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/126008
r- Medford Raceway Championships By Lynne Diltz MED FORD, ORE., AU G. 2 9 Eigh ty -one riders made th e short track sce ne at Med ford's Racewav for th e cha mpio nship races and award ing of th e large personalized to ol chests with socke t se ts to sea son winners of ea ch class . We ve seen some great races at this track, especiall y wh en ever Flyin ' Brian Peterson a nd Rich Word wen t on to the track at the same time. Both rode 125s and 250s and it's our belief th e officials placed them together deliberately in heat ra ces just to sec t he sparks fly . In the third heat of the 125s Word got the groove, Peterson tried th e whole track but Word crossed the line first. There were seven in heat two of th e 250s and aga in, Word an d Peterson. Peterson be sted that one, with Rich on his rear bumper. Along comes 'th e TO. and it was th e first two from each heat of 250s, so again our dynamic duo. Th ey were having their usual set-to when Peterson slipped a little in tum two, allowing Word a firm first, Then ca me th e 125 A Main. Peterson shot to a lead then hesi tated for reasons unknown. Peterson wo rked his wa y ba ck to first and Word p assed Randy Haberman, charged hard co min g out of tum four but cro ssed the line about a wheel behind Peterson. The 250 'A' was almost a repeat ex c ept for a no th er speedster who a l w a y s gives the Peterson-Word combination problems, one Todd Puett. Peterson wasn 't waiting for anyone. He spread a quarter lap lead while Word was working hi s way out of the pack. Word ca m e on strong, going high and lo w on Puett who was holding second. On th e gun lap, Word faked a high into tum three, then swooped low to the inside and swept up to Pue tt. It was so close that half the crowd wi ll say Puett won, and half will say Word won. But the starter said Word, by a whisker. A fam ilia r sight to ste ady Friday - n ig hte rs has b e e n a tu rquoise-green and silver' Ho nda that answers to t he name o f 'Horse Power' and its owner The Cowboy . (What else?) The dude's real name is Dale Osborne and whenever a hand was needed during the season, we noted Dale extended both. He rode well all season, got a third. Gu ess he didn't feed that Horse enough oats. The largest class was ' the Kids, 24 bikes spread into five heats making some heavy co m pe t it io n . Craig Hill had problems; his bike died at the start. Ken Copeland shot to number one but Rick Bradley had him after two lap s. ( Ric k was on a new Kawasaki 125 sle eved down to a 100; he 's moving up from the Mini class.) Robert , Speck had to fight for first, h is heat opponent was Susie Word. The fifth heat had all sorts of trouble and before the flag finally lifted, five out of seven were back on the second row. In the Mains, Vicki Osborne's bike sei zed and sh e laid it down without incident. 'Min i John ' Miller got caugh t c ree ping and was put on that second line. The A Main had l Lon the line and a transfer. Boy, what a crowd ! Rob Izatt literally jumped to first and st ayed there , Bru ce Smylie wo rked his way from seve n th to second. There were three waves of Open bikes and q uite a few go t used t o that seco nd row. The first heat had all but one ride r going back, n o t witho ut a rgu me n t of co u rse. Joh n Schauble worked on second -p lacer Mike Derryberry, tr ying both high and lo w sides of the short track but Mike was in top form and Schauble could not get a round. Seco nd heat saw Jim McWhorter over backward on the start while Ji m Booth p ushed o n to number ' one, then, slipped a lit tl e ' and allowed 9 WHITTIER HONDA G Moto rcy cle T railers Bell Helmets Full Bore Products _ ..~ COMPLE TE PISTONS MACHINE SHOP,R~PAIR 8 SERVICE ON ALL MAKES 14324 E. Whittier Blvd . (213) 698.0065 Complete stock of parts a nd accessories for street and d irt . (714) 630-5720 DSS~ Fremont Raceway Every Wednesday Night rt" \..l:i" Bu.'aeG Parts coal~~ Bultaco CZ H odak <1l :.J .,.--;,;,., , ~ u rgelt Inventory on west Sportsman Short Track Ma ll o r der/wi ll Sh ip anywh ere Fremont Raceway Quality Motorcycle Alpal, 415-327-4461 MOTORCYCLES~® 8 PARTS ~ Fast. d ependab le serv ice m -:: 0 m(l~ \ ~ ~ 1123 Francisco BIIId ., San Rafael, ~ . ~ ., ~~ ~49