Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

I (Left) Mickey Boone was third overall w ith 5-3 mota scores. (Above) " Gassin" Mosier ran away with the f irst mota but was inv olv ed in a first turn pile-up that sidelined him for the day. (Continuedfrom page 9) 14 next lap, Hannah blasted wide around the outside of a tum and left Stacy in his roost. Stackable was also r unning strong, as was Smith. "Short Stack" followed Hannah past Stacy's Penton, then Smith followed suit. Hannah, in the meantime had set his sights on Tony D's position in second. At the 20 minute mark, Mosier still looked impressive out in front . Hannah had closed on DiStefano only one second separated the two. Stackable held a fairly secure fourth place while Stacy fought off advances from Danny LaPorte and Mickey Boone. Smith had done his endo and fallen back to l Oth, where he was fighting off Pierre Karsmakers. " I didn't fall ," Karsmakers sa id of his involvement in the turn one fracas , " but I. stal~ed my motor. I was luckyl" Ru~n.lng In the heat as part of his trammg, Karsmakers has shown definite improvement since his St. Louis DNF due to heat problems. Hannah and DiStefano exchanged places several times in a heated duel. but the " H u rrica ne" finally came out on top . " My handlebars bent, plus the mounts loosened up, " Tony D said of the incident later. " I had to slow down and let him go. " With two laps left , Mosier held a 17 second advantage over Hannah who in turn rode 17 seconds a head of DiStefano. Stackab le was 11 seconds back in fourth ; Boone rode a distant fifth. Karsmakers was sixth . Smith pestered Stacy for seventh, a position he took in the final moments. Honda's , Tommy Croft an d Bu lt a co's Rich Eiersted t ro unded out the top 10 . Moto two: The Hurricane blew Riders yelled from behind the gate for the track management to quit the irregular watering of the starting chute in spite of the area's extreme dust p~oblem. The s~rinkers were placing slick mud spots In some places whi le leaving dust in others. After the water was turned off, the gate dropped, and the final race got underway. Gary "Sideways" Semics pulled one of his classic holeshot tricks with Hannah tucked in right at his elbow . Frank Stacy again put his -Penton in the first three, but this time when things got tight in tum one , Frank lost it. Standing immediately at trackside , a spectator could only hear the impact as one bike after another joined the dust shrouded pile-up. Many were involved, but only Stacy seemed hurt . What was feared to be a broken right leg was later diagnosed as a twist/bruise injury that left the New Yorker limping but ( pro b a b ly) still ready to race the final two series events in Georgia and Florida . However , the crash had cost Gaylon Mosier his opportunity to claim his first National overall win . Gaylon was right on Stacy's tail when things started happening, and he couldn't avoid the acccident. The Maico pilot went down with Frank and was instantly hit by another rider. H e remounted , rode one lap , then pulled off. " I couldn't turn m y head to th e righ tl" Mosier explained lat er. H is neck has been injured in the crash , and Team Maico's hope for an overall win went down the tubes. Bob Hannah, Mickey Boone and Gary Semics were among those who'd avoided the mess, and they were followed closely by Bill y Grossi , J im Pomeroy, Tony DiStefano and Kent Howerton m idway through th e first lap. Things looked bleak for Team Honda. Smith rode in 18th at the end of lap .one; Pomeroy dropped from fifth to the back of the mob in a crash ' and Tommy Croft , although he held down seventh place at the end of the . third lap , had been penalized a lap for jumping the starting gate. The Croft incident was protested then appealed when Team Honda could find no satisfaction at the race . H is eventual 17 th p la cin g in round