Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

_ _ _ _ _ _ _-----LBy------'Papa Wealey Scott Plessinger (KTM) was the overall winner at round six of the AMA . National Championship Hare Scrambles eries in Hookstown, Pennsylvania; September 6. Duane Conner (Kaw) was second overall, Jan Hrehor (Suz) was third, Steve Hatch (Suz) fourth and Shad Ricketts (Kaw) fifth. Defending champion Scott Summers (Hon) rode with an injured wrist and finished ninth overall. Ryan Young (Apr) was the winner of the final round of the National Championship Observed Trial Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, September 6. Geoff Aaron (Apr) was the runrier-up, and Raymond Peters (Apr) was third. Steve Hatch was a spectator at the September 7 Trials des Nations in Watkin.~ ~~~£!.! New York. Hatch, who was a~rof the U.S. Junior World team ill the International Six Days Enduro in Australia, resides in nearby Ithica and was amazed at the skills of the trials riders. "Those guys are nuts," said Hatch. "I can't believe some of the stuff they can do. I putted around on a trials bike that belonged to Guy Cooper once, but I never did anything like that." Three-time Observed Trials World Champion Thierry Michaud competed in h,is last world-class trial at the September 7 Trail des Nations. The Frenchman, who rode for the factory Aprilia team for the past two years, has signed with Fantic as a research and development rider. Michaud captured his titles in 1985, '86 and '88 aboard Fantics. Japanese trials rider Takumi Narita finished 10th overall at the September 5 World Championship Observed Trials Series finale in Watkins Glen, New York, but was forced to spectate at the Trials des Nations two days later. Narita; a member of the factory Beta team, was left without a team' to compete on. "The Japanese federation had no interest in sending a team," said a .disappointed Narita. "I would've flked to compete, but what can I do?" Immediately after finishing their loops at the Trials des Nations, the Canadian team of Tom Farr, Steve Fracy, Mike Gunns and Todd Norden began disassembling their motorcycles and packing them into small boxes. "We checked our bikes on as baggage," said Fracy. "We can fit each bike into two small boxes. It was too expensive to ship them whole." "Former AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler has signed a contract to ride factory Cagivas in the 1993 World Championship Road .Race Series. Chandler, who finished fifth in the championship in his second season of 500c,: GP racing on a Lucky Strike Suzuki, will replace retiring four-time World Champion Eddie Lawson on the Italian V-fours. According to AMA road race manager Roger Edmondson, he has received confirmation on 11 AMA National Championship Road Race Series rounds for the 1993 season. The season is se to begin with a race at Phoenix Int rnational Raceway in Firebird, Arizona, on February 14 before traveling to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, for the March 7 running of the Daytona 200. Other dates have yet IN THE WIND U.S. wins MX des Nations,~g_ain__ or the 12th consecutive year, an American team scored the overall victory at the Motocross des Nations. On Sunday, September 6, at the sandy and rutted Cosy Creek circuit at Manjimup, Australia, Americans Jeff Emig (Yam), Mike LaRocco (Kaw) and Billy Liles (Hon), all first-timers to the famed event, scored a hard-fought yet thoroughly deserved victory in front of the runner-up team from Belgium and third-place team from Great Britain. The American squad tallied nipe points in its best five placings out of six starts, with one class win and four second placings. . The Belgian team of five-time World Champion Georges Jobe (Hon), Marnicq Bervoets (Yam) and former 125cc MX World Champion Stefan Everts (Suz) scored 12 points from its best five results, while the British team of Kurt Nicoll (KTM), Rob Herring (Hon) and Jamie Dobb (Kaw) tallied 16 points to just take the final rostrum placing. The French team, led by two-time World Champion and three-time American Supercross and National MX Champion Jean-Michel Bayle (Hon) finished fourth with 17 points, while Sweden rounded out the top five with 22 points. Class honors on the day were split between riders from the U.S., Belgium, Holland, Great Britain and France, signalling the competitiveness of this year's MX des Nations. Bervoets was the best individual. performer, 'scoring two wins in the 250cc division; Emig and Dutchman Remy Van Ress (Kaw) both scored wins in the 125cc class, while Bayle and Nicoll each won a moto in the 500cc class. Americans Liles (500cc) and LaRocco (250cc) finished second in class in both their respective races, which combined with Emig's first race class win was enough to secure the MX des Nations victory and continue America's domination