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/143876
Can-Am's trials bike is ·the only one in the line to feature a non-Rotax engine. It is motivated by an Italian Hiro powerplant. 57th International Six Days Enduro Bottleneck hill takes toll in .Czechoslovakia POVAZSKA BYSTRICA , CZEC HOSLOVAKIA, SEPT. 20 Tough t rai ls, tight t ime schedules and a bottleneck on a demanding hill provided for a grueling f irst day in the annuallSDE. Dropping out of the event on the f irst day were American Barry Higgins (Mai) and Kev in Hines (Hus), both suffering from mechanical problems. Of the 23 American riders still competing, only two - Ed Lojak (Hus) and Larry Roeseler (Yam ) - remained on gold. The Czechoslovakian Trophy Team was in first place, followed by the Swedish team. Defending Trophy Team champions, the Italians, , were in ninth place. The American Trophy Team was in eighth place. The end of day one saw the Czechs also leading the Vase Team competition with the Italian team second. The American team was in - seventh place. " Broc Gl over, R icky J oh nson and Mike Bell will be on the team next year ," said Yamaha racing manager Ken Clark, ad di ng, " Bob H annah and Yamaha are parting on good term s. Bo b asked to be let out of the remaining year on his contract and ' we have agreed to do so." Clark declined to say if Hannah had ma de known h is plans for next year, although industry r u m ors are th a t Hannah will sign with Honda to contest th e 1983 250cc World Moto~ cross Championship Series. Also rumored to have signed for a European assault is Jim Gibson, a member of the successful U.S. Trophee and Motocross des Nations team. Gibson has reportedly signed with Yamaha of Japan to ride the 126cc World Motocross Championship Series. Yamaha team manager Clark also said that the Yamaha entries in the upcoming CMC Trans-Cal SeriesG lover, Johnson, Bell and newl ycrowned 250cc Wo rld MX Champ Danny LaPorte - will beriding 1983 pre-production YZs. Still to be an. nounced by Yamaha are the participants in the support program, and the future of the dirt track and road racing effort. 2 Clark'also reported that three-time World Road Racing Champion Kenny Roberts spent a day in negotiations, then went to 58e a well-known orthopedic surgeon. Roberts has suffered knee problems as a result of his Silverstone crash and may undergo surgery in the near future. All the factory Superbike riders will be at West Pal m Beach for the Sept. 26 Superbike Pro-Am there, but they 'll be there reluctantly. All of th e p it gossip a t the Kent, WA, P ro -Am centered arou nd a rider boycott of the 'even t. The top six riders in th e point sta ndi ngs were d iscu ssing staying . hom e fro m th e West Pal m Beach race, bu t 'Ia ter in th e wee k, they had decided to go . " Wha t we wa nted to do ," said Yoshimura/Suzuki ri der Wes Cooley, "was to go perform before 40-50,000 people a t Ca esars Palace - potential motorcycle fans - instead of going to West Palm Beach and performing for 100 mechanics. We felt that to have this thing (West Palm Beach ) added in the middle of the year was ridiculous and we wanted to stand up so ' we couldn 't get pushed around lik e this next year. The reason we ar e going to West Palm Beach is that we all made a mistake and en tered the race. By ent ering th e race, we can't go and ride Caesars Palace; th at would be a defini te infraction of th e ru les." Cooley also said that, "All six of us got together at Kent and decided we didn't want to go to West Palm Beach, so at that point we had to talk to the factories. Well, the factories, the people who pay our salaries, were all behind us. Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki were all behind us. They 'wanted to go to Caesars Palace, they felt it would be better for the sport and more advantageous publicity wise. The problem was that when the AMA threw this race in we all signed up and were all committed ." The AMA has an nounced that riders who cancelled signed entries in the The promise of a production, full-race, four-stroke, quadrophile's dream is fullfilled in this Rotax 500cc thumper-powered Sonic. Can-Am's new road race machine, since it is an Armstrong with Can-Am's colors and dealer network, should be free of teething problems. Trans- USA Series in order to 'co m pete in other events not sanctioned by AMA may be fined up to $1000 for each infraction. The action is authorized by Chapter II , 4. of the 1982 AMA Professional Motocross Rulebook which states, " An entry ma y not be ca nce lled in order to ride at any other meet scheduled at th e same time." The maximum fine of $1000 is a u thorized by Chapter XI, B.3. of the same rulebook. AMA execu tive director Ed Youngblood said , "We would mos t sincerely regre t any di sci p linary action against the riders themselves, because we believe that any who co m m it th is rule's vio la tion will be do ing so under ord ers fro m th eir facto ries.' ! Ratsl The international postal system has struck again, clutching in its jaws for longer than necessary, our coverage of the American win in the Motocross des Nations. We suspect a trounced-upon European nation for the delay, but can't prove anything and will endeavor to bring the coverage to you in the next issue. Ricky Graham and Jay Springsteen may bethe only protagonists remaining in the AMAIWinston Pro Series title picture, but the rivalry is strictly on the track. " After the season's fin ished," said Graham at San Jose, " I' m going back to Michigan and spend some time fishing and camping with Jay. Then I'll drive my van back to California." Among the spectators at the San J058 Mile was the Hurricane MXer, Bob Hannah. Hannah's only response to questions about his rumored switch to Honda to race in Europe next year, was, "If they hire me.:" HosPITal STOP: Darrell Shultz, th e 1982 AMA 500cc National MX Ch am -