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/128404
Godspeed, Massimo Laverda Massimo Laverda, one of the key players in creating the modem-day Italian bike industry, passed away on October 26 after a long illness. Together with his younger brother Piero, who survives him, Massimo was responsible for developing the motorcycle company established in 1949 by their father, Francesco, as a spinoff from the Laverda lamily's giant agricultural machinery factory, from a manufacturer of small-capacity 75ccl IOOcc runabouts with a sporting flair, which helped satisfy the need for basic transportation in postwar Italy, to a world player that invented today's Italian twin-cylinder sportbike concept. That's because it was entirely thanks to Massimo Laverda that the first large-capacity multi-cylinOOr motorcycle to be built by an Italian manufacturer was launched at the London Motorcycle Show in November 1966 - the SF6S0 Laverda, later joined by a 750cc version the following year. This came after a 1964 visit to the USA by the bike-mad Massimo - previously the owner of several big-engined sportbikes, including a Vincent Black Shadow and BMW R69S - convinced him of the potential for his family's bike marque in an American market in which Triumph's 650 Bonneville was a proven best-seller. Accordingly, Massimo convinced his skeptical father to start development of a range of sohc twin-cylinder models with a fove-speed gearbox whose modem design (which clearly took lessons from the nascent Japanese motorcycle industry, especially Honda) established Laverda in the first rank of European marques, and those were followed in 1969 by the company's first 10000c threecylinder prototype, which gave rise in 1973 to the 3C production version and its later iconic Jota sports version. Again, Laverda was the first Italian company - indleed, the first in Europe - to produce a full one-liter sportbike of the kind that predominates today, and it was entirely due to Massimo Laverda's drive and enthusiasm that any of this happened. A cultured and articulate man who loved art and good food, as well as creating the very worthy successive vintages of Valpolicella wine from the vineyard surrounding his beauti- ful house perched on a hill beneath the towering Dolomite Mountains to the north of Laverda's Breganze base, Massimo Laverda had one overriding disappointment in the 40 years 01 Moto Laverda's existence before the company's agri-business was sold off to Fiat and motorcycle production ended under the family's ownership in 1988. This was that the prototype V6 Laverda endurance racer that made one briel but memorable appearance in the 1978 Bol d'Or 24-hour race, reaching a top speed of 178 mph down the Mistral Straight (almost 20 mph faster than the race-winning four-cylinder Honda!), and which is acclaimed as the ultimate technical tour de force of the Superbike era, was effectively aborted as a project after its Single outing, thanks to inherent problems with its shaft-drive transmission. (The technology for resolving this problem didn't exist until later.) But the fact that the bike existed at all was thanks to Massimo Laverda's lifelong passion for motorcycling - a passion that was only extinguished with his sad passing this month. He will be greatly missed by all Italian motorcycle tifosi. Alan Cathca" Hines Clinches NHRA Title, Schnitz Wins Pomona Andrew Hines and Ryan Schnitz both had something to celebrate following their final-round Pro Stock Motorcycle battle at the NHRA Auto Club Finalis at Pomona Raceway in Pomona, California, on November 6. Schnitz won his third title of the season aboard Rob Muzzy's S&S-powered Buell after Hines red-lighted on the Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley V-rod. However, Hines wasn't too upset by the loss, as he clinched his second straight NHRA Powerade championship earlier in the day. "This wins was a great way to end the season," Schnltz said. "It is just as special as my other two wins In Columbus and Denver. This final round is exactly like the final Andrew and I ran earlier this year in Columbus. He red-lighted and 1broke, and that's exactly what happened this time, too. I never saw Andrew's red-light, and when my bike wouldn't shift Into third gear, I thought I was in big trouble. I didn't know I'd won until I got to the other end of the track. The television crew carne over to me, and I wondered why they were going to Interview the loser. That's when I realized that I'd won." Schnitz, who finished the season as the fourth-ranked rider in the NHRA points standings, qualified in the fourth spot with a 7.06. He ran considerably slower than that on race day, but his string of 7.I-second elapsed times was enough to beat opponents Tom Bradford, Antron Brown and Craig Treble. "This track was difficult lor everyone this weekend," said Schnitz. "We had great weather conditions during qualifying, and everyone should have run really fast, but the track was tough to read. A lot 01 us missed the clutch setup. We ran well enough to get the job done, and that's all that counts." Hines entered the 15th and final event 01 2005 holding a 47-point lead over his Screamln' Eagle teammate G.T. Tonglet, meaning that Tonglet needed to advance three more rounds than Hines to claim the title. What little drama there was ended early when Tonglet lost In the opening round against Mike Berry's Kawasaki, clinching the title for Hines. "Believe it or not, I was even more nervous this year than I was in 2004, when I was battling Angelle [Sampey) for the title," said Hines. "I knew that either G.T. or I was going to win and the number-one plate was going on a Harley-Davidson again, but after winning the championship last year, I didn't want give it up so soon. My brother Man won three straight championships from 1997 to 1999, and I'd like to match that, at the every least. I won two races this year, and wish I could have won a couple more, but overall I think I had a great season. I was the only rider to run in the sixes, and I did that twice. Thanklully, I got 40 bonus points because I set the NHRA national record twice. If I didn't have those points, this championship would have been even closer." In the final PoweraOO points standings, Hines was followed by Tonglet, Sampey, Schnitz, Chip Ellis, Antron Brown, Craig Treble, Gena Scali, Steve Johnson and Karen Stoffer, who sat out the Pomona round while recovering from injuries suflered In a pit-area accident at the previous round in Las Vegas, Nevada. KevIn McKenna World Speedway 2006 With its rounds in Krsko (Slovenia), Wroclaw (Poland), Eskilstuna (Sweden), Prague (Czech Republic), Cardiff (England) and Copenhagen (Denmark) now confirmed, the World Individual Speedway Championship is almost ready to go for the 2006 season. The remaining rounds, as well as the sites of the Speedway World Cup, should be announced before the end 01 November, according to the FIM. The 2006 Individual Speedway World Championship Grand Prix is as follows: April 22 Slovenia, Krsko May 6 Poland, Wroclaw May 20 Sweden, Eskilstuna June 3 Great Britain, Cardiff June 24 Denmark, Copenhagen July 29 TBA August 12 Sweden, TBA August 26 NOVEMBER 16, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS TBA September 23 10 Czech Republic, Prague September 9 TBA