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/126275
IAbove) In the first moto Jap8~ese champ Koji Masuda (811) leads Rick Burgett and Bob Hannah. lBelow) John Savitski (20) and Gary Ogden crest the ledge and get a little air time. 8- Glover never looked back and stret ch ed his lead to a comfortable 25second cushion . Then Hannah put a charge togeth er that took him past W ise and narrowed Broc's lead to five seconds . LaPorte followed suit an d pulled int o a distant third as lapped riders were ma king the passing d ifficult on the narrow. dusty track. The top three riders in the point standings were now running on e-two three . Any -thoughts of blocking by Team Yamaha' were dispelled when LaPorte came up to lap Karsmakers , Because of the brake ca ble Pierre wasn't competitive on th e 125. .As Danny ' approa ched, Pierre pulled over a na ' waved him past. Karsmakers actually pulled over so far that he missed a berm and went down to avoid tangling with LaPorte. . At the halfway mark Masuda held an ever-decreasing lead over Bell , who was just learning to ride his new 125 Yamaha. Gary Ogden moved into seventh just ahead of Honda's Warren Reid, who was recovering from a slow start. Burgett dropped out of the tOP 10 by going over the bars and cutting his chin, but remounted and put in a great ride to work his way back to 12th after another get -off. The local privateer Johnson faded as the best 125 riders in America were doing some serious racing. Broc caught a glimpse of Hannah, who was closing, and kicked his works monoshock into high gear and pulled away from Hannah to finish the moto in a comfortable first. Hannah kept second while La Porte was third. Masuda held off Bell in a dogfightthat saw Mike dive under in the last tum. The TWO riders had a drag race to the checkers with Koji holding the better line. Ogden was sixth followed by Reid , Chuck Sun, Mark Barnett, and John Savitski rounded out the top 10. Between rnotos all the team support members had 'their caculators buzzing as the current mow's po ints were added into the totals. Glover had cut LaPorte's lead' in half with onl y five points separating the two. If Broc -could repeat his first moto victory LaPorte would have to finish second. If Danny finished third the two riders would be tied on points with the nod for the championship going to Glover on basis of most motos won . As the gate for the second rnoto dropped Hannah rocketed off the line and mto an immediate lead. Richter was 'giving his every effort on the last race of the year and was in second, tweeked knee and all. Reid got off the line m uch better and held third ahead of Glover, Savitski, La Porte, Burgett, Sun and Bell. . By the end of the first lap Hannah pulled a Glover replica and stretched out a wide lead. Bob was flying off th e ledge .so high that as he approa ched the jump th e crowd buzzed and , as he was launched into the air a good 10 feet , cheered. Warren slipped by th e ailing Richter for second. At Cyclerama's track th e start meant everyt hing. ' , , , I , • • I ) "There isn't one 'p lace to pass on this track without bumping. There is only one line," said LaPcrte before the second rnoto. Danny suffered bad starts in both motos and found it very difficult to work his way up . . By the seventh lap Glover pulled into second with La Porte third. pushing Reid 'back to fourth . Burgett, Barnett and Bell were next. Hannah was riding his race and kept up his ea r ly lead , but Glover was knocking three seconds p er lap off his teammate's lead. Bu t th e drive wasn 't enough to catch Hannah before the end of the moto . LaPorte was in third bu t a good 20 seconds behind Glover. If th e moto .end ed that way with Hannah in th e lead the cha mpionship would have -belonged to LaPorte by three points. Tha t fact was no secret in the mechanic's area. For the finish of mow two Glover had the win ahead of Hannah and LaPorte. In fourth was Steve Wise , fifth Barnett, followed by Reid , Bell , Savitski and Burgett. When the race was down to four minutes plus -two -laps, a decision was made by Ken Clark, the Racing Manager, to have Hannah let Glover . pass him . That would put Glover , in the lead and with Hannah second would give the. championship to Yamaha. Hannah followed orders and let Glover slip by to take the checkered flag ' and the National Cham pionship. After the race Hannah sped off into the woods and didn't show up in the Yamaha pits for 20 minutes. ' Hannah was obviously hurt that he was the" pawn Yamaha sacrificed to capture' the title. That, coupled with the fact that LaPorte is one of Bob 's closest friends, didn't make the move any easier. The racing came down to the top three riders battling it out. After the first moto win by Glover, Hannah didn't have a chance for the national title so the move was one of team racing that has been with motocross (as well as a lot of other sports), for a long time. I For Yamaha it was business. The title translates into sales which directly support the racing effort. If Broc . wasn't National Champion caliber he wouldn't have been in striking range. " For Suzuki and LaPorte the race was a disappointment. If Danny would have placed second in either moto the crown . would have been his. But LaPorte was on a new bike and didn't get to know it as well as he should have. LaPorte placed second in ·the National Series, tied on points. Broc is Number One. He worked hard . He and his mechanic, Jim Felt , are the ones to beat next year. 250 Support The favorite for the race was Bob Elliott. Bob grabbed second off the line in the first moto but completed -the first lap in 22nd position. As he approached the mechanic's area he waved that a plug was fouled. After the spark plug was replaced Bob rejoined the race almost a lap down and put in a great ride to finish the mow in fourth placel Blaine Elledge a privateer from Washington took the moto win ahead . of Monte Anderson, a local privateer, and David Perry another Texan, In the second rnoto Elliott's plug held up and he ran awa y with the final moto of the day. Second was Anderson followed by Thomas Henry , from Kentucky. Anderson's .2-2 score was good for the overall with second going to Elliott with a 4·1 tally. • Unofficial Results ' 125 NATIONAL: 1. Broc Glover (1.1) ; 2. Bob Hannah (2·2); 3. Oannv UlPorte 13-31; 4. Mike Bell 15-71; 5. ,W arren Reid 17-6); 5. Mark Barnett ~); 7. John Savitski (I ().81 B. SIeve Wise (15-4) ; 9. Rick Burgen ; 1 12-91; 10. Chuck Sun and Koji Masuda Iliedl. 250 SUPPORT: 1. Monte Anderson (2·21; 2. Bob Ellion1 1); 3. Blaine Elledge '6-1); 4. Thomas Henry 13· + , 51 :Oa vidP lirry l7·3I. ' ·' ". ;S • ,. _ .••