Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Pearson Edges Pearson in Utah After 90 miles of racing, the fifth round of the AMA FMF National Hare & Hound Series was decided by just a few feet between Russ Will you race in the Daytona 200 next year if it's Formula Xtreme? Pearson and his cousin David Pearson in If it's Formula Xtreme, no, not interested. It's tough building a motorcycle for one race. KEITH McCARTY - TEAM YAMAHA How many classes would you like in an AMA Superbike weekend? Great question. I've been trying to dissect what everybody thinks as far as what's broken and what's not broken. My answer's a little weird, because it really comes down to whatever the AMA can handle. What I mean by that is: If there's a problem, an unexpected problem, and three of the four classes get some reduction in praaice time or their schedule gets changed, then I think there're too many classes. And I understand the promoters want to sell hot dogs and all the things they want to sell and they want to have entertainment over the course of the day. I'm just really concemed about when you come to a National-caliber class, that we don't always have a schedule topsy-turvy because something happens like rain or whatever the case may be. I think in a perfect world, we would do it with two - one 10000c class of some sort and one 600cc class of some sort - and there would be a variety of support events, where it wasn't necessarily a points thing, maybe it's just an extravaganza of some sort. That's where the slack is taken out, not in the National classes that race week in and week out. And I don't know what that number is or what the displacement should be, but in my mind, that's how it should be: two is probably the number, with some sort of support areas. Do you favor riders doing two classes? Yes, and the reason I think I do is that's not the amount that we're racing. If it's a Superbike event and you're racing two times a weekend in that class and there's a lot of practice, then I think maybe my opinion would change. But given our current situation where everything but Superbike has a limited amount of practice, a limited amount of track time, there's no reason that a guy can't ride two classes. I don't believe that we're taxing our riders in Supersport and Superstock all the time. However, if they're sick or there's something going on, certainly you're pushing your limit. But I think that's very different than a guy racing two Superbike races in a weekend or a 20ll-mile race. I think with what we're doing, I don't think it's an issue. I think it could be an issue depending on the amount of track time. How would you like to see the races spread out over the weekend? And are you in favor of two- or three-day race weekends? I think that a three-day weekend is working. If the machine, the promotion of the event, needs two Superbike events, and the reason I understand we have that is the people producing the television show, they get twice the bang for the buck; they get one production cost amortized over two days, and they get two shows which they can sell commercials and such and the profits are higher and the costs are lower. No rocket science there. If that's what they need - meaning the AMA, the promoters, whoever - then Briefly... I don't see too large of an issue with a threeday event. However, when you look at the depth of our sport and how much people can afford, if you look at room rates and all the things that go on with being at a threeday event, especially with escalated prices when we're in town - they're sometimes triple - then three days could be too many. I think there's a lot of things to discuss. When you're talking about that, you just can't say, "It should be a two-day event." To me, a two-day event, that would be an ideal scenario. But the formula may not be good for all the expenses that people have. What about Saturday Superpole? It has its place for World Superbike, but I think that qualifying as we do, it is just as exciting, maybe more. I think it's very difficult for riders just to have one lap to pull it out every time, rather than being able to work up to it. I just don't think that it would be something that we would be able to handle very well in the U.S. given the number of events and all the things we've got going on. I think I like the way we're doing it now. Just 30 minutes qualifying, and whoever gets it done. gets it done. Do you know what classes you'll race in 2006? Yes, I do, or at least I think I do, but I'm not ready to make that public just yet. Will you race in the Daytona 200 next year if it's Fonnula Xtreme? Well, we're certainly looking into it. I think again, go back to last year: It was pretty short notice when we found out that's what it was going to be. Now it's our belief that that's what it is going to be under Formula Xtreme rules. Certainly we're looking at that pretty heavily. Our goal at Yamaha is to be racing at all the top classes, and if that is going to be one of them for the future, then we certainly have to consider that. But we're at the same juncture; there's an awful lot of discussion whether it should remain Fonnula Xtreme or should it revert back to Superbike or should it be 600 Supersport and include everybody? Again, I don't know that I can give you a solid answer, because I don't