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/564551
IN THE WIND P28 RIP JUAN GARRIGA S ad news broke on the eve of the British Grand Prix, that troubled former 250 Spanish superstar Juan Garriga had succumbed to his injuries from a street motorcycle accident. He was 52 years old. Garriga, riding a Yamaha, was the counter- point to fellow-Spaniard Sito Pons, in a classic title battle in 1988. Garriga won three races, but Honda-mounted Pons prevailed by 10 points. At a time when Spain was becoming a greater force in racing, the battle was a major story, par- ticularly because of the contrast between the two. Garriga was a rough-edged hard rider with a spec- tacular charging style and a fast mouth, up against the Mr. Clean former architecture student Pons. Garriga moved on to the 500 class with Yamaha and Cagiva, with a best of third on the Yamaha in 1992, finishing a credible seventh overall. But he hit the headlines again after retirement when he was convicted of drug trafficking and possession of illegal firearms, and was sentenced to a jail term of two years. Court records showed that Garriga had already developed a drug habit during his racing career. Recent reports from Barcelona were of a deeply troubled Garriga in poor physical shape, culminating last Thursday with news of severe injuries from a street-bike crash that subsequently led to his death; a somber fate for a great motorcy- cle racer. His exploits should never be forgotten. A minute's silence was held on the Silverstone grid for Garriga as well as a 14-year-old German rider Jonas Haehler, killed in an ADAC Junior Cup race at Oschersleben the previous weekend. Michael Scott FASNACHT TAKES WMX TITLE T he race for the 2015 WMX Championship came down to the final moto of the season at Ironman Raceway in Crawfords- ville, Indiana, August 23. The race was held in conjunction with the Ironman National MX and when all was said and done, Team Green Kawasaki's Kylie Fasnacht came away with the title. But it was close. Fasnacht and defending champ Marissa Markelon came into the final round separated by just two points, and Fasnacht was banged up a bit from a crash a few days earlier. Neither rider had a great day with Fasnacht going 4-4 for fourth overall and Markelon going 5-3 for third overall. When the day's and championship points were tallied, Fasnacht and Markelon were tied, but when everyone's two throw-away rounds were figured in, Fasnacht came out on top. "It definitely feels good to win the title and get that out of the way." said Fasnacht. "I injured myself about a week and a half before I went into that last round, so I was kind of stress- ing about it, but I was able to salvage just enough points to get the title." Markelon said, "I knew the only way I could get the cham- pionship with the throw away rounds was to go in there and go 1-1. But I gave it everything I had." Kaitlyn Morrow claimed the day's Ironman victory with a 2-1 moto score. Morrow would fin- ish the season fourth overall in the championship standings. CN Former Grand Prix racer Juan Garriga succumbed to injuries from a street Motorcycle accident on August 27. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE