Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly..• 3D YEARS AGO... Augu§t 12. 1975 Continued from page II MX Sports Center video show will give viewers the feel of the event every morning. And of course, we'll have the DMXS humor thrown in there as welL" MXSports.com will serve as the official home of the streaming audio and the MX SportsCenter video show. Tony DiStefano and Marty Smith both clinched their res- pective National Motocross Champ- ionships at Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. It was the final round of the Inter-AMA Series, the series DiStefano won. There were still two rounds remaining in the 12Scc Nationai Series, in which Smith won his titie... Kenny Roberts won the Monterey International Superbike race at laguna Seca Raceway after Yvon Duhamel crashed while holding a I{}second lead on lap 29 of the 4O-lap main event. It was Roberts' second consecutive laguna Seca victory... We tested the all-new Marzocchi leading axel fork. It boasted some attention-getting characteristics, one of which was more travel. It was said that this fork would be in production soon. 20 YEARS AGO.•. Augu§t 14. 1985 Yamaha's Jacky Vimond was leading the 2S0cc World Motocross Championship points standings, and he graced the cover. Inside, we spoke with him about h is season so far... Mike Baldwin clinched the Fonmula One Road Racing title at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington. Ohio, with his convincing win. The title was Baldwin's fourth in a row and the fifth of his career... Garth Sweetland won the Arizona Desert Racing Association's Cinder Mountain 100 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Finishing second was Pat Prosser. Third went to Scott Harden aboard a Husqvarna. Today, Harden still races, and he recently competed in the Dakar Rally... Dutchman Gert-Jan van Doom won the 10th round of the 250cc World Motocross Championships in Holland. The win put him into fourth in the standings. 10 YEARS AGO••• Augu§t 9. 1995 Kawasaki's Mike laRocco showed up on the cover after his win at the ninth round of the AMA 250cc National Motocross Series in Millville, Minnesota. Kawasaki swept both classes that day, with Robbie Reynard winning the 125cc class as well... Scott Parker scored his 64th Grand Nationai victory when he passed Mike Hacker with fIVe laps to go at round 12 of the AMA Grand National Championship Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The win gave Parker a 25-point lead over second in the series standings... Larry Roeseler teamed up with Regie Dunlap to win the Cal City Midnight Romp in California City, Califomia. Then, after the race was over, Roeseler went on to win the four-wheel truck class with codriver Rod Muller. • Supermoto will rock and roll downtown Cleveland, Ohio, on August 6-7 when the second round of the AMA-sanctioned 2005 Pro-Am NASMOTO Grand Prix hits the Lake Erie waterfront adjacent to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. North American Supermoto will stage the NASMOTO Grand Prix of Cleveland on a custom-built, spectator-friendly track at Northcoast Harbor. The weekend will be packed with additional entertainment, including live music. freestyle motocross exhibitions, demo rides and much more. Also on tap for the weekend is the TNT Freestyle Moto-X Show, highlighted by the aerial tricks of Tommy "Tomcat" Clowers, a three-time X Games gold medallist, and "Full Tilt" Jeff Tilton with his legendary No-Handed Whip stunt. Free SuperTTrax motorcycle demo rides will also be offered by participating KTM dealerships. Demo riders must have an existing motorcycle license and supply their own protective riding gear. As part of the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at Virginia Internationai Raceway, scheduled for the weekend of August 26-28, race promoters Race Promotion Management have announced a Superstars Kart Enduro Challenge for Thursday, August 2S. Each cart will feature four drivers: one Superbike racer, one media celebrity, one fan, and one staff member from either AHA. VIR, RPM or event sponsor Suzuki. Each driver will get I0 laps of the flVe-eighths-mile, 24-foot-wide road racing kart circuit, and then they will pit for a driver change to one of their teammates. At the end of 40 laps, the kart with the fastest cumulative time is declared the winner. Following the race there will be a reception for all the participants, where trophies will be presented and fan participants will receive a CD of photographs taken during the race. All fans who purchase an advance ticket to the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals by the end of the day on August 12 will have their names entered in the eligibility drawing. Nine names will be drawn, and those picked will be invited to compete in the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals Superstars Kart Enduro Challenge. In the event that any of those picked will not be able to attend on August 25 (which is a private test day for the teams, with the general public not allowed), VIR will continue to pick names until we have one fan driver for each of the nine teams. Racers who will be participating in the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals Superstars Kart Enduro include the following superstars of the sport: Eric Bostrom, Roger Lee Hayden, Aaron Yates, Neil Hodgson, Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, Aaron Gobert, Kevin Schwantz and a rider to be named later. An additional, 10th team will be fielded by Triangle Cycles of Danville, with Pro racer Larry Pegram anchoring the driver lineup. To purchase advance tickets, visit www.virdub.comor www.rpmcolorado.com. CycieFest 2005 will again be held in Copper Mountain, Colorado, August 19-21, with the event featuring rounds three and four of the AMA Supenmoto Championship. "Of all the Supermoto events, this is by far one of the best organized," said Suzuki rider Steve Drew, who will compete in the AMA Supenmoto races at CycieFest. "The atmosphere is super cool being at a ski resort. The track feels really good, and everyone that came up last year is coming back again and bringing their friends." Motorcycle enthusiasts and their