think I have a solid vision of what it's going to be. As soon as that announcement's made, and hopefully it will be pretty quickly, then I think everybody who has any intentions of being involved can get those wheels tuming or just decide that it's not the right time for them. Henny Ray Abrams Jericho, Utah. on May 7. Russ, on the Montclair Yamaha-backed YZ450F, led much of the race, but a crash let David, on the Team Green 10<500, catch up toward the end. So, it came down to a final sprint race to the finish. and it was Russ leading David across the finish line by about three feet. For Russ, it was his third win of the series. Finishing a little farther back in third was Honda's Steve Hengeveld, while Kawasaki riders T.J. Hannifin and David Kamo rounded out the top fIVe overall. For Kawasaki Team Green's Destry Abbott, the Utah race was a disaster. Going in, he and Russ Pearson were tied for the series points lead but came away from this one empty handed. Abbott suffered a hard get-off while battling for the lead and injured his leg, though he was able to forge on. Later in the race, however, Abbott's bike qUit run- ning, and he was forced to take a hard-totake DNF. With just one round left, Pearson now enjoys a commanding 30-point lead over Abbott, 140-110. Hengeveld is third with 93. and David Pearson is fourth with 87. Henry for Yamaha Supermoto Team Cycle News has learned that former AMA I25cc and 250cc National Motocross Champion Doug Henry IS set (0 return (0 Team Yamaha as part of a two-rider factory Supermoto team to contest the 2005 AMA Supermoto Championship. marking the first year of offtclal factory participatton by Yamaha. Henry. 35. rode a factory-supported privateer Yamaha during the 2003 season, scoring one win aboard the machine and nearly winning the 4S0cc championship at the winner-rake-all Red Bull Supermoto A Go-Go in Las Vegas. After switching to the Troy Lee DeSigns Honda team in 2004. he posted a season-leading four wins, ultimately finishing second to teammate Jeff Ward in the final series standings. Henry will be part of a cwo-rider factory effort that will include 2004 Yamaha privateer campaigner Mark Burkhart. 25. of Pickerington. Ohio. Burkhart finished sixth in the AMA 4S0cc Supermoto Championship Series pOints standings last season and enjoyed one podium finish at the NashVille, Tennesse, round. Yamaha officials confirmed that a deal IS being finalized. but they were hesitant to comment further pending an official announcement that is expected sometime thiS week. Scott Rousseau Califomian Kenny Noyes finished 13th in the opening round of the Spanish IOOOcc Formula Extreme Championship at Albacete on May 8 on his Folch Yamaha YZF RI in his first race since breaking five ribs in a preseason crash a month ago. "When I tested last week I couldn't do more than four laps at a time, so we knew 19 laps would be tough:' said Noyes. "I was on the back of the second group for the first fIVe laps, and the pace seemed okay for me, but about a second under what I ran here before the crash. I thought I could get into the top-10 until the pain started wearing me down. Now I've got two weeks to train and get stronger before the Eight Hours of Albacete on May 21. We should be on the pace by then!" The race was won by BQR Honda's Josi David de Gea, but the former Team Roberts Modenas 500 GP rider, who subbed for WCM last year in MotoGp, was judged to have passed under yellow flags and given a 10-second penalty, which dropped him to fourth, behind Ivan Silva. Josep Monge and Javier del Amor, all on Yamahas. AMA Pro Racing has announced that the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center will be on display to AMA Superbike Championship fans, offiCials, teams and riders at the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, May 13-15, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. The custom-built AMMC is currently used throughout the THQ AMA Supercross Series and AHA Motocross Championship calemlars as a quickresponse medical assessment and treatment facility. The center is fully staffed by medical personnel and relies almost exclusivety on donations to cover operationaJ costs. "We want to show the road racing community the strides we've made in supercross and motocross, and also what could be possible for future Superbike events." AMMC director Dr. John Bodnar said. "The AMMC is an important safety component of several AMA-sanctioned series," said Hugh Fleming, AMA Pro Racing director of safety and logistics. "In the AMA Superbike Championship, many of our track partners have great onsite medical centers. By showcasing the AMMC at Infineon Raceway, we're just letting the road racing community know what additional efforts could be possible." The AMMC will be on display for the duration of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown. The first race of the AHRMA Western Region Flat Track Series, scheduled for May IS at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond. California, has been canceled. The first race of the new series will now be held June 2S at Tulare Cycle Park in Tulare, California. For more information, call Rick Hollenbeck at 5S9/790-1292 or Gary Davis at 530/823-3227. Continued on page 9 CYCLE NEWS • MAY 1B, 2005 7

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