Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Williamson Wins His First C oncentrating on racing this year is starting to payoff for Justin Williamson, as the young man from Florida picked up his first Pro-class win at the Moonshine 100 presented by ITp, round six of the Parts Unlimited OffRoad Motorcycle and ATV Nationals. Held outside of the small town of Memphis, Missouri, on a warm, sunny day, Williamson got off the line well on his Yamaha and tucked in behind defending series champ Jimmy Jarrett and rookie Pro Chris Robertson. Both of them ran into mechanical problems early on, leaVing Williamson in front, alone and pulling away. "I just kept thinking, 'Push as hard as possible.' I wanted to get as big a lead and cushion as possible, because I knew somebody was going to try to make a push to get me," Williamson said. Shane Watts quickly worked his way into the runner-up slot on his KTM 200 EXC, but he was unable to cut into Williamson's lead. "I was riding nice and easy, but my brakes were going out on me," Watts said. "I kept a nice, cruisy pace, and it was the quickest two-hour race ever. It felt like no more than an hour. I was stoked about that." Chris Bach found himself in third place on a KTM 2S0 EXC and anxious to match his series-best placing of the previous round. He, however, faced the prospect of holding offthe hard-charging Brian Garrahan, who was coming back from a mediocre opening lap on his Suzuki. "I knew Brian [Garrahan] would be coming like a freight train, man," Bach said. "It was kind of inevitable that he'd be up there." Though Garrahan felt a bit off the pace in the tight stuff, he successfully reeled in Bach to claim the final spot on the podium. Bach was quite satisfied with his fourth, and series newcomer Dustin Gibson rounded out the top five on his new KTM 250 SXF. Mark Kariya Jordan Team Shows Suzuka Interest Michael Jordan Motorsports sent team coordinator Rich Alexander and technical manager Pete Mauhar to the Suzuka B Hours to have a closer look at the event in preparation for racing there in 2006. "The decision to come to the 8 Hours happened last fall when we negotiated the contract with Mel Harris and Suzuki," Alexander said. "The plan was to come here and compete. Jason Pridmore, having past experience here, thought it would be really neat to bring the Jordan team over here. He asked Mel Harris if he could help us in doing that, and Mel said he could. Jason told Micheal Jordan in our negotiations last year that he would like to come here and do it, and Michael Jordan was excited to do it." According to Alexander, Michael Jordan Motorsports has long-term goals beyond AMA Superbike. "Michael Jordan has aspirations of going to Europe," Alexander said. "He really likes racing in America, and will race in America, but he would also like to go to the next levei at some time. We kind of thought that this would be a good stepping stone for going overseas and seeing what ~ is like. The Suzuka 8 Hours has been a preny prestigious race over the years. We thought that Michael Jordan Motorsporrs coming over here could be a really good thing for the team and for our efforts." Up until May, Michael Jordan Motorsports was planning on racing the 2005 Suzuka 8 Hours, but Pridmore's crash and related injuries in the AMA round at Barber caused the team to cancel the plan for this year. "It was a definite plan [to race the 2005 Suzuka 8 Hours] at the end of last year, and we were in the works of making it all happen prior to the AMA race at Barber earlier this year," Alexander said. ':At that race, Jason got hurt, so we thought it would be best if we scrubbed the deaJ and instead come here and do our homework. We kind of felt even this year coming over here without doing our homework we were at a disadvantage. So Pete Mauhar from the Gemini side of the team and I came over here. We've been taking a lot notes and taking pictures. We've been talking to the track and to our sponsors, Suzuki, and our other sponsors. The Suzuka 8 Hours is very eXCiting. It's been great to come over here and see it." Alexander and Mauhar found that the race is far from any other kind of road race and were glad to have been spectators before being participants. "The bikes here are very, very trick," Alexander said. "That's opened Pete's and my eyes, to see what we need to do to come over here and be competitive. Whether or not Michael Jordan Motorsports races the 2006 Suzuka B Hours comes down to schedules. "We are keen to make next year happen," Alexander said. "We have two issues that we need to work on. We have the date for next year's Suzuka 8 Hours, and we need the dates for the AMA series. If there is a conflict, then we probably can't do the B Hours. To do this properly we will need to build two teams: an 8 Hours team, meaning bikes and equipment; and our AMA team. That's a big effort in itself, but I feel we can do it, as long as the dates work. The other issue is Michael Jordan: We would really like Michael Jordan to be here. That's a big part of it as well." It Tracy Hagen Briefly..