Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IN THE WIND Kress' loss is Lunde's ain B The "European" squad, which included a number of Europe-based American riders, scored a narrow two-point victory over the American team at the Bologna Motor Show Supercross in Bologna, Italy, December 6-8. Trampas Parker (Hon) won the first day, Sunday, with Italian Michele Fanton (Hon) second, American Bob Moore (Yam) third, and Americans Mike Craig (Kaw) and Jeff Matiasevich (Suz) filling out the top five positions. On Sunday, American Larry Ward (Suz) earned top honors, with 125cc World Champion Greg Albertyn (Hon) of South Africa second, Matiasevich third, Brit James Dob" (Kaw) fourth and American Tallon Vohland (Suz) fifth. On the final day of racing, Craig notched the win ahead of Vohland, Parker, Albertyn and Italian Michele Monti (Hon). Larry Ward (Suz) and Mike Craig (Kaw) were the top riders at the Dunlop Transatlantic Supercross at the Exhibition Center in Birminghain, England, December 12-13. Ward was the winner Saturday, with Craig finishing second and South African Ryan Hunt (Yam) claiming third place. Swede Marcus Hansson (Hon) and Greg Albertyn (Hon) rounded out the top five. On Sunday, Craig was the winner with Hunt second, Ward third, Albertyn fourth and Brit Rob Herring (Hon) fifth. Johnny O'Mara, the 1983 125cc National MX and '84 Supercross Champion, is coming out of retirement to campaign the 1993 National Championship 125cc MX Series on the newly formed Honda of Troy/AXO/Pro-Circuit Racing Team. O'Mara will compete aboard a Honda CR125. "I'm really excited," said O'Mara. "I think coming back is something really good for me and everybody. I've been busy mountain biking since I retired from motocross (1991), and that has, plateaued off. At first it was exciting but not so much anymore. Motorcycles have always been my life. I think my break from motocross has been good; I was getting burned out. Now I can't wait for the first National. I haven't forgotten how to ride and I'm fitter than I ever was." Todd DeHoop, the 1988 Eastern Regional 125cc Supercross Champion, has also joined the Dayton, Ohio-based team and will contest the 250cc Camel Supercross and National Championship 250 and 500cc MX Series. Erik Kehoe, who is currently racing in Japan, is also expected to join the team. According to Papa's reliable sources, the arrival of the long-awaited HarleyDavidson superbike may be just around the corner. Rumors about the project bike were first heard a few years ago, and they had the bike's powerplant ranging anywhere from a radical new four-cylinder to the traditional HarleyDavidson V-twin. The project was recently taken off hold and is now undergoing extensive development. Don't be surprised to see a 1000cc water-cooled V-twin-powered Harley superbike on the track in the late spring of '93. Who will ride it? The logical guess would be that Kevin Atherton, the 21-year-old factory Harley rider who has openly expressed a desire to try his hand at road racing, will be in the bike's saddle. "I definitely want to go road racing," said Atherton at the Pomona Half Mile National in October. "The Motor Co. has been so good to me up until now, that if there's any way that I can. stay with them on the pavement as well, I'm gonna do it." When asked about such a possibility, Harley-Davids6n's race department manager Steve Shibey chuckled and said, "No comment." New Marlboro Yamaha Roberts recruit Luca Cadalora has been riding dirt bikes at the ranch of team owner Kenny Roberts in preparation for the 1993 World Championship season, Cadalora's first on a 500cc GP bike. "He's doing fine," Roberts said. "Obviously, the first time isn't easy. It's obvious that he has a lot of talent. He's learned really quick how to ride a dirt bike. I'm surprised at how fast he's picked it up." Cadalora, the 1992 250cc World Champion, has been riding both MX and mini bikes on the short track at Roberts' northern California ranch. ~ e Roberts also reports that we can expect some big changes in how the United States 'Grand Prix is promoted. "I'm hoping we can bring the race here like it should be brought here. My nl-!mber one priority is to do it the right way." According to Roberts, a full-time staff will soon be in place to concentrate on nothing but the Grand Prix, scheduled for September 12 at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. Australian Bob Barnard will be the man who will run the day-to-day operations of planning and promoting the GP. According to a competition bulletin sent out by the AMA, there will be several rule changes for the 1993 AMA National Championship Road Race Series. For the Superbike class, the AMA has done away with both carburetor and front fork homologation and instead have established claiming prices of $3500 for carbs and $4500 for fork units. In addition, a rear shock claiming rule is now in effect for the first time with the price being set at $2000. The bulletin also states that the material connecting rods are made of will be "optional" but that carbon fiber wheels will not be allowed. Displacment limits for Superbikes will be absolute with no overbore allowance, and twin cylinder machines now carry a maximum displacement of 1000cc rather than the 1212cc of past seasons. Active, or semiactive, suspension will be allowed in AMA racing in 1993. Also, the Superbike class will now feature a sighting lap prior to the start of the warm-up lap. The 250cc Grand Prix class will also now allow four-stroke singles of unlimited displacement to run alongside the 250cc two-strokes. According to AMA National Technical Manager Merrill Vanderslice, the AMA has received a number