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/125864
International starting field for Superbowl announced - MediaMax, promoters of the third annual Superbowl of Motocross, have announced the start list for the 250 In terna tional class featured in this year's spectacular inside the Los Angeles Coliseum . Three 25·minute motos will determine the winner of this event which is rapidly approaching classic status as the first of the successful " .'stadium" motocross events. T he overseas contingent of riders is headed by th ree times and c u rrent 500 class m ot o cr oss World Champion R oger DeCo s ter of Belgium ridi ng a works RH S uzu ki. He is backed up by Suzu ki te am mate Gerri t Wolsi n k, a Dutch d en tist , who was also second Overall in t he 1973 TransAMA international se ries. Also on the list are Czechs J ar o sla v Falta and Antonin Baborovsky rid in g Czech-b uil t factory CZs. Falta was, as of presstime, second in world 250 motocross standings. Swedes Nils-Arne Nilsson and Jan-Eri c Sallqvist will be riding H usqvarna a nd Kawasaki machines, respecti vely , Newest Belgian international sensation, Ra y m ond Boven, is scheduled to appear on his works Montesa, on which he won the first leg of the Span ish GP this year. Husqvarna's ne west factory rider, Paolo Pir on of Italy , will rep resen t that firm. Unknown factors in the non·USA contingent are Jose Szupin of Yugoslavia and Clau d io Pesce of A rge ntina. Cla udio will be m oun ted on a Hond a El sinore, the only foreign rider on the popular Japanese m arque. Rei gn in g U.S . 250 m oto cro ss cham pion Gary J on es has swi tched to Can-Am an d wi ll act as ca ptain o f th e Am eri can c o n t ingent . Other top American riders in t he In terna ti on al class are Marty T ripe s (Husqvama) who has won the previous tw o S uperbowls at the te nder ages o f 16 an d 17. He is favored to repeat this year . Also co m ing to th e st art gate will be Brad La ck ey , -retumin g from th e Grand Prix circ uit to ride f OT Husqvarna in th is e ven t; J im Weinert, Kaw asaki facto ry rider ; R ich T h o rwalds o n, Team S uzu ki; Tony DiSte fano , wh o has established h im sel f as t he iop American privateer in competition to day o n a CZ ; wil d Bill Grossi, new Honda team mem ber ; fast Southern California hotshoe Ken Za hrt for Bu ltaco ; Texan Steve Stackahle rid ing a very special Maico for U.S . Sports of Dallas; and Peter Lamppu, Mo ntesa's American factory rider and veteran of many years of international motocross. The 500 support class is made up of a selection of U.S. riders that reads like a line-up for a national championship. Motocross fans will recognize the names Staten, Holcomb, Clark, Mayes, Payne , Clements, Larsson, Chaplin, Johnston, an d Darnell . In the event that any of the listed American riders can no t ride the 250 International class (d ue to injury , bike unavailability, or the like), five alternate ride rs have been named, who also have first op tion of riding in the 500 class if they so choose . The first five are Buck Mur ph y (Pe nton), Ron Pomeroy (Bu ltaco),Joh n DeSo to (Yamaha), Gary Se m ics (Husqvama), and Rich Eierstedt (Honda) . The lat te r two are official te am ride rs for the factories n am ed and m ay elect to try Io r a win in t he 500 class rather than wai t ou t a cancellation in t he 250 International. A lso ' scheduled are t he top 60 So u t hern California h igh sch o o l mot o cro ss riders in a series of pre-race the final e l i minations with cha mpionship m o t o to be run off d uring in termission between the national and in ternat ional motos. This event will determine the top high school :>IXers in Southern California, at least until nex t year. • 00 NEXT WEEK Test Honda CB 200 People Team Honda Nationa l Loudon Road Races Maybe The Ultimate Cafe Racer 5