Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ IN THE ~IND ~ Mickey Fay (Rtx) was the winner of the September 19 Castle Rock 600cc National Championship 'IT held in Castle Rock, Washington. Team Harley-Davidson's Chris Carr (H-D) was the runner-up and Rex Fisher (W-R) finished third. While it was the first time this year that Carr was beaten at a 600cc National, his second-place finish was good enough to clinch a fifth-consecutive AMA 600cc National Championship Series title in what was scheduled to be the next-to-last round of the series. With the cancelation of the October 25 Fresno round, the series is now concluded. Brett Landes (WR) won the Junior National, besting J.P. Simonsen (Hon) and Ronald Brown (W~R). Although he did not compete at Castle Rock, James Hart wrapped up the AMA Junior National Championship Series title when championship rival Tim Selby failed to quali4' for the National. "' ~ 15 d io-4 ~ ~ ~ (1) rJ) By Pa~_a_eal.......L-ey W Defending National Hare 8c Hound ChamI>ion Danny Hamel and teammate Paul OstOO (Kaw) scored the overall and Open Pro class wins at the Best of the Desert Las Vegas 300 offroad team race held near Las Vegas, Nevada, September 19. The Hamel! Ostbo duo finished nearly 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up team of Larry Roeseler and Ty Davis (Kaw). Brandon Gerber and Brent Fox (Kaw) rounded out the top three. Jan Hrehor (Suz) was the overall winner in round 11 of the AMA National Championship Cross Country Series at Fairmont, West Vir.ginia, September 20. Steve Hatch (Suz) was the runner-up, while defending National Enduro Champion Jeff Russell (KTM), Doug Blackwell (Kaw) and Tim Shephard (Yam) rounded out the top five. Floridian Donald Jacks (Suz) won both legs of WERA Formula USA competition at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, September 20. His Valvoline Suzuki teammate Michael Martin (Suz) finished second in both races, and Fritz Kling (Suz) was third both times out. Going into the Moroso race, Jacks was just one point ahead of challenger Chuck Graves in the series point standings, but Graves suffered a broken collarbone in a practice session. Pole-sitter Jacks took advantage of the situation and his win puts him 21 points ahead of Texan Martin with just one round remaining. Californian Rich Oliver (Yam) was the winner of the September 19 WERA Air Tech Formula II race at Moroso, leading Canadian Jonathan Cornwell (Yam) and Texan Danny Walker (Yam) across the finish line. Italian Massamiliano Biaggi (Apr) .}Von the Superprestigio International 250cc Road Race at Jarama, Spain, . September 20. Biaggi narrowly defeated German Jochen Schmid (Yam) in the final of three races to take the win. Biaggi, in what is likely to be l:J.is final race for Aprilia after signing to ride a Rothmans Honda in 1993, won two of the.three races and finished fourth in the other. The second race win went to Italian Loris Reggiani (Apr), who DNF the other two races. Italian Pier-Francesco Chili (Apr) finished third'overall with a second and two third place finishes. 2 The top American finisher in the Superprestigio was Kenny Roberts Jr. (Yam), who finished 12th overall. Chris D'AIuisio (Yam) finished 13th overall while AMA 250cc National Champion Colin Edwards (Yam) failed to score a point after being crashed into in the second race and then pulling out of the third leg with an ill-running motorcycle. Larry Pegram (H-D) was the big winner at the September 20 MARS Asheville Half Mile, held in Asheville, North Carolina. Pegram beat Terry Poovey (H-D) and Robert Lewis (H-D) in the 600cc class main event, and went on to lead Greg Sims (H: D) and Steve Burkholder (H-D) across the finish line iri the 750cc main. Scott Zampach (H-D) won the 883 class main, edginE out Steve Morehead (H-D) and Davey Durelle (HD). Pegram dinched the Motorcycle Asphalt Racing Ser~es championship title. Jeremy McGrath (Hon) topped the 125cc Pro class at round three of the CMC/Valvoline Trans-Cal Nationals at Barona Oaks Raceway in Ramona, California, September 20. Craig Decker (Kaw) was second and Ryan Hughes (Kaw) finished third. Decker (Kaw) returned in the 250cc Pro class and topped Shaun Kalos (Yam) and Damon Huffman (Suz), while Tony Amaradio (Kaw) bested Rob Drew (Kaw) and Rex Staten (Hon) in the 500cc Pro class. Team Suzuki Endurance (Suz) rebounded from its loss in the 24-Hour West race at Willow Springs the previous weekend (see page 6) by chalking up their 81st victory in the September 19 WERA National Endurance Championship Series race at Moroso. The team, which has clinched a record eighth WERA endurance title, finished just 19 seconds ahead of National Car Rental Racing (Hon). Both teams logged 124 laps in the four-hour race. Virginia Breeze Racing (Yam) was third, four laps behind the front-runners. Tim Frazier (BSA) topped the 540cc class at the sixth round of the AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series at Middlebury, Indiana, September 20. Scott Everett (Tri) was second and Paul Pinsonnault (Hon) . placed third. In the 800cc division, 61year-old Lou Gerencer Sr. (H-D) won, Harry Schreiber (H-D) was second and Tom Reiser (H-D) third. Defending 800cc National Champion Lou Gerencer Jr. was in attendance at the Middlebury Hillclimb, but did not compete due to an injury he sustained at the previous week's round in Freemansburg, Pennsylvania (see page 14). Gerencer compressed a disc in his lower back when he looped his bike out on a vertical ledge on the Freemansburg hill. The HarleyDavidson rider will also miss round seven, but hopes to return to action at the final round in Ohio on October II. Massamiliano Biaggi, who finished fifth in the 250cc division of the World Championship Road Race Series and is generally regarded as the best upand-coming European road racer, is reportedly close to a legal battle with Aprilia after signing his Rothmans contract. The 21-year-old rider's contract with Aprilia had an option year - for 1993, and they want him to stay. "I've made my choice - I don't go back to Aprilia," Biaggi told reporters at the September 