Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

e.IN THE WIND By Pap_a_eal---<--ey W ~ Danny Hamel (Kaw) scored the overall win in the final round of the AMA National Championship Hare &: Hound Series at Lucerne Valley, California, October 25. Hamel, who C'l had already clinched the series cham0"> pionship earlier in the year, won all 0"> but one race in the seven-round series. ~ Paul Ostbo (Kaw) was the runner.. up at Lucerne, and Larry Roeseler ~ (Kaw), Todd Hoy (Yam) and Dave ~ Ondas(Kaw)roundedoutthetopfive. (1) ,.0 S (1) ;> o Z Round seven of the AMA National Championship Enduro Series in Bear, Delaware, October 25, saw defending champ Jeff Russell (KTM) earn his first win of the season, while series points leader Randy Hawkins (Suz) finished second. Four-time National Enduro Champion Terry Cunningham (Kaw) grabbed third, and Matt Stavish (KTM) and Alan Gravitt (KTM) rounded out the top five. Mike Chamberlain (Kaw) was the big winner at round three of the GFI Fall MX Series South, held at Perris Raceway in Perris, California, October 25. Chamberlain topped both the 125 and 250cc Pro classes. Craig Decker (Kaw) was the runner-up in the 125cc class ahead of Dana Wiggins (Hon), . and Donald Upton (Yam) finished second in the 250cc class .ahead of Decker. Jeff Pestana (Yam) bested the 250cc Pro class at round four of the GFI Fall Series North, held at Oatfleld MX Park in Turlock, California, October 24. Brett Hamilton (Yam) was the runner-up, ahead of Jon Nelson (Yam). Dan Paladino (Kaw) was the 125cc Pro class winner, edging secondplace Rusty Holland (Suz) and Pat Gomm (Yam). Round five was held the following day at Oatfield, and Nelson topped Hamilton and Pestana in the 250cc Pro class. Holland aced the 125cc class, ahead of Pat Bennett (Suz) and Eric DuCray (Hon). Dirt tracker Kevin Atherton, who missed part of the '92 Camel Pro Series due to a broken arm, received another setback when he suffered a broken left femur in a crash aboard his motocross bike near his Michigan home on Monday, October 19. The 21year-old Team Harley-Davidson rider underwent surgery to insert a steel rod and pins into the bone two days later and will be out of action for at least six weeks. "I was out riding .my new motocrosser, and I thought I'd do one last jump at the end of the day," said Atherton. "I cased it on a triple and got into a tank-slapper and crashed. When I got up I just thought it was a charley horse and a "half, but then it wouldn't move." When asked what his plans for the 1993 season were, Atherton was unsure. "I haven't really· made any plans yet, but I had a talk with Doug Chandler the other day, and I know that I have to get on a road racer real soon," Atherton said. Cards and letters can be sent to Atherton at 16689 U.S. 12, White Pigeon, MI 49099. 2 Davey Durelle, the dirt tracker who suffered a cracked hip and broken pelvis at the October 10 Pomona Half Mile, was readmitted into a hospital near his Minnesota home, October 19. Durelle spent a week in a Pomona hospital and was released with a clean bill of health. Upon returning home, the 29-year-old saw his personal physician for a follow-up and was promptly hospitalized. "My doctor couldn't believe the way tha( the Pomona doctors treated my broken pelvis," said Durelle. "They measured my legs, and my left one is about an inch shorter. Right now I'm in traction and they have about 30 pounds pulling on my leg. They also found out that I have a broken right shoulder thatthey didn't detect in California." At presstime, (Monday, October 26) Durelle was awaiting a decision from his doctor about surgery. "If they have to operate, they'll rebreakmy pelvis and plate it back together. I really hope this traction stuff works," said Durelle.. The FIM Congress that took place in Columbus, Ohio, October 17-24, saw Jos Vaessen reelected president by acclamation of the general assembly. It was announced that the 1993 FIM Congress will take place in Dublin, Ireland, and the 1994 Congress in Capetown, South Africa. . Race rule changes that were· formulated at the FIM Congress included the decision to hold free practice on Friday at World Championship Superbike Series rounds with two qualifying sessions taking place on Saturday. It was also announced that beginning in 1993, 650cc four-stroke machines will be eligible for 500cc MX GPs, and that the free practice on race day at all MX GPs will be replaced by timed qualifying which will determine starting positions. Four-time Observed Trials World Champion Jordi Tarres has left Team Beta and will ride for the factory Gas-Gas team in 1993. The 26-year-old Spaniard lost his crown to Finland's Tommi Ahvala in 1992, and hopes that his switch to the Spanish marque will help him r:egain his title. Ahvala, whose title-winning season marked firsts for both himself and the Aprilia factory, will return as the team's sole factory rider. . The 1993 World Championship Suj>erbike Series will consist of 15 rounds, with the first taking place at Donington Park in England on April 11 and the concluding round in Mexico on November 14. Once again, America will not host a round. In fact, if the schedules released in Ohio remain firm, the 250cc MX GP at Budds Creek will be the only FIM World Championship event held in the. U.S. in 1993. The only schedule not released was one for .the World Championship Road Race Series and rumors persist on saying a U.S. GP will be on the schedule. The FIM says that schedule will "be communicated shortly." One decision made at the FIM Congress might be a harbinger of the future and that's the change - in 1994 to the supercross format in the European MX Championships. Proposed for several years for World Championship MX events, the idea was countered with the change from a two moto format to a three moto program this year. Insiders sa)' we can look for the . supercross format to be in place in both MX Grand Prix and National Championship events in 1995, if not sooner. The only gasoline available in many areas