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/128620
"Springer's record may never be broke n." No SWimsuits g reatly appre ci ate yo ur publication nd all th e c urrent m oto rc yc le ne ws o u re p o rt. It sure be ats the th re e onth la g the "maga zines" ha ve. I a lso hi nk it's g re at th at yo u pr int lette rs rom people criticizing you as we ll as e one s who applaud yo u. I a ppla ud ou and th e efforts to keep a diversi led a udience info rmed and up to dat e . Ho wev e r, I got t he Jun e 28 issue Issu e #25 ) and flipped to th e table of ontents a nd tho ug ht I someho w got he latest Spo rts Illus tra te d s wimsuit ss ue ins tea d. What doe s a woman in b a t hin g s ui t in a s edu ctiv e pose ave to do wit h rep o rting o n t h e o rld Superbike rou nd from Misano? Please, leav e that to the magazine s hat foc us on that sort of th ing. I wone r how man y t im e s Play boy has hotos in their tab le of contents of oad racers d ra gg ing a knee? I love he covera ge, but let 's keep it to the port a nd not lower ourse lves to th e h ea p t a c ti c s u s e d b y ot hers t o tt ract th e audienc e that doesn't realy ca re for the sport a nyhow. I a lso liked a nd agree with S teve eck's letter regarding th e envi ron e ntalists screa mi ng over ha ving to ay a fee to use o ur Nationa l Parks hen we re creatio n a lis ts have been oing it for yea rs witho ut a squawk. h is mo ney does go for upkeep o n he area s we use . However, "America the Beautiful" as no lyrics in it anywhere near the 'this land is your land " lyrics he quotd. I believe those a re from the song f the same name . Also, a reminder to all: it's not hat you ride, but that you ride . Tracy Str1nton Sun City West AZ Ban Jim? ey , Jim , are yo u on crack? Everyone now s that since 1995 the Blac kwater 00 is no m or e. I thought everyo ne new how those ultra green eco-terrorst released two hundred m ating pairs f genetically e ng ineered beaver which am ne d u p t h e Cooch inyahoochie iver c a us ing th e to wn of Blackwater o be s ubmerged in five hundred feet of ater. I gu ess I was wron g . Don't ban Hag a - ban J im . GeetrMardnko Macedonia, OH arcin ko 's lett er is in regard to Jim ueck 's letter in Issu e #23 , Ju ne 14)... ditor Bow ma n Fan n 1995 I wa tc hed a young J a m ie owma n leading Migu el DuH a m el in 600c c Supersport race well past th e a lfwa y mark - on infe rior equipment nd on infe rio r tires. Now , five years at er , a more matu re but s t ill yo u ng a m ie h a s finally won h is first AMA ace. One thing is certain : J amie has always had th e physical talent to win races; he just hasn 't had the equip ment or support that his competitors have had . I've seen Jamie drive to races in a beat -up truc k with no th ing but a us ed bike a nd a toolbox , a nd a dog to kee p h im com pa ny . Yet , he was still competitive. It's importa nt to play the political ga me if yo u want to get a nywhere in ra cin g . The probl em is , some pe ople don 't know how to pla y. Ther efore it is im po rta nt that th e factory teams do m o re th an suppl y b ikes to up -a nd co mi ng rid e rs . Th e y n e ed to teac h th ese kids wh at th ey ne ed to kn ow on a nd off the racetra ck . Michael Lehnlng VIa the Internet Remembering Ed As reported in Cycle News la st week, Ed But ler died on May 20 at the age of 62. It was a lso reported that Ed was a foun d ing m e m be r of FRA , an acti ve mem ber of the UEA , an AMA District 37 Endu ro Stewa rd , a Be st of the Wes t race coordinator and the 19 9 7 Dis tric t 3 7 S po rts m a n of the Year. Wha t wasn't reported was that in 1993 at th e Desert MC Na t io nal Hare and Hound, Ed 's race e nded prematurely when he stopped to give medica l attent ion to a kid who h a d crashed and broken his back . Ed got me back to the pits and into an ambulance safely. I'm sure it wasn 't the first time Ed assisted a rider in need and I'm willing to bet it wasn't the last. After healing, when ever I lined up on the starting line for a race , with butterflies in my stomach , I always fe lt more at ease when a glance down the row revealed the red , white and b lue UEA je rsey of Ed Butler. As I write this , my stomach is tied in knots . My family a nd I thank you , Ed. Matt Freeman Grand Tenace, CA The Sme ll? So Harley- Davidson has lost the Battle of So und . So th e y lost one tradem a rk . Wh a t's nex t? Do they try and tradema rk how th e ir ride rs smell? Is t h er e a n y c ha nce t h at Joey Du nlo p will not be name d Rid e r Of The Year? M arcella Holmes VIa the Intemet He's definitely Man of the Year... Editor Springer Rules Jay Sp r in g s t e en , t he second win ninge st AMA Gra nd Na tional rider in history is th e first rider to win an AMA Gr and Natio n al Dirt Track Race in fo ur consecutive decades - '70 