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/128634
o o o o o o Continuedfrom page 3 As Officia l Pro v id er o f Motorcycles to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games , Harley-Davidson supplied more than 100 of its Harl ey-David son an d Bu e ll mo torcycles for use in vario us act ivit ies during th e Olympi c and Paral ymp ic Games that began o n S ep te m be r 15 . according to Harley. Si xty motorcycles were used to transport approximately 200 .000 r o ll s of f ilm from Ol y m p ic G a m e s v enu e s ou t side of S y d n e y Olympic Park to the Park for processing . The motorcycles were used as part of th e UPS F il m T r a n sp o rt S e rv ic e t o ensure that journalists co uld imm ediat ely pro v id e worldwide Ol ymp ic fans w it h images. In add ition to providing motorcycl es. Harley-D avid son also supplied 154 b i cycles f rom G T (th e bi cycl e s a re licensed Ha rley -D avid son pro duc ts) . 60 All -Terrain V ehicles (ATVs) fro m Arctic Cat. 15 sc ooters from Piagg io and six off-road m oto rcyc le s f rom KTM to be us ed for a variety o f purposes . Harl eyDavidso n arranged to purc hase or lease th e ve hicl e s in order t o pro v id e a f ull ran g e o f p ro ducts fo r use during t he Oly mpic G ame s . Harley- Davidson also suppl ied HJC helmets for all riders . st ar cast of industry ins ider s. the aw ards p re sen t at io n and a f as t -pace d vi deo wrap-up o f the 2000 season. Las t year's A thlete o f the year was Pro Honda Oil s 600 S up e rspo rt C ha mp ion N icky Hay den. w ho wa s also the AMA D irt Track Ro okie o f t he Yea r . Hayden joine d an im pressive ro ster of pa st w inners th at includes legendary race rs such as Kenny Roberts . Bob Hannah . B ruc e Penhall, Freddie Spenc er. Jeff Ward . Scott Park e r and Jeremy M cGrath . The public is wel come to the event w ith tickets co sting $65 pe r person . Fo r banquet and event sponsorship info rmat io n. contact D ee Whi te at 6 14 /856 -1900 or e-mail d whi te@a ma pro racin g .com . For roo m reservations, c a ll C ae sars Pa lac e at (800) 6 34 -666 1, a nd t ell th em you ' re w it h the A MA Pro Racin g Banq uet. The c ut -o ff d at e fo r ro om reservat io ns is N ovember 6 , ac co rding to the AMA. o 8 o o o o o o o o o W o rk is o ffic ially underway at Sears Point Raceway o n Ar ea 2 of the $35 millio n M od erniz ati on Plan , according to t he racetrac k. C onst ruc tio n crews hav e begun to grade the hills ide above Turns 2-4. which will eventually make way fo r 34 .000 Hillside Terrace seat s. In add it ion, a new 40-foot-wide cu stom e r servic e road will be built abo ve the terrace sea ts . creat ing a better flow of veh icle traffi c . A se para te shu ttle route will also be bu ilt around the fac ility. begin ning at Tum 2. to take fans around t he property at major eve nts . Crews are wo rk ing six days per week and moving aro und 10. 00 0-20, 000 cu bic yards of dirt per day in t he area , according to a pres s rel ease issued by T h e AMA will holds it s 26th Annual CJ " AMA P ro R a c i ng A w a rd s B a n . quet o n D e c e m be r 8 at the Caesars Palace Hotel and C asino in La s Vegas. N evada . Th e award s ba nqu et hon ors ch ampions from all disc ipl ines of AMA racing . Highlighting th e even ing wi ll be the nam ing of the 2000 AMA Speedvision Pr ofessio nal Athlete of t he Year . The black -tie affa ir features dinne r. an all- Sears Point. Race way off ic ials ho pe to begin actual co ns t ruc tion of the te rrace sea ts and ve hicle access road s by lat e O cto ber . The ne w se at ing area w ill be ready in time for the 200 1 raci ng season. Phase 2 of the Modernization Plan. whi ch wi ll likely start at the c on cl usion o f t he 2001 racing se as on in August. will fea tu re an additi o nal 30 ,000 terrace seats alongside Turn s 8- 9 . The entire project should be complete by the 2002 racing season . Work also continues in Area 1 loca ted o n the south end of the property. Since breaking ground on the Modernization Plan on Septembe r 13 . mo re than 500,000 cubic yards of dirt have been moved fro m Area 1. Onc e complete. the so ut h en d o f t he pro pe rty w ill fea tu re 146,000 sq uare feet of additio nal te nant space. plus a go-kart track. A s a resu lt o f th e re ce nt ag re em en t signe d between Ac tion G roup Internat ional Lt d . (A GIl and D orn a Prom oci on de l D e po rt e ( Oo rna), AG I and Fo x Sports International (FSIl have agreed by mutual c o ns e nt to term inate their agreemen t concerning the TV righ ts management for t he Motocro s s and S upe rc ro ss W o rld Ch ampion ships and the M otocro ss de s Nation s 2001 and 2002 . ac c ording to a press rele as e f rom AG I. AGI and FSI re main on th e very be st