of the countr-y this winter will be oxygenated gasoline, which is being required as part of regional clean air programs. (All service stations in California will begin selling oxygenated gasoline November q Oxygenated fuels contain either ethanol or methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), and reduce carbon monoxide emissions. The use of oxygenates is con- ~~ ~ Polen wins second World Chamnionshill T exan Doug Polen (right) rode his Team Police works Ducati to a second successive World Superbike Championship with a 12 tally at the final round of the road series in Manfeild, New Zealand, October 25. Polen stormed to victory in the first leg and finished second behind fellow works Ducatimounted Giancarlo Falappa of Italy in the second race. Polen's rival in the championship, Raymond Roche, could only manage a third and a fourth place finish, giving Polen the championship, 334308. Polen beat Moving Kawasaki's Aaron Slight in the first leg with Roche third and Rob Phillis fourth. In the second race, Polen finished only .01O-of-a-second behind Falappa. Slight and Roche finished third and fourth, respectivel)'. Californian Fred Merkel finished . sixth in both· races. In the final championship point standings, Phillis finished third behind Polen and Roche with 267 points. Falappa and Fabrizio Pirovano rounded out the top five with 259 and 256 points, respectively. trolled by the EPA and blends exceeding 10% by volume of ether or 15% by volume of MTBE are not Permitted by law. Motorcyclists should be aware of the fact that since oxygenated gasoline has an increased level of oxygen, it enleans the air/fuel' ratio and some engines may require adjustments to enrich the air/fuel mixture. Two.stroke engines may require a small increase in the amount of oil added to the gasoline. Keep an eye on your fuel filters; occasionally, particularly in older engines, deposits in fuel tanks and fuel lines will be loosened by ethanol blends and 'possibly clog the fuel filter. Oxygenated gasoline contains approximately 3% less energy per gallon because it is more volatile, but fuel economy changes are ·minimal. Such changes, which may be either positive or negative, are around 2% on average, an amount that is not perceptible by most. What will be perceptible is an increase in the price of gasoline. The California Air Resources Board estimates the price of gasoline will increase by about three cents per gallon. For a detailed look at gasoline, we recommend Changes In Gasoline II: The Auto Technician's Gasoline Quality Guide. Copies are availabe for $2 each from Downstream Alternatives Inc., P.O. Box 190, Bremen, IN 465060190 or by calling 800/846-2041. The 1993 AMA National Arenacross Series will consist of seven rQunds and will get underway over the January 1-3 weekend in Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.. Subsequent rounds will take place in San FranciSco's Cow Palace, January . 8-10; the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, January 22-24; Market Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 5-7; Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, February 12-14; Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama, February 19-21, and the Denver Coliseum in Denver, Colorado, February 26-28. Mike Kidd Promotions of Fort Worth, Texas, will once again promote the series. For more information, call 817/834-2298. A team of five riders from the U.S. and Canada has been invited to compete in the November 21-22 Macau GP, a road race that will take place in the Portuguese province which is located on the southeast coast of China. Team members are Michael Taylor, Fritz . Kling, .Christian Gardner, Michael Barnes and Danny Roberts. The team is managed by Moroso Motorsports Park promoter Henry DeGouw and is sponsored by Nippon Express. -. Daytona Battle of the Legends racers Dick Mann, Don Vesco and Don Emde will appear at an "open house carnival" hosted by Marty's Foreign Motors in Torrance, California, on Saturday, November 7, to celebrate the showing of the new 1993 BMW motorcycles. A band will provide music and refreshments will be served· at the celebration that will take place frbm 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The dealership is located at 1730 W. Carson Street in Torrance. For more information, call . 31~20-7040: Multi-time National MX Champion aob Hannah is th~ featured guest at the grand opening being held by Torrance Suzuki, Los Angeles County's newest Suzuki dealer, on Saturday, October 31, from 9 a.m. to .5 p.m. Hannah will"be at the· dealership from noon to 3 p.m. to sign autographs and J:>ench race with his fans. Also taking part in the celebration is road racer Chuck Graves, who will have his Team Suzuki GSXRllOO on display. Road r.acer/journalist Nick Ienatsch of Motorcyclist mag-· azine will also be on hand. The store is located at 2466 W. Sepulveda Boulevard (at Sepulveda and Crenshaw.) and their phone number is 310/530-0402. National Speed Sport News reports that the "mechanical problems" we said Eddie Lawson had to contend with on his way to an 18th place finish in the October 18 Indy Lights car race at Laguna Seca were actually "electrical" problems. Lawson only logged 11 laps in the 34-lap race. Chris Economaki, the car racing newspaper's editor, asked both seven-time National MX Champion Jeff Ward, who finished· 7th in the race, and Lawson what it was like to have to pay to race (a common practice in car racing). "It blows my mind to have someone come up to you and put a patch on your uniform without paying/' four-time World' Champion Lawson told Economaki. Ward said, "After hearIng for years how much money some guy is going to give you for this and for that, 'now I have to come up with the money to race myself." Ward's share of the purse at Laguna Seca was $2400, while Lawson earned $1200. The Mid.Atlantic Roadracing Club (MARRC) will hold their 6th Annual Video Night on Saturday,

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