Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

both the AMA Eastern Regional 125cc Supercross and National Championship 12Scc Series. Yamaha has signed Czechoslovakian Jan Hrehor to campaign the 1993 AMA . Grand National Cross Country and . National Hare Scrambles Championship Series aboard a YZ250. Hrehor, who rode for Suzuki this year and put together a string of off-road victories at the end of the season, will receive direct support from Lancaster Sport Cycles, an Ohio-based shop, and will also compete in some National Enduro and National Reliability Enduro rounds. Hrehor is currently back home in Czechoslovakia, but will return to South Carolina in time for next season. The Vintage Dirt Track Racers .Association (VDTRA) will host their awards banquet in Wichita, Kansas, on February 20. For more information, call 312/265-8624 or 918/445-0671. A rumor is circulating that the fourth round of the 1993 Camel Supercross Series in Seattle, Washington, has been cancelled, but according to Mark Goeke, vice president of SRO/Pace, the event promoter of the January 30 Seattle Supercross at the Kingdome, the event will run as scheduled. The rumor originated when a local county ordinance banning cigarette advertising in .the Kingdome was passed. "This ban on cigarette advertising is happening in a lot of counties, but the Seattle Supercross is definitely going to happen," said Goeke. Kent Howerton, three-time National MX Champion, announced that he is going to try to qualify for the 125cc feature at the January 16 Houston Supercross. Howerton, 39, won five supercross events lit the late 1970s and early '80s while competing as a Suzuki team rider. "I've been riding a lot and I'm feeling pretty good," said Howerton. "I think I can do it, and I just want to see if I can." Howerton, who hails from San Antonio, Texas, will compete on a Kawasaki KXl2S. I The 1993 AMA National Arenacross Series will get underway at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Ft. Worth, Texas, January 1-3. Pro racing will take place on Friday and Saturday nights; last .year's Ft. Worth event drew standing room only crowds for the pro races. The event is running in conjunction with the Dallas/Ft. Worth Motorcycle Expo which will feature guest appearances by World Superb ike Champion Doug Polen and National Superbike Champion Scott Russell. In addition, the 600 and 750cc Harley-Davidsons Chris Carr rode to 600 National Dirt Track and Grand National Championships will be on display. For more information, call Mike Kidd Promotions at 817/834-2298. Construction of a two-story control building at Putnam Park Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana, began in early December. The building will house track offices as well as a floor devoted to timing and scoring of races. A television camera deck will occupy the top of the building. The timing and scoring level as well as the deck will offer unobstructed viewing of the entire l.8-mile road course. The building is scheduled for completion by the end of January. Terina Kops became the first female member of Michigan's Muskegon M.e. on December 10. The Muskegon M.e. became an AMA chartered club in 1925 and Kops broke the 62-year-old all-male tradition wh~n she was recently voted into the club. Kops is a licensed AMA Pro-Am class dirt track racer. An estimated 12,000' motorcyclists raised $875,000 for the Muscular' Dystrophy Association in Love Ride 9, the street ride which took place in southern California in early November. Among the celebrities who took part were Jay Leno, Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight, and Peter Fonda. Entertainment at the end of the ride was provided by The Robbie Krieger Band, Strawberry Alarm Clock with Spencer Davis, Dwight Yoakam, and Little Feat. American Suzuki has renewed a contract continuing their partnership with "Motorcycle Mechanics Institute" (MCI) for an additional three years. MCI offers the only entry-level training program that is officially sponsored, endorsed and equipped by American Suzuki. Graduates of the basic program may also elect to attend an addit-ional Suzuki-specific course, Factory Authorized Suzuki Training (FAST). In addition, MMI offers Suzuki Technical Training programs for currently. employed Suzuki dealer technicians, Yamaha-Kawasaki-Polaris of Covina in Covina, California, is hosting an open house, December 18-20. On Saturday, December 19, Team Green's Larry Roeseler, Ted Hunnicutt, John Braasch and hopefully Danny Hamel will be on hand to sign autographs and bench race with their fans from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. In addition, factory reps from Thor, AXO, MSR, First Gear, Oakley and Motosport will be displaying their company's wares. For inore information, call 818/332-6249. An eight-round series of AMA-sanctioned ice races will get under way on January 3 and then run on each Sunday through February 21 at Loon Lake; Illinois. Promoted by Dan Schmitt, former promoter of the Mineola Bay Ice Racing Series, the events will take place in front of the Bauer's on the Bay restaurant/tavern. For more information, call 312/725-2115 (race day, call 708/3956454). Bob Bailey, the new owner of Lake Sugar Tree Motorsports Park in Axton, Virginia, has announced that the facility will host three MX events in '93. "MX races will be starting in May," Bailey said, "and Sam Gammon of Victory Sports will run the show." That event will 'take place on May 9 and the other races will take place on July 4 and OctolJer 3. Bailey says the facility will be available to large groups and to factory teams. For m.ore information, call 703/650-3378. Since the end of the Camel Pro/Grand National Championship season, fourtime champ Scott Parker has been spending his, time relaxing and working on rehabilitating the knee that he injured earlier in the year. "I've been taking in some rest and relaxation," said Parker. "I'm just waiting for the lakes to freeze over so we can do some ice riding." Though he lost the 1992 Gtand National