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/126047
----.----------- - --. II H urricane out-jams The j ammer] t ,---_,__-- -_,__-----c:~ _,___= ~-"..__-_,__-~ 1..0 I' DiStefano still leads as the pack scrambles back 01 ,...., By Charles Morey K EYSERS RIDGE, MD ., MAY 16 On the last lap of the final 45 minu te High Poin t sponsored 250cc AMA National Ch ampionship moto a t Appalachia Highlands Motorspo rt Park, Yamaha's Bob Hannah pulled off a trick that's not often seen. On a tricky off-camber uphill tum, Hannah wedged his Bill Buchka tuned factory Yamaha inside Kawasaki's infamous Jammin' Jimmy Weinert, gave The Jammer a little nudge, and took the overall win from the man who earned his nickname from that very tactic. Not that bumping is unusual in motocross. This year, perhaps due to the necessarily tight Supercross Series tracks, professional motocross has become more of a can tact sport than ever before. But it's not often that a first year factory teenager like Hannah is able to ' outmaneuver a seasoned Expert like Weinert and offer him a sample of his own wares. Hannah had not been a pre-race •favorite. Although the Florida Winter-AMA Series winner had startled the country by taking the first 125cc National from Honda's superkid Marty Smith, his 250cc National performances had been strong but not spectacular. If one had been asked to predict a closely fought battle before t he racing began, th e names Weinert and DiStefa no probably wo uld had domin ated the conversation. "We . cleaned up our act," Bill Buch ka jokingly summed up the day, suggesting that Hannah's recent haircut and Buchka's usual spiffy appearance had somehow made the difference. "Yeah," Hannah grinned, "That hair being down to here (indicating his shoulders) really used to slow me down!" Neither admitted that the combination of experience (Buchka tuned Weinert's 500cc Championship machine last year and before that , Karsmakers" bikes) and the riding ability of the up-and-corning youngster might have had anything to do with the achievement. >OJ a: o ::; CIl OJ .J a: Cl: J: u >- III CIl o I- ~ a .'-_....:;;. Support class I ~ First 250 moto National 125cc champ Marty Smith smoked his RC250 Honda through the first two turns of the opening 250cc National mota looking like a winner but when he hit turn three, an off-camber turned to grease by an early afternoon ......:; ~ _ _=_ _=......;=__ __==......;= (Above I Han n ah gets the best of Weinert. (To p inset! Third place Steve Stackable. (Bo tto m) Danny laPorte levitates, 9ve In the 125c<: Support class action, Suzuki rider Fred Vertucci scored a decisive victory by winning both 30 min u te motos. In co nsisten cy kept anyone else from approaching Vertucci's top performances: the closest thing to it being James Jerle. fi fth-fo urth placings for second overall. Scott Wallenburg, third at the day's e nd, bettered his first mota seventh place with a third in the final leg. Jerles and Wallen burg were Suzu ki mount ed, w ith fou rth an d fifth pl acers Duane Dr eyer an d Pe ter McGill fillin g out the top five on a pair of Ho ndas. ......;_ _ ~ downpour, opportunity stopped knocking. The Honda's front wheel washed out, Marty went down, and the whole pack slithered past before he could restart. Several others joined the slippery pile up but were more fortunate than Smith in restarting. . Smith's har d luck would continue into round two where his bike suffered a brokenring, Steve Stackable took over, wired his Bernie Thompson tune d factory Suzuki WFO, and left an astounding gap between his rear wheel and 39 hard charging pros. Teammate Billy Grossi was doing some heavy h ustling to keep Yamaha's Rick Burgett from getting by. Grossi made it stick for lap one, but Burgett squeezed past on the second circuit. Then, still on lap two, they,both went down. "He'd passed and I was trying to repass," Billy described it later, "and we were both leaned over side by side. I don 't know if he knew I was there or not, but he suddenly straightened up, we locked bars and (with elaborate tumbling hand gestures) we both went down. When they passed the scorers at the completion of lap two, Stackable had a 20 second lead on Canadian factory Suzuki rider Jim Turner. Burgett finally ro lled by in 29; Grossi was even further back. National . 