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/126263
TonyO.and Suzuki clinch third straight consecutive 2SOCc AMA National Championship . , By Jim Gianatsis MT. MORRIS . PA , :\1AY 29 Tony DiS tefano sat on the back of the Team Suzuki van before practice , lacing up his boots and checking over the rest of his riding gear. He was obviously relaxed and sure of what he had to do . ''I've got to stay ahead of Pom er oy and Smith in the first rnoto. If I can do that, the Championship will be mine and I can ta ke it easy in the second mot o . The day's overall win would be nice , bu t not necessary. I know t hat bo th Pom ero y a nd Sm ith will be go ing for it, so if I stay a head of them I' ll probab ly get the overall win as well. Bu t I do wan t to ge t it (t he Championship) over with in the first rno to ." 6 Over in the Team Honda pits tension ran high , and the air was thick wit h purpose. Both Ji m Pomeroy and Marty Smith had a n outside chance at beating Tony D for the 1977 AMA Natio n a l 250cc Motocross . Championship. It was a long sh ot , tho ugh. Eit her Tony wou ld have to break one m oto on t he tough new H iPoint R a cewa y course at Mo u nt Morris, or finis h no better th an l Oth in both motos while Pom eroy or Smith won . "T h e only way to beat hi m, " joked Bim bo , " is to knock Tony down and go for the win ." Smith was a lot more serious than his teammate. Ever si nce he won the season's 250cc opener at Hangtown he , had wanted the title . Marty stood an excellent chance of winning the hardest fought, 250cc National championship in AMA history up until j ust last weekend when his usua lly- ' relia b le RC works bike blew fourth gea r and fa iled to finish the first moro in Buch an a n , Michigan. Marty wasn' t going to give up withou t providing Tony a fight. " For me, " said Marty , "second place doesn 't mean anything. No one will remem ber vou finished second in the Championship two years from now, " The race Dave Arnold . Merle Anderson and Alan Hahn checked over nuts , bolts and spokes for what must have seemed the millionth time before the bikes were pushed to the starting line for the first moto. Motorcycle reliability. along with rider performance, would decide the Championship. When the gate crashed to the ground the moto instantly materialized into "the" showdown as Smith edged the fire engine red Honda into 't he lead ahead of DiStefano's yellow R H , followed by Ohio rider Jerry Sales, who later would be displaced back into the pack , La Po rte, Weinert, Burgett, Ellis and Staten. J im Pom ero y endoed on the firs t lap , remounted but wou ld crash twice mo re before the race ended lea vin g Bim bo out of co ntention. On la p five La Porte moved up to pass team mate Tony D a nd ran second for th ree la ps befor e a roost of d irt fro m Ma rty 's rea r t ire te mpora rily b linded Da nny a n d let To ny a nd Weinert pass . As the rnoto reached the ha lfway point, DiStefa no a nd Weinert closed on Sm ith a nd the three continued to circula te the track on ly 20 feet apart. About a hundred yards behind them , 1 La Porte and Ellis battled back and forth for fourth position . " I wasn 't going to pass Smith : ' said Tony , "because he was t ru ckin ' and it would mean taking a chance. But then a ll the spectators started yelling and wavi ng me on . In one turn they wer leaning over the fence so hard to wave, a t me , the fe nce fell through so Ii decided to go for it. " '" Wit h two la ps remaining , Tony closed in behind Marty . and his) momentum brought Jimmy a long as well. On a downhill section that had a 180 degree off- cam ber turn at th e bottom Tony and the Jammer pulled right in behind the Honda . Marty felt the pressure . . . " I took the inside line going back up the hill, started to spin too much and they got by." , Both Tony and Jimmy pulled right up the hill on either side of Marty. Tony was in better position for ih next turn at the top of the hill and took over the lead. Jimmy slipped into second a few turns later. The race and the battle for the 1977 National 250cc Championship was over. Tony's first place for the moro gave him all the points he needed .' The fig ht over fourth place lasted until the last lap when Ellis held off La Porte . "That's th e kind of good racing the whole series contained ," said Weinert . "I j ust wish m y inj uries hadn' t slowed me dow n at the start of it. " T he seco nd mo to was a lmos t a nt i.- i climactic as eve ryo ne m a intained their' posit ion s off th e start a nd mor e or less - mostly mor e - played follow the ' lea der . Ma rt y pu lled a not he r holesh ot but d id n' t m ake a ny mi sta kes this tim_ to hold off Tony the entire 45 m inutes. Kent Howerto n got a good start and ran third the entire race ahead of Ellis , Pomeroy, Stackab le , La Porte. Sun .