Championship to Chris Carr, Parker expects to renew his contract with the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. within the month. ''I'll probably go to the factory to work things out pretty soon," said Parker, who anxiously awaits the start of the new season. "I've already got all my number two plates made up. I'm ready to rock and roll." Texan Mike Hale recently visited southern California to pay a visit to Bill Bartels,• owner of the Bartels' Harley_ .... It:· MSF educates millionth rider he Motorcycle Safety Foundation held a ceremony on Wednesday, Decemb,er 2, at their headquarters in Irvine, California, commemorating the graduation of the one millionth rider from RiderCourse motorcycle safety classes, which are taught throughout the country. MSF President Alan Isley (right) and Vice President of Safety Programs Peter Fassnatch each made speeches, and afterwards a riding demonstration was held in which techniques typically taught at RiderCourses were performed. "Reaching the one million threshold is an achievement for every instructor, chief instructor, administrator and staff member to celebrate," said Isley. "The pride in this achievement is welldeserved, born of creative thinking, technical competence, hard work, cooperation and respect among the thousands of people who made it happen." "It's a major milestone in motorcycle safety," added Fassnacht, "and especially so since it was made possible as a private initiative with industry funding on a voluntary basis." After Isley cut a cake that featured the MSF emblem, those present convened to the parking lot for the riding demonstration. Over 100,000 riders were trained in 1992 alone, slightly more than were educated in the first five years after the MSF was first established in 1973. After 1979, when states began adopting motorcycle safety legislation, the number of educated riders began to increase more rapidly. RiderCourses are taught in all 50 states, with a total of 42 states making the classes available through legislated programs. Funding provisions from motorcycle registration surcharges raise $12 million annually fqr rider education. . The number of trained students continues to grow steadily despite declines in motorcycle registrations. Motorcycle fatalities dropped 42.4 percent from 1981 to 1991, and Fassnacht said that the reductions can be linked to the foundation's efforts to train riders and promote safe riding. T Davidson race team that Hale and Jay Springsteen race for. Upon his arrival, Hale phoned Cycle News editor Donn Maeda to take him up on an offer to visit an "L.A.-style" nightclub, but all did not go smoothly for the adventureseeking duo. Hale forgot to bring his identification, and the pair were forced to scheme their way in. Hale spoke in his thickest Texan drawl and explained that he was visiting and forgot his ID, but the doorman wasn't easily persuaded. With that, Maeda returned to his car to retrieye a Camel Pro Series Media Guide, which had a photo and bio of Hale inside. "Man, that's the weirdest ID I've ever seen," said the doorman before finally allowing them to enter. Skip Eaken, tuner for Camel Pro Series competitor Larry Pegram, was admitted into Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on December 12 after suffering a heart attack. Eaken was attending a party thrown by Will Davis, and over-exerted himself while riding a minibike on Davis' short track. "I think he just overdid it," said Eaken's wife, Linda. "The doctors said that it was a little more serious than the one (heart attack) he had in 1991, but they can control it with medicine and won't have to operate. Skip should be up and about well before the start of next season." Eaken expects to return to his Windham, Ohio, home after spending a few more days in the hospital for further testing. Cards and letters may be sent to Eaken at 9026 Nichols Rd., Windham, OH 44288. Southwest Motorsports, the team which finished one-two in the 1992 AMA 2S0cc Grand Prix National Championship with riders Colin Edwards II and Chris D' Aluisio, will return in 1993 with D' Aluisio teaming with new recruit Danny Walker and possibly Robbie Petersen on the team's Yamaha TZ2S0s. The squad will compete in the AMA National Championship Road Race Series as well as selected rounds of the WERA Pro Series and the Spanish Ducados Open series. The team also plans to support 1992 AMA/CCS and WERA National 250cc GP Novice Champion Chris Taylor. David Harold will return as Southwest's chief engineer with Bruce Maus handling the crew chief responsibilities. Robin Hawley, . Jane Maus, Mike Rockwell and Cliff Sherlock will make up the rest of the crew. The primary sponsors for the team are Erich Klementich of Oil Technology Services (OTS) and Jason Harwell of Allied Aviation. MOVED: Honda of Mitchell, one of the remaining original Honda dealers (established 1962), to 2404 N. Main St., ¥itchell, SD 57301; the phone number remains the same, 605/996-4210. BORN: Robert Campbell Henderson, son of Nina Henderson, IDBA's media rela tions director, in Birmingham, Alabama, on November 27. BORN: Devon Charles Smillie, son of Chuck and Katy Smillie of Gryphon Powder Coating and Silver Eagle Racing, in Mountain View, California, on November 18. MOVED: The Continental Motosport Club (CMC) to Sunrise Valley Raceway, 11000 Race Road, Adelanto, California. Their mailing address remains P.O. Box 9458, San Bernardino, CA 92427-9458; phone 619/246-7CMC, fax 619/2463353. MOVED: Factory Connection, Mike McAndrews' suspension tuning company, to 10 Cross Roads Industrial Park, Rochester, NH 03867,603/335-7023. HIRED: Rick Zielfelder, by Factory Connection as operations manager for the Rochester, New Hampshire, facility. Zielfelder, who was Larry Ward's mechanic while with Team Honda, will continue to run his Race Service business while working at Factory Connection. MOVED: Paul Buckley's Moto Sport magazine, to 12 Robinlea Circle, Woburn, MA 01801, 617/932-0380. c;N 3

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