Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly••• Continued from poge 9 Vevin Schwantz didn't end his weekend l'at Road America the way he wanted. The former 500cc World Champion crashed in the wet on the third lap of the Formula Xtreme race while running sev- enth. He qualified eighth fastest in his oneoff appearance in the Lockhart-Phillips Formula Xtreme class while filling in for expectant first-time father and Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School instructor Opie Caylor. Caylor and his wife, Tracey, had a son, Manhew Evan, on Friday night, june 3. ''I'm glad I'm not farther back than the second row," Schwantz said after FX qualifying at Road America. "Opie Caylor's EMGO Taiwan GSX-R600 is a pretty neat bike. I didn't think it was going to be real fast but got a draft behind jake [Zemke] there those last couple of laps. I think in race trim, it's going to be a decent motorcycle." Thursday's practice was the first time Schwantz had raced a 600 since 1985 and the first time he'd ridden at Road America since winning the Superbike race here In 1987. "The last time I raced a 600, it was an Fj [Yamaha]," Schwantz said, referring to his ride in the fall Daytona Championship Cup Series weekend in 1985. Schwantz rolled out on the track with the bike setup for the heavier Caylor. The suspension was stiff and the front end didn't react under braking. "You'd go off into a corner, and it's like, 'I'm not sure I've done this before,' because, 'What's going to fO,6@#ing happen next?' The front never went down. It's like riding one of those BMW BoxerCup bikes when they've got the front end that doesn't dive. It just feels like the front's out there." Schwantz said the team checked the sag "and it didn't have any." His lap time was in the 2:30 range. "I was like, 'How fast do you need to go?' They're like. 'Low 20s.' I'm like, 'Where the f%#k am I going to find eight f%@#ing seconds at?'" Schwantz qualified on Friday with a lap of 2: 23 .877, off the 2:20.097 run by polesiner Jake Zemke of American Honda. His session wasn't without its moments, though. "We had a soft tire to try to do a good qualifying time, and I almost crashed coming procedure. This new procedure must be completed online at www.ducatiusa.com. Owners will receive a Ducati Island parking pass by mail valid for parking one motorcycle on Ducati Island. Keep in mind that a parking pass is required to park on Ducati Island this year but does not guarantee a place on the Island. Parking is limited by physical capacity and will be first come, first serve to anyone with a pass. Parking passes are valid for all three days of the race weekend. out of turn five on that fast lap," he said, later adding that he'd done it while chasing American Honda's jake Zemke, who he'd waited to draft. "I waited and waited and waited, and jake [Zemke] I think could see I was waiting for him. He was choosing not come show me the way around. That's all race craft. I guess I finally went slow enough, he had to ride past me. When he did, 1jumped on. Luckily, he didn't pass me until about halfway up the straightway. When he did, I got in the draft quite well. "I got through one; he made a little mistake in three. I got a good run out of three. By the time we got to five, it was probably 15 to 20 bikelengths, and I got down into five good and deep and got a little of that back. And as I put it in on the left edge, the tire that we had chosen for that particular segment of the qualifying session, it just didn't have enough heat, I guess, in the left side of it, or wasn't ready. Anyway, spun. It slid as I was going in and then kicked me back out of the seat. I got a foot down, managed to not run off the track. It was close." Schwantz added, "jake's bike is definitely fast." Schwantz had ridden during promoter practice on Thursday, June 2, but Friday, June 3, was his first official session. "It's definitely taken some time getting back up to speed," he said. "I do have a riding school that we teach at Road Atlanta. You never really push the envelope for more than maybe a lap. So to come out Rossi - Two More With Yamaha? MotoGP's reigning deity may extend his rule for one more year beyond 2006. with the possibility of a two-year contract with Yamaha. Valentino Rossi and Yamaha opened negotiations at the Italian Grand Prix, • and the defending champion said: "I am not sure if my contract will be one year or two - though it will definitely not be three." ~ This would represent a one-year • • extension of Rossi's commitment to MotoGP. Even a few weeks ago he was saying he would race only one more year, then consider his position. "I expect a short negotiation; I hope it will be qUite easy. I know what Yamaha l~ -~~. .,} LUI want and they know what I want," Rossi .. I • I said. "I have a lot of options, but my first Will Valentina Rassi sign choice is to stay with Yamaha." up far twa mare years Michael Scatt with Yamaha? .. ,1'~ · · , I .. [r~ . ''!