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/128643
o team recruite d Sete G ibem au and then Als ta re signed Step hane C hambo n. A ll of a sudden t here w as nowh ere fo r me to go . That' s w he n I st art ed to put myself abou t and spoke to a lot of people about job s . The reason the decision has been so d ifficu lt is be cause S uzuki G B has bee n so good to me . I've ridden fo r a few fi r m s a nd t hey' v e a ll been g o od. bu t Suzu ki really pulled o ut all the stops. But fo r me to go G P racing w asn't po ssib le w it h Su zu ki. That' s w hy it's be e n the b igge st and ha rd e st decis ion e ver . " Suzuki is expected to take legal action agai nst W alker, according to reports from England . Continental tires rece ntly completed its fi nal ti re te st fo r the 200 1 dirt track season wi t h Mike Hacker a nd J o hn ny Go ad te st ing the new C M 7-A rear t ire and a new com pound fron t tire in Savanna h, G eorgia . Acco rd ing to C ontine ntal tire rep Gr eg Tyso r, Cont inent al is "very happy with the result s. " Three-t ime AMA G rand National Ch ampio n an d t w o -ti m e D ay t o na 200 w inne r Joe Leonard w ill se rve as grand m ars hal f o r t he AH RMA port io n o f B i k e W e e k i n D ayt o na B e a c h , Flori da . i n M arch . Ridin g K R-model Harl ey -D avi d sons. l eonard wo n his first A MA N atio nal - a road race - in Windber. Penn sylvania, in Ju ly of 1953. Thro ugh A ugust 1961 . he earne d 2 7 Natio nal w ins in we ll·rounded fashion - nine mile dirt t racks. eight road races . seven ITs and three half-mi les . His three N at ion al C hamp ionsh ips ca me in 1954 , 1956 and 1957, but betw een 1954 and 19 6 1 o nly once did l eo nard finish lower th an third overa ll in the standings. That happened in 1959, when he w as fifth in the poi nts . Both of Leona rd's Dayt ona 20 0 wins came o n the old 4.1-mile beach course. in 1957 and 1958. His 1958 win at an average of 99 .86 1 mph estab lished a reco rd that was never bro ken . Leo nard w as also o ne of few mo to rcyc le racers ab le to dup lica te his champ io ns hip-Win. ning ways after swi tc hing f rom t w o wheels to four . He was Unit ed St ate Auto C lub na t iona l ti t le -ho lde r in 19 7 1 and 19 72 . W hen it co me s to automobi le racing . he may be be st re me mbered for almos t w inning the Indianapol is 500 in a tu rbine-powe red car, w hich broke whi le lead ing in the cl osing laps. As A HRMA grand mar shal. Leon ard w ill be sig ning autographs along w ith other racing leg ends on Sunday. M arch 3, at the Arne rican M oto rcycle Institut e. 30 42 W . lnterna t iona l S pe e dw ay B lv d . in D ay t on a If initial tests of the bike at the Suzuka Circuit in Jap an are any indi catio n, the new Suzuki GSX-R750 looks set to be a stro ng challenger for Honda and Ducati in next year's World Superbike Championship. During the first fact ory test at Suzuka, the new bike showed its potential, 'plus an interesti ng techn ical breakthrou gh (fo r World Superbik e) - a new braking/ traction contro l system that is managed by an onboard computer through a sm all disk mounted on the rear wheel (pictured) . The device, wh ich monit or s fro nt- wheel speed compared to rear-wheel speed and makes necessary power reductions to prevent rear-wheel spi n, has been tried in previous years in Grand Prix racing with out much success. . Alstare Suzuki factory riders Pier-Francesco Chili and new team mate Stephane Chambon, however, tested the device at Suzuka on November 26, with the pair sharing ju st one of the new GSX·R750s . Each rider was only able to test for an hour and a half per day, with the m achine carrying Chili's race number four. The bike featured no paint, j ust carbon black , but all the Al stare sponsor decals were in plac e. The new GSX·R has new cylinders (still inline. of course) , with a lot of improvement to the fuel injection system as well as to some intemal parts . The chassis is also all -new, with a 'different layou t for better weight distr ibution. On the first day of the test, 'November 28, Chili put in 21 laps • ju st to get to know the bike and to set the handleba r, seat position and foot pegs in the proper