Cycle News

.... Q.) ..0 8 Q.) u Q Q.) Mark Duvall (54) and winner Ron Watmore dice in the Open Expert class at the Perris Fire and Police MX Nationals. Dunlop on top at Macau Grand Prix By Chris Carter MACA U, CHINA, NOV. 24 Three times Robert Dunlop headed th e pack over the finish line at th e 23rd Macau Grand Prix, but only once did it 20 co u nt. J o ey Dunlop 's yo u n ger brother co llec ted th e best possible bi rt hday present wh en he won the rai n-hit event in a n eig ht-lap shootout la te on Su nday af ternoon, but he was chased all the way by fellow Ulsterma n Philli p McCallen . Rain earlier in th e week robbed the rid ers o f one of th eir four pl anned practi ce sessio ns round the form idable 3.8-mi le Guia circu it. But wor se was in sto re o n race day. A suddensprin kling o f rain after just a co u ple o f laps had Mark Farmer o n hi s ea r o ff Colin Aldridge's bi g Kaw asaki, and front-runner Steve Ch ambers and Dun lop a whisker away from falling off , too . The officials, p laying it safe, hung out the red flag, and with the order tak en at the end of lap two it pu t Dunl op in the number-one spot. T hey tri ed to run a 10-lap race to g ive an aggrega te result for lap one , but th e rain stopped that. And though conditions dri ed out for th e Novices and the Superbike riders had a dry tra ck, it started to rain again wh en the big boys came ba ck o u t. Third home in th e restarted race was Isle o f Man 'IT record-holder Steve Hislop, a no the r Macau firsttim er , wh o had been qui ckest in pra cti ce. But th e Sco tsma n was very carefu l o n the o pe ning laps befor e quickening hi s pace a nd going fro m 15th to th ird in just seven laps. "Unt il I kn ew j ust ho w m uch ru bber th e car boys had laid do wn I didn 't want to try too har d. I had hoped th at the other two mi ght hav e been just in front o f (third- place man ) Edd ie La ycock wh en I ca ug h t him , but th ey were the len gth o f the stra ig h t awa y," said H islo p , wh o set th e fastest la p. La ycock , on a 500cc Honda as o p posed to the 750cc four-strokes o f th e three rid ers a head , had a go od ride , a nd chased Hislop hom e in a n exce lle nt Macau debu t. Fifth was Sco tt ish p rivat eer Roger Ben ne tt o n his 750cc H onda, who responded well to a cha llenge fro m Team Green's J o h n Renol ds 10 keep th e Kawasaki at bay , Swed e Peter Linden was sevent h o n his 500cc Honda. Paul Bray was th e best of a sixs tr o n g Ameri can in va si on, a l l dr essed in Federal Exp ress livery. The Atl anta , G eorgi a , man go t quicker a nd quicker over the four da ys to grab eig h th p lace on th e kind o f circu it he co uld never even dr eam abo u t ba ck ho me in th e U ni ted States. Peter R uba n o , thi rd qui ckest in . practi ce and runner-u p in Macau for the past two years , never look ed happy and finish ed a lo wly 13th. But at least he finish ed , which is mor e than ca n be sa id for Brit J amie Whitham , wh o went out a la p from home. Others fell by the wayside even ea rlier. Belg ian Michel Si mso n's Suzuki stopped o n la p two, Far mer's Kaw asaki had gearbox p robl em s, and Roger Burnett had hi s Rothm ans Hond a suffer fr om valv e problem s. But spare a th ought fo r 19-yearo ld American Donald J acks, wh ose Far Eas t trip was ruined in th e very first practic e session o n Thursda y when h is Suzuki's engine broke and was fo und .to be irr ep arab le. It was an expensive a nd frustrating trip . And the yo ungster didn't even wi n a ny prize mo ney to subsidize the cost o f the p ho ne ca lls back home to his girlfriend, which had topped $250 carlyon the trip, and was still risi ng dai ly. Results MACAU GP; 1. Robert Dunlop (Han); 2. Phillip McCallen (Han); 3. Steve Hislop (Han); 4 . Eddie Laycock (Han); 5. Robert Bennett (Han); 6 . J ohn Renolds (Kaw); 7. Peter Linden (Han); 8. Paul Bray (Suzt FASTESTLAP: Steve Hislop. 