Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

·iJr;efiy~. . ..... , •• -." . ,,; ;:'. =.. _ .: -. Continued lrom page 9 over, but he 's not done with road racing. Morris suffered a career-ending injury in April during practice for the second round of t he Formula USA Nationa l Road Race Series at one of his home tracks, Road America. Morris runs a farm on the south side of Elkhart Lake. Morris was making the turn seven right down the hill when he crossed paths with an Amateur rider. "I thought he had motor troubles," Morris said of the ride r 's unconventiona l line. "I got back in th e gas to take the early apex and he turned right in front of me ." The damage was a powdered top of the tibia. The Green Bay Packers' doctor said it looked like the knee had e xploded . The knee was screwed back together, but further surgery is needed. "The femur is crushing down into the tibia ," he Jeff Ward (left) and his two sons, Brandon (right) and Ayrton (center), recently a " e n d e d an Americ a n Su p e rc a m p s chool. Back to School Motocross lege nd Jeff Ward and his sons Brandon and Ayrton were guests of Danny Wa lker's American Supercamp at the Honda Rider Education Center in Colton, California, O ct o be r 10 - 14 , The current po ints leader in the AMA Supermoto Series, Ward watched as his son Bra ndo n prepared for the Honda Red Rider Junio r Supermoto Challenge race, a series that is open to any aspiring Supermoto racers be tween the ages of I 2 and IS. Th e Junior Supermoto Ch allenge is a program created by American Honda vice preside nt Ray Blank and overseen by Walker and Ho nda Riders Club of America assistant manager Bill Savino . Rob We isb erg AC C EPT ING: Loc khart Phillips USA is currently accepting road racing sponsorship applications for its Team Privatee r pro gram , which is open to all lice nsed racers. An application and more program details can be fou nd at www.team privateer.com or by calling 949/49B-9090. ext . 243. ACC EPTING : Race Tools is currently accepting racer res umes for the 200 5 racing season. Resumes ca n be sent to Race Tools, 121 Lincoln Ave., Rochester, NY 14611 , attn: racer support. '. t' said. On December I, Morris will have surgery to fit an artificial knee . Normally, a quarter-inch rod is inserted be low the knee into the tibia. But Morris's knee was so badly damaged that they need to cut a two-inch section of the tibia and replace it with a metal rod. "I shouldn't have a limp," Morris said. Go ne are snowboarding and motorcycle racing, but he should be ab le to lead a mostly normal life. The first step is putting together a team for next year's Formula USA Thunderbike series. Daytona Harley-David son and Milwaukee Harley-D avidson have com e on board as sponsors . Daytona Beach's Ocean Dec k, a longt ime spon so r, has suffered grea tly from th e recent spate of hur ricanes and may not be able to pitch in. " I t hink I'm rea llygoing to en joy this ro le," Morris said. "Now I can go in and promote someone e lse's accomplishments." As much as he lamented the end of his career, he understood that he was on bonus time afte r being involved in t he ho rr ific Daytona 200 start line incident that ended Scott Russell's caree r, "Wh at I got after that, it's just gravy. That should've been the end of my career." Th e AMA/NATC N a tion a l Motorcycle Trials Champio ns h ips schedule has been released with 12 rounds slated for six se parate venues. The sc hedule is as fo llows: April 9-10 - Meunster, Texas; Apr il 16-17Sequatchie, Tennessee; May 13-14 - Reed Valley California ; May 21-22 - Canon City, , Colorado; July 30-31 - Highgate , Vermont; August 6-7 - Alma, New York. The Pros will count their best 10 of 12 events for 200S , with support classes counting the best seve n of 12. The Nationals at the Trials Tra ining Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee, and at Highgate, Vermont, are repeat venu es fro m last season. The Yout h National Championships, meanwh ile, will be held July 2-4 in Sequatchie, and the We stern Youth Championships will be tentatively he ld July 15- 17 at Reed Valley,California. For more info and pre-entry forms, visit the AMNNATC website at www.natetrials.org. Five-time AMA Superbike National Champion Ma t Mla din is the first nominee fo r the 2004 AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year award, ma rking the fifth time the 32-year-old Austral ian has bee n nominated for the award . Mladin w as named Athlete of the Year in 2000. Mladin recently complet- ed a rec ord setting season in AHA Superbike . He not only earned a record fifth AMA Superbike Championship, but sco red eight wins in 2004 and became the all-time wins co-leade r in t he history o f the series, sharing that honor with Miguel Duhamel, each w ith 32-career AMA Superbike victories. Mladin also earned four pole positions this season and e xtended his lead in th e record books in that catego ry. "This was a difficult t itle to win ," Mladin said. "I credit our team for w orking hard and ultimately giving me a ve ry competitive motorcycle." Th e 2004 AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Ath lete of the Year will be announced at the 30th annual AMA Pro Racing Awards Banquet to be held at the Par is Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, No