Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.~. IN THE WIND By Papa Wealey ~ Randy Hawkins (Suz) clinched his fourth AMA National Championship Enduro Series title by finishing fifth overall at the Turkey Creek National in New Paris, Indiana, November 1. C\.f The event winner was Kelby Pepper 0") (KTM), who edged runner-up Kurt 0") Hough (Kaw) by one point, 58-59. Jeff ~ Russell (KTM), the 1992 National .... Champion, finished third and Jeff :::: Fredett.e (Kaw) was fourth. One more round remains in the series. lo-4 Q.) ..0. e Q.) ;> o Z The final round of the AMA National Championship Hare Scrambles Series in Wickenburg, Arizona, November 1, saw Scott Summers score the overall win, followed across the. finish line by Rodney Smith (Suz), Mike Young (Hus), Scott Plessinger (KTM) and Scot Harden (KTM). By finishing fourth, Plessinger earned the series championship for the second time. He scored his first title in 1989. Michigan's Fritz Kling (Yam) won the final round of the WERA Formula USA Series at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, November 1. Kling topped Dave Sadowski (Suz) in the overall standings from the two legs, with Donald Jacks (Suz) finishing third. Jacks' third-place finish, though, was good enough to earn him the F-US:A Championship. Californian Rich Oliver (Yam) won the Formula II (25Occ) portion of the WERA Pro. Series, beating Chris D'AIuisio (Yam) and· Bruce Baldus (Yam). The Formula 'III (125cc) class win went to Jon Cornwell (Hon) with Doug Carmichael (Hon) and William Himmelsbach (Hon) rounding out the top three. Kurt Hall became the first rider to sweep all three of the Sutuki Cup races during the WERA National Cup finals at Road Atlanta on November 1. Hall beat' Donald Jacks and Stevie Patterson in the 1l00cc class; and Britt Turkington and Jacks in the 750cc class; and Jacks and Michael' Martin in the 600cc final of the allSuzuki races. Team Suzuki Endurance (Suz) won the final race of the 'WERA National Endurance. Series, a fourhour event held on October 30 at Road Atlanta. Team Suzuki Endurance topped Gold Hill Racing (Yam) by 64 seconds. Dutchmall.Racing (Suz) finished third. Nijmegen, Holland, November 1. Belgian Stefan Everts (Suz) finished second, while Dutchman Edwin Evertsen (Kaw) and Americans Jimmy Button (Suz) and 250cc MX World Champion Donny Schmit (Yam) rounded out the top five. Everts leads the series with 43 points; Craig is second with 37, and Evertsen is third with 28. Jeim-Michel Bayle (Hon) scored back-to-back wins at the Monaco Supercross, October 31-November 1. On Saturday, the top three were Bayle, American Tallon Vohland (Suz) and Frenchman Yann Guedard (Kaw). Bayle, again, scored the win on Sunday, followed by American Trampas Parker (Hon) and Frenchman Frederic Vialle (Kaw).. Cynthia Cole (Suz) clinched the Women's Grand National Championship at the 1992 Freestyle Women's Motocross Championships, held at Perris Raceway in Perris, California, October 31. Cole won the 125cc Pro class and finished second in the 250cc Pro division to earn the championship and secure a spot on the 1993 United States Women's Motocross Team. Tiffany Greenwood (Kaw) and Dee Ann Wood (Kaw) were second and third, respectively, in the 125cc class. Wood was the 250cc Pro class winner, and Corina Chinen (Kaw) finished third. Erik Kehoe (Hon) ~ced the I25cc Pro class .at round four of the GFI Fall Series South, held at Perris Raceway in Perris, California, November 1. . Craig Decker (Kaw) was second and Mike Chamberlain (Kaw) finished third. Decker topped the 250cc Pro class, ahead of Kehoe and Phil Lawrence (Suz). Grand Prix road racer' Doug Chandler (Suz) returned to his roots and turned in an iron-man performance to score the 250cc Class win at the opening round of the 1992 Endurothon Series at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, California, November 1. Brett Landis and Jeff Eklund (Yam) teamed up and finished second in the event. Recently crowned Grand National Champion Chris Carr missed the event due to a conflicting victory party hosted by his tuner Kenny Tolbert in Texas. Carr is expected to compete in the next round of the seri,es on November 22, but a Carr-Chandler battle won't take place. Chandler, who switched from Lucky Strike Suzuki to Cagiva after the '92 GP road race season ended, will be overseas testing his new ride. A tentative AMA National Championship Road Race Series schedule lists the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona on February 14, and the concluding event as being held on October 10 at the Los Angeles Fairplex in Pomona, California. In between, the schedule is as follows: Daytona International Speedway, March 7; Laguna Seca lnternational Raceway, April 18; Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 2; Road America, June 13; New Hampshire International Speedway, June 20; Road Atlanta, July 18; Brainerd International Raceway, August 1; MidOhio Sports Car Course, August 8; Sears Point Ra'ceway, August 29; Atlanta International Speedway, September 28. There is also a race scheduled for October 3, but no site has been chosen. Ten of the 13 rounds are being listed as "firm" while three (Atlanta, the TBA round, and Pomona) are tentative. 