250cc Champ Tony DiStefano had followed Gr ossi and Burgett in fourth p lace in the opening lap, but stepped off on the second go-round. The fall apparen tly loosened the rub ber handgrip on t he Suzuki's thro ttle , and Tony 0 spen t p ar t o f the mota try in g to ride an d hold it on, then when it would st ay on no- longer, he tried to ride witho ut it. "It was hard to get a good grip - the bar's so sm all, " DiStefano shrugged afterward. His previously injured thumb, battered by the small steel throttle grip slowed his progress further, and Tony was u nable to do better than 11th in th e mota . Ten minutes into the race, Jimmy Weinert was chasing Turner and holding down third place over Jimmy Ellis. Weinert had completed the first lap in nin th o Ellis had started even more slowly back in 13 th , but both cut quickly through the mob on a course set for the front. Jammin' worked his way by Turner's Suzuki, then mo ve d in on Stackable, Following a few attempts to get past, Weinert found his chance o n t he fast fro nt straightaway. Near the 30 minute point he and Stack came down the hill side by side, flew over the high speed jump in close formation, then touched together 50 feet up the track. The impact set Steve's Suzuki sideways and the tall Texan bailed off making a fu tile grab at Weinert's rear fender to cushion the fall. Obviously shaken, Steve stopped at the mechanics' area to straigh ten his bars, then continued on. He came back to score fifth in the mota, a remarkable recovery from a hard fall. Ellis, in the meanwh ile closed on Turner, dropped back, then came back to pass for third in the mota. Bob Hannah, ninth on lap one, cut a determined steady swath on his way to second place. By the fifth lap, he'd taken over sixth; at the 30 minute mark he was fourth. Two minutes later he overtook Ellis who at this point hadn't caught T urner, an d o n the next time around Hannah slipped past Turner in to second behind Weinert. The round ended with Weinert being followed by Hannah, Ellis, T urne r and Stackable. . Second 250 moto Fo llowing a half hour delay an d two false starts du e to a mal functioning starting ga te , Can -Am 's Conn ecti cu t Yan kee Jimmy Ellis showed J immy Weinert, Ste ve Stackable , Jim T urner and Bob Hannah the way through the opening lap of the second mota. Turner became the firs t casualty, apparently with a mechanical problem, as he was seen pushing his bike off the course after the second lap. Ellis looked strong. He established a sizeable lead as Jammin', Stack and Hurricane Hannah formed a three-sided battle over second. Near the 15 m inute point, Hannah got by Stackable and put intermittent pressure on Weinert. It was during the Hannah/Weinert chase that Ellis picked a very unfortunate time to spin o ut. Both Jammin' an d Bob passed as Jim my picked up the bike and returned to th e race. Tony D was nex t to pass Ellis and take over third pl ace. DrStefano had been fifth in back of the Weinert/Stackable/Hannah threesome early in the mota, and he'd proceeded steadily with them, always within striking distance. With five laps remaini ng, Hannah attached himself to Winert's r ear fender in a race . for the overall win . With their 1-2 finish in the first round, this mota was the decider. There must have bee n a dozen "almosts n in Hannah's struggle to overtake The Jammer before he finally tucked inside and elbowed past. Tony D scored third in the mo ta which upped his first round 11th placing to a fifth overall. Steve Stackable backed u p his first round fifth ' with a fo urth place - good fo r third overall. Jim my Ellis took sixth, tieing Stack points-wise, but taking fo urth overall with the slower second mota perfo rmance. • Results 25 0 a: N A T I O N AL' 1. B ob Hannah 2·1 (Yam). 2. Ji mmy W ei ner t 1·2 (Kaw ). 3. Stev e Stackable 5- 4 (S UZ) . 4. Ji mmy ElliS 3- 6 (CoA). 5. Tony D IStefano 11 -3 (S uz ). 6 .. D an n y LaPor t e 6·8 (Suz ) . 7. D an Tur ne r 7-9 (Vam). 8 . Gary semtes 9-11 IKaw ) . 9. Terry Cl ar k 8·1 3 ( H u s). 10 . Gavlon M oslor 10-1 5 (Mal ). 11. Joh n SOvi ts k l 12-16 (C·A) . 12. Don K u do1lskl 17 · 12 ( H o n ). 13. Ken :Zahr t 13-1 7 (Oss ) . 14. Chuc k Sun 18-14 (H us) . 1 5. Billy Cro ssi 25·1 0 (S uz) . 1 6. T om my C ro ft 16- 19 (Hon). 17. Ga ry C hap lin 2 2·1 6 tsue) , 18. Rick B u r r, tt 34- 7 (Vam). 19 . Bob H arr iS 2 0- 2 1 (CZ .20. R ic k O 'Br ion 2 1·23 (H·DI. 125cc UPPORT . 1. F re d Ve rtucci I-I (S uz) . 2 . James J er i.. 5-4 (Su zl . 3. SCott Wa llenburgh 7·3 (Suz) . 4. Duane D reyer 4-6 ( Hon). 5 . Pet er M cG ill 6-8 (Hon). 6. Ji m Grantakl 14-5 (Yam). 7 .. J ohn Racin 11 ..12 ( V am). 8. Mark G arr fso n 17..7. 9. O r an W o l fe 16·9 (vaml' 10 . Ro be rt V ost 15·1 4 ( Hon). UNO FF CI A L A MA 250cc N ATi O N A L MX CHAMPIONSHIP PO IN T STANDINGS inClu ding K e yse rs R id ge: 1. T on y DISt ef ano 2 04. 2. Ji mmy Weine rt 189. 3. Stev e Stackable ISS. 4. Bob Hannah 139.5. Jimmy Ellis 135 . 6 . Gary Sem lc s 122. 7. R ick B urgett 113. 8 . Ke n t H o we rto n 107.9. R ich Elersted t 101 10 . Gaylan Mosier 8 9 . 9