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Vance & Hines & Ducati & Stevens
As if news of the Vance & Hines/ Yamaha divorce wasn’t stunning enough, Terry Vance recently confirmed that his company has inked a three-year deal to run a Ducati road-race team.
Vance says the Texas Pacific Group, which now owns a 49 percent share of the Italian marque (as well as portions of Continental and America West airlines, Beringer Wine Estates and the Kraft confectionery division), came to him with a proposal last September.
“They are major players,” says an excited Vance. “The company is looking at this deal as a long-term commitment to the U.S. market.”
And who’ll do the riding chores? None other than Thomas Stevens, 32, who won the 1991 AMA Superbike Championship for Vance & Hines and placed second in the 600cc Supersport Championship last year riding a Kinko’s Kawasaki.
A member of the Kawasaki and Suzuki factory teams before moving to Kinko’s, Stevens has been itching to get back on a Superbike. “This ride is a godsend for me,” he says.
Although bikes won’t be arriving until mid-February, the Vance & Hines team has garage space reserved at Daytona.
So, where does this leave Fast By Ferracci, Ducati’s mainstay in the U.S. for the past 10 years? After winning a pair of national championships and two World Superbike titles, team owner Eraldo Ferracci isn’t concerned with the additional competition. In his finest Italian-tinged English, Ferracci says, “In World Superbike, we raced against five other factory Ducati teams. I’m here to race against anyone-on a Ducati, or a bicycle.”
Elsinore lives
Just as 1970s fashion has been revived, so has Southern California’s Elsinore Grand Prix, immortalized by Steve McQueen in the movie On Any Sunday. After being shut down by legal problems in ’72, the reborn event, which combined sections of pavement with desert-like terrain, attracted 2500 entrants. Competitors included former winner Malcolm Smith, who placed 11th in the Legends race; current 125cc MX National Champion Steve Lamson, who beat recent Baja 1000 winner Ty Davis to take the “Hamel 100” main event; and roadracer Scott Russell, who made a forgettable Yamaha debut on a YZ250 in the 30-plus Expert class. On a street portion of the course, the former U.S. and World Superbike champion slammed into a curb-in an attempt to use it as a berm-and was promptly pitched over a chain-link fence, ending his day.
America’s silly, silly season
Yes, it’s the off-season, so here we go once again with rider swaps on the factory teams.
The Fast By Ferracci Ducati camp traded Larry Pegram to Yoshimura Suzuki and picked up former Australian Superbike Champion and Cagiva 500cc GP rider Mat Mladin. While Mladin will concentrate on the AMA Superbike title, he has been promised some World Superbike outings if things go well. Ferracci also snatched up Gerald Rothman, who placed third in the ’96 600cc supersport wars.
Pascal Picotte and Aaron Yates will return to anchor the Yoshimura team. Pegram, Picotte and Yates will ride in the Superbike and 600cc Supersport classes. 1997 just might be a sweet year for Suzuki, as the company hasn’t tasted victory in the 600 class since 1993, when Britt Turkington won at Faguna Seca on the first-generation GSX-R600.
Rob Muzzy, who fostered the early careers of Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Doug Chandler, is back to his old ways of hiring young, promising riders. Teaming up with defending Superbike Champion Chandler will be a pair of multi-time club-racing champions: Tommy Hayden, 18, has roadraced two-strokes in the 125 and 250cc ranks since he was 14 years old; and Todd Harrington, 24, placed 11th in last year’s 600cc Supersport class after winning at Road America. Hayden will be riding Superbike and 600cc Supersport, while Harrington is contracted to exclusively ride the 600.
Instead of resorting to new riders, the Harley-Davidson, Honda and Yamaha teams are going with last year’s performers. Thomas Wilson and Chris Carr are back riding Harley’s VR1000 in its fourth season. Miguel Duhamel and Steve Crevier will come down from Canada to ride their familiar Smokin’ Joe’s Honda RC45s and revamped F3s, while Tom Kipp will make the most of Yamaha’s redoubled efforts, riding a YZF750R in the Superbike class and the new YZF600R in Supersport.
McGrath to Suzuki?
In one of the most shocking developments in years, motocross superstar Jeremy McGrath will terminate his long and fruitful relationship with Honda to start his own factory-supported Suzuki team with sponsorship from MCI’s 1-800-COLLECT.
Negotiations between Honda and Jack McGrath, Jeremy’s father and manager, apparently broke down over promotional considerations. “We had a handshake deal with Honda for months. Then, we get (the contract) in writing and it’s way different. The dollar signs were all there but (Honda) wouldn’t let him go out on his own and sign endorsement contracts. This is something other professional athletes have done for years,” said the elder McGrath.
At press time, Suzuki’s Mel Harris wouldn’t confirm the signing of McGrath, but Honda’s Ray Blank openly acknowledged Big Red’s loss of the winningest rider in supercross history. “Jeremy wanted some things that Honda was not willing to concede,” said Blank. “Each and every one of them was a deal-breaker. I guess now we’re going to see what it’s like to try to beat McGrath.” □
