Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ .INTHE WIND By Papa Wealey ~ '" r,lo-t (1) ~ ~ U o Danny Hamel (Kaw) clinched his second consecutive AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Championship Series t~tle by scoring the overall win at Wendover, Utah, September 27. Ed Sorenson (Yam) finished second with Brandon Gerber (Kaw) third. Don Griewe (Hus) and Jimmy Lewis (Kaw) rounded, out the top five finishers. Larry Roeseler (Kaw), the only rider who had a chance of beating Hamel for the championship going into the Wendover National, did not finish. Jan Hrehor (Suz) scored the overall win in round eight of the AMA National Championship Hare Scrambles Series at Lynnville, Indiana, September 27. Defending champ Scott Summers (Hon) was the runner-up, while Scott Plessiner (KTM), Jimmie Eriksson (Hbg) and Duane Conner (Kaw) rounded out the top five. Tom Reiser (H-D) and Ted ,Wilkens (Rtx) were the big winners in round seven of the AMA National Championship Hillclimb Series at York, Pennsylvania, September 27. Reiser scored the 800cc class win, while Wilkens earned the 540cc class victory. Rounding out the top three in the 800 and 540cc divisions were Jeff Y oeder (H-D) and Lou Gerencer (H-D) in the 800cc class, and Tim Frazier (BSA) and Steve Dresser (Suz) in the 540cc division. According to team owner Terry Vance, Vance & Hines Yamaha will not run a second rider in the final round of the AMA National Championship Road Race Series at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas, on October 10. The number two rider on the team, Larry Schwarzbach, was killed in a crash during the Superbike National at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August. "I didn't think it w~>uld be appropriate," Vance said. "At this point we have no plans to run a second rider in Texas." Superbike Championship in 1990 and again in the World Championship Superbike Series this year. Vance confirmed that Jamie James, who is currently only four points behind championship leader Scott Russell with one round remaining in the series, has signed I(l contract to stay with the team for the 1993 season. "There's nothing concrete about the second rider right now," Vance said. With three-consecutive Sacramento Mile wins under his belt, Camel Pro Series point leader Chris Carr has reason to be confident about the October 3 Camel Pro Series race at the Cal-Expo State Fairgrounds in Sacramento, California. "It's my hometown race and the track really suits my riding style," said Carr, who enjoys a 13-point lead over four-time Grand National Champion Scott Parker, 205-192. "Right now I'm in the best position ever to win my first Grand National Championship, and I look forward to coming closer to that goal in front of a lot of the people that helped me get where I am today." Camel Honda team owner Martin Adams reports that he is planning on fielding 1992 AMA/CCS 600cc Supersport Series Champion Tom Kipp and Mike Smith again in the 1993 AMA National Championship Road Race Series. "As far as I know it's just down to moderate fine tuning on the contracts," Adams said on Monday, September 28. "I plan on having the same two fellows. I've been contacted by others, many of whom are deserving, but continuity is important with our sponsor (Camel) and also with Honda. I think the guys did quite well this year. Tom (Kipp) brought Honda another 600cc title and Mike (Smith) showed blazing speed." Both Kipp and Smith will contest the AMA Superbike National Championship and AMA/ , CCS 600cc Supersport Series, according to Adams. If Adams gets his way, he would also like to keep Jimmy Filice on as the team's 250cc rider. "I'm hoping to retain him," Adams said. "He's brings a valuable dimension to the team." It now looks as though Californian road racer Rich Arnaiz will be back in AMA Superbike racing next year as the only rider in an Oscar Rumi-owned Honda team. The rumor mill also says that Arnaiz's Honda ~ill be tuned by Merlyn Plumlee, who will reportedly leave Rob Muzzy's Kawasaki team to join the Rumi squad. Arnaiz rode for the'Italian team in the European Clock runs out on Cranston's desert bill he era of Senator Alan Cranston and his controversial plan for the California Desert is coming to an end, according to the AMA. ' For eight years, the California Democrat has promoted various incarnations of his California Desert Protection Act. The details have changed, but the basic intent has remained the same: To lock out everyone except hikers, backpackers and horseback riders from vast areas of public land in the desert. Throughout that era, Cranston's plan has been repeatedly shot down before reaching the full Senate. Opposition from a broad coalition of groups, including the AMA, has convinced senators that his proposal doesn't provide adequate access to the public lands in the desert. And the senator has consistently refused to compromise in favor of greater access. Cranston's final defeat may have come in a September 22 session of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. During that session, Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota) proposed that the panel send a House-approved version of the Cranston plan to the Senate floor without recommendation. That would have set up the first full Senate vote on the measure. Wellstone's proposal violated the Senate's standard practice that no state issue be sent to the floor unless it has the support of both senators representing that state. Senator John Seymour (R-California) has consistently opposed the Cranston plan and asked his colleague to reach a compromise that would satisfy all sides. The AMA had supported an alternative desert bill sponsored by Representative Jerry Lewis (R-California). However, time ran out on Sellstone's back-door attempt to get the bill onto the Senate floor. Under Senate rules, the committee could only consider the measure for a specified length of time, and that period expired before Wellstone's proposal could be voted upon. Although Cranston will remain in the Senate until his announced retirement at the end of this year, it's unlikely that he will get another opportunity to promote his desert protection act. _ "This was Senator Cranston's last shot at this bill," said Jim Bensberg, AMA Washington