families will be able to test out countless models and styles of motorcycles, shop for bike gear and go on scenic road rides, according to event promoters RPM. CycieFest will also include concerts on both Saturday and Sunday. "The face of motorcycle riding is changing," said Cameron Gray, RPM's vice president and longtime motorcycle aficionado, "and the fan base has grown exponentially in the past 10 years. We are really excited to bring this event back to our own backyard, Copper Mountain." This will mark the third annual CycleFest. More than 11,000 attended CycieFest in 2003, and 18,000 were on hand in 2004. Tickets for CycieFest went on sale May 10. For more inform~tion or to purchase tickets, visit www.rpmcolorado.com or call 8661249-1192. American Suzuki has announced that the GSX-R Owner Appreciation Celebration honoring this year's 20th anniversary of the Suzuki GSX-R has been "an enormous success." The new program celebrates Suzuki's line of GSX-R sportbikes and is being held in conjunction with select Suzuki-sponsored events across the country. The next event slated to commemorate Suzuki's flagship line is Suzuki Cyclefest at Copper Mountain, Colorado, August 20-21. Registered Suzuki GSX-R and Hayabusa owners attending Suzuki Cyclefest will receive a free ticket to the event, lunch, special parking, a commemorative GSX-R T-shirt, a GSX-R 20th anniversary pin and more. "Suzuki is enjoying sharing the celebration of GSX-R with our customers, because these motorcycles have helped Suzuki become the number-one sportbike manufacturer," said Mel Harris, ASMC vice president of the motorcycle/ATV division. "Since its 1985 debut, the GSX-R has represented Suzuki in that its high-perfonnance 'DNA: is carried over into all of our products. It's no surprise to us that the GSX-R has not only helped Suzuki comer the market share on sportbikes on the roast· but that the GSX-R has also won us numerous championships on racetracks worldwide." Suzuki GSX-R owners can register for and find out more information about Suzuki Cyclefest and other Customer Appreciation Celebration events by logging on to www.suzukicycles.com/gsxr20. The online charity auction is still ongoing for road racer Vincent Haskovec, who suffered paralysis in his crash at Infineon Raceway in May. Top riders in the AMA (including motocross), MotoGP and World Superbike paddock have donated items to be auctioned through Race Promotion Management and The Wegman Benefit Fund to help offset the already huge medical costs for Haskovec. The Vincent Haskovec Benefit Auction started on June 13 and runs through midnight on August 28. Pictures of the items to be auctioned can be viewed at www.rpmcolorado.com. At the auction's conclusion (and after proceeds are collected), there will be a check presentation in the winners' circle at the AMA Superbike round at Road Atlanta. This will occur on Sep- tember 4 - immediately following the final Superbike race dUring Road Adanta's AMA season finale. For more infonmation, contact Leah Sherritt at leah@idbcorp.com or Cameron Gray at etg70@aol.com; write to RPM, 7951 East Mapelwood Avenue, Suite 328, Englewood, CO BOlli; orcalI303{377-3226. AMA Pro Racing has announced the proposed technical rule changes for the 2006 AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship. AMA Pro Racing licensed riders and credential holders may comment on proposed rule changes during a 30-day period beginning Friday, July 29 through Monday, August 29. Credential holders with RIDERS ONLY password access may also comment viaAMA Pro Racing's RIDERS ONLY website at www.amaproracing.com/ridersonly. At the conclusion of the 30-day period, AMA Pro Racing will review submissions prior to forwarding the package to the AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors for ratification. The official release about the proposed rule changes is as follows: The follOWing rules change proposals were created utilizing input from AMA Pro Racing staff and the AMA Flat Track Advisory Committee. AMA Pro Racing's Board of Directors has given preliminary approval to submit the following rule change proposals for a 30-day comment period as required by our rules-making procedures. Proposal I: Maximum engine displacemelitt for four-stroke single-cylinder engines (except two-valve pushrod engines) will be decreased to 450cc from 505cc. In the long term, this change should reduce the initial cost of equipment for series competitors. Proposal 2: All flat track motorcycles must be driven by rear-wheeltransmitted power only. Emerging technology involving front-wheel drive could be detrimental to the balance of competition in flat track racing. Moreover, such equipment would dramatically increase the cost of racing. "The recommendation to lower displacement has been discussed for the past couple of racing seasons, and it's simply an effort to reduce competitor costs by better aligning the class with readily available, production-based equipment," said Merrill Vanderslice, AMA Pro Racing's director of competition. "Ultimately, it should also result in increased rider participation and greater involvement in AMA Flat Track racing between the various manufacturers. Similarly, the proposed rule to ensure that only traditional, rear-drive motorcycles remain eligible in AMA Flat Track is to prevent emerging technology from unnecessarily increasing costs and being a detriment to the balance of competition." Living legend Jay Springsteen will be racing on Saturday, August 13 in Samia, Ontario, in Canada just minutes across the Canadian Border at the Full Throttle Festival of Horsepower. Canadian flat track stars Steve Beattie and Dominic Beaulac will battle Springer on the fast five-eighths-mile track Saturday night at 7 p.m. Beattie and Beaulac will then turn their guns toward nine-time AMA Grand National Champion, 94-time AMA Grand National event winner and three-time AMA Athlete of the Year Scott Parker as he makes his Supermoto debut on Sunday, August 14, at II a.m. For more information, check out www.festivalofhorsepower.com. CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 10, 2005 13

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