Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly..• 3D YEARS AGO•.. February 11. 1975 Kenny Roberts appeared on the cover after his win in front of 29,000 people at the Houston TT inside the Astrodome in Hous- ton, Texas. In doing so, he finally beat the Astrodome jinx that had been haunting him for years... The Prospector's Motorcycle Club held its annual District 37 enduro in Lucerne Valley, California, called the Gold Rush Enduro. In past years, this race was known as a tough one; however, this year the dub was doing its best to entice beginner riders to race... Honda rider Tommy Croft won the Pro class at a motocross race in Orange, California. i!D YEARS AGO... February 13. 19B5 r.:""i'P.!W'i~'!'i'P!W'A cutaway of the new Yamaha V-Max engine was on the cover. Inside, we did a full riding impression about the V-four equipped Yamaha V- .;;;;;'.iiiJU was an enjoyable it Max and found that 1 bike for almost any situation we encoun- tered ... The "Dan-amic Duo" of Dan Ashcraft and Dan Smith won the SCORE Parker 400 in Parker, Arizona. Second overall went (0 the Husqvarna mounted team of Larry Roeseler and Kurt Pfeiffer... Team Yamaha's Broc Glover won the second round of the AMNMilier High Life Supercross Series. Finishing in second was Jeff Ward. Mark Barnett rounded out the top three... Kyle Lewis was the top mini rider at a CMC race in Marysville, Caiifornia. Today, Lewis is still racing as a mem- ber of Team Moto XXX. 10 YEARS AGO... February B. 1995 The weekend's ~~~~~~~ Supercross winners graced the cover. Jeremy McGrath was in the midst of another dominating season, while Damon Huffman was busy trying to defend his I25cc championship... Danny Hamel was the big winner at the Winter Classic Nationai Hare & Hound in Lucerne Valley, California. Ty Davis finished a strong second after giving Hamel a run for it. Jeff Capt was third... We interviewed Ron Tichenor. At the time he was the reigning Japanese National Motocross Champion... We also interviewed road racer Tom Kipp. He had recently signed on with Vance and Hines Yamaha for 1995. We chatted with him about the upcoming year and his new ride. Continued from poge II preregistering can take advantage of: preferred motorcycle parking near Star Motorcycles Hospitality Tent; refreshments at the event; SO percent off the ticket price for the event; autograph poster of the Patrick Racing Team riders; and free entry into a special grand-prize drawing. Last year, for the third year in a row, Patrick Racing and the Road Star Warrior clinched the AMA Prostar "Hot Rod Cruiser"-class championship. Pirelli has hooked up with GNCC racing for 200S, and the new sponsorship arrangement offers a contingency program. "Pirelli is excited to be a part of the growth of off-road racing, both in GNCC racing and the sport as a whole," motocross product manager Jeff Adams said. "We're focusing on the U.S. offroad market, and seeing that GNCC is pretty much the series to be in, we wanted to become a part of it." The program pays back to the top five riders in Pro, A, Band C classes of GNCC bike competition. "We recognize that the amateur is a big part of this sport. We wanted to offer contingency to show our support for the amateur riders, so we've stepped that up compared to what some of the other tire companies have to offer," Adams said. AMA Pro Racing recently hosted a unique timing and scoring conference with officials from the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Indy Racing League (IRL) and Champ Car World Series at its headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio, on January 13. The conference - proposed by AMA Pro Racing director of timing and scoring Ken Rogers to bring together each North American sanctioning body currently using the AMB-Lt. Timegear timing and scoring system - was held to discuss operational challenges and share best practices of each group. Joining Rogers at the first-ever summit were NASCAR Nextel Cup Series director of timing and scoring Steve Lowery, Indy Racing League director of timing and scoring Jon Koskey, and Champ Car World Series director of timing and scoring Bill Skibbe. AMB-Lt., which is based in Hoiland, was represented by Boris Nagels, the chief software designer of Timegear software. "Every motorsports sanctioning body faces similar challenges," Rogers said. ''''fter discussing our idea with NASCAR, Champ Car and the IRL, we all felt this conference would be a very productive way to explore solutions that can be used by each of our organizations." Among the items discussed were hardware setup. software applications, staffing issues and the evolution of traditional timing and scoring functions into comprehensive mobile information technology services. Group members also compared notes on how they transmit information using the Timegear system. While there are commonalities among the various sanctioning bodies, each organization approaches timing and scoring functions a little differently. "The Champ Car Series and IRL each rely on the individual tracks' wiring infrastructures to transmit information, and NASCAR uses a portable fiber optiC network," Rogers said. ''''MA Pro Racing is really the only series that uses wireless connectivity to relay information from each remote timing point." British road racer Ken Bills, 92, died on January 28, the former Isle of Man TT winner the only motorcyclist to win both the Junior (3S0cc) and Senior (500cc) Manx Grand Prix races in one week in 1938. Bills was the singular