of calls regarding singles. They feel the change in displacement from 600cc to unlimited will allow certain singles to be competitive. AMA/CCS Supersport rules have been tightened. Those changes now state that the cylinder bore must be standard, ana no overbore will be allowed. Also, valve seats may be replaced with aftermarket seats but they must be exact duplicates of the originals; and fabricated brackets, where allowed, must be made of the same basic materials as the original. The AMA will no longer tolerate the use of carbon fiber and titanium for any parts, including fasteners, in Supersport racing. The Harley-Davidson TwinSports class will allow the use of Screaming Eagle seat/tail section combinations in place of the stock seat and rear fender in 1993. In addition, steering stop lugs o~ the frame and lower triple clamps may be modified to allow additional stop-tostop steering movement. The TwinSports class rules also require that fabricated brackets must be made of the same basic materials as the originals. Some AMA/CCS EBC Brakes hen Californian Phil Kress tossed his New York Motorcycles-backed Kawasaki superbike away at Road America in June, Cycle News contributor Gordon Lunde was in the right place to catch the crash on film. Fortunately, Kress escaped uninjured, and Lunde was later awarded the Special Merit Award in the Kodak International Snapshots Awards (KINSA) contest, an annual photo contest that is sponsored by newspapers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Chile. Five judges selected 257 winners for the 1000 entries, and Lunde's photo was one of them. Lunde's photo, along with the other winners, will be displayed through January 14 at the National Geographic Society's Explorers Hall in Washington D.C., and at Kodak's Journey Into Imagination pavilion in EPCOT Center in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, all year. W Endurance Challenge Series rules have also been altered. Riders on each team will now use colored arm bands for identification purposes; and only one motorcycle will be allowed through tech inspection (should the motorcycle be damaged or develop trouble during practice, approval will be withdrawn from that motorcycle and a back-up may then be tech inspected). In addition to the rule changes, the AMA has also adopted a new pointspaying system for their road race series. Rather than the 1st through 15th payoff system used last year, the AMA will now pay points through to 30th place. The points system will be as follows: 35, 32, 30, 28, 26, and then one point less for each position through 30th place. The AMA will also award a bonus point to the fastest qualifier in the Superbike class. Vance & Hines Yamaha's Jamie James is recuperating from the hand damage he suffered when he crashed the team's 19.92 FZR750R during the Dunlop tire test session at Daytona International Speedway the first week of December. "I just highsided it in the chicane," James said of the accident. "I flicked it left and then when I flicked it right it just came around. It just spun ~p on me." James badly damaged the little finger on his right hand, as well as breaking bones in the hand itself. "The hand is pretty screwed up," James added. "They wired the little finger up and they put a plate in the hand. I don't really know when I can get back at it; they say I'll be in this cast for six weeks. I've also got a right hip that's pretty blue and my ribs on the left side are all bruised - and my head must have taken a pretty good lickin' too. I'm hop in' Phoenix (the opening round of the AMA Superbike National Championship on February 14) won't be a problem." Former 250cc Grand Prix National Champion Jimmy Filice said the decision to leave the Camel Honda team to join Wayne Rainey's Otsuka Electronic's squad was a difficult one. "I'm real happy," Filice said. "1 felt fortunate to have two offers because there's really not a lot out there right now. I'm excited to work with Bubba (Shobert) and Wayne (Rainey). We've been good friends for a long time. I think the decision came down to me wanting to work with those two guys. I know their bikes ran really good last year. It was tough because Camel and Martin Adams were really good to me. We left on really good terms and I know they are happy for me and that makes me feel good." Filice will ride a 1993 Yamaha TZ250 in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series; the northern Californian finished third in the 1992 series on the Camel Honda RS250. According to team owner Martin Adams, Camel Honda will not field a rider in the 1993 AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series. In addition, Adams reports that team member Mike Smith will not campaign the AMA/CCS 600cc Supersport Series except for the second round at Daytona International Speedway. Smith will concentrate on the AMA Superbike National Championship. His teammate and defending 600cc National Champion Tom Kipp, however, will defend his title on a CBR600 and the team is likely to field a second 600 for the rest of the season. It now seems certain that two-time World Superbike Champion Doug Polen will concentrate his efforts in 1993 on winning the AMA Superbike National Championship on a Fast By Ferracci Ducati. Polen is likely to have a Japanese sponsor and will also do selected rounds of the Japanese Formula One Championship and also a few World Superbike events. Polen is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the shoulder he separated in his Daytona tire-testing crash on December 18. For the latest on Polen, see our interview with the Texan on page 28. 1

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