Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

I By 30 YEARS AGO••• JUNE9,1970 The cover of Issue 112 1 was adorned with Jim Ri ce an d his Natio nal -winning BSA. Ric e was on the co ve r i n hon or of h is t hi rd national win of the year at the Reading, Pennsy lvani a, Half M i le . Larry Palmgren (Tri) and points leader Dick Mann (BSA) finished second and third on the day... The East/W est Motocross Championships got under way in Pepperell, Massachu sett s, and the East moto cross team, led by team captain Barry Higgins, took the win by one point over the West team, captained by Jim Wilson . The championship would cont inue at Bay Mare in Celifomla for the next round... · Wild" Bill Cody was the hero of the night during Friday night speedway action at Costa Mesa Speedway in California. He won the Handicap main, starting with a 40-yard handicap, and the Scratch Main to dominate the evening's program... The 500'-rnile Greenhorn Enduro was held in Pearblossom , California, and a winner couldn't be declared by press time. What was known, however, is that the 500 miles of rocks, hills and dust cl aimed rough ly 60 perce nt o f t he 500 competitors prior to the finish. 20 YEARS AGO••• JUNE4,1980 Husqvarna -rno unted Ed Lojak wa s p hotographed flying through a field of flowers for the cover of Issue 1121. Loj ak wo n th e Tr ask Mount ain MC 's AMA ISDT Qualifi er Ser ies round in McMinnville, Oregon... England 's speedway riders had accepted the challenge of eight vastly improved American speedway riders in a five-race team series. The two teams tied in round one , with 54 poin ts each, but th e English rallied to win round two, 62-46. The only consolation for the U.S. team was that American speedway ace Bruce Penhall won the overall individual title at both rounds... Round four of t he AMA 25 0cc National Championship MX Series and Round 1 of the 500cc Series took place at High Point Raceway in Mount Morri s, Pennsyl vania, with Team Suzuki's Kent Howerton taking his fourth overall in a row with his I -I showings and Team Honda's Chuck Sun dominating both motos of the opening 500cc round. Steve WISe (Hon) and Todd Breker (Kaw) played bridesmaids on the day. 10 YEARS AGO••• MAY 30, 1990 Harl ey -Dav idson 's Scott Parker and Team Honda's Jean -Miche l Bayle were caught celebrating for the cover of Issue 11 2 1 afte r the ir respecti ve victories at the San Jose Mile and the Meadowlands Supercross... During the aforementioned Supercross racing action at the Meadowlands in East Ruthe rford, New Jersey, Bayle defeated Kawasaki's Jeff Ward and Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw to ta ke the victory. In 125cc action , Team Suzuki's Denny Stephenson took his seventh main-event win of the year and led the championship by 39 points over Mike Jones (Hon)... At round four of the AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Dirt Track Series, Parker dominated the racing action, not only taking the National victory, but winning the five-lap Camel Challenge as well , whic h netted him a coo l $10,000 bonus on the day... Team Green's 17-year-old Ryan Hughes, 2 1-year-old Mike Craig and 18-year-old Jeremy McGrath took part in an exhibition for the fifth annual "Just Say No" anti-drug rally at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Califomia. The rally was hosted by former First Lady Nancy Reagan and was meant to show the kids in attendance that there is more than one way to get high. CN A Final ""oto CHRIS JONNUM few y ears ago, ti ri ng o f a growin g focus in this country upon su c h t riv ial top ics as garage s ize and in v estm en t portfolios, I pa cked up m y truck and moved to Mexico. I still loved the U .S ., and I knew I'd be back b efo re lo ng , bu t I h ad t ired of be ing too c omfortable , and I wanted to rea l ly live - to sh ed the safe- b ut-sterile trappings of my h om e cou n t r y i n favor of the discomfort of re al life in L at in A m erica. I had to sat isfy an itch t o itch . I be t t hat Ri c k y Ca rm ich ael can relate , t hough I don't expect to see th e Fl oridian tradi ng i n h is C h e v y Tr ucks / Ka wasak i ride for a job teaching Eng lish south of the bo rde r an yti m e soon . No, RC is more const ant than I, but I still get t he feeling th at he's relieved t o be i n the grimy , h o t , unp rete n tious context of the AMA/Chevy Trucks Nation al Motocross Series follow ing the clea n, cool , gla m orous world o f th e AMA/ EA Sports Superc ross Series. I f t hat's t rue, he 's no t alo ne. As I write this, I can r u b sunburn -pealed ski