Representative. "For eight years, he's refused to compromise with us, so we've opposed his bill. Now he'll leave office with his' California Desert Protection Act no closer to passage than it was when he first presented it." ' However, just because Cranson is leaving office doesn't mean that the California Desert is safe from overly restrictive legislation. The post-Cranston era begins next January, and could see the introduction of a similar proposal from new members of the California Senate delegation. The fate of those proposals could hinge on the results of the November 3 election in California. T 2 If Chris Carr wins the Sacramento Mile, he would only need to finish 11 th or better at the October 10 Pomona Half Mile to clinch the series title. Asked if the hometown crowd is the reason he fares so well at Sacramento, the Valley Springs, California resident replied, "That's part of it, but it's mostly the track itself. It's not a flatout race like the Springfield Mile where you gas it all the way around. Sacramento is more technical, you have to really know how to ride the corners. I'd say that I'm more confident than ever en tering this race." And why not? A 13-point lead over Scott Parker with only two races remaining gives Chris Carr a little breathing room. Should Parker win both the Sacramento Mile and the Pomona Half Mile, Carr can still wrap up the Grand National Championship with a second and a third-place finish at each race. "What's my strategy? Win, win, win, period. Setting out to win is what wins championships," said Carr. "If anyone thinks that I'm going to settle for second or third to be safe, they're crazy." As a three-time runner-up to Scott Parker in the Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series, Chris Carr has found himself in this situation before. In 1990 and 1991 Carr led the series poi'nt chase throughout the season only to be overtaken by Parker in the final races. In '91, Carr and Parker actually ended the series in a tie, but Parker won the championship by virtue of having more wins. "Scotty always comes on real strong in the' home stretch," said Carr. "I've learned how to deal with this pressure by now. Actually,.I'm more relaxed than I, would have expected. I know what I have to do and I'm going to give it all I have." Road racers Randy Mamola and Kevin Schwantz spent three days following the recent South African Grand Prix in the South African country of Lesotho, doing work for Save The Children. The pair were able to see firsthand the worl~ of Riders For Health, a program within Save The Children where African workers use donated motorcycles for transportation. "We visited one village where II months'ago they didn't have so much as an outhouse," Mamola said. "Having a motorcycle allowed this woman we met to do her job; and now these people have things they didn't have before. It was a great feeling to see that she can now visit these villages regularly, to see what has been done because of motorcycles. We know that we are very much part of this. This all is possible because of our program." a Randy Mamola was also in considerable pain during his Save The Children trip. The Californian crashed in the South African GP the day before when a water hose came off, leaking fluid on his rear tire. Upon returning to California, Mamola found out through an MRI test that he'd suffered a herniated disk. "I've been doing a lot of therapy, and there's less than five percent chance that I'll have to have surgery," Mamola said. "It seems to be getting better." The 2nd Annual Walt Masterson Memorial Rough Scrambles Race will take place at the Stockton Fairgrounds in Stockton, California, on Sunday, 'October 18. Current and former racers who will be attending the race at its new location include Kenny Roberts, Rick Johnson, Bubba Shobert, Chris Carr, John Kocinski, Jimmy Filice and Doug Chandler. The event will be the third round of the AMA Northern California Championship Rough Scrambles Series. For more information, call Abnormal Promotions at 209/838-3200. Motocrosser Jeff Emig has re-signed with Yamaha for 1993. Emig, 21, will again contest the Camel Supercross and AMA National Championship 125cc MX Series. Emig finished the 1992 Supercross season in 10th place and going into Sunday's Steel City National' MX was. second in the National 125cc Series point standings. "His impressive end-of-season victories including the last five 125cc Nationals make him one of the 'premier racers in 1992 and we are looking for Jeff to supercharge our 1993 team," said Yamaha Race Team Manager Keith McCarty on September 21, the day the signing was announced. One of the hottest rumors Papa's heard lately has Jeff Matiasevich signing with Team Suzuki for the 1993 season. The Californian's contract with Kawasaki is up at the end of the season, and his mediocre results over the last two seasons have led many to speculate that he would be demoted to a support ride if he remained with Kawasaki. But from what we hear, that won't happen because Matiasevichhas already signed a full-factory deal with Suzuki. Both Matiasevich and Suzuki MX Team Manager Ray Tetherton have refused to comment. Speaking of Jeff Matiasevich, the Kawasaki rider was absent from the September 27 Steel City MX National in Delmont, Pennsylvania, after injuring his back in a practice crash in California. Matiasevich will likely miss the final AMA National in Budds Creek, Maryland, on October 4, but plans to ride in several of the off-season supercross races in Europe and Japan. Also missing at Steel City was Team Suzuki's Brian Swink, who was having a steel rod removed from his twice-broken left leg. Swink will also miss the final round of the AMA series, but plans to return to action for the _ overseas supercrosses. Team Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw was on hand at Steel City, though only as a spectator. Bradshaw has been undergoing therapy since having. surgery performed on the knee he injured at the July 5 National round in Buchanan, Michigan. -"I actually think this time off has 'helped me," said Bradshaw. ''I'm healing well, and I'm . going to be ready for next year." Bradshaw said that he will probably compete in some of the overseas

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