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/128401
Briefly... Merriman, Aro Reign in Italy, Knight Burned D avid Knight's hopes of an enjoyable, hassle-free final round to the 2005 in World Enduro Championship Schilpario, Italy, October 15-16, went sailing out of the window on day one after the recently crowned champ was penalized 12 minutes for passing through the pre-finish time check early. As a result, he placed 16th in the official E3 class results on day one before going on to top the E3 results on day two. Riding as the first competitor in the event, Knight arrived at the end of the opening day's third lap to find that the staff manning the pre-finish check wasn't ready for his arrival. With the check having been placed on a busy and highly congested road that ran along the outside of the paddock, Knight realized that he and Finn Marko Tarkkala had passed through the check that wasn't properly set up. Nevertheless, the international jury penalized Knight and Tarkkala and, as a result, they found themselves down in the second-to-Iast and last positions in the E3 class at the end of day one. In the Enduro I class, newly crowned World Champion Ivan Cervantes opted to compete aboard a 125cc KTM "just for fun," and not the 250cc four-stroke that had carried him to the title. But it was Italian riders Alessandro Belometti and Simone A1bergoni who performed best, with Belometti topping day one and Albergoni topping day two. In topping day one, Belometti claimed his first-ever WEC victory and placed 22 seconds ahead of French rider Marc Germain. Cervantes finished third on the day. On day two, A1bergoni claimed the top spot in the EI class - his first and only win Opie Caylor, Matt Lynn, Robert Jensen, Tray Batey and Jimmy Moore were the big winners in the Suzuki Cup races held in conjunction with the WERA Grand National finals at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, on October 16. Caylor won the GSX-R600 final over Ty Howard and Keith Marshall; Lynn won the GSX-R I000 final over Caylor and Scott Carpenter; Jensen beat Brian Stokes and Howard to win the GSX-R750 Cup final; Batey won the SVI 000 final over Mark Junge and Cale Swiger; and Moore took the SV650 Cup victory over Brian Suffridge and Tim Birdsong. Samuli Aro (pictured) shared top honors with Stefan Merriman at the of the 2005 WEC season. But A1bergoni didn't have things easy, as day-one winner Belometti matched his pace, with the pair arriving at the final test of the day just one second apart. With Albergoni outpacing Belometti on the final test of the day, he topped the class by less than four secQnds. Cervantes again finished third. In the Enduro 2 class, Australian Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman claimed a 43-second victory at the end of the first day to finish ahead of 2005 E2 Wond Champion Samuli Aro. With Merriman claiming the win for Yamaha, KTM rider Aro was joined by teammate Alessandro Botturi on the podium. For Botturi, the event was his last for the Farioli KTM team. On day two, Aro moved to the top of the Enduro 2 class, where he finished over I 1/2 minutes ahead of Merriman, who crashed twice as he tried to catch of day one, Knight and TarkkaJa were the two fastest riders in the class. But it was French Gas Gas rider Seb Guillaume who was awarded the class win, while Mika Ahola and home rider Alessio Paoli claimed the runner-up and third-place spots. On day two, Knight was every bit as Arc after a mistake earlier in the day. dominant as he was on day one and Swede Bjorne Carlsson finished in third on day two. Despite officially placing in 16th and 17th in the Enduro 3 class results at the end topped the E3 class by close to I 1/2 minutes. Ahola claimed the runner-up posi- tion, with Guillaume placing third. Jonty Edmunds Kurtis Roberts will test his father's Proton V-five at the Almeria Circuit in Spain, October 26-27, with a decision to be made after that as to whether or not he is to race the bike in the season-ending Spanish Grand Prix at Valencia on November 6. "We're going to test the week before the Grand Prix, and Kurtis is going to ride then," said Chuck Aksland, Proton's team manager, from his home in England this afternoon. "It's the same bike as he raced last year, only with Michelin tires, so he knows the bike. If we make progress and he wants to do the Gp, we'll see, but if he doesn't feel comfortable... He [Roberts] has the best lap time of anyone who has ridden our fourstroke at Valencia, so he'd be in good