n from my neck, and I' m prett y su re t he re are st ill a fe w g rains of San Be rna rd ino dirt in the co rne rs of m y bloodsh ot e y e s . Last week I attended my fi r st outdoor motocross of the year, and I like th e fact tha t severa l d ays lat er , I can still t ell m ore, feel - that I' ve been to a motorcycl e race. Granted , I w asn 't e ve n raci n g , bu t seasone d spectators an d journalists alike can attest that N ational MX ta kes m or e of a to ll on on e th an does sta diu m co m petition. The good p eople at Glen Helen Raceway di d an admirable job of makin g t heir facility as p res ent ab le and hos pita ble as pos s i ble, b u t the announc ed 19 ,000 h earty souls that strung th em selves out over the hillsides still h ad to put up not on ly with Mother Nature's sun and wind, but also with a lim it ed view, marginal food, and lo ng traffic lines . I was able to avoid th os e p articu la r d is c omforts vi a a c ra m m ed sp o t i n t he a n no u nce r ' s tow e r, a p l a t e of p otat o sal ad in th e Yamah a ten t , an d a secret li ne down a dirt roa d out the ba c k o f th e facility , so I can 't claim to be too much of a gl utton fo r pu nish ment. Still , it was a mark ed departure fr o m th e posh confines o f most Supercross venues , a fact that I had b een an ticipatin g for w eeks be for e th e outdoor o p en er. So keen had been my eagerness to get back to motorcycle racing's more so ulful side, that I decided to maxi mize my Glen Hel en ex p er ien c e by pract icall y wall ow i ng in it s m o r e down-to-earth elem en ts. After spending th e previous evening wat c hin g a round from what m ay well be the lastever season of sp eed wa y racing at the O range County Fairgrounds, I loaded a long - lost grou p of ri d ing b udd i es into my p al Cl iffy's Mobile Traveler (a out f r o m u n d e r t h e f e e t of the announcing celebrit ies in the swelterin g tower, wearing out shoe-leather in the pits in m ost ly fruitless efforts to comer rid ers for quotes, and admiring the t alent that it t ak es to ride an outdoor course at the professional level. And what a talent level it is. I' ve got all the respect in the world for J erem y McGrath' s ability to gate perfectly and sp ri nt ah ead on a Sup erc ro ss track , timing every artificial obstacle with the preci sion of a ballet dancer. But there's somet hing m o re adrenaline-ind ucing abo ut seein g Ca rmichael slam -dance Outdoor MX: It a in 't the Ritz, but It' s real. dila p ida te d motorhome ) an d h eaded ou t to t he Inl a n d Em p i r e . Si n ce I woul d be wo rki ng th e next d a y an d was th us stayin g off the sauce, I was elected as designated driver, and as I careened the ill -handling c amper from refl ect or stripe t o refl ec tor st ripe, m y f r i e n d s blas ted S oc i a l D i s t o r t ion , watched a F r e zn o Sm o o t h video, heated po pco rn i n t he microwave , and y e l l e d and s c re am e d . I t wa s around midnight whe n we ro lled into Glen H elen , w h e r e I esca ped m y cohorts ' snorin g an d p o p co rn flatu len ce by bedding do wn on lop of th e rig . The co ol temperature, along wi th our neighb o rs ' speed -metal -bla ring car stere o (t ha nks , gu y s ) li m it ed sl umb er sub st ant ially , but alth o ugh I was already qu ite fatigued by t he tim e t h e n ex t day started , it f elt good to actuall y be experiencing the situation. Sunday was sp ent trying to sta y d o wn a ru t t ed , sa n dy straight i n a charge to .th e fron t f ollowin g a mediocre geta way . In th is context, an ou nce of bravado is more important than any amount of precision. A gain, I c an rel ate, since the same he ld true fo r Mexico, w he re every th ing from the supermarket checkout line to the morning commute pro v ides an. opportunity to test one 's aggressiveness an d nerve . It w as exciting an d invigorating , and - for a while at leas t - a welcome break f rom th e re la tively m un dane United St ates. O f course by the time m y t wo-year st i n t wa s f in ished, I was relieved to re t urn to the safe, courteous c onfines o f m y home country. And I'm su re that b y the time t h e outd oor ser i es hit s its fi n al roun d in Delmont, Pennsylvania, this Sept ember, I' ll be loo king forward to the posh press rooms, catered m eals ' and paved parking lo ts of the st adium circuit. CN • Mount Morris National MX Coming up in CycJe News • Italian Road Race GP • Off-road: World Trials, Moose Run c U a I e n e _ os • M AV3 1 ,2000 9 1

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