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/142449
AMA board sets plans for 1983 Vance goes 6.98/203.61 By Dale Brown IRVINE, CA, AUG. 28 Suzuki's Terry Vance·made Top Fuel motorcycle drag racing history by breaking both the seven-second and 200 mph barriers with a single run at Orange County International Raceway, turning in a time of 6.98 seconds and a speed through the traps of 203.61 mph. Vance turned in the run during OCIR's regular Wednesday night "run what you brung" drag meet, a weekly happening that attracts primarily teen-agers in souped-up cars but lately has been a testing ground for southern California Top Fuel motorcycle racers. "We've been doing a lot of testing," said Vance the following day, "and we have a lot of new parts on there. Byron Hines has been doing a lot of flow bench work on a new injector to match the fuel curve to the engine and that's what made the difference. "As soon as I did the burn-out I knew it was going to be OK. In the burn-out the engine revs real hard and gives you an indication of where it's going to go rich (when the amount of fuel pumped into the motor exceeds the air available). It didn't go fat in the burn-out so I knew it was going to make a lot of horsepower. "When I left the starting line it was on the bar and going. I spun the tire a little bit at halfway, but it was running so strong it was just going for the other end . "When I got to the other end I knew it was the run. I asked the ambulance guy to radio the tower, and the word came back from the tower about the same time Byron and the rest of the guys showed up. When the guy on the radio said 6.98 and 203, the ambulance guy and I just about fainted. We started screaming and yelling; it was really a great thing. " The run did not occur in sanctioned competition, and another run within 1 % was not made to back it up, so it is not a record. Vance could lower the record officially as soon as Labor Day, when the Top Fuel bikes run in an NHRA car meet at Indianapolis. As a matter of fact, Vance expects to go faster at Indy. There were conflicting reports on who was the overall winner of the Aug. 22 250cc World Motocross Championship Series round in Fin- , land. We do know that American Yamaha pilot Danny LaPorte turned in 1-3moto finishes, Suzuki's Georges Jobe finished 2-2 and KTM 's Kees ' van der Ven went 3-1. What it does boil down to is that LaPorte enters th e Aug. 29 round in Sweden with a 15-point lead, and Sweden is the last round of the series. 6 eral Hospital, Intensive Care Unit 4E, 1001 Potrero Ave., San Francisco, CA 94100. - HosPITal STOP: Formula Two road racer Craig Morris crashed in Saturday practice for the Sears Point event. Initially thought to be all right, Morris was transported to the hospital for a check-over. It was then they discovered that he had ruptured his ,spleen. Morris went through four units of blood during surgery and was in the intensive care ward of a nearby hospital. On Sunday Morris was transferred to San Francisco General Hospital where he is in critical but stable condition with internal injuries. He is concious and may be written to at San Francisco Gen- Last week's issue contained three stories on AMA Regional TTs in Oregon and Washington, and the last one was headlined "final." It was the final one of that weekend, but definitely not the final one of the year. That will happen Aug. 27 at the Sidewinders track in Clackamas, OR. For info on it, call 503/ 659-1022. Steve Wise's Pocono ride on th e Honda FWS V-4 was a one time deal. American Honda borrowed the frame from Honda of England, and then used their own spare engine. Wise 's mount for the Sears Point Formula One race turned out to be his Superbike. At a reported $1 million per bike , the FWS is a rare bird. If you want to ride your motorcycle to ' see the World Speedway Final at the L.A . Coliseum on Aug. 28 - you do, don't you - then you should know that there will be free. guarded motorcycle parking. WESTERVILLE, OH, AUG. 9-10 The Board of Tru'stees of the American Motorcyclist Association met at the AMA offices to review and make final approval of Association plans and programs for 1983. A review of accounts revealed that the Association remains financially stable, and for 1983 a $3 .7 million budget was approved that will include no significant increases in fees. While sanction fees for professional races will be increased an average of 6%, there wi! be no increase in membership dues and no increases in insurance fees to promoters of amateur or professional events. The Trustees ratified a July 30 decision of the finance committee to change auditing firms, selecting the firm of Ernst & Wh inney. Following