said Bo b Starr, corporate communications ma nager at Yamaha Motor Co rpo ration , USA. ''And since this race co rres ponds with Y amaha's SOt h anniversary, we cou ld th ink of oaOBER 13, 2004 • CYCLE N EWS St. Louis, Miss ouri, Edward Jones Dome M arch 11 Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Internallonal Speedway M arch 19 Orlando, Florida, Citrus Bowl April 2 Irving,Texas, Texas Stad ium April 9 Ponlla c, Michigan , Sliverdome April 16 Seattle, Washington, Owest Field April30 Houston ,Texas, Reliant Stadium May7 Las Vegas, Nevada , Sam Boyd Stadium no better way to celebrate than with over 100,000 U.S. fans." Plans fo r the trac k improvem ents were co mpleted in concert with Claude Danis, preside nt and circu it inspecto r fo r the FIM, and the ne ce ssary perm its are be ing o btained, acco rd ing to a joint release issued by the track and Yamaha. Wor k is scheduled to begin in November, with the first phase to increase runoff area in turn nine - the Rainey Curve . The t urn-ni ne bridge will be move d Dece mbe r 22-24 to an area between turns 8A and 9. The track will remain open during th is phase of construction. Oth er changes being made to the circuit include widen ing the front straight by moving 40th Anniversary the outside (riders' right) wall bac k and increas ing the run-off area in several turns, including t urn two, the Andretti Ha irpin. These changes will be made when the track is shut dow n completely from May 2 to June 15. The paddock will remain o perational d uring th is time . Tickets fo r the 2005 Red 8 ull U.S. Grand Prix are o n sale now. Ge neral admission tickets and a limited number of paddock passes are on sale via the track's ticket office at 800/32 7-7322 during normal business ho urs or on line at www.laguna- seca.comltickets. Suppo rt events for the 2005 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix have ye t to be determi ned , accor ding to the release .