Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Caselli Gets First WORCS Win VTM's Kurt Caselli I'nabbed his first World Off-Road Championship Series win of his career in dramatic fashion at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington, june 12. In a race that saw at feast six lead changes among three different riders, Caselli finally found himself at the right place at the right time to earn his long-overdue first WORCSwin. There were numerous riders who had a chance to win this one, as a large group of contenders battled for the KTM's Kurt Caselli scored a hard-earned lead throughout the two- win at the WORCS race at Washougal. hour race, held mostly in the tight woods that surround the famed MX Woods got going again to salvage third, while Dietrich ended up fourth facility. Defending champ Nathan Woods, on on his mufflerless KX2S0. Fifth place went to Team Off-Road the Montclair Yamaha/Zip-Ty Racing Suzuki's Kiedrowski on the RM-Z4S0, YZ2S0, led early on before giving way to Kawasaki Team Green's rookie Pro, Ricky one of only two four-stroke machines to finish in the top 10. Kiedrowski ran as Dietrich. The two riders then battled back and forth for qUite some time, while high as second place early in the race. Kawasaki Team Green's Lance Smail, Sixth place went to Team Green Suzuki's Mike Kiedrowski and Caselli conUK's Ryan Voase, who made a special tinually lurked close behind the two leadtrip from England to compete in the Washougal race. Finishing seventh was ers. Late in the race, while leading, another Team Green rider, Destry Dietrich's silencer broke, and he was Abbott, who was followed across the forced to pit, giving Woods the lead with line by Honda rider Mark Tilley and two laps to go. Shortly after taking the KTM riders Bobby Bonds and Semilead, though, Woods was held up when the chain came off his bike, and he saw Pro-class Caselli and Smail ride by as he struggled to fix his bike. Caselli held on to take the win 18 seconds ahead of Smail, who won the race the last time it was held here two years ago. Green's Justin Soule. Despite finishing third, Woods still leads the series by 32 points over Caselli with seven rounds left. Kit Palmer winner, Kawasaki Team Salminen Tops Mountaineer GNCC During the four-week break between races, Am Pro Yamaha's Barry Hawk worked tirelessly to boost his program in order to track down KTM's runaway series leader Juha Salminen. Hawk indeed stepped it up and ran him down at the combined FMF Mountaineer Grand National Cross Country/AMA National Hare Scrambles in Summersville, West Virginia, june 12, but ultimately Salminen came away with the win following what was his toughest fight of the season. "It was a good battle with Barry [Hawk]: he was riding really strong," Salminen said. "Today was actually the first time I was challenged like this." "I hate losing," Hawk said. "I just hate it, and it's burning me up." Hawk was joined on the podium by his rejuvenated teammate Jason Raines. Also carding his best ride of the season was FMF Suzuki's "Fast" Fred Andrews, who took fourth on his Suzuki RM-Z450. Fifth went to FMF Suzuki's Glenn Kearney, who wasn't very happy with his performance. KTM's Robbie jenks and Suzuki's Brian Garrahan were sixth and seventh, respectively, and Parts Unlimited Moose Honda's Scott Summers logged his best ride in a long time with an eighth. Finishing ninth, Charles Mullins was top Amateur again on his Am Pro Yamaha YZ2S0, and 10th overall went to Jayco/SCR Suzuki rider Doug Blackwell. Attrition cost other racers, including FMFffhrottlehead.com Kawasaki's Steve Hatch, who was battling in the top five before he got water in his gas tank and dropped back. R.E.R. Motorcity Yamaha privateer Nate Kanney was running near the top five as well until a cracked engine case ended his day on the last lap. KTM's National Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty returned to the fray but struggled with suspension setup, and Shane Watts debuted the Funmart KTM 250 SXF, but jetting problems on his new bike cost him power and time. Kawasaki Team Green's Chuck Woodford returned to action after a chest injUry but was unable to finish. Jason Wiegandt Michelin boss Nicolas Goubert withdrew his threat to pull the company's support from the British Superbike Championship following the theft of one of its latest tires at a BSB race at the Irish Mondello Park Circuit. At the time, Goubert suggested Michelin might abandon the series after what he felt was a case of industrial espionage. In Spain, he backed off those threats, promising to honor his contract with the HRC-backed HM Plant Honda team. Goubert said the company would stay with the team to the end of the year, "because we had a contract with them, the factory team, the relationship with Honda, and so on." As for 2006, he said, "We'll see." The incident was "totally unacceptable," he said, The reason Michelin issued a press release was to warn all the teams and organizers that if nothing was done, something more important could go missing. "So we're in the sport environment, but now it's big business, and unfortunately, some people have got the same way of acting that what they have in business. And we want to keep that environment friendly, at least for the people coming, but we're not ready to take that