2:43 .51. 83 .47 mph Watmore wins Perris Fire and Police MX Nationals By David Procida PERRIS, CA, NOV. 16-1 7 Perris Raceway was th e site for the annual two-day Fire and Police MX National s, which attracted a full-h ouse of riders. Ron Watmor e was one o f th e big winners during Thursda y's grand prix event, as well as Frida y's motocross races. The main attracti on on Thursda y was th e Expert race , which sa w Tucson , Arizona, firema n Watm or e b las t into the ea rl y lead o n h is Yamaha YZ250. In Watmore's wak e were Los Alamitos, California, firema n Len Kil man , Co ua Mesa , Ca li fornia, po licem an Alan Kent a nd San Cl emente, Californi a , fir eman Bobb y H u bba rd in close pursuit. . Watmore was ri di ng flawl essly and was stre tching o u t hi s lead by a few seconds wit h each 'lap. Kilma n was on the th rottle, as Kent a nd Hubbard were pushi ng each other and ga ining on Kilm an . H u bbard even tua lly slipped pas t Kent but was pa ssed back by Kent wh en H ubba rd overshot a turn. But Hubbard carne back a nd repassed Kent for third. Watmor e cru ised ah ead for th e win finishing ahea d o f Kilm an , Hubbard and Kent. Fi rema n Pat Dal e cap tured th e 250cc Intermed iat e class win , edg ing s her if f Greg L oup ' a nd CO lt Brassard. In a lar ge turn-out of Novi ces, it was U.S. Border patrolman Mark Da ven port po wering hi s Yam aha to th e win o ver firem an Aron Briggs. forest ra nger Eri c Craf, policeman Ken Vasquez and paramed ic J oe Ch idl ey rounded out the top five. Another exciti ng race T hursday was in the Vet Expert cla ss. Pol iceman J oe J o h nson too k th e holeshot with Kilm an , Kent and Ala n Sm ith close behi nd. Smi th was on the ga s, and by the seco nd lap he had moved into seco nd an d was closi ng o n J ohnson. As th e pair went over the jump Smith sailed above a nd beyond J ohnson's Ka wasa ki. Kilm an was runnin g a strong third wh en John son waved him by, having mechanical prob lem s, but sta yed in the hunt. Smith co nt in ued to pull aw ay a nd took .the win with room to spa re. Kilm an took second with Kent third. The Vet Int ermed ia te win went to La wrence Van Hoof o f th e Arrow Bear Fire Departm ent L.A . P . D. Charlie Beck p layed bridesm aid . The clos ing race of th e day was the tea m race with th e Kilm an/ Smi th tea m taking th e Expert and overa ll win. Second went to Bobby Hubbar d a nd Dave Miller with Alan Kent a nd Angelo Morgan laking th ird. In the Expert class for Friday 's m o to cross, Watmore a n d Mark Du vall di ced for the lead before coll id ing with eac h other. Kilman took over th e lead po sition and held o n to it for a few la ps before gett ing passed by the pair la te in th e mala. "Va lmor e took the win with Duva ll and Kilma n close beh ind, In mo to IWO, Wa tm ore aga in too k the ho lesho t, but he la ter fell o ver in a tu rn a nd Du vall grabbed the lead aboard his CR500 H on da. It