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/126050
" 'w~aa~Cl)~ ; -= ~ID~~~~a~ l1li gt IoiI t..O r--- ~ Curnutt shocks, sales, service , & frame work by Charlie Curnutt, Jr. Local sales only on Curnutt shocks, Hours: Wed. -Thur. II am-8 pm ; Fri. 9-5; Mon. & Tues. by appointment 2206 Gladwick, Compton, CA 90220 O~Qoo~Q~~a~ ~~ marzocchI COMPETITION FORKS & , j SHOCK~ • FROM YOUR HI -POIN T DEALER PARTS~ WARDS RIYERSlqE MOJAVE 18y BenolloI Mark Terry shows t he strain of NMA co m pe t itio n. World's largestinventory for Italian motorcycles PARlllA CAPRIOlO Rebuilt Engine MV AGUSTA Z50 tOSIIOPOlIT &I MOTOIIIiS, IIIC IIAIICHI CAPRI SCOOTERS • Welch (83) and Jones (165) battle d u ring the 83cc Ex pert fin al at Rio Bravo. H ,lllioro P- 190 40 .l El cb.ng~s _ 21 5 67 2 9 100 rep . areas avail. Charlie 5 Raceway y C Ie . HeliareWeldlng Frame Mods Cylinder Boring " D e ser t & MX setup Parts & Accesscrtes 8063 Balsa Ave. Midway City . CA 92655 7 1 4 -89 7 -1 3 2 2 Ch arlie Ha m ill Jr. ~ BRlDGESTONE quality,. TIRES Tho_ _ Imported & Distributed b y Sport Tracks Co. 213-361·5955 z UI Yamaha & KTM 5 UI 3365 E. Century , Lynwo od, CA 21 3-564-25 33 21 3-564-25 34 Hrs: 9 -6 Mon. -5at . 9 -8 Wed . z > et o > III UI BELL MOTOB III o I- DEALERS-MANUFACTURERS-CLUBS INQ UIR E OLY SUPERBUS PROGRAM . 714·752·0503 Can -Am Hodaka Maico o ~~~~lI!!!!!lii!:';i.:...."':"""~~::::::"'::....!...--:~""::".........~=,-- i:.:!:.:lu::.tioIIII!lIIr:::::..~' Welch, Theriot blast NMA Texas round fwoBy Dave Nielsen HOUSTON, TEX., MAY 2 2-23 Goodyear is Carroll Shelby 38 213-538-2914 While the northern half of Texas swam in flooding downpours, usually rainy Rio Bravo Park in Houston didn't see a drop, hosting the second of five NMA Regionals in sweltering heat with a sun-baked tr ack. Around 260 entries pounded the roller coa ster MX course in the two-day meet, with South Central Region Expert minicyclers trying for points to qualify for the National Minicycle Association's National Final, to run in Missouri in August, while Novice and Intermediate class champions will be named at the Regional level at Series' end. At first glance, the assembly could be mistaken for a National Pro MX meeting, with giant tea m vans and motorhomes everywhere, but a closer look reveals only hundreds of kids arid their parents milling. around p reparing fo r the weekend's action. For the old fo lks, it's keeping Johnny's chain adjusted - and keeping the scooters running, and for the mini-racers, it's a grueling three-rnoto program where onl y the top five will end up at the trophy stand Sunday evening. Without question, the races were marked with many of the better riders going down in spills, or taking bike trouble on the chin, but two dominating J: 0. forces worked for unquestioned wins in the toughest classes, local ace Guy Welch and y ou ng Cajun Ben Theriot. Welch and his ultra-trick XR HORda turned back ' Texas' best Experts three straight on his home track in the 83cc Modified 12 and over Expert division, with Terry Nail's co n sisten t 2-4 -6 marks winning second place over many faster opponents, am o ng them Kevin Jones at third overall scoring 11-2-2. Johnny McGee and his sanitary Honda 'rig took fourth behind the two YZ80s, and Jimmy Braden's 10-5-4 was good for . fifth. In the II ye ar old Expert ranks, "Bullet" Ben Theriot trucked in from Denim. Springs, Louisiana and swept th ree classes wit h virtua lly no contest. Seldom if ever has this reporter see n such speed with such accuracy from one . so yo ung. Riding three widely varying machines, Ben took the 83 Stock class with a YZ80, the 83 Modified with a Honda XR, and the 105 Modified on a custom-built 100 cc Elsinore with scaled-down frame and mini-legal wheels, In fact, in the 105 class, the 9-11 and the over 12 age groups ran in the same race, being scored separately, and Theiot beat them all. With somewhat less fanfare, Derek Wedding of Marshall tightened his grip on high points in the over 12 divisions, crashing one of his brace of Yamahas out of contention in the 83 Modified, but controlling -t he 83 Stock Expert easily, and coming from last to fourth in the 105 final to back up his double wins going in. After all kinds of trouble through the meet, Guy Welch's speedy Friendswood neighbor J erry Surber, Jr. marked well in the 105 to pull in a second overall, nipping Johnny McGee by one place in the last race to put McGee in third. Again, a huge crash in ro und two of the 105 kept Kevin Jon!'s away from the top. He ended fourth at 2-11-1. The NMA, seeing the need to accommodate big brother and little brother, provides classes fo r mi ni-minis and 100-125cc fu ll-sized mo t orcycles. Outstanding in these groups were "Tough Tony Smith, winner of two 61 cc divis ions, and Ho uston's former mini pro Shaun Kelly, who aced the 100 and 125 Expert classes on a Yamaha and a Honda, respectively. Or not so respectively if you were trying to catch hi m, as runners-up Steve Schramm and Eddie Walker tried to do. • tt n } ) n