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en l-< Q) ..0 S I Q) > o Z Trans-AMA MX Series - Round six DeCoster deflates Hannah's charge in Texas By Jim Gianatsis . PLANO, TX, OCT. 30 Team Suzuki's Roger DeCoster posted his' fourth win of the 1977 Trans-AMA Series at Rabbit Run Motocross Raceway this weekend to pull out a strong lead in the series standings. De Coster's top American challenger Bob Hannah suffered numerous problems in the first moto including a flat tire. which kept the "Hurricane" kid from finishing . Hannah carne back convincingly to win the second moto on his Yamaha but was still left down in the overall standings. Suzuki's Tony DiStefano continued to p ick up speed a fte r getting off to a slow start in the series to finish second overall ahead of Honda's Brad Lackey. . In the 250cc National/Support class , Team Honda's Warren Reid and Team Yamaha's Broc Glover played tag both motos. The new 125cc National Champ " Bro ccoli" Glover pulled the overall win away from Reid in an exciting last lap pass in the final moto. Series leader Chuck Sun placed his Husky in third overall ahead of FMF's John Savitski and Yamaha 's Mike Bell. Motoone 6 Kent " R h in est on e Cowboy" Howerton was obviously pumped for his homestate fans. He throttled his 390cc Husky off the line and through turn one ahead of the other 500cc class machinery. The tight ISO-degree turn funneled everyone down too quickly. Honda's Tommy Croft, Maico's " Herbert Schmitz, Gaylon Mosier and Roger DeCoster were the only ones to . ~ . make it smoothly. Behind them everyone else was walled up behind a 15-bike pile-up that left Bob Hannah in nearly last position. _ On lap two Tommy "Tomahawk" Croft had his Ro y Turner ' t u n ed RC400 dancing its way past Howerton to take control of th e lead wh ile DeCoster roosted past both Maico pilots for thi rd. Hannah was already ba ck up to 15th spot by lap three, but then . . . " I came sliding up behind Gary Semics in a turn , and someone had him blocked. I centerpunched him and went flying over the bars. By the time I got going I was in last place again/Then my tire went flat!' Riding around in last place with a flat rear tire, Bob decided to retire to the pits. DeCoster could breathe a sigh of relief as the series points gap between him and Hannah instantly widened by 25 points. On lap five "Rocket" DeCoster wheeled his RN400 works Suzuki past Howerton and Croft to take control of the lead for t-he remainder of the moto . The racing hardly ended though, as there were more than enough good battles going on just behind. Howerton repassed Croft, and then the two were joined by Mosier and Suzuki's Danny LaPorte for a four-way battle over second: They were so busy knocking each other into the snow fencing that they never not iced Tony DiStefano as he sneaked his works Suzuki in the back door and out the front to latch onto second behind teammate DeCoster. At one point Tony closed the gap on Roger to six seconds with Howerton and the rest nipping at his rear knobs. Then Tony got spooked out by Kent. "Howerton and I were charging side by side up to this corner. I couldn't see Kent , but his exhaust pipe had come loose and I could sure hear him closing on me. I thought we were going to collide so I changed my line which messed me up. I missed the turn and went into the fence . It was my own fault. " Howerton and Croft continued their hard chargin' pace to close right up behind Roger at the checkered flag . Tony remounted quickly to work back up from sixth to fourth ahead of LaPorte, Marty Smith who had also gotten around Mosier, and Steve Stackable. Mototwo • The start of round two caught nearly everyone off guard , especially those who eyed their mechanics' stop watches to judge when th e starting . gate would drop . "T he gate dropped 4-5 seconds too soon, " said DeCoster who found himself nearly the last rider on the line. "T he referee hadn't even turned his time card sideways and the gate was already downl I can't put my bike in gear too early or else it will creep ,u p , and when the gate dropped I wasn't even ready." Brad Lackey put his Steve Whitelock wrenched Honda down the starting straight first , but this time Hannah was right behind in second spot. "I know how to get a good start. I watch the gate and not the starter," Hannah grinned. Three riders got left even farther behind than Roger after getting involved in a tangle in turn two. Howerton, Moto-X Fox's Steve Wise and Penton/KTM's Andre Malherbe piled up. • For Howerton it was really a disappointment . He wanted to do well . especially after his good first moto, because it was one of his last few races before leaving Husqvarna. " Bad Brad" Lackey continued to hold his Honda in the lead ahead of Hannah, Schmitz , Stackable, DiStefano, Burgett, Mosier, DeCoster, Pomeroy and LaPorte as they ended the second lap. On the third round , Hannah had pin his move on Brad to take away first , quickly pulling out what would be a 10 second lead. It was also raining after a sunny first moto , and the track was extremely slick in some sections. "Some places were like ice," claimed DeCoster afterwards , but it hardly held the champ back as he followed Tony D up 'past Schmitz and Stackable. Hannah would remain uncatchable in his tank slapping, wheel sliding style that had everyone placing bets on when the "H ur rica ne" would bite the Plano turf. But Bob kept his Yamaha between the fences , if not on his chosen lines , to win the moto , With two DNFs now on his moto record for the series, Hannah's going to have to do a lot more hard riding and perhaps, hope for a little bad luck in the Suzuki cam p to keep Roger from taking another Trans -AMA Series home to Belgium. "But if I can't win the series this year, I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than RD," said Bob . Some Americans may be faster , but they still can't match DeCoster for his absolute skill , control and cunning. 250 National Series frontrunners Chuck Sun and Mark Barnett suffered poor starts in both motes which left them working their way up through the pack most of the day. The SoCal hotshoes seem to be picking up speed as the TransAMA Series heads west, away from the rough and muddy tracks of the East. After former 250cc National champ Gary Jones faded back from a first moto holeshot, Honda's Warren Reid took control to lead to the finish line. Other top positions ,t u rned into a .: • • • • .. . .. ' It_ \,; • t !.