took everyth ing Watmore had to ca tch the new leader. But late in the race, Watmore retook the lead for the wi n . Duva ll and Kil m an again were second a nd third. A large turnout o f Novices w~re on th e line and Long Beach Po llee officer Darren Davenport smoked to a Iirst-rnoto win ahead of fireman Ed Ho a nd Goodhew ambulance driver J oe Chidley, Aron Briggs a nd M ~rk Davenport rounded o u t th e top Iive in mo to one. . Briggs took the lead in rnot o two a nd never lo oked ba ck . Darren Daven port carded a seco nd th is mota wh ich was good for th e o vera ll vic to ry. Brigg's 4- J ea rned him seco nd overa ll with Ho going 2-3 for th ird . Fourth a nd fifth belonged to Chidley a nd Pa t McDonough. Throughout th e day, promo ter Goat Breker took on bets o n how many rid ers he co uld pas s in eac h . mo to , donating his win ning s to the Alisa Ann Ruch Ca li forn ia Bu rn Foundation. By th e day 's end, Breker had raised hundreds of dollars a nd wh en combined wi th th e ' raffl es a nd other do nations the tot al came to mor e than 5000. Results THURSDAY GP OPEN BEG: 1. Shannon Chi dley (Han); 2. Lee Jones (Hon); 3 . Mike S mith (Yam); 4 . Val Rosar io; 5. Richard Mosley (Hon). OPEN NOV: 1. Mark Davenport; 2. Aron Briggs (Han); 3. Eric Gra! (Han); 4 . Ken Vasquez (Suz); 5. Jo e Chidl ey (Han). OPEN INT; 1. Pat Dale (Han); 2. Greg Loup (Suz); 3. Scott Brasssard (Han). OPEN EX: t , Ron Watm ore (Yam); 2. Leon ard Kilm an (Yam); 3. Bobby Hubbard (yam); 4. Alan Kent (Kaw). VET BEG: 1. Danny Lowers (Han); 2. Ruben Sp an genth81 (Yam); 3. William Ge ntry (Kaw); 4 . Steve J ohnson (Hus); 5. Greg Cook (Yam). VET NOV: 1. Ed Wilson (Yam); 2. James Grady (A TK); 3. Steve Marquez (Suz); 4. A llen Jack; 5. Adrian Hernandez (Suz). VET INT; 1. Lawr ence VanHoo! (Yam); 2. Charl ie Beck (A TK); 3. Jeff Janzon (Yam); 4. Kirk Blair (KTM ). VET EX: 1. Alan Smith (KTM); 2. Leonard Kilman (Yam); 3. Alan Kent (Han); 4. Jerry Coffey (Yam); 5. Joe Johnson (Kawl . OT BEG: 1. Larry Wh itfield (Han); 2. Bruce Spencer (Yam); 3. Dempsey Billey (Han); 4. Dennis Wilson Han); 5. Conrad Schem pp (Honl . OT NOV; 1. Michael Dwyer; 2. Russ Miller (Yam). OT INT; 1. Jack Allen (Han); 2. Ken Irwin (Han). OT EX: 1. Vic Curti (Yam); 2. John Mittendorf (Han); 3. George Ant ill (Kaw). TEAM EX; 1. Leonard Kilman /Alan S mith; 2. Bobby Hubbard/Dave Miller ; 3 . Ange lo Morga n/ Ala n Kent; 4. John Mittendorf/Greg Newtand; 5. Ted Kainas / Jerry Coffey . TEAM INT: 1. Michael Smith /Lawrence Van- Hoof; 2. Pat Da le / Ke n Ewell; 3. Dennis Wilson / Ken Irwin; 4 . Dea n Clason/Kirk Blair; S. Scott Brown /Jeff Jansen. TEAM NOV; 1. Andy Guth/M ark Davenport ; 2. Robert Daven port /Da rren Davenport; 3. Wilson / Marqu ez; 4 . J im Westling/Bryan Buttler ; 5. Mark Hix/Robert Knudso n. . TEAM BEG; 1. M ichael Burgett /Jamie Sharp; 2. Danny Lowe rs / De mpsey BBillie; 3 . Larry Wh itf ield /Steve J ohn son ; 4 . Rich ard Mos ley/ Scott Aud iss; 5. Mike Duval/ Terry Brown . FRIDA Y M X 125 EX; 1. Ron Wa tmo re (Han); 2. Craig White (Han); 3. Joe Johnson (kaw); 4. A lan Kent; 5. An gelo Morgan (Han). OPEN EX: 1. Ron Watmore (Yam); 2. Mark Duvall (Hon); 3 . Leona rd Kilman (Yam). OPEN INT: 1. Bob Hubbard (Yam); 2. Pat Dale (Han); 3. Ed Wilson (Yam); 4 . Greg Loup (Suz); 5. Craig W hit e (Han). . OPEN NOV: t , Da rre n Dave nport (Yam); 2. Aron Br iggs (Han); 3. Ed Ho (Kaw); 4. Joe Chidley (Han); 5. Pat McDon ough (Yam). 