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HOME | e-mag 2001 | Credits | Mototalk | About Motonews | Contacts | e-mag 2001 Sections: People | Racing | News | Photos
HOME | e-mag 2001 | Credits | Mototalk | About Motonews | Contacts | e-mag 2001 Sections: People | Racing | News | Photos |
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Engine Ice Daily News:
Moto peeps went to a Strung Out concert in Corona last night. Strung Out's drummer is Jordan Burns of Moto XXX. In photo (L to R) Eric Sherman (Hoppen's photo beotch), David Vuillemin and his supermodel girlfriend Erica Harbaugh, and Sondra and her son Kyle. (Giberson photo www.motodrive.com) Geoff Meyer helped us get a current list of GP stars getting ready for Round 4 of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships at Southwick next weekend. Here's the latest: Smets, Chiodi, Coppins, and Bolley for Southwick and Coppins and Chiodi for Budds Creek (maybe Bolley). NOTE: Budd's Creek owner Jon Beasley was in Press at High Point and said Bolley would be there, and he hopes to get more.
Two of the greatest Grand Prix riders of all time,
Stefan Everts and
Joel Smets will battle against the elements of Indoor Motocross this
weekend (June 2). A class field of Motocross riders including Eerts,
Smets, Josh Coppins, Chad Reed, Marnicq Bervoets, Gordon Crockard, Shayne King and Steve Ramon will
race in the KRC Stadium in Genk, Belgium on June 2 in what is being called the future of
Indoor Motocross events in Europe. Also this weekend: Vertemati Motorcycles courtesy of MX Imports, INC (telephone #415-457-2139, fax #
415-456-1398) manager Darrick Lucchesi from
San Rafel, California has just made
commitment
to have his c500 4-Stroke bikes available at Round #5 of The AMA Western 4-Stroke National
Motocross Series in Gorman, Califonia at Hungry Valley ORV Park on June 2nd-3rd.
"We will arrive on Friday the 1st. Tim Beatty
(National #16) fhas been testing on the bike. He is very fast, comfortable and I feel he
will do well with our thumper", stated Lucchesi. The latest issue of Team Green News (Issue 2) has a slick feature on Arenacross, with photos by our own photohound graduate Ray Gundy. Ray did the Arenacross stuff, and a two-page spread on the AX "Mini Invitational" with 32 very green photos. Team Green News does the very best photo printing in the business, thanks to the production by Tim Clark, who also does the US Open program.
Tim and Cindy Clark in their La Canada, Ca graphics empire. ...and now for something competely different, we present "The Factory Spectator's Musical Guide to America." Don't miss it.
Someone who like stats (and who may or may not be an official Kawasaki hack)
just sent this in: Kawasaki is the winningest manufacturer over the past decade
(1992-present), with 18 AMA 500, 250 and 125 Supercross and Motocross Championships.
Here's the breakdown:
While some may say, "What's up with RC?" Check out these numbers,
comparing his "epic" run of 2000 to his current status in this summer's tour:
It just doesn't seem normal with RC not running away with an outdoor season. If he doesn't win Southwick on June 10, it will be the first time ever he has gone 4 outdoor nationals without a win. In 1997, KW won Red Bud and Unadilla back-to-back, and Damon Huffman won Troy after that. At least this year the first three rounds of outdoor nationals have had more than the usual number of surprises!
Both the 125 and 250 articles are up on emag 2001. Read what RC said, and what DV said about his race and racing in the US.
This Progressive Insurance banner watched the winner of the Springfield TT today. This just in from Matt Ringlien at www.amaproracing.com: Yamaha's factory road racer (and former youth dirt-track star) Tommy Hayden, yeah Nicky's older brother, won the first-ever Springfield TT Monday in Springfield, Ill., aboard a factory-prepped Yamaha YZ400. The win marks his first-ever professional dirt-track victory and it might be the biggest flat-track win for Yamaha since they got out of dirt-track back in the day when Kenny Roberts raced! There's more at http://www.1800FlatTrack.com.
Le "Cobra" was back.
Vuillemin won High Point with a 1-4. RC crashed hard in moto 1, and was 13-1. Tortelli and Windham had good days too. The morning was rainy but the motos were pretty nice, just slippery.