vember 14. For more information, call 6 14/856 -1900, e xt. 1232. Australian road rac er Jam ie Stauffer has yet to finalize his plans for 2005, following his clean sweep o f the three Supersport support races at Phillip Island in Australia on Octobe r 17. The Team Kawasaki Australia rider is leaning toward staying Down Under w ith his current team, but he is still co nside ring some o ffers to return to AMA racing . "There are a couple of things we're look ing at in America, but it wou ld have to be the right bike and package for me to consi der it," Stauffer said. "Going back to the States is my ultimate goal , but it would be nice to w in so me champi on ships he re befo re I ma ke my move ." Stauffer 's con fidence has been buoyed by his hot lat e-season form, t hanks to o ngoing develop ment w ith new bike s in a new team. " Wi n~ nlng the last th re e Supers port races of the year was a great way to finish the season, and I'm happy to stay w it h Kawasaki because I thin k w e have a good shot at the Superbike and Supersport Championships ne xt year. We 've st illgot some sorting out to do with the Superbike - getting it to drive off corners better and finding some more top-e nd , but the bas ic package stops well and turns in well. I'm confident the team and I can take it to the next level and mix it with the Hondas, Yamahas and Suzu kis. The new Kawasaki 600 looks really good, and I bel ieve we can develop it and be even more competitive in the Supersport Championship." Mx ge a r.com a n d Hoot ers of Anaheim and Phoenix have announced the first of the 2005 Supercross pre- and post-Supercross parties. " Not only a party, but a party for a good cause ," said Rick Campagna, pres ident of Mxgear.co m. "We are working with our supplie rs to secure all types o f gear and casu al wear for auction, w ith all monies raised going directly to charity. And who knows, maybe a few of the pros might show up and join the party." All of t he proceeds from the fundraisers at Anaheim I, II and II I and the Phoenix Supercross will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Can ce r Fo undat ion, accord ing to Campagna. O n October 16, John Noonan of JE Pistons set the World Land Speed record in the 1650cc APS-BF (Alte red Pa rt ial Streamlined Blow n Fuel) class during the an nual Bonnev ille World Finals, accord ing to a team re lease . The top timed speed reached on his www.cyc lenews.com . -. 200 I Suzuki Turbo Charged Hayabusa streetbike was 25 3. 1S2 mph. According to Noonan, he reached a top speed of 256 mph on the on -board GPS system before the end of the fo urt h mile w hen the charge tube ble w o ff. The average speed was a new world record of 246 .B18 mph . The Elsino r e G rand P rix pre-entries will close on Sunday, October 31, according to GFI. Post entries w ill be available online until November 5 or at th e tra ck on race day. For mo re information , call GFI at 209/656-9862. Unlimited Sports has posted pre-entry forms for the 2004 Win t e r N ational Olym p ics on its website. Th e pre-entry dead line is November 4 , with the races slate d for Novem ber 22-27 at Gatorback in Ga inesville , Flo rida. For more information, visit WW'N.unlimit edsportsmx.com. The next session of the Gary Baile y Motoc ross Sc hool w ill be held November 262B at the Lake Sugar Tree MX in Axton , Virginia. For more inform ation, call 276/650-1759. Th e Road 2 Reco very Fo und a tion, along w ith Clear Channel Entertainment Motor Spo rts , raised over $6000 with the Ultimate Fan Experience Ebay auction. The Uitimate Fan Exp e rien ce includ ed tic kets for four on bo th nights at the Maxxis U.S. Open , two nights stay at t he MGM Gran d , a custo m painted t rophy helme t signe d by the top rid e rs in the 2004 THQ AMA Supe rc ro ss series, including Chad Reed , James Stewart, Ivan Ted esco and Kevin Windham, a personal signed jersey fro m Reed , Tedesco and Stewart, VIP photo shoots and a VIP track infie ld walk . The winners were the Burt fam ily members from Manchaca, Texas . "We had a blast . Than k you for all the time and effort you [Road 2 Recovery] put into ma king this a great e xperience for us," said Ace Burt . The Virgin Mobile Sam s u ng Yamaha British Superbike team has confirmed that its team will consist o f Sean Em mett, To mmy Hill and Rich ard Wren in the 2005 series. Emm ett. who scored nine podium finishes this year on a Monster Mob Ducati , joins the squad, while Hill moves up to the second Superbike berth after an impressive rookie year with t he team. The pair will be jo ined by the 2004 Virgin Mob ile R6 Cup Champion Wren. "We are really pleased to have signed Sean ," team boss Rob McElnea said. "He is a race w inne r who works ha rd to get th e best out o f a bike. I'm confide nt that w it h Sean we will be ab le to take the Yamaha RI to the next leve l in te rms of deve lo pme nt and results. Likewise, we are de lighted to have Tom stay with the team. He re ally did prove himse lf beyond everyone's e xpectations t his ye ar and , the har d work, commitment and strong results are the reasons why I signed him fo r another season. I also th ink Sea n w ill be good for Tom in terms o f experience and race knowledge , as w illTom for Richard ." CYCL E N EWS • NOVEMB .~ '.

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