VOL. 50 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 19, 2013
like him winning his first Hare &
Hound Championship and his desire
to race Baja and get into rally racing.
At that time, the then 28-year-old
Caselli was thinking about his future,
how he could prolong his off-road
racing career by concentrating on
longer and more distance-orientated
races, like rallies – races where intelligence is often far more important
than sheer speed. He had a desire
to be the next Cyril Despres or Marc
Coma.
Later that day, we hopped in his
car to do a photo shoot in his local
riding area – a spot not far from his
house where he learned his trade
and honed his championship-riding
skills. I had these crazy ideas for
some different photos and he didn't
balk one bit. "Whatever you want to
do," he said. In fact, he came up with
some crazy ideas of his own.
It was a great day. One I'll never
forget and one that I will now always
cherish. Since then, we've had many
other great times together. And it
makes me sick to think there won't
be any more.
When my wife asked me what that
phone call was about that woke us
up on Friday night, I didn't say that
Kurt Caselli had died. Instead I said
a friend had passed. And I truly felt
that way.
But not only was Caselli a friend
of mine, he was a friend to so many
others. Just look at all the Tweets,
Facebook entries and chat-room
comments regarding Caselli's passing. Obviously, Caselli touched a lot
of people. Not only was he a great
off-road racer but, more importantly,
he was a great person.
Kurt Caselli will be missed. CN
LOOKING BACK
40 Years Ago
November 27, 1973
The US government was warning us about a looming "enery crisis" and we discussed how it might
effect and maybe even benefit the motorcycle industry. A Honda CB750 was pictured on the cover
in front of a fuel pump to accompany our report.
The fuel pump revealed gas priced about 42 cents
a gallon... Pierre Karsmakers won the Trans-AMA
around at Puyallup, Washington.
30 Years Ago
November 30, 1983
We were pretty excited about Yamaha's line of
1984 models, which we featured inside the paper.
One of those bikes was the RZ350 two-stroker…
Chuck Guy and Jerry Greer rode from Los Angeles to New York on a modified (though the motor
was stock) 185cc street bike, using just 14.98 gallons of fuel. They recorded 195 mpg. The frame
and fairing were heavily modified.
20 Years Ago
November 24, 1993
Dual sporting was highlighted in our November 24
issue of Cycle News. We tested the latest Kawasaki KLX650 and traveled to Canada to participate in an organized multi-day ride in the Canadian Rockies... We also tested the all-new Suzuki
RF600R… Doug Dubach made his Vet-class debut at the Vet Pro World Championships at Perris
Raceway and came away with the win… Larry
Brooks clinched the Ultracross title at Candlestick Park
in San Francisco.
10 Years Ago
November 19, 2003
We featured Stefan Everts on the cover 10 years
ago but not for winning another motocross GP but
for taking the overall victory at the ISDE in Brazil.
Team Finland won, Team USA finished seventh...
We reported that five-time World Champion Valentino Rossi had signed with Yamaha… Ty Davis
won the WORCS round at Honey Lake.
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