Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

, King of Brands Is Kiyonari Continued from page 9 A fter a messy weekend of /"'\crashes, plus the rider injuries leftover from preseason testing, Huntington Beach, California, sponsored by the Orange County Dualies Motorcycle Club, has sold out. "Wow! We anticipat- the expected order of the British Superbike Championship points ed a great turnout, but the response has totally exceeded our expectations," standings after round one was peculiar in some regards. opposition, including his team- Dualie founder and event organizer Larry Langley said. The reunion will bring together On Any Sunday producer and director Bruce Brown and racing legends Malcolm Smith, Gene Romero, jim Rice, Dave Aldana, among others from the movie. Other notable attendees will be jeff Ward, Roger DeCoster, Bruce Ogilive and many others who appeared in brief roles in the movie. Speed TV will be on hand-filming the reunion. The public is mate Michael Rutter, with "Kiyo" invited to attend the premovie get- In one way at least, preseason prowess counted for much, as fast man in testing Ryuichi Kiyonari scored a 1-2 by impressive margins of 10 and five seconds, respectively, on his HM Plant Honda CBR IOOORR, The japanese rider, on his factory CBR and with full support from Michelin, trounced the continuing his end-of-season form together across the street from the the- from 2004 (two wins at Donington Park) with another double. His 50 points are a big deal in what was expected to be a close first round, but with so many walking ater (between Warner Avenue and Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach) at the current Huntington Honda property. Race bikes from the era will be on display, wounded on display, his immaculate weekend was aided by the misadventures of others. Polesitter Leon Haslam re-injured his weakened wrist after a race-one near highside from his Airwaves Ducati, with second-place finish, was the forcing presence of Rutter, but a surprise of sorts was the prowess shown by Aussie Glen Richards. On a Hawk Racing Kawasaki, in a year when many felt that the Kawasaki would suffer under the hammer of the other works teams, Richards first qualified Yamaha Team after his pre-race crashing experiences. On a privately tuned HondaRacing.com CBR I OOORR, Kari Harris secured a brace of sixth places, but the along with many of the movie participants. award for grit of the weekend was information, call 714/870-1456. All proceeds will be donated to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. For more undoubtedly Reynolds. In a low points seventh and then raced his heart out to take scoring weekend for reigning champion his hand smashing the screen and fairing on his descent from a great height. He inadvertently switched off his ignition and hurt his already tender tendons, subject a third and a seventh for fourth overall. Rizla Suzuki, Reynolds astonished many by Sean Emmett was one of the few riders who was able to stay with Kiyonari, even for a short time, running his big-bang not just scoring the points he came for but scoring two ninth places, for an overall seventh in the series, albeit 36 points A Connecticut state trooper was suspended for 15 days without pay after he was recorded on a 91 I tape saying "too bad" to a caller seeking help for a man to off-season restorative operation. Yamaha RI to a brace of fifths, for fifth overall. The offbeat banging of the RI was down on Kiyonari. "Very happy," the young Kiyonari said. to a story that appeared on Yahoo.com. In the second outing, Haslam was a good fourth, even with his injury, but he had to concede not only third place to temporary teammate Gregorio Lavilla, but he also had already witnessed the Spanish rider get second in race one. The latter had been busy hunting down several riders as his bike and tire setup came into their own in the latter stages of the 30-lap races on the short Indy Circuit, and Lavilla put himself up for permanent a curious sound among the other fours, but it was not quite as competitive as its preseason hype suggested at the tight and twiSty circuit that is only 1.226 miles long. Emmett, hurting after multiple stitches in his arm that were the result of two crashes in qualifying, was one of many of the top riders carrying injuries. Haslam and the missing James Haydon's woes have already been documented, but adoption. Lavilla was fighting against a sore arm Lavilla, in for the injured james Haydon (who had smashed knuckles and fingers), was a revelation and should still be in from a morning warmup crash, while john Reynolds's was battling against a well-documented lower leg multiple fracture. His "I was not confident before the race, as this circuit is very difficult for me." Many pundits have pointed at Jeremy McWilliams as a dark horse for the championship, but his re-introduction to British Superbikes was even tougher than expected. A seventh in race one was as good as he got, as he tangled with a backmarker in race two and fell on the 29th lap. In front of a claimed 50,000 fans (over the entire Easter holiday weekend), the place for the team at the next round at own teammate, Scott Smart, was bashed Thruxton on April 10. Third-place overall, with a fourth- and after a race-one crash, and Tommy Hill first round of the series proved somewhat messy at times, but with race two being a true spectacle on occasion, it was an enticement for the next round at the fastest circuit of them all: Thruxton. was another limping rider for the Virgin Gordon Ritchie Pikes Peak Hillclimb Gets Changes The Falken Tire Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) motorcycle division is undergoing major changes, with the addition of a Supermoto class and the announcement of a record purse helping expand the motorcycle division of the PPIHC, according to event promoters. The record purse of $12,000 is nearly double that of past purses, and it may end up exceeding that amount, promoters say. "We are all very excited about the record purse and the addition of the Supermoto class in 2005," Slated Alan Schell, director of sales and marketing for the Falken Tire Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. "The purse may increase depending on the level of sponsor commitment. We are always looking for additional sponsors to enhance the excite- mentto this legendary motorcycle event." The track consists of a I 56-turn course that is run up the legendary Pikes Peak Highway located just outside Colorado Springs, Colorado. The race starts at an elevation of 9390 feet and finishes at 141 10 feet above sea level. The first two miles of the course are asphalt, but it then changes to gravel with no guardrails, multiple hairpin turns and 2ooo-foot dropoffs. Six different classes run in the motor· cycle division, including Pro Quads, Pro 250cc, Pro 500cc, Pro 750cc, Vintage, Sidecar and the newly added Supermoto class. The PPIHC motorcycle division started back in 1916 with Floyd Clymer racing his Excelsior motorcycle up the course at a speed of 21 minutes and 58 seconds. This year's race will be held on Saturday, june 25. For more information, visit www.ppihc.com. injured in a motorcycle accident, according State police said the dismissive answer by Trooper Robert Peasley did not affect the response time to the accident involving justin Sawyer, 21, who died of a severe head injury a week after the crash last August. But Peasley was suspended on Monday, March 21. Russell Shepard, a friend of Sawyer's, called 911, which was routed to the state police barracks in Montville, Connecticut. When he reported the accident, Peasley said, "Yeah ... too bad," and hung up, according to a tape obtained by WTNH-TY. Shepard said he was shocked, belieVing he reached a wrong number. Another friend made a second call. "Yeah," the officer responded. "Help will get there. Shouldn't be playing games." A third emergency call was answered by a different dispatcher, who asked about Sawyer's condition and advised those nearby to not touch him. "I am absolutely outraged every time I hear that' too bad' and then click," Sawyer's father, jim Sawyer, said. "I only know that I would have felt a whole lot more comfortable if I had heard people responding on the end of that 911 call with some heart and caring." State police said the comments by Peasley, an 18-year-veteran, were unprofessional. and the agency apologized if "our actions added to the family's pain," the report said. Continued on poge 13 CYCLE NEWS • APRIL 6,2005 11

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