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/128351
MotoGP Crowds Continue to Rise T Brief'Y··· Continued from p o ge 13 in the next few weeks an d we can loo k for ward to getting back to our Winning ways next season. I'm really looking forward to working w ith Honda again, w ith whom he MotoGP World Championship record - ed record onsite crowds again in 2004 , according to sportbus iness.com . There were increased attendances at all but one of the 16 rounds and an we 've enjoyed a very successful relation- ship in the past." t han I0 percent on corresponding Grand Prix AMA Tr avel & Tours has announced its annual getaway package to Dayto na Bike Week - March 7-12 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The AMA Travel & Tours' Daytona events from the previous season, the report states. Bike Week excursion offers enthusiastsan insider' s view of one of American motorcy - average total rise of more cling's biggest eve nts . The package includes a full week of accommodations at a beac h- In total, 1.7 millio n attend- ed the trad itional venues acro ss five continents, front resort hotel in the Main Street dis- includ ing a new ho me for the series at the Losail Intem ational Circuit in Doha, Q atar. Established circu its such as Mugello, Catalunya, Sach sen ring, Donington Park, Brno and Valencia welcomed unprecede nted leve ls of support, according to the figures . The Czech Repub lic Grand Prix rec orded the highest increase in attendance, with a rise of 22,766 fans on race day and a weekend total of 104,719 - almost 30,000 more than the previous season . Weekend increases o f more than 20 percent were re corded at the Mugello an d Do ningto n Park, the report says. Th e Grand Prix of Spain drew crowds in excess of 200 ,000 , and the final ro und in Valencia saw a race -day crowd of 122,034 , w hich boosted the overall attenda nce for the event to 211 ,46B. The Germ an Gra nd Prix at th e Sachsenri ng was the third event in the season to draw over 200 ,000 spectators fo r the three-day event. Lamson, Schnell and Narit a Jo in Team MotoSport Outlet Team MotoSpo rt Outlet, LLC anno unced its team fo r the 200 S THQ World Supercross GP/AMA Sup ercro ss Series and AMA Natio nal Motocross Series. MotoS po rt will have three full-time riders, racing 2005 Honda CRF250Rs bot h indoo rs and ou t, st arti ng w ith two -t ime 125cc Na tional C hampion Steve Lamson, wh o is sche duled to ride the I25c c East ern Regional 5upercross Se ries and 125cc Nat ional Motocross Series. "It 's a lot of w ork to run your ow n team like I did last year," Lams o n said . "I lo ve raci ng, and I'm st ill having a lot of fun ou t t he re , so I can't wai t to get go ing w it h t he MotoSpo rt te am . They have all t he s up port we need to be successful. This is go ing to be fun!" Greg Schnell, the 2004 U.S. Ope n 125cc OPENED: One Industries' new home page on the Wo rld Wide Web. Th e site can be found at the following add ress : http://www.oneindustries .com . ANNOUNCED: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A has announced a change in its advertising agency relat ionsh ip by nam ing Irvine's O 'Leary and Part ners to succeed FCB World Wide. The new arrangement, effec tive immediately, will cover all products marketed by the company, including motor- Champion, will be w ith MotoSport Outlet as well in 200 5, riding the 12Scc We stern Region al Supercross Series and t he 125cc National Moto cross Series. "I'm excited to be on a new te am, " Schnell said. "Th is is going to be my second year on th e CRF, and th e bike is great alrea dy. I know w hat to expect from my bike, my cornpe tltion and mysel f in 2005 , and I'm really loo king fo rwa rd to big th ings." Rounding out the full-t ime riders is multi- time Japan ese Nation al C hamp ion Akira Narita, w ho will co mpe te in th e entire I25cc W estern Regional Supercross Series and 125c( National Motocross Series . "I'm very excited about joining Team Motosport O utle t for th e 2005 seas o n," Narita said thro ugh his represen tative, Julie Eguchi. "They 've got a great program in cycles. all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, utility vehiclesand associated acces- so ries . " Kawasaki is looking forward to working with O 'Leary and Partners as we bring