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/126267
Hurricane Hannah gets back on his winning streak Sandy Oaks 125cc National !Abovel Broc Glover placed third overall in Illinois. (Above right! Bob Hannah didn't get off the line very well, but then (below right) the "Hurricane" blasted to a perfect ,., day. By Jim Gianatsis KEITHSBURG , IL.,JUNE 12 Yamaha's Bob Hannah literally ran away with both motos at the Sandy Oaks 125cc National to show he was back in the running to retain his AMA Champion, ship title. Hannah won both motos by over 30 seconds , despite a sprained ankle and ·a 16 rough whoop-de sand track described by the riders as "the toughest on the circuit." Taking second overall was Suzuki 's Danny LaPorte, to retain his strong points lead in the series, with Brae Glover giving Team Yamaha another finishing spot in the top three. Hannah's ride at Sandy Oaks was allowed by Yamaha team manager Ken Clark only on the condition that Bob wouldn't ride hard enough to aggravate his ankle, which was injured previously during the 250cc Nationals, . and might inturn ham~r Bob 's performance at the upcommg Superbowl of Motocross . The Keith McCarty prepared Yamaha which Hannah rode was an updated 1977 version of the OW 27 works bike with which he won the Championship last year, but with the engine driven waterpump and cooling system removed. As Keith put it , "We have all the watercooling parts in a box , but we don't think the extra weight and other problems associated with watercooling are worth the ad- vantage watercooling provides ." The overweight handling problems and horsepower loss due to the waterpump system were handicaps Bob's riding ability overcame last year , while many pri vateers thought he held an advantage . With the works bike ".. .getting closer to production," Hannah is proving this year he's even harder to catch. Many highly interesting machines were on hand at Sandy Oaks . Tops on the list was Pat Richter 's MX Fox/Suzuki with Simons/Fox longtravel suspension mods and thermosiphon watercooling, Pat almost won on the bike at Hangtown and ended up finishing second when a hoseline broke. Crashes both motos this weekend dropped Pat way down in the points standings after setting second quickest times in practice behind the Hurricane Kid. Probably the most impressive performance of the day was turned in by Kawasaki 's Jimmy Weinert riding his first ever 125cc National. The 'old man' really shamed the kids as he ran an uncatchable second place the entire first rnoto, only to run out of gas half way around the last lap. The Jammer's bike , a new 125cc KX pre-production prototype scheduled for sale this fall along with the 250cc KX works bike, proved to have a gas tank one ounce too small for a sand track . Jimmy sat out the second moto because of the small tank, and a sore back due to the rough course. Other new bikes making thei r debut included a Mickey Kessler replica Montesa VB125 with cylinder reed induction, and Chuck Sun 's soon to be released Husky CR125 with longer suspension and lightweight hubs. Then there where the usual assortment of trick production bikes from FMF, D&G, PDI and other firms which made the factory works machines look anemic , Motoone Billy Grossi dialed out the holeshot in the first moto aboard the same type Ra 125 works bike Team Suzuki used last year , with Weinen, Richter , Glover , Jennings, Myerscough, .Wise, Hannah , Ogden and Barnett scrapping it out beh ind. On the second lap Jeff Jennings swapped his way over a berm for the first ' of four getoffs that would put him out of contention for the day, while teammate Danny La Pone styled his way over the rough sand, charging up from around 20th place at the start to find himself with second when Weinert would run out of gas on the last lap" " I got in the lead and thought· no problem, but after a few laps , UGHl" Sugar Bear hung out his tongue in a sign of exhaustion to describe how he faded out of first place, turning it over to Weinen on the third lap. The track was a killer. Engines screamed in protest as- riders shifted their body weight and feathered clutches to keep bogging in the deep sand uphills . Five riders would pass you before you could recover from a missed shift. Weinert took over the lead, but it was short lived as Hannah bounced his way past both Grossi and the Jammer to take control of the race on the four th lap. Left and right riders were crashing or breaking. Richter - "I thought I'd just cruise along and play it safe , but 1 fell off anyway and couldn't get the bike restarted." When he finally did get his Fox/Suzuki cranked, Pat was too far down to earn any points by finishing. Warren Reid - "Went over a jump and jammed my front wheel in a hole and endoed over the bars ." Despite a broken seat and rear fender the factory Honda rider remounted quickly to charge his way from the back of the pack up to fifth place by the end of the moto. LaPone - "Had to stop once and ad just my clutch." Danny's ardent use of the clutch was burning it out. Tuner Pat Alexander would have to replace it between motos. Meanwhile though , Danny continued his drive up towards third place on the final lap. There wasn 't any chance of catching Weinen, but with just half a lap to go the Jammer ran out of gas. When he began the white flag lap, Bob Hannah had a 45-secorid lead over Weinert. When Jimmy sputtered to the side of the track turning second place over to LaPorte, Hannah's margin of victory increased to nearly 60 seconds. Despite the injured ankle and not being able to use his foot in . right hand turns, Bob had won without sweat , riding at a reduced pace. Third went to Gary Ogden on the' FMF Suzuki, fourth to Japanese Champion Koji Masuda on the works RA Suzuki ahead of teammate Grossi. Retirements included Kessler with sand in his engine and Steve Wise with a broken piston. (Continu ed on page 20)