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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/146671
been able to finish up among the lesser privateers. class for GPs than the current European Championship. Wayne Rainey will undergo surgery on his right knee immediately after the GP season ends. It was injured when he crashed and broke his femur in Malaysia before the season, and has never been quite right since. "I've been trying to kid myself that it's okay, but it's not," the defending 500cc World Champion said. "It feels like it's full of rocks. I still am not able to run, which is what I like to do to get fit. I have to bicycle instead. Right after the last race I'll be going back to the States for an operation to correct the problem." Speculation over the make-up of next year's Grand Prix road racing teams intensified at the French GP. Wayne Rainey was said to have signed a letter of intent to go to Cagiva for $2 million - which he and .Cagiva boss Giacomo Agostini both denied. Doug Chandler was also the center of much speculation. While both he and Suzuki say they are close to reaching an agreement for 1993, he was also said to be the subject of big-money offers from both Honda and Team Marlboro Roberts. When asked whether he had indeed been offered $1.2 million from Honda, the Californian said: "Gee, that would be sweet." John Kocinski crashed his Marlboro Yamaha during qualifying for the French GP and as the bike started to smolder he was obliged to resort to a frantic arm-waving perfor~ance before marshalls arrived with a fire extinguisher. When he complained in the pits, team owner Kenny Roberts quipped: "You were shouting: 'Fire. Fire.' In French, that means: 'Sit on your ass and do nuthin.' " According to Maurizio Flammini, head of the Flammini Group, the promoters of the Diesel Jeans World Superbike Championship, there will be increased investment in the championship in 1993 that includes live television coverage which is already in place, and there would be more fulltime marketing people to concentrate on sponsorship and television activities. Flammini now controls the superbike schedule and deals direct with national federations following a new agreement with the FIM. Kenny Roberts Jr. was an interested spectator at the French GP in MagnyCours, and is tipped to race his Yamaha in the post-season Superprestigio International race in Spain. But Roberts put an end to rumors that he would be going 250cc GP racing next season. Instead he is likely to take part in the Spanish National Championship that is being upgraded with the intention of making it a better nursery The World Superbike Series will also feature a set format in 1993, that will include a full support program of 600cc Supersport racing, a onebrand championship relevant to the hosting nation, and also possibly a Super Mono class for single-cylinder machines. The latter will only be included if there is sufficient support from the manufacturers. Shell Thuet, a longtime fixture on the dirt track scene who tuned for the likes of Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson, will celebrate his 80th birthday on Saturday, August 1. Join Papa in wishing him happy birthday by dropping him a' note at 9581 Duncan Rd., #96, Baldy Mesa, CA 92371, or giving him a call at 619/9492229. Damon Bradshaw, of the factory Yamaha MX team, underwent knee surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament on July 24 in Charlotte. North Carolina. Bradshaw, who missed the final round of the' National Championship 25Qcc MX Series in Troy, Ohio, injured the knee at the July 5 Red Bud National MX in Michigan when he crashed in the first moto. Immediately following theoperation, Bradshaw began physical therapy and is expected to be out of action for at least three months. He had planned to compete the second half of the National Championship 125cc MX Series but will now most likely sit out the entire season. Doug Dubach, Damon Bradshaw's factory Yamaha teammate, was also a no-show at the 250c National MX in Ohio. Dubach injured his' wrist at the July 11 Camel Supercrpss in Los Angeles. He showed up at Troy, -hoping to compete but flew back home to California Sunday morning after a painful practice session on Saturday. Dubach has had the wrist X-rayed a number of times and none of them reveal any broken bones. _ Speaking of wrist injuries, Scott Summers, three-time AMA National Cross Country Champion and defending Hare Scrambles Champion, was a spectator at the Troy National MX, as was his mechanic Fred Bramblet. Summers was sporting a cast on his right wrist that he broke at the Blackwater 100 in Davis, West Virginia, June 21. As a result, he had to skip the- National Hare Scrambles in New Berlin, New York, that was taking place on the same day as the Troy National MX. "This is the first National Hare Scrambies I've missed in many years," said Summers. "It feels weird. I broke the navicular bone in my wrist and that takes a long time to heal. I should be able to ride the next National Hare Scrambles in Ohio (September 6)." The muddy conditions at Troy had Summers iching to ride. "That's my kind of conditions out there." Rumors were circulating the pits at the Troy National MX regarding this year's U.S. team at the MX des Nations in Manjimump, Australia, September 6. Mike LaRocco has unofficially agreed to ride in the 125cc class, while potential riders Guy Cooper and Mike Kiedrowski have bowed out. The talk in the pits have it that Do~y Schmit and Billy Liles might repres- - - - - - Continued on page 5 • ••• America's Weekly Motorcycle Newspaper START YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO CYCLE NEWS TODAY! o YES! Start my subscription immediately to :~Jm ~ Order Form Cycle News. 1 year/50 issues for $35.00. That's over $65.00 off the regular newsstand price! (California residents add s2.75 state sales taxI (Please fill out completely and print clearly) Name _ This is a Address City o o o Phone Order Date _ 3Jm.~ Signature Exp. Date TOLL-FREE SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE (800) 831-2220 CN Hou~ 0 Renewal FAX Order line (310) 427-6685 -=- • - Card No. P,O. 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