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/126000
• By • the fift h lap Bab orovsky had opened a s h or t d ist an ce o n t h e Rahi er -Sugio duel. As th e pair charged full throttle dow n the hill under th e specta to r b rid ge Rahier 's fr ont wheel slid o ut an d the little Belgian Suzuki ride r wen t tu mbling. "I was luc ky to not crash nearer the bridge . If I d id th er e migh t have been damage to the bik e or my self. " So great was the lead that the pair had th at Rahier w as able to get back in the race in third . Sugio, now in an undisputed second place , set his sights on Baborovs ky and reeled him in on the tenth lap. He then set his sigh ts on the land of the rising su n and opened a 17 second lead that held secure to the nag. Rahier began to close on Baborovsky in the seco nd half of the race, but a second crash slowed his final charge. De Roover moved to fourt h an d aro un d t he three-quarters m ar k in th e mo to lea ving Akira Watan ab e and Jan Eric Sallq vist b eh ind in th e dust . At th e fl a g they we re fo llo wed by Larry M c Ken zi e, Buc k Mu rph y, Heikki Ylonen and T orbj o rn Win zell . Man y riders co mp lained o uts po ke nly ab out the dust wh ich hung in the ai r and lay on th e gr ound co vering ruts and taking riders by surp rise as t he y charged through co rne rs. One rid er state d that the only wa y t o m ake it ar ound th e track was " to charge th e co mers and turn aft er y o u 'hit the fenc e . n A crew watered the areas on the tr ack th at were acces sible . Baborovsky pulled hi s secon d hole shot of of th e day in the fina l mo to , but this ti me De Ro over and h is Z undapp (ch urn ing up th e t rac k wi th a 4.5 0 Metz ler as an indica ti on of th e p ow er the bike puts o ut) were right behind. S t aIlin g tactics kep t De Roo ver in seco nd for four lap s. but from t he re o n it was De Roever to th e nag with Babo rov sk y rep eatedl y trying to close th e gap . Gast on Rahier circ ulat ed the entire moto in thi rd content to take it easy. A t raffic jam at the first turn o n the start ruin ed t he chances of first moto Japan's Yoshitumi Sugio banzaied his way to a first moto win flying past both Rahier and Baborovsky to take the victory by a margin of 17 seconds. winner Su gio as he spent th e Iirst te n lap s w o rki ng his way to fi ft h . He spe nt th e las t hal f o f th e race closing o n Akira Wa tan ab e a nd was about tw o seconds b eh ind wh en the checke rs flu t tered . Larry Mc Kenzie turned in his second co nsisten t ride of the day for sixth easin g out J an Eric Sa llqvist an d Masaru Iked a . Buck Murp hy . after a slow start . worked his way to n in th place with Jeff Wecker fo llow ing. La ter th at evening there were trophy Gilbert De Roover chumed up the track and the competition on his way from last place to third in the open ing moto. In the second moto the opposition choked on his dust. presentations with a full complim en t o f prominen t o fficials o n hand to celebrate b oth the to wn's 150th anniversary and its fi rs t h o s t in g of a Wo rld Ch ampionsh ip . Che e rin g an d clapping were the s ta n da rd fare rising in crescendo un til th e quiet an d shy Baborovsky 's name was announced . As an ea r to ea r grin spread over his face he spoke excited ly to his team m an ager and th en p ra nced t hrough the crowd shaking hand s an d flashing a victory sign. • Results I. Antonin Baborovsky 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Gilbert De Roover Yosh itumi Sugio Gaston Rah ier Akira Watanabe Larry McKenzie Jan-Eric Sallqvist Buck Murphy Masaru Ikeda 10. Heikki Ylonen 11. Jeff Wecker 12. Torbjorn Winzell CZ Zun Yam Suz Suz Yam Kaw C-A Suz Yam Kaw Hus the " ,I On [uly 12. the Castle Rock IT lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest events of the National circuit. A real test of endurance for riders and machines. ' Triumph privateers from the Northwest took it away from H-D and the others. A clean sweep of first , second and third by Chuck Joyner of Oregon City. Sonny Burres of Portland and Charlie Brown of Longview. Washington. (You' ll be seeing them again.) Close behind the winners were three more Triumphs in the top ten . (And Diane Cox served notice you'd better keep an eye on her. too.) Triumph dominated the day. On the track at Castle Rock or on the road at Isle of Man. Triumph goes on proving it's built to outlast them all. Experience why at your Triumph dealer. Now. Norton Triumph Corporation . 2765 EoslHunfingfon Drive. Duorte.Califomia 91010. Phone(213j 359-3221. 9