-4G \\ ,LP· here and continually do it day after day, lap after lap, is still a lot of fun. Not falling was a lot of fun. Had I fallen, it probably wouldn't have been as much fun." Caylor's GSX-R600 doesn't have the power to be abrupt anywhere, Schwantz said. "Whether we can race back in the 22s or 21 s and where those guys are going to go, I'm not sure," he said. "1 think a little bit better lap and a few more changes to the motorcycle before we have to race tomorrow afternoon." It was noted that Schwantz looks far smoother on the GSX-R600 than he did on his RGV500 Suzuki. "I'm glad it looks smooth, because there's quite a few anxious moments out there," he said. "I got in behind Robert jensen, and he gave me a pull up the front straightaway, and I got in right to my same spot that I normally go to, and the next thing I know, I missed the bump in turn one. And it's to about midtrack, so I was that far offline. It wasn't disastrous. But it's taken awhile to try and get back up to speed visually to get your awareness further and further out in front so that you can keep things happening in a timeframe that an old mind like mine can process. But it's getting better every session. "Smoothness is what we teach at the school," he added. Henny Ray Abrams Hodgson's Laguna Beach Ordeal Ducati Austin's Neil Hodgson nearly got caught up in the landslide that destroyed several dozen multimillion-dollar homes in Laguna Beach, California, last week. The slide occurred half a mile from the house he's renting and across from the park where he takes his daughter for walks everyday. Hodgson's first hint that something was up was the swarm of helicopters he saw while heading to a local coffee shop to check his e-mail. "I knew something serious was happening," he said. "Someone's definitely shot someone. It's obviously somebody's on the loose, and I'm walking into it with my skinny legs and shorts." After checking his e-mail, Hodgson headed for his local health club. where the news was being played on all the televisions. After working out, he was joined by his wife and daughter at a restaurant, where a number of people who'd been evacuated had already gathered. Henny Ray Abrams The city of Chicago has significantly changed its recently announced ban on motorcycles in parades in response to AMA inquiries on the issue, according to the AMA. The issue came to light after the office of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley sent a letter to various parade organizers, stating in part: "Effective immediately, the City Parade Regulations have been amended to include a ban on machinery potentially dangerous to spectators and staff working parades." That machinery included "motorcycles, [pocket) mini motorcycles, mini motor bikes, motor scooters and threeand four-wheel all-terrain vehicles." The ban outraged AMA members set to take part in Chicago parades this summer. They contacted the AMA, which, in turn, contacted Chicago city officials. At first, officials refused to directly answer AMA questions related to the bike ban. However, a day later, Cindy Gatziolis, spokeswoman for the mayor's Office of Special Events, called to say the city had modified the ban. Gatziolis said the initial ban was a response to a motorcyclist in a parade who began a stunt and almost careened into a spectator. City officials felt that rather than waiting for someone to get hurt, they should address the safety issue, she said. "This is a pedestrian environment, and this is a safety issue," she said. However, she said, a new letter will now be going out to parade organizers, which modifies that regulation to allow motorcycles in parades. Under the new regulations, each parade will be allowed up to two groups of no more than 50 motorcycles each. The Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade set for December 4, a popular fund-raiser that annually draws tens of thousands of riders, will not be affected by the rules, Gatziolis said. Technically, the Toys For Tots run is a "motorcade," not a "parade," she said. "When we first heard of these rules, we couldn't believe the city would make such a sweeping and discriminatory move," AMA director of state affairs Sean Maher said. "We're heartened to see them back away from the idea of a total ban on motorcycles so quickly. We'll continue to monitor the situation as it evolves." Youthstream, the promoters of the World Motocross Championship, has confirmed that the Grand Prix of Ireland will go ahead as planned on September 17 in Desert Martin. The article that appeared in many Belgium magazines and television stations announcing that this Grand Prix would Continued 0" page '3 CYCLE NEWS. JUNE 15,2005 11

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