Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

EnduroCross To Return 3D YEAR.§" AGO.•. April '. 1975 ~=:J.'i:J' ' Eddie Mulder won • the Pacific Coast Regional Championship n in Gardena, California, at the Ascot , n track. Taking second behind him was Rick Hocking, while Gene Romero was third... Jack Johnson and Mark Mason won the Mint 400 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There were SO teams that started the event and, for various reasons, only 26 finished ... The Russian riders dominated the World Ice Racing Championships held over two days at the Moscow Dynamo Stadium in Moscow. The Russians finished in the top six posi- tions... Bobby Jones was one of the big winners at the fifth annual World Mini Grand Prix at Indian Dunes Raceway in Valencia. California. He won two championships. 20 YEAR.§" AGO.•. April 3. 1985 We tested the new ~l-:I;~~"-i:.J 1985 KTM 125 MX. We thought the bike was right with its Japanese competition. It was light, fast and had good suspension... Kevin Schwantz beat everyone at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. The only race he lost in was 600cc Superstreet, where he took second to Doug Toland ... We previewed the 1985 World Championship Road Racing Series. The (OP riders of the time were Ameri- cans Randy Mamola, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson and Kenny Roberts... Dan Ashcraft topped a Husqvarna sweep of the podium at AMA District 37's Invaders Hare and Hound. Ashcraft finished 10 minutes ahead of teammate Dan Smith, while Eric Hallgath was third. to take this opportunity to honor him." Pro-Motion Motorsports LLC has announced that the Maxxis EnduroCross will be held November 18-19 inside the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. "We are very excited to bring back the AMA Maxxis EnduroCross to the Orleans Arena," said Eric Peron nard, co-promoter of the event. "And this year we will open up entries to Expert-level riders to qualify for the main event on Saturday night and race for their share of the $20,000 purse and the AMA National number-one plate. "Last year we had numerous requests from riders across the country who were interested in participating in the event, so this year we will have a Qualifier Round for 200 riders on Friday, November 18, the day before the actual race," Peronnard continued. "The top I0 racers from the qualifier round will have the opportunity to race against our group of invited riders, which include the top off-road racers in the world." Confirmed riders include last year's champion Ryan Hughes, Mike lafferty, Ty Davis, Nathan Woods, Kurt Caselli and Destry Abbott, plus several top European entries. Those interested in participating in the qualifier round November 18 can sign up online at blizzard.he.net/%7Eilogic/encross/ entry_form.html Tickets are now on sale at the Orleans Arena box office either online at orleansarena.com or by calling 888/2342334. For more information, visit EnduroCrossUSA.com. Bike Changes Now Legal in MotoGP to iron in the wet. This would take a lot longer than just changing wheels and might mean a rider will risk staying out on slick tires rather than lose so much time in the pits. The GP commission - comprised of representatives of Dorna, the FIM, IRTA and the MSMA - unanimously decided to readjust the rules to allow machine changes. If a race is declared wet before the start and then dries out, riders can pit to change to a machine with dry tires at will - as long as the replacement bike has a different type of tire from the first. There are three categories: slicks, intermediate tires and wet tires. If the race is dry and is then hit by rain, riders must wait until white flags are displayed and may then pit to switch machines. Another change to the rules is to cut the pit-lane speed limit from SO mph to 37 mph, and passing in pit late has been banned. Michael Scott Racing bosses took heed of the complaints of riders concerning the new flag-to-flag racing regulations, taking a step back from the decision to force tire changes in a race hit by rain and allowing riders to change bikes instead. The decision came at the Grand Prix Commission meeting in Catalunya, Spain, after representations from the riders, demanding that they revert to an earlier plan, allowing machine changes in a race hit by changing conditions. "It is a matter of safety for all riders, and all riders agreed that it is not safe to change wheels," said Sete Gibernau, leading light of the riders' safety committee. One difficulty is that brakes would also have to be changed, from carbon in dry conditions 10 YEAR.§" AGO... March 29. 