combination of a successful businessman and a professional motorcycle racer, having taken over the family real estate company in Gillingham, Kent, England, after both his father and elder brother died in 1932. Bills owned the Isle of Man lap record that stood for II years, until Geoff Duke bettered it by 2 mph in 1949. Bills later became the first sponsor of the Lap of Honor at the Isle of Man in 19B5, and he was also president of the TT Riders Association. Predeceased by his wife, Emily Doris, Bills is survived by his son Michael, who maintains his father's interest in old racing motorcycles. Australian off-road racer Geoff Ballard is now an AM - a Member in the Order of Australia. The 4S-year-old was appointed an AM - for service in a particular locality or field of activity to a particular group - in the annual Australia Day Honors list on January 26, becoming the third Aussie motorcycle racer since 1975 to receive the award. Although surprised by the honor, Ballard, the reigning Australian Enduro Champion in the Veterans' class, said he was privileged to receive it. "It's a huge honor. I feel proud about it," Ballard said. "I first heard that I had been nominated in mid-December, and I thought, 'That's interesting.' Then I got the official letter about three weeks ago, and I've been pretty excited ever since. I actually haven't received anything yet, because the official ceremony will be held at Government House in Sydney in a few months. That will definitely be something to look forward to. I've had plenty of recognition from within the industry over the years, but not much outside of it." Ballard's association with the off-road scene began in 1977, when he began racing motocross on a German Maico machine. A year later, enduro became his discipline of choice, and he continued his alliance with Maleo in Europe and America before the company went into liquidation in 1983. Ballard's first big enduro win came in America in 1979, and since that time his catalogue of international results has been superb - highlighted by 12 gold and seven silver medals in the International Six Days' Enduro. Ballard follows in the footsteps of SOOcc World Champions Wayne Gardner (198B) and Mlck Doohan (1996), all being appointed AMs since 1975. Advanstar Communications Inc. has announced the hire of Skip Johnson and Maurice HMo" Murray. Johnson, the former executive producer of Primedia's Motor Trends Auto Shows, joins Advanstar as vice president, powersports consumer events. With nearly 30 years of experience in consumer events and publishing, Johnson will be tasked with expanding Advanstar's Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows presented by Toyota Trucks, as well as with progressing new consumer opportunities. Murray, previously senior vice president of brand development at Global Motorsports Group, will now act as Advanstar's new business development director, concentrating on the V-twin market. Speed Channel's 2 Wheel Tuesday was set to begin its new season on February I with host Greg White welcoming Kawasaki factory rider Tommy Hayden, the 2004 AMA Supersport Champion, as his first guest of the season. ''''fter going flat out for two seasons, 52 shows a year, Speed decided to give us a little vacation," White said. "That break allowed us to run some of our favorite stuff from 2004 over the last couple of weeks. But now it is time to get back to it. I am very excited about 200S. We are heading into our third season and will do our 100th show this year. We will have the best guests the industry has to offer and continue our thorough coverage of the people and places of motorcycling. The cool thing is Speed is behind us 100 percent. While other networks dabble in the 'motorcycle lifestyle show' area, only Speed has shown the dedication and commitment to devote a Prime Time slot to a weekly, onehour program. Group American Thunder and Corbin's Ride On with 2 Wheel Tuesday, and you've got an impressive array of motorcycle programming. [This year] 2005 is going to be one to watch, and - you know what I am going to say - only on Speed." American Honda's Pro Honda brand of oils and chemicals has renewed its name in title sponsorship of AMA Pro Racing's Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals U.S. SuperSport Championship. The upcoming 200S season will be Pro Honda Oils' ISth consecutive as title sponsor of the series. Over the past 15 years, Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals has rewarded participating riders on all brands of motorcycles with over $2S0,000 in season-end bonus awards. Suzuki will run a four-round national motocross series this year, with cash incentives for privateer Suzuki riders. The Suzuki U.S. Amateur Motocross Series replaces last year's RM Cup, and it will offer bonuses for the top-10 Suzuki owners in each class. The series kicks off on May 27-29 at Three Palms Raceway in Texas and will cover the four corners of America to give all riders a chance to compete. It concludes September 30 to October 2 at Prairie City, California. There will also be a Suzuki DR-Z II 0 Challenge sponsored by Two Brothers Racing, which has prepared 10 of the minibikes for the series, one of which will be given away at each round. And at circuits that have a lake next to the facility, there will be a Suzukil Mastercraft Wake board Exhibition offering participants an opportunity to try the sport first hand. CYCL.E NEWS • FEBRUARY 9,2005 13

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