a report by Government Relations Director Rob Raso r the Trustees reso lved to continue legal action that the Association has carried on against the Bureau of Land Management since December 1980. The Board reaffirmed the decision made at the May 24, 1982, meeting to approve major changes in AMA's professional motocross format in 1983. ' The Trustees reviewed plans for competition programs in 1983 and made adjustments to the claiming rule that will be applied at professional 125cc MX National Championship races. The claiming price was finalized at $4500. A staff report indicated to the Trustees that AMA's new Kawasakisponsored Amateur/Youth Motocross National Championship program which culminated at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch Aug. 4-6 was an outstanding success. While changes will be made in 1983 to improve the qualifying procedure, no changes will be made in the general concept. The Trustees approved Articles of Incorporation and a Code of Regulations for the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which the AMA shell create as a non-profit public foundation to fund and manage a museum and hall of fame. Lynn Wineland, Wayne Moulton, Dal Smilie and Hazel Kolb were named T~stees for the Foundation. The AMA Board of Trustees and the Trustees of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation will meet next in Anaheim, CA, early in November. Yamaha's Jimmy Filice rode the Sears Point Formula Two race and finished fourth, but he was hardly race-ready. His right wrist, fractured at the Indy Mile, was still taped and Filice said that it would be put back in a cast following the race. "My wrist started bothering me in the heat race. It's not really ready yet, but I'm so sick and tired of sitting aroundll'lI ride the Seattle Pro-Am Formula Two race and then probably the San Jose Mile," said Filice. " I have a compression of the sixth vertebra in my back, a broken rib on the right side and a lot of bruises. Other than that, I feel pretty good," said Winston Pro Series points leader Ricky Graham, who sufferedthose injuries in a practice session get-off at the Aug. 15 Peoria TT National. " I went to the hospital in Peoria for Xrays, but they didn't find the problem with my back at that time. They called Tuesday (Aug. 17)and told me what they had found and I immediately went to a doctor who specializes in sports medicine. I'll be at the Indy Mile (Aug. 28). The accident happened after I got a bit sideways in the air off the Peoria jump and grabbed a handful of throttle to have some momentum when I hit the ground. I got the bike straightened out, but I was thrown over the bars and hit the ground head first with the handlebars, gas tank, triple clamp and probably the rest of the bike bouncing off my body." Husky's Terry Cunningham took the overall win in the Aug. 22 Jack Pine National Enduro with a loss of four points. Second went to John Martin (C-A) and third to Jack Penton, both of whom dropped six. Fritz Kadlec (Kaw) and' Mark Hyde (Hus) finished 4-5 with a score of eight. Kawasaki riders Drew Smith and Fritz Kadlec, both on the Silver Vase team of the U.S. International Six Days Enduro SQuad, have withdrawn th eir entries due to lack of funds. Taking their place are Husky riders Ron Ribolzi and Kevin Hines. Also withdrawing their entries for the Czechos lovakian event are Chip Howell (Yam ) and Kevin Brown (H us). Since entries closed Aug. 6, there will be no replacements for Howell and Brown. Rumor has it that Honda will be producing some entirely new fourstroke dirt bikes for 1983. Our source says there will be a fourstroke motocrosser and the whole line of four-stroke enduro bikes will be updated in the engine and suspension areas. Stay tuned for ,the latest. Al Guzman tells us the District 37 telephoneracing in form ation hotline will be discontinued for the remainder of the 1982 season. Please check your Cycle News Calender listing for the latest race information. Lynn Nathan will join the national headquarters staff of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation as manager of education, according to President Charles H. Hartman. Nathan will handle the revision, field-test and evaluation of all Foundation educational materials. She will also be responsible for developing new curriculum materials and coordinating the work of the new MSF Curriculum Advisory Committee. AFM racers get a second and final shot at Laguna Seca on Sunday, Aug. 29 and should make for a good day of racing while Saturday night, short trackers will have a special $500added purse at Hills Ferry Raceway near Newman, making for a good weekend of racing for afficionados in the North lands.