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
; _._._.-.-._.~-._._._._._._._._._._.-._._._._._._._._.- . _ . _ . _ . _ ,., Western hotline . . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ .. . . _ ~ E obviously suffering from mechanical blues; that left the door wide open for Stearns to pass through. The San Diego RM spe cialist continued to pull away from the pack, but soon ran into problems. too. A flat tire didn't help matters much, and forced Stearns to pit to replace the deflated wheel. In the me antime, Larry Roeseler (Hus) had been picking off riders slowly from his eighth pl ace starting position and easily rode into the lead. Andy Kirker (Hus) and Mike Hensel (H-D) had a sm all di ce goi ng for second spot until Steams caugh t back up close to his origin al p os iti on, but not quite close enough . Roeseler finished first, with Stearns in second; Kirker in third ; and Hensel in fourth . . After a good night's rest, the pre-mix . ' with in the racers were re ady t o start off the final d ay o f fes tivities. Sun day ~- ~ .----"' .. - - (Top) Viewfinders start: And t he guy in the middle most likely would rather have been 'someplace else right then. (Center) Larry Roeseler picked off two Expert classes. (Below) Sue Fish netted the big win in t he Wo men's Division. ' Viewfinders GP: .Fun is the rule By Mi ke Yada CARLSBAD, CAL.,JUNE 5-6 18 . Every year the Viewfinders MC hosts a Grand Prix in which having fun is the main objective; this year's GP at Carlsbad Raceway was no exception. 'In Grand Prix racing, a long course is laid out, which required nearly every inch of riding area on the Raceway's premises - from the motocross track to the back trails to the dragstrip . The riders have to thrash and bash their bikes 'fo r two straight hours, with pit stops whenever necessary. Mike Steams of San Diego ne arly took two classes, but it was Larry Roeseler who grabbed two Expert wins. All racing went off unrehearsed, meaning that no practice was allowed to familiarize the riders with the long and dusty track. On ' the other hand, Bill Glore. (Han) appeared to have the course wired, as he led the early half of the 100 /17 5 Amateur/Expert class. Butch Darling (Ha n) held onto second, but only for a short while until he dropped out of sight with Mike Steams (Suz ) close behind on itis Suzuki. Stearns kept up a quicker pace than th at of Glore, shaving off sec o nds from the front runner's time. Stearns and his RM so o n got aro und Glore, bu t the T&M man refused to be put back and pressured Steams. ' But Glore 's push was all in vain as he goofed and rode backwards in to the one-way pit area, automatically disqualifying him from the race. Stearns came in ' wit h a big lead over Bill Sundtrom on an o t her RM. The 250 Nervous (Novice) class was next, and it was Steven Coutts (Hus) leading the wayan the first lap, which had spread out the contingent of riders for nearly two miles from first to last. Tom Watson (Hus) soon picked up the duty of trail-breaker and continued on " to grab the winner-take-all win in the two hour extravaganza. Invader's rider Mark Heacox slid in fo r second spot, ahead of Pancho Spain aboard a Montesa. Riding m his own smooth and controlled style, Goat Brecker (Bul) stepped out in front of the 250 Amateur/Expert race, leaving 125 winner Mike Steams, Danny Sanchez (Hus), and the other hundred riders. The Sled Rider led for nearly half the race until he dropped out of sight, The second day got off to a start with Gary Covington (Yam) looking over his shoulder a t the holesho t he was getting on the 500 Novices dow n the dragstrip. Covington kept the gas on until about the halfway point of the first lap when he dumped it at a slow 'co rn er. By the time he had gotten up and going, he was dead last. Reese Lane (Bul) then inherited the lead, but so o n handed it over to Bob Malmstrom (Yam), who led the race all the way to the flag . George B. Erl rode his C.C.C. Yamaha in for second spot. Bob Dunsire rounded-out the top three on his Yami. The team of Paul and Perry Mezillo came around the first tum in the lead during the sidecar event, with the Palfreyman /Gardner team close behind. The Whitney /Jones crew took over the lead on the second lap as the front running " Camera Car" began to lose fire and dying out a few laps later. Palfreyman/Gardner kept a close watch on the top runners, and eventually zapped them for top spot. The final race of the two-day get . together was the 500 Experts and they provided some of the best racing around. Larry Roeseler quickly took up his spot as the front runner, never relinquishing the spot for the entire two hours. Behind the straigh t forward Husky rider was equally smooth Jim Connally on a Bultaco, Jeff Foland (KTM) was running third until he lost his seat down the dragstrip. Foland was able to get it duct taped back on, but that dropped him one lap, as he kept losing the seat again and again. Ke nny, Frost (Suz) and Craig Adams (KTM) had a nice dice going for awhile, but bro ken handlebars made it tough fo r Frost to continue on at his pace. dropping back out of the picture . Roeseler buil t up a tremendous lead over Connally , in fact, it didn't appear that many riders were on the same lap (but were) . Although Foland was one lap do w n, he continued on with the race, passing most of the top ten. Roeseler made it two wins for t he Desert Barons in this, the ninth annual Viewfinders Grand Prix. • Results in Results Section.