Japanese national rider Akira Narita was the talk of the day! He almost won the first moto but Travis put a daring downhill pass on him in the last lap. He led moto 2 in the beginning but was the victim of a dirty carburetor. Thanks to DC for the props about Mototalk in the latest Racerhead. Everyone is talking about Mototalk because it works. You can get your gossip fix without all the trash! It gets opened 10,000 times a day, but considering the small number of posts (thankfully!) most people are just there to read. Today mud is forecast (again) for the High Point national, see www.mxnationals.com for more info. The last mud race was won by Vuillemin and Kelley Smith, and before that, 1997 when Scott Sheak and Damon Bradshaw won in the mud. The press setup is pretty good at High Point, so at least look for a quick update from there before the pits clear. Heath Voss may be out for a while. The latest is he has pins in his wrist after that crash at the Vegas SX. The news up until now was he would just miss a couple of outdoor rounds.
Everts led qualifying for the round 6 of the MX GPs in Spa, Belgium. He is leading the 500 class. The Spa track this weekend is popular with the GP riders. The track was built by Marc Peters, who also does tracks for just about everyone in Southern Ca. Marc's work was good enough the Euro's hired him to do the next 7 GPs! Marc is the "Dirt Wurx" of the GPs. The world championship Supercross series, which was down to just two rounds last year, is toast. They won't do one this year, at least not through Dorna/FIM. This makes SFX's Eric Peronnard the man to watch for international events this fall. The Geneva AX was a hit, and they will add a round in Leipzig, Germany. Bercy split from the FIM already (1998), but they are having troubles too with sponsors pulling out, and their commitment to bring MC every year until he retires (a budget killer!). Stade de France is without a home for now, unless SFX already has plans for that one. Maybe they will just buy Paris. In case you missed it, here are the results of last Saturday's Bel-Ray WML national: Bel-Ray WML Outdoor Motocross Championship Series
For more WML racing photos, go here...
Andrew Webber and Eric Phipps of Works Connection, just east of the Hangtown track in Placerville, CA. Motonews made a pit stop there Monday and more photos will be up on the road trip section.
Why does Festus have a Chevy Trucks patch? Anyway, the emag is way behind due to the road trip, but the people section has a lot of babes that were spotted in vegas... Sunday's national at Hi-Point will be covered by ABC Sports. Chad Sanner broke his back 18 months ago, and he's ready and anxious to race again. Hi-Point will be his first race back. Look for #594 with LCR Racing and wish him luck this weekend. Sunday will also be Robbie Reynard's 24th birthday. New Zealander Darryll King won round 3 of the Australian Motocross Championships. King won all 3 of the 250cc/Open class races at the Wonthaggi motocross circuit near Melbourne. Some web monkey that lurks here did a site for Bremen in Georgia, here is the link.
Jeff Gibson's web site has moved. Here is the new URL: www.jeffgibson275.freehomepage.com ESPN reports that due to the Stanley Cup playoffs, the AMA Motocross event from Glen Helen, CA (originally scheduled for Saturday 5/26 at 5:30 p.m.) will be bumped to Sunday, 5/27 at 8:30 p.m.
Here's a mini-me Cobra put together for actor Verne "Mini-Me" Traynor, who is a big (well, short, but big) Travis fan. (Bruce Bell photo)
Ray put up photos of the Tortonto Supercross. Here is the link A few more photos from Hangtown are up.
California has rolling power blackouts, but fortunately they don't have rolling water-outs too. This Hangtown volunteer helps keep the crowd cool. The second moto of the WML series was again a Stefy Laire runaway. Stefy Bau, the "Mike LaRocco" of women's racing got a weak start and charged up to third. Stephane Roncada and his girlfriend Chloe are getting married Sept 16th at Laguna Beach. Ronnie Hinson, of Hinson Clutch Components, is a new papa. Matthew Wayne Hinson was born yesterday.
Race reports and some photos are up on emag 2001 in the Racing section. The outdoor nationals have brought some surprises so far, let's start with: 1. RC in a funk. Mototalker Brad is working on Langston's web site, its at www.langstonracing.com.
Ray (Extreme SX Fan) did photos at Hangtown. This was the result.
RC is making mistakes, Tortelli is stylin. Tort leads the series with 86 points to RC's 79.
Grant Langston is "all that." He has won 4 straight motos, out of 4. Bobby Bonds was the surprise of the day at Hangtown. He gave Langston all he wanted until they collided in moto 2, leaving Bonds on the ground with a hurt rib and a DNF.
Stefy Laire of Germany ran away with the first moto of the Bel Ray/WML Outdoor Motocross Championships. Moto 2 will be Sunday. First moto photos are here.. Who's in/Who's out at Hangtown? In: Paul Curry, who DNF'd last weekend. Out: Shaun Palmer, his
finger is messed up more than just a fingernail so it will take a while to heal.
Hangtown added an incredible step-up double in the hill farthest from the pits. It's pretty gnarly. Here Grant checks out the big jump pretty carefully before trying it.
Ernie and a bottle of Engine Ice. Still more trouble in GP land: Meyer is reporting on www.cyclenews.com that 2 more GPs might be cancelled.
Casey Johnson was impressive on his new Suzuki at the Toronto SX with a big win. Bradshaw was second. This weekend AGP/FMF Racing's Tania Satchwell (6x New Zealand National Champ) will be testing a YZ250F at the Hangtown National on Sunday. Despite intermittent bike problems (ignition) she finished 2nd in the first moto at Glen Helen last weekend. A crash in the final lap of the 2nd moto left her in 7th for a 4th overall. Team manager Lee Bowers had this to say: "We're very excited to see how Tania likes the 4 Stroke. FMF has stepped up to help get our bikes dialed in and I feel that with a good start she has a good chance of winning a moto. With all the European talent racing in the women's pro class there will be some exciting battles on Sunday." OMS Ltd. and the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) are pleased to announce the selection of OMS Ltd. as the exclusive sponsorship acquisition agent for AMA Sports and the All-Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA), programs supported by the AMA. Here's the press release.
Does energy drink Vespa work? Read about it on www.vespapower.com and join in the discussion on Mototalk.
Due to his injured finger, Shaun Palmer won't ride at Hangtown this weekend, but Honda is still going to make sure he can do a National. That's cool because everyone who saw him in qualifying would tell you he did better than expected. Palmer can ride!
Mnews is travelling today. BTW, This cover of Ferry was taken on the finish jump, standing in between the AMA flagger and the safety flagger. Some of the riders were trying to see how close they could go by, was pretty cool. Fortunately none of them got out of shape on the way to the jump.
Don't miss this new regular feature on the Photos page, "Pimpin Chevy Trucks..." Two more pages of WML racing are up, click here...
In case you missed it, Keith Johnson (last year's Cannondale Guinea Pig) was 5th overall at Glen Helen! The 125 class is packed with talent, so this finish is even that more noteable. If he keeps this up, he will be a top pick for a big ride when silly season starts. Speaking of Cannondale, they may be a quad-only company next year-maybe. Honda isn't sure yet if Shaun Palmer will try again this weekend at Hangtown. He will ride Wednesday and see how it goes. Damon Bradshaw will race the Toronto Supercross this weekend.
This year's collection of Racer X car stickers from each National track.
That looks like a transponder on Ben Riddle's RM125. Here are some fun facts about last weekend's National at Glen Helen: -Grant Langston was
not the first to win an outdoor for KTM (Kelly Smith
was last year at Hi Point), but he gave KTM its first moto win (and its second!).
Tim Ferry and Grant Langston won Glen Helen! Read the first poop on www.mxnationals.com.
Here's RC's wild first moto crash... (Photo by TFS) Motonews has a way cool new feature, and its free! The WML is sponsoring complete updates on the Bel Ray/WML Outdoor Motocross Championships. Here is a link to the index. Stefy Laire of Germany won round 1!
Page 2 from The Tonight Show is up. Click on MC's dressing room sign to check it out. Today Motonews goes back to Glen Helen for round 1 of the WML MX series, and pro practice.
Click on the NBC sign to see photos of Supercross on NBC! MC, RC and Travis went on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! This time MC and RC competed for the Tonight Show Cup, and Travis called the action. Dirt Wurx and SFX Motor Sports were out in full force to build the track and help out. The show, with a 6 million audience, was great PR for Supercross. Leno finished with a very cool plug for Supercross. Next year MC might not be the only one racing out of the McGrath Racing semi. The team wants to add a couple of riders and is working a list. We don't know who, really we don't.