a tighter focus to the strategic components of our ongoing communications efforts," said Tom Orbe, vice president of sales and marketing. "We' ve en joyed the fruitful relationship that we've had fo r many years with FCB, and we are ant icipating a great deal of excitement in our outreach activities moving forward ." place , and I think it's go ing to be a really goo d fit for me. I'm eager to race in a new environme nt and to see w hat kind of resu lts I can put up against some o f the best riders in the wo rld." Alo ng with t he three full-time riders, there will be fou r pa rt -time riders un de r th e Moto Sport Outlet aw ning in 2005 . The first o f th o se is mo st w ell know n for racing in the cold: form er Snoc ros s champion Tucker Hibbert, wh o will ride 125cc East . "I've been staying w ith Kevin Wi ndham, and I'm re ally go ing to be a differe nt pe rson t his yea r," Hibbert said. "I can't t ha nk MotoSport O utlet eno ugh fo r their help ." joining him w ill be Randy Valade, also racing th e 125cc East , and Ryan Abrigo , w ho w ill co nte st t he 125cc West. Abrigo is from the Northwest and is MotoSport Outlet's newest deve lop ment rid er, rid ing out of th e MotoSport Hillsboro shop. Last, but not least , Estonian juss Lansoo , w ho mad e a splash w ith a top-10 finish at the Glen Helen National , will compet e outdoo rs for the Mot 05port O utlet team full-time in 2005 . Mec hanics AI O lso n, Brian Cal ma and Adam Walte rs will be returning to the te am fo r 2005 , and they will co ntinue to operate o ut of the Whi te Bros. race shop in Southern Ca lifornia , w hile fo rme r AMA Supercro ss Champion Mike Bell w ill be the rider coach . tr ict, plus passes to a selection of AHA Pro Racing events - from flat track to AMA Supercross and the Daytona 200 . In addition , AMA Travel & Tours guests will get exclusive pit and paddock tours, technical discussions with AMA Pro Racing officials, and opportunities to meet top racers. All guests will be treated to a special Bike Week bar becue and will receive commemorative items from th e AMA. But racing is just one reason for Dayto na Bike Week's pop ularity. Many enthusiasts are d rawn to Daytona Beach's extraordinary rolling street scene - and that's why AMA Travel & Tours' Daytona Bike Week guests will be based at a hotel just minutes fro m Main Street . 'J\ MA Travel & Tours' Daytona package ta kes all the stress out o f e njoying Bike Wee k," said Frank Covucci, director of AMA Travel & Tours. "Our guests app reci ate knowing that they 'll have quality accommo datio ns in an ideal location - which is nearly impossible with out making reservatio ns months ahea d of time - and not having to w o rry abou t keeping track of racing sched ules o r getting credentials." AHA Travel & Tours limited last yea r 's Daytona Bike Wee k excu rsion to the first 30 guests, and ex pects t he 2005 trip to fill qu ickly. For reservations or more inform ation, call BOO/AMA-JOIN, extension I 190. To more closely align each series website w ith its respective racing brand , AMA Pro Racing has re named its family of series w ebsites , acco rding to the AMA. USMotocross.com isnow available at www.amasupercross.com or www.amamotocross.com. U5Superbike.com has bee n renamed to www.amasuperbike.com . and IBooFlatTrack.com has been renamed to www.amaflattrack.com . "We take great pride in the family of series websites that we have grown over the last few years," said Matt Ringlien, AHA Pro Racing web devel opment and content manager. "Th ey have proven to be great resources (or fans seek- ing reliable and insightful con tent fro m each of our racing properties." According to john C. Farris, Jr., AMA Pro Racingvice president of commercial development, "The strong Bill Tanner will be r eturning as the team m an- growth in traffic on each site has proven highly valuable to our series sponsors and also attracted industry advertisers seeking to reach core racing enthusiasts through these officialseries' webs ites. Additionally, the AHA Speed Shop , where fans can purchase officiallylicensed AHA Pro Racing merchandise, has grown into a one-stop shopping age r for 2005, as well. experience for fans seekingto acquire the www.cyclenews.com latest racing related merchandise." CYCLE NEWS • NOVEMBER 24, 2004 lS