of te rm s and both companies are sa tisfied t hat this move is in t he best in te re s t s o f FIM M ot ocros s and S upercross. according to AG I. Effec t ive S e pt embe r 30 . th e TV rig ht s manag em e nt fo r t he M oto cro ss and S up e rcro s s W orl d Ch am pionsh ips to com pletin g a sale at the end of that period based on the suc ce ss or otherwise of his turnar ound op eration. But • Gauntlet! was unable to agree terms with Aureli 5 Co. based on the results of his due diligence on Bimota carried out over the past couple of month s, and the Briti sh-based rescu e plan for th e Italian fir m is no w dead, leaving the Rirnini -bas ed com pany very clo se to perm anent closure. Howeve r, there's still hope for those who admi re - and continue to be in the market to buy - the products of Bim ota's brave mixture of leadlng- edge chassis tec hnology and distinctive styling. A group of investors headed by Bimota's U.S. importer Bob Sm ith is under stood to have table d an offer to take ov er the com pany, whil e Italian sourc es insist that the Merlon i fam ily. whi ch controls BeneHi (based 12 miles down the Adri atic Coast from Bimota) is also in negotiations to buy the com pany for li se as an RSD center and small- volume manufacturing base. Yamaha has also been mentioned as a possible pu rchaser. in order to provide a European -based R&D center for chassis design, much in the same way as its Ohlins subsidiary was acquired to further its knowledge of suspension technology. But perhaps the most fascinating possible rescue package currently being rumored is for Cagiva /MV Agusta to take over Bimota, which would then continue both as a marque in its own right, and be developed as a specialist manufacturer of limited-edition, high-end MV Agusta and Cagiva m odels based on the volume production range of these two marques. • More Bimota Details One two-wheeled reptile that should have made it to Mun ich was the Bim ot a Drako . the Ducati 900SS-engined. Mantraframed naked bik e that the specialist It alian m arque had under deve lopment with a view to 2001 sales. before the decision was taken at a June 30 board meeting to put the company into liquidation. As recounted previously in this space. a rescue package was being mounted by a British investor with prov en tumaround capability in the automotive sphere, with a view to relaunching Bimota at Interm ol. That man can now be revealed as being Victor Geuntlett, the former oil magnate and chairman of Aston Marlin who first bailed out, then successfully revitalized the historic Briti sh car firm during the 198 0s, before selli ng it to Ford as a going concern and ens uring its prese nt very healthy survival . Gauntlett had envisaged mo unting a similar ope ration with Bimota which woul d have ent ailed effecti vely lea sing the company for a five -ye ar perio d from the present group of owners led by SCM woodworking -machinery magnate Adr iano Aureli, prior cyclenews.com reader poll quest ion of the week auld 14 O C TO BER t t , 2000' c: U c: I e n e _ s and the M oto cro ss des Na t io ns wi ll be managed exclusively by D orna. Exclusive Wayne Rainey T-shirt s, polo shirts and mo re will be on sale at the Del M ar M ile in Del M ar. C alifornia. October 7-8 . For more info rmatio n, call 949/453· 0030. The W omen's School of M otocross will be ho lding a m otocross school on October 14 at Hom Rapids ORV Park in Richland . Washington. The followlnq week. W S M X will host a session at Glen Helen Rac ew ay in San Bernardino . C alifo rnia. on Oct ober 23 . For more information , call 949/ 837·2206. N ewl y crow ned C a nad ian S uperb ike Champ ion Steve Crevier w ill be t he guest instruc to r at the Southwest Sportbike Sch ool at Ar royo Seco M ot o rplex in D emi ng , N ew M exic o, N ovember 4 -5 . Fo r more informa tion. call 505/892· 1692. According to G FI. IN Roberts, Shane W att s . Bruce McDoug a l and the Team Green team have entered the Elsi no re Grand P r ix . scheduled to run on N ovember 4 -5. For more information . call 909/341 -8002 . M ontclair Yamah a, in Ontario . Ca liforni a, has been ad de d to the list o f retaile rs sellin g tickets to the THQ U. S. Open in Las Vegas. Nevada , on Oct ob er 14 -1 5. Tickets are $50- 100 w hile sup plies last . Fo r m o re info r ma ti o n, call M ontclair Yamaha at (909) 628-4748 . eN In whic h case, the Birnota wheel would co me full circle, since the m an heading up such a corporate m arriage wou ld be none other than. Massimo Tarnburlnl, the "ta" in Bim ota and one of the company's founding partn ers in 1973, unti l 10 years later when he left the firm he helped create. What goes around. comes around? May be - watch this space. B1rnota Is stili n-ndering, and face. destlnleL ~ pouibIe