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/125860
EIf you aren't qualified, don't apply IKI ..:I = g . ~ r-- O"l Billy Payne (Mai) stuffs it inside Jo hn Dalla ire (Hon) as Bryar Holcomb (Bull looks for a line inside them both. Marty Smith (Hon) didn't surprise anybody by winning the 125 class. By Dale Brown MOORPARK, CAL ., MAY 12 Marty Smith, Pierre Karsmakers, and Ken Zahrt smoked their respective classes at the AMA Qualifier held at Valley Cycle Park in California. Most of the factory riders co mpeted on their practice bikes. Ken Zahrt was telling everyon e that th e Bultaco 360 he was riding was stone st ock . Nobody believed him . It probably really w as. T he track itself had a new sect ion add ed. Almost to the top of the hill, the riders cut back down in to a ravine, then turned uphill and traversed across the slope to meet the usual course. After practice, comments ranged from "Bitchin'" to " Ou tas ight. " 125 Class 8 It was widely anticipated that Marty Sm ith on his factory Honda was going to run away with t he show . It w as a surprise when Tim Lunde (Han ) was the early leader, with Smith coming aro und in abo u t fifth. It took Smith two laps to move in to seco nd and another two to get past Lunde. Fo r the rem ainder of th e 20-minute m ot a , he put d istance betwee n him sel f an d the rest of the pack. Honda te am ma tes Gaylon Mos ier an d Ch uck Bower were ha ving a scrap for th ird. Gayl on e merged the victor. Bill Keese (Bul) fini shed fift h. Lun de go t the hol e sh o t again in the secon d m ot a and held the lead for four laps before turning it over to-guess who ? If you guessed Marty Smith, you're right. Lunde was now engaged in trying to keep Mosier in back o f him. Jim Hale (Pen ) was pressuring Chuck Bower . Hale passed Bower at the m idpoint, but it wasn't until the white flag lap that Mosier went ou tside in a tum, careened violently off the berm and emerged abead of Lunde: S mi th took the overall win, followed by Mosier, Lunde, Bower, Keese and Hale . 250 Class It d idn 't look like Pierre Karsmakers ' day. Billy Payne (Mai) and Bry ar Holcomb (Bul) were o ut in fr on t after th e start with Karsmak ers (Yam ) and Rex Staten (Ha n ) back in the middle of th e p ack . Payne began to stretch h is lead over Holcomb as Kars ma kers an d St aten began the ard uo us gam e of catch-up. By t he te n th lap, th ey were occ upy ing third and fo ur th. Rex was rid ing a Honda Elsino re pract ice bike and Pierre was moun ted o n a year-old Yamaha m on oshocker. Bo th we re sti ll goi ng un god ly fas t. /\ few laps lat er, they wer e pas t Holco m b. Pier re mo ved to within ey eball ran ge of Payne, b ut there wasn't enoug h ti me left. Holcom b was in fo ur th and being pres sured by Bill Grossi (Han), who had fo llowed