20 Superprestigio race in Spain. "This is a problem for the lawyers." _ .Virginia ogens nov lanes I t's taken 10 years of effort, but motorcyclists have succeeded in convincing highway officials nationwide that they can play a role in reducing traffic congestion on crowded expressways. The final breakthrough came in Virginia on September 17. Since 1982, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has worked with state and federal government authorities to get approval for a plan to allow motorcyclists to use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. These lanes are set aside for use by vehicles that transport more people in less space, including buses and cars carrying mul~ple passengers. Since 1982, the federal Department of Transportation has recognized that motorcycles, which use less highway space than cars, provide the same advantages in reducing congestion as high-occupancy vehicles. And as of September 21, all 12 states with HOV lanes have opened those lanes to motorcycle riders. The final state to approve that use was Virginia, which resisted federal mandates to open its HOV lanes for several years. On September 17, the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board voted to open up HOV lanes on Interstate 66, Interstate 95 and 395, Interstate 64:, U.S. Route 44 and the Dulles Airport Toll Road to motorcyclists for a two-year trial period. "This marks the final victory in a long battle over this issue," said Jim Bensberg, AMA Washington representative. "The federal government and several state governments agreed that motorcyclists should be allowed to use HOV lanes from the beginning, but a few states resisted. Over the years, we've been successful in opening up HOV lanes in one state after another, until Virginia was the last remaining holdout. This vote means that HOV lanes from coast to coas"t are now open to motorcycle r i d e r s . " . .. Bensberg noted that the AMA's effort in Virginia received strong support from ABATE of Virginia and the BMW Bikers of Metropolitan Washington, as well as Virginia State Delegate Linda "Toddy" Puller, who provided key opportunities for motorcyclists to make their case before the Commonwealth Transportation Board. "This was a team victory," noted Bensberg. "All along, even when it seemed hopeless, we believed that this case would be won on its merits." Motorcyclists in Virginia are cautioned to ride with extra care during the inaugural months of HOV access because auto drivers may not realize that motorcycles will be using those lanes. HOV lanes previously opened to motorcyclists are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. Transportation officials expect that many more states will adopt HOV lanes on crowded expressways in the next decade. Although details have yet to be released, it has been confirmed that Italian two-time 250cc World Champion Luca Cadalora will shortly ink a contract to join Team Marlboro Roberts Yamaha as a teammate to three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey. Cadalora, who rode a Rothmans Honda to both his titles, will replace two-time 500cc GP winner John Kocinski on the team. "To the best of my knowledge, he hasn't signed," said team owner Kenny Roberts in Spain on September 20. "But he has the contract in hand." When q'uestioned as to why John Kocinski was being replaced, Kenny Roberts said, "John just needs a change. Obviously the bike (Yamaha) doesn't do what John wants it to do. This will give John something else to . do for a year. He needs to get on something that steers a little quicker or back to a 250. I think that's the best for John. We are thinking of what's best for the team and what's best for John. We are behind in development right now and we can't go in different directions. We have to build something better, but in one direction. We can't have one rider going in a completely different direction than the other rider." Roberts added that he thought Luca Cadalora would adapt well to a 500. Of course, former 250cc World Champion John Kocinski was a muchtalked-about spectator at the Superprestigio at Jarama. Although Kocinski denied it, sources close to the Californian confirmed that he will test the Lucky Strike-backed Suzuki 250 at Spain's Jerez circuit this week. Although Kocinski is scheduled to test the 250cc Suzuki, many believe he and Kevin Schwantz will be teammates on the 500cc Suzuki team next year. Crew chief Kel Carruthers and Spanish 250cc road racer Carlos Cardus officially ended their relationship on Monday, September ~1, when the two reached a settlement on their contract. Carruthers, who was relieved of his duties as crew chief for Cardus' Repsol Honda team following the Spanish GP in May, had two years remaining on his three-year contract but was let go with Cardus claiming financial hardship. "It's been a tough six months," said former 250cc World Champion Carruthers, who was specating at the Superprestigio reice. "I'm glad that chapter has been closed and I'm now looking forward to joining another team for the 1993 season." Although Carruthers was keeping tight-lipped about his '93 plans, Spain's largest daily newspaper, La Vanguardia, went as far as to report that the Australian had already signed a contract to join Sito Pons on the Campsa Honda team. Carruthers, however, denied me report. "I haven't signed a contract with anyone at this point. I'm considering all my options and a decision will b~ made at a later date." Matthew Mladin, the 1992 Australian Superbike Champion, has reportedly inked a three-year contract with Cagiva, joining Californian Doug Chandler on the Italian V-fours. Apparently, Mladin was impressive in his test session with the team at the Mugello circuit in Italy last week and thus earned the second spot on the team which is run by Giacomo Agostini. Mladin recently completed a test in South Africa on the Honda NSR500 that was campaigned by Wayne Gardner this year. The young Aussie turned times that would have qualified him 12th on the grid for the South African GP. Althou h

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