sort of risk." Goubert said that Michelin didn't want "to have to put a guard with a Kalashnikov every night around our trucks in the race paddock." The chances of ever recovering the tire are negligible, he said. "Not making any criticism over the police, [we're) sure we will not find anything. I think it's impossible." Goubert pointed out that it wasn't the first time a race tire had gone missing but that it was the first time it appeared to be a professional job: The truck was broken into dUring the night, and a single tire, one of several unique tires made with the top-secret 3CM molding process. was taken. "We had won six races out of eight, half of them with only one rider," he said of the brand's results with rider Ryuichi Kiyonari and Michael Rutter. "When you look at results like that in a place where Dunlop of course is very strong, you can be sure that we're making efforts. Easy to understand, if we were giving away just commercial tires, no way we can have these results." Kiyonari and Rutter stand one-two in the points standings, Could World Superbike make a return to the United States? The possibility was hinted at in a request made to FIM safety boss Claude Danis from Road America, site of the most recent round of the AMA Superbike Championship. Danis received a request for an inspection from an individual representing the very fast and slightly flawed track on the Friday of the Catalunya, Spain, race weekend. "I received it yesterday, and I answer today, and I said, 'Okay, sorry, but I am full until the middle of November,''' Danis said. "They were asking some other details, and I told them the details. I don't know if they will answer to me. I don't know what they will say." The purpose of the letter was to have an FIM homologation, Danis said. "They put [SBK organizers] Flammini in copy, so it means they are talking; anyvvay, I know they are talking for a possible Superbike in the future. Actually, the request was FIM homologation. Not mentioning if it was for Superbike or grand prix or anything else." Danis last visited the 4-mile road course several years ago when Dorna was considering it as a potential site of a U.S. GP. '" don't what is the condition of the circuit now," he said. Danis shot down rumors that Virginia International Raceway, a natural road course near the American East Coast, was in the market for an FIM event. "Until now, I didn't receive any requests from anybody. No requests from the federation. no requests from the circuit, no request from Flammini," Danis said. The one circuit that does require his immediate attention is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, home to the July 10 Red Bull U.S. GP. "I'm leaving Tuesday, and I make the official inspection on Wednesday," Danis said. Suzuki confirmed what had been expected for weeks: that the team would have a oneoff appearance in Red Bull colors at the Red Bull U.S. GP. Red Bull is keeping the color scheme under wraps, but Suzuki rider John Hopkins has seen the design of the bikes and leathers. "It's similar to how the Red Bull Yamaha was painted up," said Hopkins, who began his GP career on a Red Bull WCM Yamaha YZRSOO. "Just full-blown Red Bull Yamaha, Similar style to that. Newer colors like Formula One; they have different colors. It was lighter blue back then. I think it's going to be darker." Suzuki team manager Paul Denning admitted it was a one-race deal but added that "Suzuki is actively seeking a title sponsor, not necessarily on a financial basis. but to strike up a marketing partnership. The factory doesn't need financial assistance in order to go racing, but it opens up avenues of promotion and opportunities that an unsponsored situation doesn't. We are very keen to secure a title sponsor, but Red Bull has made it very clear that this a one-off deal for the U,S. GP. They want to be in MotoGP next year, but they clearly have options. We are hoping that we can deliver them a great result at Laguna and demonstrate potential for 2006. We are hoping that it will lead to bigger things. They do have other options, but we hope that after Laguna, one of them will be us. It certainly can't put us in a weaker position, because they've trusted us to do a job for them at Laguna." The next generation of German riders was represented by a familiar name at the Catalunya Grand Prix. Stefan Brad!, the 15year-old son of 1991 2S0cc World Championship runner-up Helmut Bradl, made his debut in the 12Scc class. The younger Bradl, a regular campaigner in the German and European championships, arrived in Spain with only 22 road races under his belt. Last weekend, he raced in a German Championship event in Hungary. Barcelona was the first of three wildcard races for the schoolboy, who hopes to do the entire series in 2006. Noting that his father finished second in the 2S0cc championship, the junior Bradl said, "My ambition is to be one place better in the World Championship than my father." Bradl had to depart quickly after the race in order to be home in time for the Monday morning school bell. The Dutch TT at the historic Circuit van Drenthe in Assen will remain on the calendar for another decade. The TT is oldest Continued on page 9 CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 22, 2005 7

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