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/128637
e Brit ish Superbike C hampionship win ng GSE team may ha ve alread y c1ared its intention to join th e W orld pe rb ik e c irc us ne xt yea r, b ut now mes the news that a sign ificant part of eir budget will be supp lied by prornots of the British Superbike Chamonship BMP. In a ground breaking ove, BMP sees its new initiative as a eans of he lp ing both th e B rit ish and orld Superbike race series , by filling the orld Supe rbike gri ds with com pe ti tive ams and also pro ving to any would-be mpetit o rs in B rit ish S upe rb ike t hat ere is a direct rou te into W orld Super!, e from British Superbike racing. opo sed chang es in t he format o f t he ritish Superbike Championsh ip ill see the 2001 series feat ure a SuperIe lap on Satu rday , but only for the first riders in qualifying. There will also be orld Su perbike -style padd oc k shows , e for each British Championship class, d a retum to the more popular threey mee tings , w ith short sprint races held n Saturday in som e classes. ucati , wit h their hardest year in W o rld uperbike for many moons j ust behind em , have pl ay ed a cun ning and safe ard by insert ing t hr e e riders int o the 001 factory team. Ruben Xaus . Ben ostrom and the already- signed Troy ayliss w ill all run the re-designed factomotors next year , but they will be the nlyones. pr ess release issued from the B ritish ff ic e o f M oto GP claims t hat B rit ish up e r b i k e Ch am p io n s h i p ru nner-up hris Walker is abou t to sign a deal ith the Shell Advance Honda team ru n an Honda NS R500 in t he 2001 rand Prix S eries. This bo ld stat eme nt. o mi ng on M o nd ay , O c tober 23, is at dds w ith W alker' s ow n sta tem ent that aid, " no thing has been decided yet. I've Iways dreamed of doing 500 GPs, but it by no means a done deal." Sti ll aw aitg the fin al fac tory approval of Suzuki B ' s proposal to take W alker into W orld uperb ike, in c o nj unct io n with J ame s ayden. W alker appears to have at least o sirong op tions tor the zoot season , ut seems undecided as to w hich would .e bette r for his lo ng and s ho rt -term rospects . " lt would probably take more han one year to get up to full speed on a 00 , " sa id W alke r o n hi s chance s of .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. instan t compet itivene ss in the tw o-stroke world, indicating the unspoken idea that any GP deal wo uld have to be for two or more years to be a realistic op tion ." M y immediate loya lty is to Suzuki, w ho has looke d after m e b e tt er tha n a nyone b e f ore . S up e r b i ke is very po pu lar in Britain, so maybe Superbike would be the best w ay t o go . " W al ke r ' s f utu re is expected to be decided shortly. Honda's much -discussed factory Honda fourstroke motocrosser debuted at the final round of the J apanese Nation al Championship MX Series at the Honda Airport Riders' Circuit on Oct ob er 2 1-22 , where Am er ic an Hond a' s Sebastien Tortelli rode the bike to a first -place overall finish in the 250cc class. The bike features an aluminu m twin-spar perim ete r frame, and its all -new water-cooled engine features a New ly crowned 500cc W orld C hamp ion Kenny Roberts Jr. will be on hand for a speci al " Kenny Robert s Night " at the Hard Rock Cafe in Sacramen to , Califo rnia, on Sunday , Novembe r 5, beg innin g at 5 p.m . M ike Summers and his crew from Sport Bike Night are putting on the event , wi th A rai donat ing an autograph ed Kenny Robert s J r. repl ica helme t th at w ill be give n away as a do or prize. Roberts will be fresh from racing in t h e Au stral ian G r a nd P r ix , w hic h i s sc he d uled to r un o n O c tober 29 . The night is th e perfect opportunity to mee t t h e ne w W o r ld C hamp io n . Fo r mo re informatio n, ca ll 9 16/37 3 - 1557 or visi t S p ort B ik e N igh t ' s home p age a t vvww.sportbikenight.com. new valve system . Project leader Mr.Hoshi said, "We hope to particip ate in AMA Supercross in the middl e of season next year: and added that the bike is over 400 cc and that it is about 80 -percent complete. Tort elli won his Saturday qualifier and his first moto on Sunday . In moto two . he crashed on the first lap, but remounted and moved from 32nd all the way up to second place. In winning, the Frenchman bested all three members of the 2000 Ja panese MX des Nations team, as well as Australian Chad Reed, a new signee to Jan De Groot' s Motorex Kawasaki. Yama ha of Tr oy ' s Ernesto 125cc clas s on Yamaha' s new YZ250F, Kiyoshi Kida C§ ,-- - -- - - ------' ii: ~ >- III ~ ~ Re c e nt ly w e mentioned a few mo tocrossers who w ill wear Sidi boots next year. S inc e then, new Kawa sa ki signee Stephane Roncada has been added to the list of riders