• Continued from page 9 funds. In addition, the bill calls for motorcycles to be included in research on Intelligent Transportation systems, and it makes available $25 million to individual states for motorcycle-safety training and awareness programs. Off-highway motorcyclists and ATV enthusiasts will benefit from the transportation bill as well, through $370 million in gasoline taxes earmarked for the Recreational Trails Program. Clear Channel Entertainment's Motor Sports division has announced the 2005 U,S, Open track layout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, October 7-9, which will once again feature the distinct inside/outside track design that has been a staple at the Las Vegas showdown since its inception. "This year's U.S. Open track should be one of the best yet," Dirt Wurx's Rich Winkler said. "It's more technical and tighter than the previous years', which will make it challenging for the riders. There are still some straightaways to allow for speed, as well. The track should be a happy medium, pleasing both the fans and the riders." To view this year's U.S. Open track Layout, go to www.ussx.com/tickets.asp The eighth annual U.S. Open, which will broadcast nationally on NBC for the second consecutive season, features the world's top motocross racers competing for the a race purse of $300,000. Tickets for the 2005 U.S. Open are on sale now and available through www.ticketmaster.com.bycalling70.114744000 or at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. MatorcyclelndustryJobs.com (MIJ) is proud to announce its first "Mota Job Fair." We are offering unlimited, free, wanted ad postings to all motorcycle/powers ports companies. The Moto Job Fair starts August 15 and runs through August 30. All companies in the motorcydeJpowersports industry in need of new employees are welcome to place as many help-wanted ads as they like, and they will be posted to MIJs website for free during the Job Fair dates. Employers just need to email the ads to motojobfair@motorcycleindustryjobs.com by August 14 to reserve their space. Moto Job Fair is the perfect opportunity for companies and jobseekers get together and find that perfect employment match. Moto Job Fair is the ideal time for jobseekers to browse through hundreds of open positions in the motorcycle industry to find that perfect job. Jobseekers can create a personal account that will also allow the employers to search for them. MIJ encourages everyone to create a jobseeker account and just be ready for that call that could change his or her career or life. Also, for a limited time, employers who post a 30-day paid ad will receive free resume browsing and our automated e-mail notification services. Employers can browse through MIJs resume database at their leisure, and emails are sent directly to Jobseekers matching the criteria of the position posted. A single, 30-day ad posting costs just $100. A golf tournament will be held to raise money for the Next Steps Foundation (www.next-steps.org), a spinal-cord injury research organization. The tournament is being put together by the parents of Ricky James, the 16-year-old motocrosser who suffered paralysis in a crash in March at Lake Whitney. For more infonnation, e-mail rjames@younghomes.com. Red Bull KTM supercross and motocross racer Nathan Ramsey will be sitting out the rest of the 2005 AMA Motocross Championship Series due to a nagging wrist injury sustained during this past Supercross season, according to his team. "This past Supercross season was amazing for me, and I had hoped to continue that momentum into the motocross series, but I haven't been producing anywhere near the results I wanted," Ramsey said in a team release. "I'm disappointed, but I'm going to get my wrist fixed, and let it fully heal. I plan on coming back to the 2006 Supercross season ready to roll!" Team manager Larry Brooks added: "Nathan's health is extremely important to us, and we felt that he should sit out the rest of the season to get his wrist properly fixed and to have it heal correctly. The Red Bull KTM team is going to miss his presence at the races, but we feel this is the best decision before the 2006 season starts." Advanstar Communications Inc., has announced that BooKoo Energy Drink has signed a multi-year agreement as the title sponsor of its new Arenacross Championship Series. "BooKoo is the perfect marketing partner for our new Arenacross series," said Mike Kidd, Advanstar's race director. "BooKoo combines great-tasting energy drinks, a passion for their business and more than a little attitude. This winning combination of superior product, power and marketing savvy has quickly made BooKoo a major force in the energy-beverage market and uniquely parallels our own racing vision." The BooKoo Arenacross Championship Series is a 12-event race series that kicks off in Fort Worth, Texas, November 4-6 and wraps up with the finals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, February 10-12, 2006. Factory teams and independent riders will race for the largest race and championship purses ever posted, according to Advanstar. "Our mission remains simple: to engage our customers with more speed, bigger air and better tracks, "Kidd said. "With a great TV and promotional package, exciting special events and features, superior service and now a great series sponsor in BooKoo, we will succeed in our goal to reinvent Arenacross." John Polk, founder of BooKoo Energy Drink, said that the company was very excited to be a part of the new Arenacross series. "We see this as a natural fit, and look forward to a great season of Arenacross racing," Polk said. The 2006 World Superbike season may only feature three flyaway races after all, despite hopes to boost the number and quality of the events out of Europe. It looks like they will be Phillip Island, teamed up with Qatar and Kyalami. There may be room for a race in Japan (Suzuka is most likely), and although the deal with Valencia for the Continued on page '3 CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 17, 2005 11

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