of the event. • Only Great Britain, with 15 wins, leads the U.S. in total MX des Nations victories. But Britain's successes all came during the early years of the event, which was first held in 1947. The Union Jack hasn't flown in the victory circle since 1967. F to be finalized, but the race sites are in place - Laguna Seca (Monterey, California); Charlotte Motor Speedway (Charlotte, North Carolina); Road America (Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin); New Hampshire International Speedway (Loudon, New Hampshire); Road Atlanta (Braselton, Georgia); Brainerd International Raceway (Brainerd, Minnesota); Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Lexington, Ohio); Sears Point International Raceway (Sonoma, California); and Pomona Fairgrounds (Pomona, California). Edmondson recently returned from Road Atlanta where he met with the new ownership of the Georgian race facility. "They picked me up in a private airplane, flew me up and showed me what they were doing," Edmondson said. "They have a real commitment to turning Road Atlanta into a premium facility. They have.a tremendous commitment to safety; I mean moving back dirt banks, adding gravel pits. The earth moving equipment is in place and they have dramatic plans all pointed toward safety. It's very encouraging. We have a July date for the National and three CCS races scheduled for next year. I'm real tickled." Pascal Picotte (Due) won the sixth and final round of the 1992 CastrolMotoplan Canadian National Championship Road Race Series at Shannonville Motorsport Park, September 6. Picotte topped Steve Crevier (Kaw), who had already clinched his second straight and third career Canadian National Championship, and Linnley Clarke (Yam). Freddie Spencer will test a Rothmans Honda NSR500 at Kyalami in South Africa on September 9, 10 and a portion of the 11 tho Spencer will ride the Erv Kanemoto-prepared, ex-Wayne Gardner NSR500 at the site of the September 6 South African GP. "It's merely a test," Hardy said on Tuesday, September 8. "But Freddie's excited to get back on the 500 and. get some experience with it. We've had offers from three 500cc GP teams, but we haven't signed a contract with anyone. We are seriously considering anything that comes our way." Although HRC bosses say there are only two guaranteed Honda NSR500s for Michael Doohan and Japan's Shinichi Itoh for the 1993 GP road race year, other riders besides Freddie Spencer are expected to get test rides during the off season. Among those are 1992 Australian Superbike Champion Mathew Mladin, the latest young Aussie expected to make an impact on GP road racing. Malcolm Smith Motorcycles will celebrate a "totally remodeled" store with a grand re-opening on Saturday, October 10. You're invited to stop by and meet Malcolm Smith, partake in free hot dogs and lemonade, watch On Any Sunday on a jumbo TV screen, view fashion shows and a vintage bike display, attend seminars, and take advantage of special offers such as free safety inspections. The Yamal}a dealer is located at 7563 Indiana Avenue in Riverside, California. For more information, call 714/687-1300. o rest for the weary. Three-time World Champion Wayne Rainey and Team Marlboro Roberts were scheduled to test Dunlop tires the day following the South African GP at Kyalami on September 8. Rainey, who clinched his third title in South Africa, used Michelin tires in winning the title this season, and Dunlops in his 1991 and 1990 championship-winning campaigns. The Howard Johnson Hotel & Conference Center on the beach in downtown Daytona Beach, Florida, will be the race headquarters and official hotel for the October 16-18 AMA/ CCS Race of Champions at Daytona International Speedway. Discounted rooms ($42 per night) will be available to those identifying themselves as AMA participants. The hotel will also host the Race of Champions Awards Celebration on Sunday night, October 18. According to his manager Lonnie Hardy, three-time World Champion National Hare Scrambles and Cross Country Champion Scott Summers ,e i HONDA. What should you look for when you check your motorcycle's brake system? Information like that can save your life. And the best place to fmd it is in your owner's rruinual. Responsible riders also wear a helmet, eye protection and protective clothing, and have a proper motorcycle license. And, of course, nobody should ever ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Read your owners manual before you ride. Because when exam time comes, the safest riders_ are the ones who have done their homework first. ~HONDA Come ride with us. ClI991 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (11/91) American Motorcyclist AllacllUon P.O. Bos 6114 W.......UI•• Ohio 430&1-6114 Phone (614) 891·2425 1

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