2 Three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer will ride a Sonauto Yamaha YZR500 in the 1993 World Championship Road Race Series. Spencer tested the French Yamaha importer's 1992 YZR500 at the Cata-· lunya circuit in Sp~n on October 14 and later. signed a one-year contract with the team, which is managed by fonner World Champion Christian Sarron. "Freddie will be receiving top Yamaha support," said Lonny Hardy, Spencer's manager. Sonauto dropped both its riders from the recently concluded season, Niall Mackenzie and Miguel DuHamel, and Spencer's teammate in 1993 is likely to be young Frenchman Bernard Garcia. American Mike Craig (Kaw) scored the win in round three of the World Championship Supercross Series in Miguel DuHamel, meanwhile, will ride a Muzzy Kawasaki in the 1992 AMA National Championship Super- AHRMA planning National Champ twins, singles road race series for '94 N ational Championship twins and singles road racing series could begin in 1994 through the efforts of the American Historic Motorcycle Racing Association (AHRMA). The feasibility o( sanctioning such racing is being studied by an AHRMA committee set up in September. Chaired by AHRMA Executive Director Jeff Smith, the group includes Bob Barker of R.C. Barker Engineering, GMA Racing's Jeff Glasserow and AHRMA Road Racing Coordinator Jack Turner, with international input from racer-journalist Alan Cathcart of England. The AMA recently dropped Pro Twins from its Nationals and cannot accommodate the Sound of Singles-type racing which is so popular in Europe and Japan. AHRMA would take over the twins series, combining it with National singles and vintage classes in two-day programs at major race tracks. Proposed singles classes include four four-stroke categories - Lightweight (up to 250cc), Junior ,(up to 350cc), Senior (up to 5OOcc) and Open (750cc maximum) - and a pair of two-stroke classes - Lightweight (250cc maximum) and Open (up to 550cc). Twins would be Vintage (over 20 years old), Lightweight (OHC machines to 425cc/OHVs to 675cc), Middleweight (OHCs to 675cc/OHVs to 925cc), Heavyweight (OHC to 875cc/open OHV) and an anything-goes Pro Twins class. Production engines and frames would be required in all but the two singles Open classes and the Pro Twins class; these latter three categories would be without frame and powerplant restrictions. , According to Smith, AHRMA anticipates running several trial events in the coming year, with a full-blown National series beginning in 1994. "We believe singles and twins racing will integrate nicely with AHRMA's existing vintage classes' to create an exciting weekend of competition at the nation's best circuits," Smith said. "We're already seeing interest from potential sponsors, promoters and riders." bike ,Series. The French Canadian win likely be joined on the team by Japan's Takahiro Sohwa. DuHamel signed a contract with Rob Muzzy despite being wooed by team owner Martin Adams for a second go-around on the Camel-backed Commonwealth HondaSt ''I'm very pleased and I think Kawasaki is real pleased," Muzzy said of the DuHamel signing. ''I'm sure . there are others that aren't as pleased, but that's life. The Sohwa thing is still in the works, but we are working on having Sohwa here next year." If Sohwa is indeed signed, Muzzy will field four superbikes at Daytona in March, with World Superbike riders Scott Russell and Aaron Slight joining DuHamel and Sohwa. Muzzy also confirmed that DuHamel will ride the new ZX6 in the AMA/CCS 600cc SuperspoTt series in 1993. "The intent at this time is to concentrate on the 600 and not the 750 (Supersport), but that could change," Muzzy said. I'll be all tuned-up for next season," said Graham. And what about next season? "Johnny Goad and I are gonna try to find a way to make the Honda faster. I watched the Pomona Half Mile on ESPN the other night and, man, did my bike look slow!" Ryan Hughes, Team Kawasaki's newest factory team member, suffered a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula bones in his lower right leg while practicing at Kawasaki's telit track in Corona, California on Wednesday, October 28. Hughes underwent surgery on the following Friday to have a rod and four screws placed in the leg, and returned to his home on Monday. "I hope to be ready for the first supercross in January, but I'm not going to push it too hard," said Hughes, who is expected to be out of action for approximately two months. . Cards and letters can be sent to Hughes at 25553 Jesmond Dene, Escondido, CA 92026. Tommy Clowers has left Kawasaki Team Green and will be joining Tyson Vohland on the North County Yamaha team for 1993. The two will campaign the 125cc Western Regional Supercross and 125cc National Motocross Series aboard YZ125s, with help from the Escondido, California-based shop. Also joining the squad will be Donald Upton, who will compete in selected local Supercrosses and Pro races. It now appears' certain that road race n,mer Kel Carruthers will join the Sito Pons-owned Campsa Honda team for the 1993 World Championship Road Race Series. The Australian will be the crew chief for Pons' 'new 250cc team which will feature Spaniard Alberto Puig as its rider on a factory Honda NSR250. Pons will continue to run a 500cc team with rider Alex Criville.. As of late, the hospital seems to be a popular place for Camel Pro dirt trackers. Two-time Grand National Champion Ricky Graham recently spent a few days in a hospital near his Salinas, California, home to have a metal plate removed from the arm that he broke in a crash at the San Jose Mile in 1990. "I had to wait until the end of the season to get it take~ out," said Graham. "The doctors took a bone graft from my hip to help it heal up better." Doctors also straightened the finger that Graham broke earlier in the year at the Regional Championship short track during Daytona Bike Week. "They had to rebreak it, but at least now it will be straight. I guess Mike and Dianne Traynor, founders of the Ride for Kids, were presented the Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award by the AMA at the recently concluded FIM Congress in Columbus, Ohio. The Traynors established the first Ride for Kids in Atlanta in 1984. In 1992, more than 3300 motorcyclists raised over $400,000 in nine Ride for Kids by Honda events held coast-to-coast. The money is used to help fund the fight against pediatric brain tumors, the nation's leading killer of children by disease. The Brighter Image Award is named in honor of the late Hazel Kolb, who generated positive publicity for motorcycling as she toured America on her

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