Pro practice at Glen Helen went well. The first pics and a list of who's in/who's out is on www.mxnationals.com. RC is running the #4 as expected, not #1. He may be the first champ to hang on to his old number.
The 125 class is starting to look like Travis, Grant, and the mob of YZ250Fs. Double-digit guys on the new Yamaha in the 250 class include Larry Ward, Damon Huffman, Ernesto Fonseca, Nathan Ramsey, Greg Schnell, Michael Brandes, and Lance Smail.
While you are waiting for an update on how Glen Helen's practice day went, check out the third page in the 5-week Supercross/Motocross Engine Ice Road Trip.
More Supercross Awards banquet photos are up, click here. (Check all five pages). Jimmy Gaddis, former Arenacross champ, is planning a comeback for 2002 and doing a motocross school here: Saturday, May 26 at Scenic Highlands, Newcomerstown, Oh
John Ferris, who was known to racing as the Chevy Trucks guy, has been hired by the AMA as VP of Commercial Development. For the full press release, check www.cyclenews.com. Women's World Champion Motocross Racer Stefy Baś
plans to make history as she attempts to be the first woman ever to qualify for a
professional AMA national outdoor motocross event. Stefy will make her first attempt
to defy the odds this year at the Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernadino, California, on May
12th, 2001 and her second at Hangtown Raceway in Sacramento,California, on May 20th.
Stefy is the only woman attempting this first for women in professional motocross racing
and will have ten more opportunities to qualify this year during the AMA-US MXNational
Championship Series. 
Anaheim, 2002. (Graphics by Snoop)
Big Rick Carmichael enjoys a cigar to celebrate his famous son's success. So, everyone is waiting for the word on will RC really go with Honda? The answer-yes. RC will ride for Honda went his current contract is up. He will officially announce it when he is ready to. Photos from the banquet will be up sometime tomorrow..
MC raced with an FMF pipe at Las Vegas. The agreement between SFX and the AMA concerning promotion and sanctioning of Supercross runs out after 2002. Many people worry, assume its going to happen, or have already delared a breakup between the two, with SFX making Supercross its own and the sport thrown into some intense battles. The factories might have to choose which side to go with, and as you might expect a lot of changes will happen. At the banquet last night SFX's Charlie Mancuso said they have "been together for 27 years, and they will be together for another 27 years."
The 250 and 125 racing articles are up...
The FMX demo the SFX people brought to Vegas was un-real! A photo feature will be up after the SX photos. The rumor RC is going to Honda is all over the place. Its just too early to confirm. RC will let us know when he is ready. He is going to keep #4 for the nationals though, so if you have a green hat with #4 on it you won't have to buy a new one.
After finishing second at Las Vegas, Pastrana got a signed jersey from his teammate, Rodrig Thain. The 125 national champion is still one of the biggest race fans too. David Vuillemin got checked out after he crashed with LaRocco in the 250 main, but so far nothing broken. His hip is really sore though.
So, you want to last long motos like Mike? Mike uses Vespa. You can read up on it at www.vespapower.com.
Tonight is the last round of EA Sports Supercross for 2001. The final round is always a big bash, with everyone wanting to get in that last win (MC has been doing that in the last couple seasons) and the 125s all riding together for the first time this year. RC has a chance to win 13 in a row, but he doesn't seem real worked up about it. He got the title he dreamed of and the pressure is off. MC will want to close the season with a win, so will Vuillemin, LaRocco, and KW and the rest. The 125 race has been pretty good before, the best ever may have been 1997 when KW and RC went at it. That still was one of KW's best races. We may see a re-match of the great battle between Langston and Pastrana from the MXdN, or maybe not. That may have to wait for next weekend's outdoor at Glen Helen. The event will be on pay-per-view, so if you aren't here, get the details on www.pacesupercross.com. The RC to Honda rumors are heating up. They are offering RC a big pile, and DC at Racer X wrote yesterday on Racerhead the deal was 95% done. Honda hasn't won a US title since MC left after the 1996 season. Media peoples: Check out the new credential section on www.mxnationals.com. (left column) If you want to cover a national to get photos for your web site or because you want to be freelance, please don't get your hopes up. There are too many requests to shoot photos! Frank Gerace, the media coordinator for the nationals, says you need to be on assignment for "deadline press." (That means people who print things.) Also note you should send your FAXes at least a week early. Frank travels to each race mid week and he won't want to chase FAXes at home after he leaves. Tomorrow night is the annual SFX Supercross Awards Banquet. Each year these get better and better. The stage is going to be like a giant podium with lots of polished metal and bikes in the air. We will have plenty of photos here and on www.pacesupercross.com. Next week Motonews will hit some of the factory team's headquarters to see who is practicing and get a photo tour. More R2R golf tournament photos are up! Look here.
