Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/531222
IN THE WIND P38 YAMAHA LOOKING AT ENTERING FLAT TRACK Yamaha Motorsports Racing Division Manager Keith McCarty has been a visitor to several AMA Pro Grand Nationals this season, including this weekend's rained out Hagerstown Half Mile. When asked why he'd been attend- ing the races, McCarty, newly inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, acknowledged that Yamaha is looking into re-entering AMA Pro Grand National competition, perhaps even as a factory entry. "I'm here getting to know the teams and the riders," McCarty said. "I know many of them already, but Yamaha's Keith McCarty talks with Howerton Racing's Rick Howerton at Hagerstown. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY LAWRENCE JAKE JOHNSON BACK? F ormer Grand National Champ Jake Johnson was back on a bike at Hagerstown. He was riding an Apter Racing Harley- Davidson XR750 tuned by Jim Chapman and he ran 10th in timed qualifying. Johnson said he didn't want to miss Hager- stown since it was the closest race to his home in Pennsyl- vania, but he wasn't sure how many, if any other events he was going to race this year. "This kind of came together last week," Johnson said. "Cliff Apter had a couple of bikes and I couldn't miss this one. I figured I'd come out and shake off the rust. I had a decent showing at X Games. We were fast and had a top-five showing. I don't think I lost too much in the short time that I've sat out. Hagerstown is one of my favorite tracks and it is close to home, so I didn't want to miss this one." As far as Johnson's immedi- ate future he wasn't clear. "It's hard to say," he said. "I know as of right now this ride [with Cliff Apter] was kind of just for this weekend. I'm still searching to try to put a program together. I'm not done. I know Yamaha is sort of looking and that would be another good seat opening up. I'm not attached to any brand right now. I'm most comfortable with Harleys, that's what I've had most of my suc- cess on. I can jump on them and feel comfortable right away." Apter is out of Denver, Colo- rado, and wanted to field a team and started looking for bikes after the end of the last season. "Initially I bought Chaz Land- ers' bike," Apter said. "I could see that I needed better equip- ment if I wanted a better rider, so that's how I ended up buying four bikes. It's amazing to work with a rider like Jake. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when he said he'd ride my bike." Larry Lawrence Jake Johnson and crew work on his Apter Racing Harley-Davidson at Hagerstown.