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/126061
500National $emics slogs through slop to clean up By Charles Morey NE W CASTLE, K Y., AUG . 15 "Man, it's bad out there!" Gary Semics exclaimed to no one in particular as he tugge d at hi s m ud-filled helm et straps in th e Kawasaki pits im medi ately after win ning the first 500cc Nati onal rrioto at Castle Poin t Motor Sp ort Park. The track , well watered on Saturday , h ad turned in t o a long trou g h filled with w i n ding ax le-grease-like cl ay which adhered t o the knobby tires cloggin g them in to uselessness. A . Saturday ni ght thunders hower acco m p an ied by an other h eavy rainfall on ra ce day turned wh at . wo uld have been a fast rac e on an easy , co urse into a question o f su rv ival. When it was over, those who had been ab le and lucky enough to fall the least number of times and hang o n to th eir slithering cycles had co me o ut on t op . Gary had charged hard from th e b eginning, starting well and working it in to a well executed 1-2 overall victory. Honda' s Rich Eie rst ed t sh o we d the latent ability that's be en there all alo ng, perhaps n ot full y recogniz ed by his sponsors, by pulling to gether a con siste nt 4-3 score for second. And 5 00 cc National MX Series poin t leader Kent Howert on co nt in ue d to demonstra te the tenacity and spe ed th at's put him p res en t1y on top of the b ig bore heap. Kent's 2-5 afternoon , desp it e nearly losing the sigh t in his right eye, was impressive to say the least. l Round one - meeting th e mud monster The main worry at the st ar ting gate as the first moto lined up was Castle Point's freshly slicked, off-camber first tum. It's not likely th at game plans extended beyond th at corne r; many riders expressed th eir concern ab ou t just making it through. But when th e moment of truth came, t he National calib er mote-wizards not only 'made it, they threw in some fast and he avy passing action. Only two riders went down , Gary Chaplin and Rick Burgett, , an d they returned to place lIth and eigh th for the moto. Instantly, Brad Lackey and Pierre Karsmakers were elbow to elbow, criss-crossin g the track in alternate lines n early clip p in g wheel s trying to gain an inch on the other. Bad, Bad Brad fin ally wb n out, finding the lin e with tr action as Pierre's rear wheel hit a soft spot. Charlie Sun's p rivateer Husky filled the th ird spot followed by Tony DiStefano, Gary Sernics, Bobby Harris, Kent Ho wert on : and Jim Turner o n his Canadian Suzuki. 1" 1 took off my goggles in the fir st tu m !" Kent Howerton said afterward, and he wasn 't alone. First in mind, be fore weariness, injuries or mechanical p roblems, c!""e the cornea cutting pain o f riding without eye protection . Within the fir st ten minu te s.Pierre 's pressure on Brad came to a screeching ·, halt wh en the Type 2 ' RC400 called it quits. . " Seiz ed crank," Pierre hurriedly replied as he helped Merle Anderson replace the motor between motos after ~is first round DN F. . Husky teammate Kent Howerton was there to replace Pierre with Weinert on his tail, however, and La ckey didn 't get any breaks. Near t he 15 minute point, Kent pressed steadily as Gary Semics held down third. Weinert slipp ed back to fourth ,as .S).II1J !,,;Ie.d. to fi(t!J, _ _ Semics leads the sliders through the cleanest part of the race. Kent got p ast in to th e lead, th en ex tended his lead to o ve r 20 seconds, seemingly. safe as Gary Semics cl osed on , and then p assed Brad. Lackey returned, after backing o ff t o p ace hims elf fo r th e duration, near th e 3 0-3 5 minute mark to push Semics for a repass, but a sm all m isjudgementon th e . unforgiving gr ea se put him o ut of it en tirely. Th e front wheel washed out on a bowl-like turn dumping th e Number Five in th e World Ch ampionship Series rider on the downhill side of the bike. Between th e slip p ery hillside and weight of the tremendously heavy mud-laden bike , it took Brad sev eral minute s just to get back on two wheels. An d then it wouldn't start. Motorcycle wei ght became a majo r fa ctor. The ridiculously sticky cl ay ac t u ally doubled the weight o f th e 500cc class m achines. As an example, Harley-Davidson crew members John Ingham and Don Habermehl gave Rex Staten 's works bike the o ld bath room scale test after the race . The ·fro n t wh eel registered . 150 pounds, and the rear wheel which had to be lif ted on by two men, bottomed o ut the scale at 2 70 pounds - 420 plus ! Howerton seem ed in good shape as th e m oto progressed, but it wasn 't over yet. Only three laps from the end the Husk y stalled in a tigh t t um. "My clutch was adjusted too loose. When I pulled it in, the motor st alled, and Gary passed me, " Ken t explained. But that wasn 't the end, either. Kent remounted and tried to pick up some time . Then, as he approach ed a lapped rider, he received a fa ceful of mud from th e rider's r ear . wh eel. A large clot of clay hit his right eye , which was st ill open , and stuc k. He tried to claw it off and cou ld n ' t. Throwing his gloves aw ay and using bar e hands didn 't help either and he had to finish at a slower one-eyed p ace hanging on to second. Winert rolled in third followed by Honda's top rider of the d ay , Rich Eierstedt, in fourth. Honda's third team rider Tommy Croft rounded out th e top five. Roun d tw o - Oh no, not again! Brad Lackey and Ga ry Sem ics grabbed th e top two slots after a six abreast charge through turn o ne . Two riders were left in the wak e wi th st opp ed bikes this time; T ommy Croft and Jim T urner had suffered in the stampede. Jim s ould rr' t stag e a com eback , but Tommy . managed to · back up his first m oto fifth with a hard-fought 12th to hang in for a seventh in the overall st andings. Three-quarters of a lap into the race, Pierre Karsmakers had the lead an d wa s driving fiercely to make up for his fir st round DNF': But hot on his trail wa s Yamaha rider Rick y Burgett. As the pair apPro ~cE ~