Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

atroke GP bike and the NR600 four-atroke bike on h.nd for tasting. B.ldwin. reportedly. did some I.ps on both. Udo Gied. team m.n.ger for American Hond.·s road r.cing efforts. confirmed th.t Hond. J.pan will be making replicas of the NS600 GP bike. design.ted the RS500••nd that some will be shipped to the U.S.•Ithough he did not know how m.ny or how they would be diatributed. There win be .I.rge Hond. support effort in the Superbike ranks. "I h.ve m.de propoAls to Hond. for • support team .nd they .ccepted them." Aid Gietl. "I h.ve proposed .n A and B support program simil.r to our motocross progr.ms. Ic.n·t be more specific.t this time because there are still details to be worked out." o "' C\f $0-4 Q,) ..0. o ~ u o With the road racing season over, it's now time for the musical bikes game. Eddie Lawson, Mike Baldwin and Wes Cooley are open to deal, as is Jimmy Filice. Wayne Rainey has another year on his Kawasaki con· tract. Lawson confirmed he has had offers from all the Japanese companies, with Honda seeking his services on their Superbike team for next year. Yamaha and Suzuki have offered GP rides. KawaAki's Formula One machinery for next ye.r will be 1 000cc four-strokes and will be speci.lly built and prep.red by KawaAki J.pan. The Kaw.Aki Superbike effort will be based on the GPz760. Elmer Trett topped the Top Fuel class atthe October 9-10 IDBA World Finals drag race at Mississippi's Gulfport International Dragway. Russ Nyberg (Kaw) was the Pro Stock winner while Craig Bums (Kaw) took the Funny Bike win. The Johnson Valley to P.rker Check Ch... ran Oct. 9. with D.n Ashcraft piloting a three-bore Husqv.rn. to the overall win. Lee Scheff.,.(Hon)w.sACOndo~ .11. as over 300 aterted .nd .bout h.lf the field finished. Complete coverage next week. Speed~y-champ-turned-.ctor Bruce P.nhall·. data at the Coate M.A Nation.l. w •• another TV ater: M.li... Gilbert of UtfIe ...... fame. Photo by Ken Kellogg. 2 American Motorcyclist Association congresspersons, elected representatives of the more than 1,000 AMA chartered clubs, met in Westerville, OH, last week and concluded the annual meeting by issuing a proclamation concerning the present situation between the AMA and Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Portions of the proclamation follow: "Be it resolved, by unanimous action of the 1982 AMA Congress: I. The position of Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha in regard to professional motocross competition...represents a coercive attitude toward motorcycle enthusiasts and participants; II. Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha have taken a narrow view of AMA activity and have thereby overlooked and infringed upon the wide membership who purchase motorcycles for other than professional competition; Ill. The 1982 AMA Congress strongly disapproves the actions taken by Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha...; IV. The 1982 AMA Con- gress heartily endorses the position and actions taken by the AMA staff and Trustees on behalf of its members; and V. Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha are urged to become responsible members of the AMA and to support the AMA's overall objectives for the benefit of its members instead of promoting their private interests which can be construed to conflict with the overall objectives of the AMA." Hond. held. teat ..uIon Oct. 6-7 .t D.yton. International Speedway with factory teat rid.,. T.k.zumi Katay.ma. T. Abe .nd Hond. Britain'. Ron H....m on h.nd •• well .s Mike B.ldwin .nd Steve Wi... In .ddition. there were reportedly 25 engineers .nd other high level personnel from the f.ctory.t the track. The 750cc V45 Interceptor V-4. the b.sis for next ye.r·s Superbike. w.s of m.in interest to the Americ.n riders. Hond••Iso h.d their NS500 two- Kawasaki Team Green's Billy Liles went 1-1-3 to win the International class of the final round of the AMA Trans-USA MX Series at Unadilla in New Berlin, NY. However, Suzuki privateer Dave Hollis finished fourth to wrap up the overall series title. Maico-mounted Mickey Kessler finished second on