Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Continued from poge 9 Ludington said at Laguna. He also thinks the front tire should definitely go two pit stops. Two weeks after a high-speed bicycle crash that caused signif- I kant skin loss, Kawasaki road racer Roger Lee Hayden is on the mend. "I'm all right, finally," he said from his West Coast training base in Orange County on Thursday, February 17. "It's taking a while, man. Way longer than I ever thought it would take to get over a bicycle wreck, but, oh well." Hayden said he was still bandaged up, with most of the damage to his knee. "My main problem now is I had a big hole in my knee where they had to put the tendon back and sew it up and in my elbow, so I still had to wear a bandage on that because it's not completely closed up yet. I've been back on stationary bike yesterday and today. I went to the gym today. I got through everything all right. It's just kind of painful. Whenever I'm cycling on the stationary bike, the bandages move around a little bit. Besides that, I feel pretty good." After the accident first happened, Hayden had to keep his knee immobilized. "I wasn't allowed to bend it for I don't know how many days, almost up to now," he said. "It was almost like learning how to The rear is the question. uThose things are ridiculously easy on tires," Ludington said, adding that Duhamel used Dunlop's 950 standard tire at most every race. Dirt trackerlsupermoto racer turned road racer Nicky Moore was arrested on February 2 in Modesto, California, for assault with a deadly weapon, according to Modesto police officer Rick Applegate. Moore, who gained attention with his 12thplace finish in the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport final in his National debut at Califomia Speedway in Fontana, California, last year, was allegedly involved in a fight following a high school basketball game. Police believe that Moore, 18, stabbed the victim twice in the leg and beat him with a baseball bat at Beyer Park on Friday night, January 28. Moore was held at Stanislaus County Jail and released on $20,000 bail. didn't get an infection. I should be good for Daytona, I'm pretty sure. I lost a lot of skin. The long one is going to be my knee - it's going to be my only problem, because it was so deep. When I went to the doctor, she was looking at my tendon. Besides that, riding the stationary bike is okay. I definitely can't do anything outside because I can't take a chance of getting anything in there or anything like that." walk again. Now I'm almost walking I00 percent. I feel good. I Henny Ray Abrams If You've Got 'em, Smoke 'em With just over a week His sentiments were echoed until the start of the by Yutaka Negishi, president of Honda Europe Motorcycles, who added: "I think that World Superbike and Supersport are 2005 World Superbike Supersport and Championships, the Winston Ten Kate Honda the ideal formula to point out is excited to announce our team lineup for 2005," said Roger Davis, president of Hotbodies Racing. "l.Mry and Jeremy should be more than competitive in the Superbike class with the Honda machinery and crew they have. The tearn of hard-working privateers that are racing with us will benefit many years. from the experience we gained in running the quality of a motorcycle and the Rolling Stone event hall in the heart of Milan, Italy, last week. The event was attended by more than a to prove the riding capacities of a rider. For this reason, we at international Team owner, Gerrit ten Kate, press and 1V journalists who heard about it from last year's program. We've come a long impressed on the audience that way in a short amount of time, and it's grat- ifying to see the support that we've gotten from the industry." The tearn's Hondas will be shod in Michelin tires. The support team will feature John Dugan, Taylor Knapp, Keith Marshall, William Meyers, Nicky Moore, Giovanni Rojas, Heath Small and 2004 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year Cory West. Each rider will run their machines in matching red, black and white bodywork, with support from Hotbodies Racing, Pirelli Tires, LeoVince Exhaust Systems, GPR Stabilizers, Barnett Clutches, Motul Lubricants, Ferodo Brakes, PD Tire Warmers, Cycle Cat, Vortex and RK Chains. executives from Japan the family atmosphere running Tobacco International, owner ofthe team's new through the team that has won title partner, Winston, titles will continue. and from Honda Europe Motorcycles. Meanwhile, eight privateers will compete as Team Hotbodies Racing. "Hotbodies Racing Honda Europe have been supporting the Ten Kate Team for team was launched at hundred Hotbodies Racing has announced its race teams that will compete in the 2005 AMA Superbike Championship, with the superbike team of larry Pegram and Jeremy Toye leading the way on HRC-kitted Honda CBR IOooRRs in the Superbike class. the last three World Supersport ship between Honda and JTI, giving the "This is more like a big family wedding than a team launch," he said. Daniel Tarras. vice president of sponsor- Winston Ten Kate Honda team and its riders ship at JTI, said: "I know that this exciting project will further strengthen the partner- the greatest possible opportunity for success "We welcome Winston, our new title partner, and really look forward to this season's in this year's championships." new challenges." VIR: Five More Years Race Promotions Management inked a rIVe-year deal on Friday, February 18 to promote AMA Superbike races at Virginia International Raceway - with the first of those five annual events set to kick off August 26-28. "Basically, we will be putting on the race for the next five years," RPM's Cameron Gray said from the RPM offices. "We put a good deal together for all of us - RPM, the track and the AMA. We will have a profitable event for everyone. Dan [Murphy, the owner of RPM] will spend the money on the front end, and we will build a fan base and turn this event into a winner." Gray said it looks as though Suzuki will come on board as the event sponsor, and RPM will bring back the Big Kahuna title that it ran for several years as the promoter of the Road Atlanta AMA Superbike event. "We signed the deal 10 minutes ago," an excited Gray said. What about the possibility of incorporating a round of the AMA Supermoto Series into the event? "Dan [Murphy] always wants to add things to make an event different and better," Gray said. "I know there's a go-kart track there and it's definitely an option to run Supermoto. We want to add to the existing event to make it a big show and Dan has given us the freedom to make that happen - to make it bigger and better." According to Murphy, the five-year deal couldn't have been put together without the significant input of the AMA. "Without a doubt, Scott Hollingsworth saved this thing," Murphy said from a skiing trip in Colorado. "We weren't looking to be in the promoting business anymore. The risk/reward factor is just not that great for a promoter. It's really not that great of a business. Scott [Hollingsworth] was diligent in getting us a deal that worked for us. We wouldn't have done it without his effort. The AMA worked hard on making this project happen for us." Paul Carruthers KWS Motorsports has announced its road race team for 2005 - a team that will compete as Millennium KWS Suzuki in the 2005 AMA Superbike Championship. Lee Acree will head the team and will be joined by Blake Young, a 17-year-old road racer and dirt tracker. "We are really looking forward to the 2005 season," tearn owner Kevin Hunt said. ''A new rider lineup, a new look with the graphics and the new GSX-R I000 all add up to what should be a great season for us. Our sponsors are back with us in a bigger way this year, and we're happy to add new sponsors like RonAyers.com and LeoVince Exhaust Systems. Pirelli Tires has Continued on page '3 CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 2, 2005 11

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