shape for the GP. We'll see where it goes. Whether or not he does the actual race will be up to him." Aksland said there's also a chance that Jeremy McWilliams will attend the test, though having two riders and only one bike at a two-day test may be counter- productive. Road racer Vincent Haskovec underwent successful surgery at Long Beach Memorial Hospital in Long Beach, California, on Tuesday, October II, dealing with complications related to spinal injuries he suffered in a crash at Infineon Raceway last May. Surgeons removed infected tissue and bone from Haskovec's back, at the site of surgery done immediately after his injury to insert two titanium rods and 10 screws in his spine. The hardware was also removed, and the removed bone was replaced with Reynolds Retires February. "Instantly I knew it was time to stop. I had received a warning with my bro- Former British 5uperbike Champion John ken leg earlier in the year. I see this as a final warning, and I've made the decision to stop Reynolds announced his retirement from top- level motorcycle racing last week after a long and highly successful career that included three British 5uperbike Championship titles and highly competitive seasons in World Superbike and Grand Prix racing. The 40-year-old Rizla Suzuki star made the decision after a serious accident at the final round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch during practice on Friday, October 7. He crashed heavily, breaking four ribs on his right side, puncturing his right lung and breaking his left collarbone in the accident. He also suffered injuries to his neck and back, which may racing, more for my wife Shelley's sanity and for the good of my family than for me." Reynolds has been racing since he was 8 years old and has competed at the very highest level in Grand Prix, World Superbikes and British Superbikes. A triple British Superbike Champion, Reynolds was the defending series champion when he suffered his crash. compliment and a real honor. I am leaving the sport knowing that Rizla Suzuki thought I was good enough to win the championship again; thanks to them for that belief, it means a lot to me. I am stopping for the right reasons right now, knowing that I had an opportunity with a great team on a fantastic bike. "Thanks to my family, my sponsors and all the many people who gave me opportunities and support over the years - you all bone grafts from the hospital's bone bank. Haskovec is expected to remain hospital- Ized for several weeks. Well wishes can be directed to Haskovec at getwellvincent@gmail.com or c/o Team Hammer Inc., Team M4 EMGO Suzuki, P.O. Box 183, Wildomar, CA 92595-0183. Team Velocity Racing clinched the WERA National Endurance Series championship during Friday's season finale at Road Atlanta on October 14, finishing second overall in the four-hour race. The team wrapped up '" am satisfied and relaxed about my decision to retire," said Reynolds. "I'm in a know who you are," he added. ''Also, racing fans are quite simply the best sports lot of pain right now, but my spirits are very pOSitive, and I'm comfortable that there's an exciting new life for me ahead. Strangely fans in the world and have given me more inspiration and strength than they can ever enough, what makes it easier for me to career. It has been a brilliant ride, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I can't wait to get fit and start work again. I want to stock class championship during the last round at Barber Motorsports Park, so they stepped up to the Heavyweight Superbike class for the final round. Chuck Ivey, Reuben Frankenfield and Mark Crozier rode the TVR Yamaha to second overall and first in the Heavyweight Superbike class. thank the team Suzuki and Rizla for giving Crozier started the race, leading for a few me so much positive encouragement about laps before dropping back to second, Continued on page 1 J require corrective surgery. No complications were noted, and a full recovery is expected. "When I hit the barrier, it was like a switch accept is the fact that I had agreed to terms in my head flipped," said Reynolds, who came next season. The fact that Paul, the whole team and the guys at Suzuki had the confi- back to racing from a severely broken leg in dence to ask me to ride in 2006 is a massive with Rizla Suzuki team owner Paul Denning only four days earlier to race for the team know. I have achieved a lot and enjoyed my the future." its second consecutive Heavyweight Super- CYCLE NEWS • OaOBER 26, 2005 9