who w ill we ar the company's new Fo rce model. Top road racers who have sign ed w ith Sidi boo ts for the 200 1 season include Colin Edwards, Aaron Slight, Ian MacPherson , A ndrew Pitt, Fabrizio Pirov ano , No ric k Abe and Nobo ru Ueda. A benefit race will be held in M iddleboro, Ma ssachu sett s , on N ovemb er 5 for M ik e Psaledas, a N ew England V et expert ra cer wh o w a s p aral y ze d th is summe r wh en he cras hed into ano the r racer at the C entral V illage, Connect icut , t rac k. N o NESC card is needed , ju st proof of medica l insuranc e and $20 for the entry fee. Fo r i n f o r ma t io n , call 5 0 8 /866 -94 22 or 78 1/87 8 -809 0 , o r e-mail buck ley@ici.net. w i:: As a part of the Mini Oiympics. FiviF be ho ld ing a p ipe demo day o n November 17 (from 10 a.m. un til dar k) and November 18 at Hardrock MX Cycle Park near O cala, Florida. FM F w ill have pipe s and Silencers for most b ike s o n .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. hand to test. Particip ating riders must pay the track entry fee, but there is no cos t fo r try ing the produ cts. Dealers are invit ed to part icipate. For mor e information, ca ll 920 /434 -668 0 . Team Honda moto crosser Sebastien Tortelli , who recen tly signed a tw o-year d e al to wear Th o r ap pare l, ha s also Signed a three -yea r ag reeme nt with Suomy helmets . The Frenchman will wea r Suorny ' s ProC ro ss model, and a Tortelli replic a mode l is planned for release later this year. Je remy M cGrath had been rum ored to be i n negot iations w i th Suomy, but that deal is rep ortedly off . Rac e r X rna qa zrn es Davey Coomb s , wh o was heading up an effort to raise . .. MARRIED: Moto journalist/o ff-road racer Matt Freeman to longtime girlfriend Denise Gardner, on October 8 in Julian, California . ACCEPTING: First Turn Products, producer of 91 1 Joint Rescue, is AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Spectrum Honda in Lake Forest, California, on October 28, beginning at 10 a.m.. Honda's Miguel DuHamel, Freddie Spencer and Jake Zemke are scheduled to appear. For more information. call 949/859 -3186. SIGNED: Sid, boots has signed on as an associate sponsor of the 2001 AMA/ FMF National Championship Enduro Series. S IGNED : Scott Myers, by KTM USA to do select off-road and • motocross events for the 2001 season, according to Myers. .o .o .o .. .o" Roger DeCoster. The Teaiii USA decal sets cost $25 , and all proceeds go to s upport Team U SA . S end check or mon ey ord e r to : Racer X Ill us t rat e d , Dept. " Go Team USA: 166 Harner Run, M org antown , WV 26 508 . Championship Supercross Series his wife . Elise, in M anchester. Connect icut. on August 17. ACCEPTING: Blur Optics is currently accepting racer resumes for the 200 1 season. Resumes can be sent to Blur Optics . 9600 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Chatsworth. CA 9131 1. .o low ing press release: " How sto ked w ere yo u w hen yo u fou nd out that Team USA had finally recapt ured t he champi on ship tro p hy at t he 2 000 M ot o c r o s s D e s Nat ion s in S t. J ean d' An gely, France ? Limited editio n, autog raphed decals from 2000 M o t o c ro s s d e s N ati on s -w innin q Team USA are still available . The deca ls co me in sets of four and are auto graphed by T e am U S A me m be rs Ric ky Carmich ael , Ry an Hug he s and Trav is Pa s t r an a , p lus Te a m U S A manage r The secon d ro und o f the FIM World BORN: Lindsay Charlotte. to Manchester Honda's Mike Treadwell and to First Turn Products, 1474 NE Arrowwood St.. Hillsboro, OR 97124. now accepting race resumes for the 200 1 season. Resumes can be sent mone y f or t h e Am e r ic an MX des Nations team , rece ntly sent us the fol- First Turn Products , distrib ut or o f 9 1 1 Joint Rescue, will donate $ 1 from eac h bo ttle so ld to motorcyclists to the AMA Legislative Support Fu nd . To order the product (at $19 .95 per bottle), call 8 77 / 846· 0 221 o r lo g on to www .firs t tum.com . APPOINTED: William E. Fruhan Jr.. Mark Schreck and J. Richard Stonesifer, to the Polaris Industries Board of Directors on October 23. NAMED: Doug Muellner, to the position of national sales manager, for FMF Racing. Muellner will work alongside director of sales Bill Berroth. o [I o r -- ACCEPTING: DP Brakes is now accepting race resumes for the 2001 season. Resumes can be sent to DP Brakes, 4401 Walden Ave.. Lancaster, NY 14086. .. .o I i=) .o .o .o cue I e .. n has been cance lled . The round was origi · nally scheduled fo r November 4 in Turin, Italy , but follow ing a ve to imposed by the Italian M ot o rcycl e Federat io n (FMIl on Palavela Stadium (the race ve nue), it has bee n called o ff. In a pres s release, the - - - - - - - Continued on !,age 104 eVIl'S NOV EM BER 1 . 2000 3