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/128608
@!JD@1!ll! 7]® OfiD7][f@@G!J@@ @oD\!7@[l@@® [ljJ®7]®[J@J'j@D@ §@07]O®fiD 7][lG!J@!Z When Chevy Trucks signed on to sponsor the AMA super· bike, dirt track and National Motocross Series, as well as the Kawasaki Supercross team, the racing world benefited. Now, Chevy Trucks moved their commitment to the mainstream of AMA Community Council-EI Dorado. a non-profit organization that works to protect motorcyclist rights conceming local, state and federal laws. and land issues while promoting responsible riding. has announced that Danny UMagoo ft Chandler will host the Motorsports F"ast & Festival in Placerville. Califomia, which will benefit injured motocrosser Donovan MitchelJ and Spinal Cord Research. The Banquet of Champions portion of the event will take place on May 20 at 5:30 p.m. with the Feast fol· lowing. The event will also feature Pee Wee racing for both kids and adults and there will also be live music and dancing. For more information. call 530/587 -2944. Rumors at the recent Trailblazers meeting was the fonmer land speed record holder Jack Dale had passed away. Not so says his son. Dale is currently living in Lancaster. California. motorcyclists by announcing they are going to produce a Chevy truck that they say is "designed to aid, abet and enthuse motorcycle racers and fans," adding that the truck will be designed with the input of the members of the Chevy Trucks Kawasaki team, including riders Rick Carmichael, Larry Ward and John Dowd (pictured). The new truck, the Silverado Motor· cycle Edition, could debut as soon as September at the U.S. Open of Super· cross in Las Vegas. The Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki team visited General Motors' design staff in February to brainstorm with the lead truck design· ers, and they made another visit just prior to this second Pontiac Supercross. The cosmetics are one thing, but the truck is being designed to be functional for motorcyclists. "This will not just be an appearance package," said Chevy Truck Designer Clay Dean. "We'lJ focus on function. We're going to create an icon vehicle that everyone who has experience with motorcycles can latch onto." You can learn to drag race your own motorcycle at Sturgis this year with the Thunder Alley Race School set to teach the basics of the sport on the 1/8th mile dra9strip. The session will take place on Monday, August 7 during Sturgis 2000, with classes set to begin at 10 a.m. Registration is $100 per student. For more information, call 203/425-8777. ex1. 41. Student drivers in Virginia will be learning a lot more about sharing the road with motorcyclists under a bill signed into law by Govemor James Gillmore, accordin9 to the AMA. The bill is one of three promotorcycling measures approved by this year's legislature and signed into law by Gilmore on March 10. All three proposals were backed by the Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists and ABATE of Virginia. The drivers' education bill. HB 430. requires that drivers education programs in the DONATED: Some $5000 worth of Hondaline chemicals and lubricants to the HonTech division of the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix. Arizona. by American Honda. APPOINTED: Kimberly J. Riordan. to the position of president of the career school division for the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMIl. a division of Universal Technical Institute (UTIl. CORRECTION: The correct website address for the CitiBeemers Motorcycle Club is: www.citibeemers.org. PROMOTED: Susan Worwa. to the newly created position of corporate public relations and loyalty marketing manager for Polaris. effective immediately. . .................................................. ,. U o J J o o o o The trucks will feature an easy-access loading ramp to get a motorcycle in and out of the back, with specific tie· downs and innovative storage areas in the box and in the cab. It will also have increased ride height, unique front and rear fascias, and integrated skid plates and an integrated brushbar. Designers are also working on creating a unique bed with access from both side and rear, not a traditional dropdown gate. The truck will be powered by a 5.3 liter Vortec V-8 motor. Henny Ray Abrams public schools include motorcycle awareness as part of the training. The governor also signed into law a bill that allows the sale of special license plates to support the Motorcycle Rider Safety Training Pro· gram. Under HB 429, special license plates with the slogan "Share the Road" will be sold. After the first 1000 plates are sold. $15 of the $25 special plate fee will be deposited into the Motorcycle Rider Safety Training Program Fund. The third new law allows motorcycles to be equipped with auxiliary brake lights - SB 247. Nintendo 64 and Game Boy - has thrown its hat in the ring. sponsoring 20-year-old Brian Mason for the last five Supercross events of the series in both the 125 and 250cc classes. Wearing gear emblazoned with the Excitebike 64 logo (the game is exclusive for the Nintendo 64 video-game system), the first-year pro is riding for what is called the Edge Supercross/ Excitebike 64 team. As part of the sponsorship, Mason will be making appearances and greeting fans at local retail appearances in Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago and Las Vegas. before scheduled Supercross events. For more infor· mation. visit the company's website at www.nintendo.com. With video game companies like Acclaim. EA Sports. THQ and 989 Sports all sponsoring motocross racing in one form or another, it's only fitting that what many consider to be the original MX video game step into the fray. Nintendo . maker of the classic Excitebike, in addition to Mario, Donkey Kong, Pokemon, Team Suzuki's Greg Albertyn. who broke his femur on February 25 while practicing for the Atlanta Supercross, says he will be ready for the first out· door National in San Bemardino. California. on May 14. In a recent telephone conversation, A1bertyn sounded confident of his chances of defending his title, saying he expects the leg to be "perfect' for round one. and that his fitness level "depends on me and how much effort I'm prepared to put in. And obviously. I'm prepared to put in everything. Realistically speaking. if I'm only riding for two weeks before the first national. I don't think I will be 100 percent." Albertyn added that he was unhappy with the amount of time it took track personnel to get him to the hospital, saying, "I sat there for 15 minutes. They actually didn't even want to take me to the hospital because they said it was the only ambulance they had, and they wanted to wait until practice was done. So it was absolutely a joke.· SIGNED: A sponsorship agreement between Elf Lubricants and the Women's Motocross League. For more information, call 54 1/31 7-0636. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: AT D&S Kawasaki in Arlington, Texas. on April 7 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael. John Dowd and Larry Ward and Team SplitFire/Pro Circuit's Tallon Vohland, Billy Payne and Shae Bentley are scheduled to appear. For more information. call 800/507 -9351. J CORRECTION: The Jim Forington Memorial race will be held at IMI Motorsports Park in Colorado. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Southern Cycle Center in Kenner. Louisiana. on April 14 from 7 0 8 p.m. Team Chevy Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael, John Dowd and Larry Ward and Team SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Nathan Ramsey and Nick Wey are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 504/4610011. BORN: Cassidy Faith, to Cycle News eastern accounts manager Greg Mitchell and his wife. Beth. on March 19 in Atlanta, Georgia. OPENED: Rick Johnson Racing/Too Tech Suspension's home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be found at the fol· lowing address: http://www.tootechracing.com. Pony Express Round-Up 2000. a national motorcycle ride organized by the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation for breast cancer research. will wrap up its breast cancer fund-raising efforts with the support of Kathy Mattea. two-time Academy of Country Music and Grammy Award winner. Long a supporter of research for both AIDS and breast can· NAMED: Jim Chamberlain. as the team manager for Planet Honda Racing. effective immediately. BORN: Twins. Matthew and Lauren, to Cycle News contributor Darryl Flack and his wife, Kim. in Sydney, Australia, on March 29. cue I e ." n --------Colltinued on page 96 e _ S • APRIL 12. 2000 3 J J J J J J o J ~ J o j J o 8 " w o '"' LJ "