Heath Voss will debut the new Honda CRF450R at the EA Sports Supercross finale this weekend! This will be the bike's first race in US championship competition. There were rumors Tortelli would ride it, but he will be on the "Mummy Returns" bike instead. So who's in and who's out for this weekend's Supercross? IN: Ezra Lusk, even though
he reportedly had a bad spill and missed the R2R golf tournament and Friday's press
conference. OUT: Tallon Vohland, saving
himself for Glen Helen. Also Lytle and
Bentley are out.
On Friday, May 11th, seven-time AMA Supercross champion, Jeremy McGrath (Team Mazda/Yamaha) will
make his second appearance as a celebrity guest on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. McGrath, who made his inaugural
appearance on the show last year and won the first-ever Tonight Show Supercross Challenge
has been invited back onto the NBC Studio lot for another evening of non-stop Supercross
action! The R2R Golf Tournament was a blast! Current riders present included MC, KW, Ferry, Tortelli, Huffman, LaRocco, Fonseca, Ramsey, Wey, Pastrana, Byrne, Pingree, Sellards, and Thain. Industry turnout was very high. First photos are up here...
Fonseca the golfer got a posse for a day.
MC has style.
Emig gives us the standard salute.
Engine Ice was a backer of the Golf Tourney.
For some unexplained reason, this insect was found hanging on to the back of the Motonews golf cart.
I want to race one of these 50s: www.fast50s.com.
South African Grant Langston was awarded the Presidential Sports Award by the head of state of his home country. Here's the press release.
Robbie Reynard is out for the Supercross finale at Vegas this weekend. He had some knee work done and needs to stay off it. He should be ready for Glen Helen. Ryan Hughes and the new Honda 4-stroke 450 are on the cover of the next Racer X. Tortelli's Honda's CR250 with "The Mummy Returns" graphics will be shown at Vegas Friday morning. He will also have three sets of Thor gear made special for this weekend and his mechanic Shane Drew will get special duds too. Honda's road racer Migel DuHamel will have a way cool mummy paint job on his road bike this weekend too. This probably won't be the only race weekend Universal and Honda will use to feature new films. If you can't make it to Vegas, don't forget to sign up for the pay per view on cable, it should be good. Go to www.pacesupercross.com for the details. May 3 is the Road 2 Recovery's Las Vegas Supercross Celebrity Golf Classic. Motonews will be there covering the event. Bidding on the Dale Earnhardt helmet MC used at Atlanta is up to $4,000. Check out http://www.troyleedesigns.com/ so see what is up. The proceeds will go to Buddy Duffy who was injured at Atlanta.
Page 2 of the 5-week Supercross/Motocross Engine Ice Road Trip is up!
SLC people photos are up! See the babes, the Mototalkers, the Honda 50/70 rides, Larry Brooks twins, and more... Snoop did an excellent recap of the 125 SX top ten for his site to get you ready for the Dave Coombs east/west showdown this weekend. Check it out. At the Pontiac Supercross, Jim Kimball interviewed Casey Johnson, just before the bomb got dropped on the EdgeSports.gone team. Here is the interview.
Bummer: JMB won't be returning to race the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships after all. According to the people who know in France, he will be prevented from returning due to knee problems.
Salt Lake City got a new show to look forward to, assuming the series makes a regular stop. The weekend was a blast. The SLC crowd was loud and enthusiastic, and the SFX folks seemed to be really upbeat about it. It was just that kind of weekend. Everyone was impressed with Rice-Eccles stadium too.
This flagger had a good time.
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