VOL. 53 ISSUE 13 APRIL 5, 2016 P27
CLEAR CREEK CLEARS ANOTHER HURDLE
T
he Clear Creek National Recreation Area and
Conservation Act, which would establish a
national recreation area in California and reopen
about 240 miles of off-highway-vehicle riding trails,
was reported out of the House Committee on
Natural Resources Committee on March 16 and
now goes before the House for consideration.
Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.),
H.R. 1838 would allow off-road vehicles to return
to the 75,000-acre Clear Creek Management Area
southeast of Hollister, California, and establish the
21,000- acre Joaquin Rocks Wilderness area, a
compromise proposal that has bipartisan support
among California's congressional delegation.
Clear Creek was closed to motorized vehicles by
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 2008. CN
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
M
otoGP contract talk was
simmering in the wake of
the early announcements at
Qatar: Valentino Rossi two more
years at Yamaha, Bradley Smith
two years with KTM.
And Jorge Lorenzo remained
the man of mystery, declining to
comment on a growing rumor
that Ducati had already made
him an offer even bigger than Ya-
maha's own, itself the biggest in
the Japanese company's history.
"I prefer not to answer," he
said. "It is a private matter, and
we will decide in the coming
weeks."
Italian sources suggested the
decision could come before the
start of the European season at
Jerez in three weeks.
The knock-on effect is consid-
erable.
Should he leave, Maver-
ick Vinales is considered first
choice for the hot seat alongside
Valentino Rossi at Yamaha, while
Suzuki has already prepared the
ground with an overt approach
to Ducati's Andrea Iannone.
Andrea Dovizioso is consid-
ered more likely to have to make
room for Lorenzo at Ducati,
although the very experienced
Italian former 125 Champion
would be a valuable addition to
teams still learning the ropes—
Suzuki, Aprilia and KTM.
With the two-rider KTM team
joining next year, there will be
room for one more team in
2017, bringing MotoGP up to
full strength of 24 riders. The
slot is currently up for tender,
with interest from several teams
reported well in advance of the
April 29 deadline. The current
hot tip is for current Paginas
Amarillas Moto2 team owner
Sito Pons to return to the class,
with Pol Espargaro in the hot
seat. The duo won the Moto2
Championship together in 2013.
Michael Scott
If Jorge Lorenzo gets all that Ducati
money, he'll finally be able to buy
some sunglasses that suit him.
