Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Ron Crandall: 1943·2004 Ron C randall , 61 , lo ngt ime mo to rc ross re fe ree for the AMA, passed away T hursd ay, November 18, in Riverside , C alifo rnia. C randall , whose full-time job w as teaching scien ce at No rt h High School in Rive rside, suffered a heart attack w hile teaching his class and w as rush ed to Riverside Commun ity Hospital w here he late r died . This wa s C randail's second heart attack in less th an a year ; he suffered the first shortly before Anaheim II in january. Wh en Crandall wasn't teaching, he act ed as a race re fe ree for t he AMA unt il calling it qu its in the mid- 1990s. In the early days, C ra ndall worked for Mike Goodw in, bu ilding t racks for the Supe rcross inventor, a nd it was du ring this time that Crandall e xperi mented w ith man -m ade doubl e -jumps an d other Supercross obstacles . Crandall, who also pro - moted motocross races at Corona Raceway in Corona, California, w oul d try ou t his ideas on the Friday night MX locals, and if his obstacle experiments wor ked out, you'd see them show up on the stadium floors, such as in nearby Anahe im Stadium. As a result, many regard Crandall as t he inventor o f the modern-day double jump. Than ks to C rand all, the Co rona rac e rs also got to expe rience on a regular basis the very first - and only at that tim e - bac kw ard -falling sta rt ing gat e that Goodwin built fo r his Supercross events. Wh en it was n't be ing used, Crandall offered to sto re the starting gate for free , as long as he could use it fo r his weekly Friday night motocross races. (C oro na Raceway closed its doors in the late 1980s.) Crandall also pr om oted w hat is believed to be the very first Are nacross-type race in t he 1970s, and he ran many internat ional Supercross events. Crandall is survived by his daughters Kristine and Katrine Hazelrigg, a nd Rayle ne Wertimer. Serv ices w ill be he ld at the Chu rch o f Laue r Day Saints , 181 E. Blaine St.. Riversid e, Californ ia, November 30 , a t 3:30 p.m . The family has req uested that in lieu of flowers, tax-ded uctible contributions be se nt to: T he Ron Crandall Me mori al Scho larshi p Fund , c/o john W. N orth High School, ISSO 3rd St., Riverside , C alifo rn ia, 92507. Phone : 9S 1/788-7311 . S IGN ED: A contract between newly crowned World Motocross Champion Ben Townley and Airoh helmets. Townley gave the Italian helmet manufacturer its first MX2 World tide, and the two parties look forward to pursuing another title in the MX I class, according to a company release. BORN : A baby boy, Kody William Kopp, 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and 20 1/ 2 inches long, to former AMA Grand National Champion joe Kopp and his wife DeeDee, on November 12 in Spokane, Washington. BORN: A baby boy, David Li Vuillemin, to Yamaha rnotocrosser David Vuille min and his w ife, Erica, o n Friday, November 19 in Lake Elsinore , California . C O RRECTIO N: In our report on the 200S Yamaha WRs, we mistakenly said that the bikes do not come w ith handlebar-mounted hot -start levers. They, of course, do come with the levers attached to t he left hand lebar. Continued from page 1 I The Trials Training C e nter a nd Sherco USA have announced that Bruce LeRlche will be riding Shercos in the 2005 AMA/NATC Motorcycle Trials Nat iona l Championship Series, LeRiche is a former South African National Champion and compe ted for the first time in the United States in 2004 , finishing fifth in the championsh ip. When not competing at the Nationals and Southeastern (STRA) trials e vents, LeRiche will serve as the local pro and full-time riding instructor at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee. The TIC is a fullservice motorcycle vacati on resort specializing in developing rider skills using trials riding techniques. More information on LeRiche , the TIC resort and trials rid ing is available at www.trialstrainingcenter.com and www.shercousa.corn. The Sturgis MDtDrcycle Muse um & H all of Fame is now accepti ng at-large nominatio ns for 20 05 Hall of Fame inductees. Individ uals considered for inductio n will have made a pos itive and significant Impact in motorcycling. The Sturgis Hall 01 Fame hon ors the men and women who have dedicated much o f their lives to improving, promoting a nd advancing our great sport and lifestyle , acc ording to the hall of fame . Nomination forms must be accompanied by credentials that expla in why this individual should be considered for induct io n. Biographical info rmat ion, newspaper articles, histo rical docu ments, etc . may be submitted. Credentials should be two to five pages lo ng, including nomination form . You can request a nomination form by phon ing the museum at 60S/347-200 I or bye-mailing e xecutive director Pepper Massey-Swan at director@sturgismuse um.com. Nominat ions must be received by the museu m no later than jan uary 10, 200S. Individuals chosen fo r ind uctio n into the Sturgis Hall of Fame will be ho no red at breakfast ceremony on Wednesday, August 10 ,2005 . O ZBIKE, the sponsor of the 2004 season o f U.S. Mini GP racing, has announced the riders it will take to the World Mini GP event in Almeria, Spain. With the finals taking place at Nashville Super Speedway, November 1314 , in conjunction with a WERA National event, five youngs ters qualified for the World Finals: Miles Thornton, 10, of West Point , Georgia; Rey Do minquez, I I, of Miami, Florida: Alex Nieves, 12, of Miami , Florida; jake Lewis, 9, of Princeton, Kentucky; and josh Cook, 9 , of Rabe nna, O hio . La rry Langle y has announced that he is leaving Progressive Suspension after 12 years and that he has taken a job w ith Travelcade Seats . "It was a very tough decis ion to make as I have worked for Progressive almost from when jay [Tullis] started the company and have bee n full time for the past 12 years ," Langley said in an e-mail. '" have a lot of friends here and have made many more in the motorcycle industry because of Progressive. But the great th ing is that I will still be working in the motorcycle industry and will be able to see my friends on a regular basis. I hope to see my frie nds in the mountain bike industry also, as I have become hoo ked on the sport and plan to att e nd events next year." l u stin Br a ytDn is recovering qu ickly from the bro ken an kle he suffered in the first round of the Nationa l Arenacross Series , according to his pu blicist. Brayton should be out of his cast in a few weeks and will begin phys ical therapy at that po int. " I cannot wait to get back o n the bike : ' Brayton said . "I misscompeting at the events and see ing the fans. Iwant to thank the MotoworidRacing.conV PPG/Suzu ki Team for standing behind me, in particular Paul Lindsey." Brayton is e xpecting to spe ctate at the Rockford, Illino is, round, December 3-5. The AMA has announced that Ducati will be th e " Featu red Marque" at AMA Vintage Mo tDrcycl e Day s 2 0 05, to be held july IS17 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. In celebrating the famed Italian marque , AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 200S w ill benefit the Mot orcycle Hall of Fame Museum and will feature an e xhibit of classic motorcycles and memorabilia. The "Gra nd Marshal " of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 200S w ill be Paul Smart, winner of the 200 Miles of Imola aboard a Ducati in 1972 . Also, special guest and World Stu ntRiding Cham pion Ch rist ian Pfeiffe r will be performing on his Ducat i throughout the event. The Mid-Ohio circuit will again host AHRMA ro ad racing throughout the weekend; two days of AHRMA motocross, plus observed trials a nd dirt track racing, will also be on the schedule . In all, the AH RMA racing events are expected to attract mo re than 1500 competitors. AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2005 also will feature three vintage bike shows; the traditional all-brands AMA Swapmeet, North America's largest; a slate of guest speakers, includ ing re now ned des igner Craig Vetter; de mo rides offered by Ducat i, Buell and Harley-D avidso n; an array o f vendors featuring new pro ducts fro m top manufacturers and dealers; the annual Mot orcycle Hall of Fame aucti on of motorcycles and memorabilia; a re unio n o f motocross legen ds, in con junct ion with the Motorcycle Ha ll o f Fame Museum's up coming "Moto cro ss Ame rica " ex hibit ; and the return of Tomm i Ahvala's "Team Extreme" Trials Showcase. Spectator tickets for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 200S are available from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at 1-800 MID-OH IO or www.midohio.com. For more information about AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2005, including dirt track tickets, a uct ion de tails and swap meet registration, visit www.AMADirectlink.com or call 800/AMA-jOIN. The recently released book about Steve McQueen and the 1964 ISDT U.S. Silver Vase Team titled 40 Su m me rs AgD... HD/Iywood Behind the 'rDn Curt aIn will be available at t he Sixsixone booth on vendor rows at A Day In The Dirt , sche du led for Lo s Angeles County Race way in Palmdale, Ca liforn ia, November 26-28 . The hardcover book is filled with I960s-era photos of the first and second U.S. Six Day team and never-before pr inted insight from the men who part icipated . www.cycienEWs .com Factory Suzuk i motocrosser [oel Smet s was scheduled to ride again o n November 20 for the first time in six months, according to Suzuki. The five-t ime Wo rld Champion has sufficient ly recovered from an operation to re pair a broken anterior ligament in his right knee, and after th ree months of physical preparation, he is ready to start building up his speed and confidence on the motorcycle. " Eve ryt hing has been go ing accord ing to plan since the operation: ' Sme ts said in a Suzuk i re lease . "I have been out all summer and haven't ridden t he bike in at least six months, so physically I have had to come bac k a long way to be ready to start riding. The operation was a success, and two weeks after wards I was able to start cycl ing and bu ild from there - not just with the knee but on my overall physical shape. Day by day, I have been fee ling more and more like a sportsman again. It was the lo ngest time I have ever been away from motocross, During the w inter you can no rm ally take a mo nth o r even two as ho lidays, but you st ill have to have a good fitness base to fall back on . My levels were totally wiped out after six months. Sto pping the season really helped my recovery because I was not rushing to get back on the track. I could relax mentally and take my time. I had bad days as well as good days and sometimes did not make any progress at all. I am still not back yet and maybe nearing a halfway point, but I need to star! getting some bike condition." Smets' comeback was delayed by a bacte rial bloo d infect ion in ju ne when he was retained in intensive care at hospital in Belgium. Waiting for the virus to clear pushed t he knee operation back into August and meant the veteran would be hoping fo r a Dece mbe r date for his mo tocross return . Since undergoing surgery. Smets has been training twice a day, not only to rehab the repaired limb but also to im prove his de bilitated ph ysical con dition . " I have been doing fitness sessions in th e gym and con dition traini ng, suc h as cycling on and off-road, sw imming and card iac stu ff every day. The gym sessi ons have a dual purpose: to power train my w hole bodlywhi le also helping me gain co nfidence in my leg: ' Smets said . FLY Racing has announced t hat Yamaha o f Troy w illwear its gear in 2005 , The tearn of Brett Metcalfe , Danny Smith , Broc Sellards and KellySmith w illbe wearing FLY Racing's 208 Serie s pants, jerseys and glove s for 200S , according to FLY. Former Supercross promoter Mike Goodwin was arraigned for the murders of Mickey and Trudy Thomps on o n O cto be r 28 in the Pasadena Superior Court in Pasadena, California . Goodwin pled not guilty. The case was set for pretrial conference o n Dece m be r 9 in t he Pasade na Court. O n that date, the prosecution will likely determi ne if it w ill see k the death pena lty or life wit hout the poss ibility o f parole. Goodwin has the right to go to trial within 60 days. However, it is possible that the trial will not get unde r way in that time pe riod , depending o n the legal act ions of Goo dw in, according to sources close to the case. CYCL E NEWS • DECEMBER 1,2004 13

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