s, '8 0 s , '90s , 'OOs . The only ones wh o could possibly even tie tha t re cord is S cotty Pa rk er a nd Steve More he a d a nd th ey wo uld have to (come out of retirement a nd) win sometime in this decade a nd the next decade - a mi nimum of 11 mo re years - just to t ie. Springer's record may ne ver be broken . John Reinhard Corona, CA Morehead Rules Too I recently return ed from Parkersburg , West Virg inia, to watc h t he Grand Natio na l Champio ns hi p Dirt Tra ck th at was sc he d u led to run there. As mo st of you will kno w, th e ra ce was ra ined o ut. I wa s there to e njoy the ra ce and had be e n invited into th e p its by a frie nd of m ine who ra c es. This was a great expe rience and before the rains came they did get in practice a nd qualifying, so I did get to see some racing (which wa s be tt er than the Total Rain O ut at De laware). I wa s a ble to ride m y m oto rc yc le down into the pits , which wa s a great deal because it was nice ha ving easy access to my b ike . The problem came after the rai n set in. Th e clay su rface . became slipperier than ice and with the track ha ving a pretty healthy bank to it, it looke d as though there would be no way to ride my bike out of the pits . The first few cars th at attem pted to get out of t he track we re t u rned back by the greasy surface. After a coup le of vehicles attempted to ex it the infie ld, a long comes Steve Morehead with a plan. Steve and a group of helpers broke up a dozen or more ha y bales on the track to he lp aide the folks who were trying to get out of the pits. This was just wha t the docto red ordered . It was still a little tough for the ve hicles to get out, but it was working. After 8 or 10 vehicles had exi te d the tr a ck , Morehead and his he lpers would pu t down m ore hay bales. This was working out fine for the cars, but my b ike was s till down in the pits. After most of the vehicles had exi te d the track , along comes a Honda Gold Wing with his attempt to get out of the infie ld. He made h is approach, but dro pped his bike before reac hing the edge of the track. Th ere was a gro up of fo lks watching a ll the actio n and they came to h is a ide . Am on g thos e wa s Mo re head and he was right th e re to he lp pic k u p the dro ppe d moto rc ycle . The n he cli m bed aboard the Wing and rode it ou t of th e tra ck with ou t a p ro b le m until stopp ing o n th e other side. That's where he lost his balance and tip pe d ov e r. Any way , to ma ke a lon g sto ry sh ort, m y confide nce had not im pro ved after wa tching all of this s o I asked Morehead if he wou ld ride m y bik e out of the m ud . Without hesita t ion, he hopped on my bike a nd ro de he r u p and out of the track without a problem . I ju st w a nt e d to th ank him for do in g so a nd to le t e ve ryo ne kn o w wha t a g re a t g uy he is . The AMA is cue' e luc ky to have him on boa rd . Thanks , S teve , for rescu ing m y new bike. Gary C Krause Albemarle, NC Slighting Reid First thi ng on Mo nday, June 26, I went to Cycle News Online to see how David Viilain-Man (new nickname) did at the Mammoth Motocross as I heard he was going to be riding three classes . Peopl e also had told me rumors that he would ride the new 250cc four-stroke in the 125cc class. Mammoth is one of the greatest motoc ross venues in the world . The track and the atmosphere (both cu ltural and altitude) are like nowhere else, and the reception given to riders by the promoters and townsfolk is fantastic . I have gotten comments from seven or eight people in the past couple of weeks asking if I was going to Mammoth this year. It is the 20th anniversary of me be ing the first person to win the 125 , 250, a nd 50 0cc Pro classes in . 1980 - defeati ng Rick Johnson, Donn ie Hansen and Mike Be ll, res pectively (in 1979, I won the 250 and 500cc classes as well). Future Te am Kawas a ki manager Roy Turner did the high altitude t u n in g d uties on my factory Kawasakis, a nd anyone there will verify I had the fastest bikes all weekend . Imagine m y dism ay at th e s light I got (p rintable wo rds , not th e rea l ones) when re ading Tony Aless i's online pa ragraph o n the event. He sai d that o n ly Ric k J oh n so n and Joh nny O 'M a ra h a d won a ll three c lass e s be fo re . Ac tu all y , y o u m a y wa nt to check with Rick to be s ure, but I don 't t hi n k he e ve r wo n a ll t h re e in t he sa me wee ke nd . Dann y "Ma goo" Ch and le r came clo s e. I look forward to the com p lete a rticle fro m th e event. Than k s fo r lett in g m e s po u t o ff a bo ut wha t I co n si de r o ne of m y bigg est accom plishments in motocross. Warren Reid VIa the Intemet We apo log ize for th e error and the facts w ill be correct w hen the sto ry comes ou t in next wee k's issue... Editor n e _ s • JULY 5. 2000 5