two could possibly be changed in the fina l ruling on the mailer. Meanwhile, Hannah was well on his way to taking both the moto and the overall win . Mickey Boone followed in a seemi~gly secure second place slot , well behind Hannah and ahead of the third place rider. But Kent Howerton had plans to change all that. Seventh at the start , Howerton worked steadily to improve his position, claiming fifth near the 15 minute mark behind Hannah , Boone, DiStefano and Semics. Then, near the 25 minute mark, Kent passed "S!d eways" Semics, then Tony D for third place. He was still well behind Boone, but he was going for it. Finally, with three laps to go . he overtook Mickey Boone for second. With that , the top places were set. Hannah rode in an easy winner. Howerton was second with Boone, DiStefano , Semics and Sta ckable following. Smith put in his second seventh place ride ahead of Tommy Croft (officia lly a lap down) with Rick Burgett and Husky's Chuck Sun following. Croft's penalty moved Rex Staten in the top 10. 250cc Support " W ell Bob , I'll see if we can make it two," Team Yamaha's Support class star Mike Bell said to Hannah as he left the pits for th e final 250cc Support class rnoto . Bell , surprisingly, had not won the first race . That honor went to Gary Ogden , another hot Californian o n an FMF RM250 Suzuki . The two young west coast riders had staged an outstanding race in the first moto when Ogden had taken the holeshot and Bell had gotten off the line back around 15th pace. Ogden had led for the first half of the ra ce with a challenge from Mark Barnett's C&B Honda sponsored RM250 Suzuki, but he held the lead until Bell staged his attack in the final laps. Mike passed , but Gary recovered ?n th e same lap , then Bell passed again In one of the best duels of the hot North Carolina afternoon . Ogden repassed one last time and took the two - laps,to-go sign out in front . Bell's rear brake pedal had wrapped back around the footpeg , and he couldn't hold Ogden's pace. Barnell took third selling the stage for an intense finai moto . JI) Mike Bell had gone u nd efea ted ' in · the Support class action th ro ug ho ut the 500cc Nationa l series . Buti I ndi a na 's Mark Barnell broke that stranglehold in the second moto. Barnell put his Dave Brossiau tuned Suzuki into an immediate lead with an eager Gary Ogden hot on his tail and Mike ~ell trailing in sixth place. As. In round one, Bell began picking off riders one by one in a methodical drive for the front. On lap four , ' he squeezed past Gary Ogden. When the race came down to tlie two -laps-to-go stage, the cro wd .waited for Bell's move. Instead , Mike fell while riding Barnett's rear fender and was unable to catch up. Bell was relieved now that the pressure of his win streak had been removed. "It's about time!" Barnell veiled as he crossed the finish lin e . The~ rode to the pits wh ere he received a cool but sticky shower of Cookinaid ERG from drink sponso r Leon W olek , Jr. • Results ) 500cc NATIONAL: 1. Bob Hannah 2·1 IYa ml. 2. Tony DiStefan o 34 (Suz). 3. Mickey Boone 5-3 (Suzl. 4, Steve Stack~ble 4-6IMail. 5. Marty Smith 7-7 (Hon). 6. Gaylen MOSIer ' ·DNF IMail. 7. Pierre Karsmakers 6-12 (Yam). 8. Gary Semics 14-5 (Kawl. 9. Kent Howert on DNF·2 IHusJ. 10 . R;ch Eierstedt 10-11 IBull.11 . Tom;" y Croft 9-16IHon). 12. Pat Maroney 13·13IHusl. 13. R;ck B..-g"" DNF!8 IYa ml. 14. Frank Stacy 8-DNF IPen l~1 5. Chuck Sun 23 ·9 IHusl. 16. Rex Staten Dieq.. 10 IH-D). 17. J ,m Pomeroy 12-19 lHanl. 18. B;lIy Grossi 1' -' {SuzJ.19. Parry Klassen - ·14 (Yaml . 20. Denny Swartz 17-181Ma il. • Did not finish in top 20. 250cc SUPPORT: 1. Mark Barnett 3-1 ISuzl. 2. Mike Bell 2·2 .!Ya ml. 3. Gary Ogd en 1-3 IS ul l. 4. Edwin Moor 8-4 (M al). 6. John Grant 7-8. 6. Robert Shoup 6-10 7 Mark Rakestraw 11 -6. 8. Thoma s Cumb y 10-7 ' 9' J am es Pigg 9-12.10. Denn y Ashwo

• Cover