Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~ Button' Benefits· the Internet and over the phone during the live auc- PHOTOS BY FRANK HOPPEN With the on-line bidding cOr1}bined with a live auction at Chaparral Motorsports on Tuesday, February 8, roughly $62,000 was raised to help the injured Jimmy Button pay his medical bills. On-line bidding, which closed at midnight before the live auction, helped up the ante and gave in-store bidders a price tag to compete with on the over 325 items that were l Q [ [ [ c o up for grabs. The live auction started at 6 p.m. and lasted for over four hours, giving the 300-some- tion. The museum's donations from purchases added up to approximately $ 18,000. Various other items that were auctioned off were Mat Mladin's AMA Superbike Championship leathers, which left the building for $1250. A Husqvarna motorcycle donated by Malcolm Smith (above right) went to an Internet bidder for $2600 and Jack McGrath (left), Jeremy's dad, bought a GT Showtime Model BMX bike for $515. The auction was obviously thing good Samaritans who attended plenty of time and a haven for all kinds of motorsports collectors, but it wasn't items to bid on. Of all the items sold. Jeremy McGrath's Chi·Chi Ball, Chrome, Troy Lee. Bell helmet sold for the most money. lin amazing $9750. The helmet. which was worn by McGrath lit Anaheim D. win go on display lit the Prirrun ~ Museum. A IepRsentative from the Primm Museum bid for itens via all autographed jerseys and boots. Actor Matt LeBlanc donated four autographed scripts and four tickets to a screening of "Friends.' The package was purchased by GIllY Becker eX PACE Motorsports for $2000. In a dIffi· aJlt time, Button can rest assured thet he has a lot eX friends in, and out eX. the motorcydlng communlly. 8 o o o u o o o o 8 • • Austrian manufacturer KTJII\'s bid to assume control of Moto Guzzi has stalled, with the December deadline for acceptance of KTJII\ boss Stefan Peirer's offer having passed without a deal being struck. Though Guzzi shareholders have bought themselves some breathing space with a rights-share offer generating around 56 million of extra capital, the long·tenn future of the historic Italian marque still remains unresolved and can only be determined by a successful buyout, according to a London· based merchant banker specializing in the motorcycle Industry. "Basically, Guzzi shareholders have bought themselves some breathing space, but at the cost of diluting the value of their investment: he says. "Peirer says he's still interested, but only on hi!(tenns - and it's a fact that playing a waiting game in a situation like this. works in the interests of the buyer, not the seller. The odds on an eventual KTM acquisition are shortening unless Guzzi finds an Italian white knight they can team up with, like Cagiva. The company has so much debt attached to it that I doubt very much an outside investment house like Quantum or TPG would be interested in KTM's attempt to buy Moto Guzzi doesn't look likely to happen, but with record production numbers, the Austrian company is doing fine on its own. ,......, ( ( trying to tum it around. Short of a massive Infusion of cash from within the company, Guzzi badly needs to get hitched to a successful eltisting manufacturer with a proven management track record and the capability to expand its range by adding Mota Guzzi to it without any crossover - and KTM would appear to lit the bill, which is why Peirer can afford to play hardball. One way or the other. though, rm sure there'll be a change in Guzzi's situation soon." With KTM's annual production having increased in the 1998/99 model year to 29,000 motorcycles of all kinds (but predominately still off-road models, of course) - an increase of 340% over the company's ftrst year under Peirer's control back in 1993/94 - and the linn's new factory now fully on-line since last September (it's capable of raising that figure to 40,000 bikes II year), KTM Is set to expand still further, with or without Moto Guzzi. The 530 employees at its Jll\attighofen base in Austria consistently reach new productivity targets set for them - a lesson contrasting with GuZzi's lackadaisical production. Though the proposed management buyout of the ftnn's Swedish Husaberg subsidiary has yet to be concluded, KTM is on a roll. and with the new LC8 75degree V-twin range due to debut at the Munich Show in September. that 40,000 production ceiling at the new factory may be reached sooner rather than later. ) LDris CapirQssi To cast your vote. log on to http://www.cyclenews.com. cyclenews.com reader poll question of the weel< J o n I w 76 What is primarily responsible for Un: alarmin season? FEBRUARY 23, 2000' cue I e nurn 1:1 nevws f 'njuries 50 hu this Supercross Trtsuya Harada Z.'"," Se:tlr Gibe:rnau Z.O","

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