1995 II: Jeremy McGrath . got a much-needed boost of confidence with his win at the eighth round of the AMA Supercross Series in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ryan Hughes ~"'-':~ii~ilJ finished second, while Mike LaRocco completed the podium... Desert ace Danny Hamel teamed up with Craig Smith to take the win in the San Felipe 250 in San Felipe, B.C., Mexico. For Hamel, it was his fourth win in the 2S0-mile race... Todd Hoy took a well-deserved win at the second round of the National Hare & Hound Series in Jean, Nevada. He finished only SO seconds ahead of runner-up Greg Zitterkopf. Third went to Destry Abbott... We previewed the 1995 World Motocross Grand Prix Championship Series. Since Greg Albertyn was headed to America, Stefan Everts was the heavy favorite to win the title. CORRECTION: Due to what was basically a translation error on our part, Mario Candellone's Milano indoor trial coverage (In the Wind, Issue #9) stated that the Honda team was riding its two-stroke machines, when in fact the team was on its new fourstrokes. The original sentence was meant to imply that the four-strokes were currently behind the competitive level of the two-strokes due to a lack of development, SIGNED: High Profile Public Releations as the public relations agency of record for the the National Promoters Group, effective immediately. "Pat [Schutte] has done an excellent job handling the Outdoor National PR efforts for the NPG over the past three years, and we're looking forward to another successful year with Pat and his new company, HPPR," said Ralph Huffman, NPG member and promoter of the Washougal Outdoor National. ''A lot of what Pat works on goes unseen in our industry - working the local press angles to gain publicity for each race and, ideally, help continue to increase attendance figures. And the NPG was in agreement to utilize Pat's efforts again this year." In addition to working hand-in-hand with the AMA on placing motocross-theme stories on the Nationals with local and national media, HPPR will handle the media credentials for each round of the series. Media interested in obtaining credentials for the AMA National Motocross Championships can apply with the NPG at pat@highprofilepr,com. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At North Texas Yamaha in Lewisville, Texas, on Friday, April I from 6 to 7 p.m. Factory Yamaha riders Chad Reed, David Vuillemin and Tim Ferry, factory supported rider Heath Voss, and Yamaha of Troy riders Brock Sellards and Kelly Smith are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 972/420-4000. Continued from page I I hike on its figure of about 250 horsepower last year - but the proof of the pudding is in the top speed figures, with Suzuki significantly improved over last year's machine in lap times and top speeds. Suzuki's engine changes were mainly at the top end with redesigned inlet porting and exhausts, as well as redesigned valve gear, after a spate of broken valve springs with the earlier engine. "The induction porting improves volumetric efficiency, and the valve gear is lighter," Arase said. "The rev ceiling is 1000 rpm higher, with an 8-percent improvement in efficiency, which is important with this year's 22-liter fuel tank size [down from 24 liters] this year," Arase said at the team's official press launch. Other changes came in more sophisticated software to control engine braking and traction control. "We already have a very good-handling chassis, and we are using the 2004 chassis with some small changes to stiffness. The aim was to make the bike easier to ride," Rider Kenny Roberts Jr. confirmed the improvement. "This year's bike and engine performance gain is the greatest change of any year so far with Suzuki," he said. "Unfortunately, everybody e!se also improves." Teammate John Hopkins added, "I'm pretty ecstatic about the changes. This is Suzuki's biggest gain on the rest of the field that I've known, ,. and the new tires Bridgestone have brought .... feel like qualifying tires." Former Over The Hill Gang president, race director and sportsman of the year James Clyde Holman, 46, died while racing on March 6 at a race in Southern California. The Over The Hill Gang and OTMX will hold a benefit ride for Holman's wife, Sandy, at Racetown in Adelanto, California, ... on April 3. For more information, visit overthehillgang.org. On Saturday, April 9 at I I a.m. at the Castaic Regional Sports Complex in Castaic, California, a public hearing will be held to discuss the proposed Castaic Motocross Park. According to Neil Nadler, the property owner, there has been a public outcry for this type of facility in the area since the motocross track was closed down in 1998 at Castaic Lake. Nadler says the motocross park will be a family-oriented recreational center and he is also looking into holding ATV days and adding a BMX track and a skate park. Nadler estimates there will be four to six racing events each month. For more information, e-mail CMXPARK@Yahoo.com. Enter-Arc, a Santa Ana, California, company, has submitted plans to build four motocross tracks inside a blimp hangar on the old EI Toro marine base. Enter-Arc has been working on the proposal for three years, and most of the principals in the company are motorcycle enthusiasts. There are CUrrently two hangars on the base, both of which are 18-stories tall. No legal off-road tracks currently exist in Orange County, and Enter-Are's figures show that an average of 2400 riders in Orange County travel outside of the county each weekend to ride. CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 30, 2005 13

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