locati on. The Italian's best t ime was a 2: 12. Chambon did 19 laps, learning not only th e bike but also Suzuka, a track he'd never been to before. With fairly good weather conditions, Chili lapp ed at 2:09 .64 on the second day after com pleting 22 laps, Chamb on did 24 laps with a best of 2: 11.80. Meanwhile, some Japanese Suzuki riders also tested, including . Akira Ryo , the form er All -Japan Superbike Champi on who finished second in thi s year' s titl e chase on the old Suzuki. Ryo lapped at 2:08.30, under the 2:08.5 47 he tum ed during the qualifying for the Suzuka 8 Hour in Jul y. The overall Suzuk a track recor d is held by Yotoyasu lzutsu on Ka wasak i ZX- 7RR during 8 Hours q ualifying - a 2:07 .942; the fastest lap in the race was set by Noriyuki Haga on a factory Yamaha at 2:08. 785 . "' ma de ju st a few laps in a very hard track that I don't know so well ," Chili said. "I haven't been her for a long time , but I arrived very near the top lap tim es. This m eans that my new Suzuki is really competitive. My best lap came with a hard compound tire, not with Beach. Hundreds of beaut ifully prepared vint age race mach ines from all ove r the world wi ll ro ll t hrough technical inspect ion at th e AMI on this day , an even t that is ope n f re e o f charge t o t he p u blic . Leo nard also w ill be ava ilab le for autograph s and photos on Monday and Tuesday , M arch 4·5 , at Dayt o na International Speedw ay du ring AHRMA C lassics Day s fe st iv iti es. O n M arc h 6 he wi ll add ress the A HRMA annual road racing awa rds banq uet at the D el and Hol iday Inn. Fo r more info rmation, call 9 13/268-4401. Beg inning on January 1, 200 1, brand new 200 1 mo de l-year H o nd a Gold Wing s . other Hond as . and S uzuki s w ill be availab le th rough Cruise America's motorcycle rental program , accord- o o o o o o o o o o softer, and I'm ve'fy happy with the work of the Suzuki'staff. The new ' GSX·R750 is easier to ride, the handling is mu ch better, and [ think that! can use softer tires during races, with big advantages over last year's model/The grip management is really important in a Superbike race, and now I think [ will be able to arrive at finale stage of each race with still -good tires , even to start with soft compounds. "Also the new engine is very impressive. l ast season we had a [at of horsepower . but the power delivery was not easy to control; now the power arrives very smooth - it is fantasti c for rider and tires! [ cam e back home with a very positive sensation on my mind: with th is bike I can win a lot of races and to try to win the title." Chambon had tested the old model Suzuki in early November at Almeria in Spain , so this was his second test.with a Superbik e and his first with the new GSX-R. "My feeling is very good, my goal in this occasion wasn't to set fast time, but to kn ow our new bike," Chambon said. " Also, the m ach ine that I rod e was set up by Pier -Fran cesco, and I cannot push so hard as I could. But my feeling is very positive, [ thin k that I can be on front positions also in Superb ike scenes." Both Al stare Suzuki riders will test again on December 13- 15 in Jerez, Spain, during the Dunlop Grand Prix/World Superbike session. Suzuki will send the same single unit to Europe, with the pair slated to only have the one bik e again to share. Aft er Spain , Suzuki will start buildin g the new bikes that will arrive in Europe in mid-Januery. Paolo Gozzi ing to Crui se America . In addi tion to rent ing th e new Gol d W ing. C ruise Am erica wi ll also offer dual-spo rt mo to rcycles fo r rent - the Hon da XR650 L and the Suzuki DR -Z400 . For more in f o rm at io n , ca ll 800/327 -7799. in M urietta, C alifo rn ia. A memorial service fo r Do mo kos has bee n sc hed uled for December 9. The service is sc heduled to take place at 10 a.m. at the Hang-g liding Landing Z one at the base of the Ortega Mountains off of Highw ay 74 . Tracy Harris of A dvan st ar Com municat ions, pro moters of the upcoming C ycle World Internati onal M ot o rcycle Sh ow in Long Beac h, Ca liforn ia. that beg ins on De cember 8. has donate d boo th space to rais e mo ney fo r a t rust fu nd fo r Doug Domokos ' so n, Nic holas. Goat Breker, a close friend o f Dom ok os , w ill man the booth and w ill show videos of the Wh eelie King 's exploit s in add ition to displaying his mo torcycle. D om ok o s w as killed o n November 26 in an untralight plane cra sh Point X w ill hold a video premi ere fo r its lat e st rele ase, MMini Warriors 3" at M agic M o untain in No rthridg e, Ca liforn ia. on December 16. Fo r t ick et info rmat io n. ca ll 877 /693·4 567. M ini W ar rio rs 3 is expecte d to be o n sale prior to C hristmas at mot o rcycl e dealers and act ion sports retail outlets , acc ord ing to Point X. ACCEPTING: Gaerne is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2001 road racing season. Resumes can be sent to Gaerne. attn. Racer support. 13640 Imperial Highway. Suite 5. Santa Fe Springs. CA 90670. The Unlimit ed Sp o rt s Florida Winter Am Series gets underway on D ecem be r 3 0 in Gai nesville, Flo rid a, an d w ill co nclude five ro unds late r at Gainesville . St o p s in b e t w e en inc lud e D ad e C ity Rac ew ay . M X o f Marion C ou nty a nd O keech o bee. Fo r mo re informat ion. ca ll 90 4/935-6872 . APPOINTED: David Roy. to fill the newly created position of manager Torco Racing O ils recently announced its new Supercross/motocross team for the 2001 season. In association w ith Fa s s t C o mpany and Malc ol m S m it h M o to rcycl e s , To rco w ill fie ld a Su zuk imounted two-rider effort that w ill contest the 125 cc W e ste rn Regi o nal AMA/E A S p o rt s S u p e rc ro s s Se r ies and AMA/Chevy Truc ks M otocross Na tio nals . To rco ' s ride rs are Ro b bi e Skaggs (number 58) and Kevin Tow nsend (number 5 12). The te am will be utilize a new custom box van, and w ill be assisted by assoc iat e spo nsors MSR. Bill' s Pipe s , RG3 Su s p e n s i o n . D un lo p , B ro t hers Chevy & G M C Truck Part s . and S uzuki. of racing operat ions for D ucati N orth Am erica. effective immediately . Roy . a former road race r, will ac t as the cor porate repre senta tive in charge of D ucati' s racing involvement in N orth Am erica . including eac h of the newly formed AMA Superbike teams · HMC Ducati and Competition OPENED: The Los Ancianos M.C.' s home page on the World Wide Accesso rie s. W eb . The site . which features a club history. past winners of the infa- mous Tecate Enduro and Hare Scrambles. results from last year's event. and a printable for this year's event (which takes place on January 21l, can be found at the following address: http:/ /www .losancianos.com. REDESIGNED: Smith Sport Optics' home page on the World Wide Web. The interactive site. which features product giveaways and concert ticket s for special highlighted bands. can be found at the following address: www.smithsport.com. ACCEPTING: MD Racing USA. the importer of UFO riding gear. is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2001 racing seaso n. Resumes can be sent to MD Racing USA. attn: rider support. 2520 Hayes Ave.. Fremont. OH 43420. OPENED: Moto Outfitters, a new TM and Gas Gas dealer. at 6303 E. 18th St.. Suite B. Vancouver. WA 98661. CORRECTION: The December 8 Sport Bike Night featuring three-time CORRECTION: In last week's apparel buyer' s guide, we printed the wrong retail prices for LBZ's Clifford gear. The correct prize for the pant • is $ 149.99, while the jersey goes for sas.sa , NAMED: Frank Gullurn . as manager. sponsorship sales and services. . • for S ears Point Raceway in S onoma, C alifornia, effec tive immediately . .. '" '" '" '" ,.,. 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey and former 500cc Grand Prix star and current television commentator Randy Mamola will be held at a new location. the Classic Jukebox. on Sierra College Blvd. in Roseville. Cali· fomia, and not at In Ca hoots in Sacramento as report ed here last we ek. For more information call Mike Summers at 9 16/37 3· 1557 or visit Sport Bike Night' s we b site at WWVIJ .sportbikenight.com. .o .o .o '" . ,. .. ,. .. c ue I e n Ya ma ha an nou nced this wee k that freestyler Trevor Vines wi ll be a - - -- - -- - Continued on page 56 eVIl' s D EC EMBER 13, 2000 3 8 8 o o o ~o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 8 o o o o