125 BEG; 1. Ken Well (Han); 2. Richard Mosler (Han); 3. Jay Wilburn (Kaw); 4 . Scott A udiss (Han); 5. John Zens (Yam). 250 BEG: 1. Michael O'Brie n (Suz); 2. Greg Ginc omin (Hon); 3 . Lee Johes (S uz); 4. Val Rosario (Yam); 5. Jeff Smith (Yam). OPEN BEG: 1. Unknown; 2. Mark Hi. (Han); 3. Thoma s Whitham (Hon); 4. Lee Jon es (Hont 5. Shannon Chidl ey (Han). V1NT 1. Greg Newland (CZt 2. Chris Fopiano : (Yam); 3. VIC Curt i (Yam); 4 . Char lie Beck (Mai); 5. Chr is Johnson (CZ). 4· STRK NOV INT; 1. Charli e Beck (ATK); 2. Jim Grady (ATK); 3. Ken Irwin (Han). 4,STRK BEG: 1. Steve Johnson (Hus); 2. Paul Daniague (Yam); 3. Bill Hope (Han); 4 . Russ Clark (Yam): 5. Michael Lant (Han). VET BEG: 1. Danny Lowers (Han); 2. Phill ip Lock (Suz); 3. St ephen Smith (Suz); 4 . Rick Rapier (Honl; 5. St eve J oh ns on (Hus). VET NOV; 1. Adria n (Suz); 2. Ma. Galligar (Honl; 3. St eve M arq uez (Suz); 4. James Grady (ATK); 5. Jim Westling (Yam). VET INT; 1. Lawrence VanHoof (Yam); 2. Ron Watt s (Hon); 3. Ed Wils on (Yam); 4 . Angelo Mora n (Han); 5. Robt . Fiesler (ATK). . VET EX: 1. Leonard Kilman (Yam); 2. Greg New lan d (Yam); 3. Dave Miller (Yaml; 4. Alan Kent (Han). OT EX: 1. Al an Kent (Honl; 2. Vic Curt i (Yam); 3. J ohn Millendorf .(Hon); 4 . George Antill (kaw); 5. Ken Ratzlaff (Han). aT BEG: 1. Larry Whitfield (Han); 2. Bruce Spencer (Y ); 3 . Henry Meyer (Hon); 4 . Demp se y am Bitlev (Han); 5. Melv in Hull (Han). OT NOV: 1. Dennis Wils on (Hon); 2. Russ Miller (Yam); 3 . Michael Dwy er. . OT INT: 1. Jack All en (Han); 2. Ken Irwi n (Han). Montero tops Circle-C MX By Gary Crider TALLASSEE, AL, NOV. 19 Louisiana ' s Chad ~t on tero o u td istan ced local ace Darryl H eisler to win both 125cc A moto s a t Circle-C Mot ocross. H ei sler returned to claim top h onors in th e close -fo ug ht Pl us 25 d i vis ion wh ile Eri c Pinson to pped th e l 25cc C a n d Sen io r Mini classes, R id ers fro m a fivesta te a rea wer e o n h and fo r th e eve n t. H ond o f M cComb/Ge-u/ Sh oei /Maxima· . b acked M ontero shook o ff a fi rs t- la p ch al lenge fro m S u zu k i pi lot C ha nce Matthews in th e openi ng 12Scc A moto and. for th e r est of the day, Montero was fa r out front to net a perfect score . Yamaha rider H ei sl er posted 2-2 ov er Matthews's pa ir o f th irds. The Pl u s 25 cia ss w as a thriller as Ri ck y Pal m er an d ScOIl Duke, bo th fro m Dothan, Alabama , banged bar s in both m OlOS. Palmer showed th e wa y a t th e sta rt o f more one. D uke gave chase but h is second-lap bid resulted in a sp i ll a n d fo urth -pl a ce fi ni sh . H ei sl er pressured Palmer in the late laps. but had 10 settl e (or seco nd at th e finish. Palmer nailed th e h ol es h o t a ga in in mote two bur Duke sa iled past in the doub les after the first tu r n . D ukc. held o n to th e lead with · Pa lm er a constan t threat unti l th e last la p w h en Palmer cr ashed hard ov er th e doubles. Duke cruised to th e win. H e isl er 's 2-2. h o wever . ea rn ed rop gold over Duk e's 4-1. Kevin Kn ig ht , ri din g hi s fi rst race o n a new H ond a . wa s th ird o vera ll. Se nior Min i w in n er Eric P in son retu rn ed in I 25cc: C action a n d look rhe fir st mo to win a ft er a lead -swa p p in g deba te with KT M , mounted Benny Du rr ough. Andre Pene had GlIDe back (or a third cra shed at th t' sta rt bu t p lace finish .

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