the day with Husky's Bill Grossi third. Complete coverage next week. " The fin.1 result. .re in on the .1 &0.000 p.y-off by R.J. Reynold. Tobacco Company to the top finishers in the WlMton Pro Serie•. Ricky Gr.h.m won .3&.000 for fim. with Jay Springsteen pocketing .20.000 for Meond (Springateen Is the top ... time RJA money winner. having collected .121.000 to elate) and R.ndy GOA receiving .14.600 for third. In the tint-ever . . . . . posting for the top road racera. Mike Baldwin received .7000 for hi. road race championship••nd his atendings in the final points .ccounted for another .2000. This may be comparing apples to oranges since the game was televised locally, but the attendance figure for the first American League baseball playoff game between the California Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers was 64,406. The Miller High Life Supercross Kickoff, at that same Anaheim Stadium facility last January, drew a crowd of 70,205. And baseball is supposed to be America's game... He.vy rain. in the northwest part of Nev.da have forced High Desert R.cing Associ.tlon personnel to ch.nge the fin.1 part of the Frontier 500 Las Vegas to Reno offro.d race. As it atend. now. the timed portion of the race will end in W. .ks (south of Reno). with racen proceeding to the Peppermill Inn .nd C.sino for a "ceremonial" checkered flag. The race. which includes motorcyc.... cars and three-wheele,.. wUl begin .t dawn. Oct. 16. near Las Vagas. The AMA vs. Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki lawsuit is in the hands of the lawyers representing each side. "I talked to our attorneys today," said AMA Executive Director Ed Youngblood in a pressday phone interview on Monday, Oct. 11. "Where we stand at the moment is that we have issued subpoenas for certain records from the three manufacturers and they have come back and stated that they can deliver certain records to us, but that some of the information must remain confidential and only be used by the court." Asked if any efforts had been made at setting up an out-of-court settlement, Youngblood responded, "I understand that there's been some talk between the attorneys about whether settlement discussions would be appropriate at this time. But beyond that, there's nothing really happening." AFM Pro will have its final Budwei..r-sponsored ro.d race of the year .t Willow Springs. Nov. 27-28. But it won't be .n endur.nce r.ce••nd inatead will feature two 45-minute Superbike races. with the scoring done Olympic style. A 600cc Superatr. .t race will open Sunday's r.cing. with • 2150Cc GP race run between the Superbike he.ts. PUrA for the Superbike race (run under AMA Superbike .nd AFM Supet.tJeet rules) will be -'6000. with a .1 000 pUrA for each of the supporting events. AFM Pro .Iso AyS it will run a Superbike ..ries in 1983••Ithough AFM Pro's Rudy G.lindo would Ay little morath.n. "We .re going to do it. We'lI be back to you soon with more details." Due to a drop in attendance, the regular Wednesday night motocross at Ascot Raceway ended Oct. 6. The weekly MX program is now the oldest continuous night track program in the U.S. and you can count on the track reopening the first Wednesday night in April of 1983, kicking off its 15th straight season. TheAMA Pro 8horttnlck rlder8w111 be retuming to the lite "of the famed S.n JOM Mi.. on the evenIng of Oct. 23 to compete for • .2".500 puna. The track wIH be • . . . . .-ml.. dirt oval iMide the mile tr.ck .t the Santa CIe,. CountyFairgrounda. Sen..... CA. For more info•• cont8CtM $paI1CIr at 41&/919-1182. Mark Oct. 31 on your schedule for The Superbikers, the made-for-ABCtelevision spectacle that runs every year at Carlsbad Raceway. This year's event features a $50,000 purse, $10,000 of which goes to the winner. Steve Wise, the two-time winner of the event, is expected back to defend his title, although now he'll have to transfer throu~h the road race heat. "We're preppmg the bikes now," said Honda MX team manager Dave Arnold, "I expect we'll have Andre Malherbe, Steve Wise, Danny Chandler, and Freddie Spencer, if he's healthy."

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