Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128378
Briefly... Continued /rom page 7 fered no other injuries in the low- Crown Athlete Management Group has announced that Unbound Energy Drink, a new action sport-oriented energy beverage available at BP and ampm stores, has joined MDK as the title sponsor for Nick Weyand his AHA National MX Series team. Team Unbound Energy/MDK will also feature upand-coming California racer Eric McCrummen. "When we launched Unbound Energy, we wanted to connect with the action sports crowd right away. and there's no better way to do that than through motocross," Unbound's Jon Bratta said. Bratta added that he was "shocked" when he attended the first Anaheim Supercross this year and saw that Wey was a privateer. "That motivated me to get in touch with Nick through Crown AMG, and we worked out a deal with MDK to be Nick's sponsor for the Outdoor Nationals." Added Crown AMG president Scott Sepkovic: "This was such a natural fit for the Unbound brand to speed crash, it is not yet known just transition in a quick way to the forefront of how long Merriman will be out of action. The next round of the series the action sports community. Nick's definitely pumped about it and Unbound will no doubt benefit from the exposure at the Nationals this summer." VTM's Fabien Planet continued I'his recent good run of fortune in the Enduro 2 World Championship, with the Frenchman winning the Grand Prix of Italy, held May 7-9 in Tolmezzo, Italy. Planet's win puts him just seven points behind E2 Championship leader Samuli Aro. Meanwhile, Australian Stefan Merriman saw his hopes of another World title dashed in Italy, as the UFO Corse Yamaha rider crashed, suffering a ruptured spleen. Merriman crashed in the first timed motocross special test, rupturing his spleen and later undergoing three hours of surgery to remove the organ. Although he suf- is slated for Spain in early June. Planet had nothing but good fortune as he beat Aro on both days. Swede Anders Eriksson finished third on day one. with Italian Following the cancellation of the June 2S AHRMA dirt track National at Weedsport, New York, the Square Deal Riders have added a second night of AHRMA Vintage racing at its short track in Harpursville. New York. Rounds seven and eight of The Classic MotorCycle/Metro Racing Dirt Track Series now will take place June 24 and 2S, Friday and Saturday nights, at SDR Alessandro Bonuri claiming the final rostrum pOSition on day two. In the E I class, Ivan Cervantes rode his KTM to victory on both days. the Spaniard beating Hondamounted Italian Simone A1bergoni on day one before coming back to top Yamaha France rider Marc Germain. Cervantes is now 36 points clear at the top of the E I Championship standings, with just Raceway near Binghamton. For more infor- mation. visit www.ahrma.org. four points separating Albergoni in second from Germain in third. Fabien Planet wan the GP of Italy in Tolmeuo, the Frenchman moving to within seven points of the championship lead in the Enduro 2 World Arenacross by Advanstar for 2005-06 Advanstar Communications Inc. - a publisher of print, event and online media for the powers ports, off-road and automotive aftermarket industries - has announced the launch of the Arenacross Championship Series, a new racing series beginning in November 200S with SlOpS in 12 major cities across the United States. According to Advanstar, the company will "capture the hearts and minds of America's race fans through a host of new and improved features, including: worldcaliber racers, unyielding new tratks, show enhancements, the largest purse and point fund in the sport, contingency. extensive media coverage and branding opportunities for sponsors, special twists to Amateur Day, built-in access to 600,000 motorcycle enthusiasts, and the dedication of a veteran leadership team with a sincere passion for racing." In conjunction with the launch of the Arenacross Championship Series, Advanstar will run its 25th annual Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows presented by Toyota Trucks, with the races in select markets. "We are very excited about the launch of the Arenacross Championship Series," said Skip Johnson, the head of Advanstar's Powersports Consumer Group. "Advanstar is wholly committed to putting the full force of our 40 years of motorcycle event experience into this launch. We're delivering a bigger. better. faster Arenacross encounter than ever before. Arenacross has never seen anything like it." Advanstar's Arenacross promotions team will feature Mike Kidd, Gary Kidd and Lance Bryson, the trio who was responsible for the birth of Arenacross. According to Kidd, "We are thrilled to be a part of such a growth-oriented and customer-focused initiative. We have the tools necessary to reinvent the sport, which will benefit the racers, sponsors and fans:' In back-to-back press releases, Suomy helmets announced last week that Aaron Gobert would no longer be wearing its helmets. Later, Shoei announced that Gobert had switched to its helmets for the current season. "My brother Alex and teammate Damon Buckmaster have told me how great the Shoei X-Eleven helmet is, but I must admit that I was surprised by how light and quiet it was after trying it this weekend," Gobert said. "I couldn't believe how cool my head stayed in my race. I have to say, I'm really happy to be with Shoei." Rick Marlin, president of Suomy USA, released a statement, saying: "We are of course, sad to see Aaron go. In addition to being one of our professional races, we consider him to be a dear friend. We have been proud of our association with Aaron these last few years and proud of how our helmets have served him - particularly in his horrific crash at Daytona in 2002 when he hit the high-banking wall at a speed in excess of 100 mph. All of us at Suomy USA grew up that day. So it was with great pride that we saw him win the Superstock Championship just two years later in Suomy and securing himself the number-one plate. I am confident of our contribution to his racing success to date Continued on page '3 CYCLE NEWS • MAY 18,2005 9