Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

I •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• eeab''' Plpella. > '" s ~ Taking the Texas GNC 125cc Intermediat e title for 19n is Derek Wedding (2) about to pass early leader Todd Kimbre ll. "Ice Man" Kirschbaum freezes threeatGNC Central Championship MX By Dave Nielsen OKLAHOMA CITY , OK , NOV . 27 Three Yamahas plus Randy Kirschbaum equalled an amazing six moto, triple Expert class blitz at Motorcycle R aceways in 34 Oklahoma City. The occasion was the Grand National Championship Central Regional Motocross Championships, with the top 12 from each class transferring to the March 19 GNC Finals in the Astrodome. The "Ice Man" definitely had his stuff together, taking the lion's share of the $1,600 p u rse. Thankfully, the cold , gusty winds that raked Saturday's 'p ra ctice session abated by Sunday , and race day turned cool , calm, and clear, bringing out a good spectator crowd to watch packed classes go for the cash and trophies down to 10th place. The course was a max test for horsepower and suspension. Kirschbaum's main competition in the 125cc and Open classes was Clarence Fortney, also Yamaha equipped. At times Fortney would get by or have the early lead , but Kirschbaum always managed to be ahead for the finish payoff. In one moto, he even came from last , through a large field , and still won, No doubt , it was his day. Keeping close tabs on them was hometown boy Al Myers , who marked a quick 3-3 in that class , staying one up on Steve Boley (5-4). Myers returned in the 250cc Expert and locked into a duel for second with Bria n Layton. Myers spoiled Layton's plans with a fine 3-2 ride to edge Layton's 2-3, while Harley Darnell (5 5) copped fourth ahead of Wayne Weuste (7 -4). In the Open class. it was again Kirschbaum and Fortney going 1-2 over C huck Hoenshell (5 -4) and Kerm Buller (7 -3) andJody O lson (3-7). Amateur divisions produced a twoclass dominator in Ken Castor, who smoked Senior and 105cc Minis on some very specialized machinery. In the I05cc class . would you believe a cut -down Elsinore frame with an RMI00 Suzuki motor? Or how about a Yamaha-powered Suzuki in the 85cc class. In any case , the kid ea sil y outlegged all comers with I -I sweeps , and the Castor Products pit was all smiles. The huge Senior class had run a split first moto with Castor and Scotty Gabbard the winners . but Gabbard could only pull a third out of the final . missing the runner-up slot to Todd Frederick (2-2)_ In the 105cc class Keith Shockley (3- 2) upset current GNC 85cc class c h a m pi on David Weak (2 -3) for second overall, just a hea d of Dan Hoover, fourth overall at 4 -4. Bobby Fannon. who won the 100cc class at the GNC Astrodome Finals last March, hasn't slowed down since. and ne ither has his 100cc sleeved Elsinore. Pop Fannon relates that th e "ha nd grenade" type motor they're using keeps the piston companies in business, but it 's worth it for th e power advantage. The bike was protested at the . 'Dom e. but declared legal upon teardown. Fannon drove away from today's Championship with another first place, leaving Scott Noble (2 -2) , Tim Schultz (4-3), and Paul Stine (3 5) in his wake. Last , and certainly littlesj , 60cc Mini-Mini honors went to Dustie Jenkins who used no sweat blow ing away the field. Due to popular demand , this class has been installed this year as a GNC Support class , which will send 25 of these little guys from around the country to th e 'Dom e Finals. Trailing Jenkins were Paul Rogers (4 -2) and Jon Birdsong (3 -3). Results in Resu lts Section. 500 storm GNC Texas Championship MX By Dave Nielsen HOUSTON. TX , DEC. 11 Of all the mud races you've heard about at H ouston's Rio Bravo Park, this year's Texas State Championship MX wasn't one of them. For sure, the 493 Grand National championship rid ers were keeping one eye on the coastal overcast, because although the track was well prepared , rain has a bad habit of coming down a t the worst times . Conditions remained ideal throughout Sa tu rd ay's practice session and Sunday's racing . and total concent ra tion was applied to gaining sta rting slots for the GNC Astrodome Finals this March 19 . a llotted to th e top 20 finishers in ea ch of 12 classes from Junior Mini to 500cc. Opening the p rog r a m Sunday morning was the newl y-installed Mini - Caught goofing off again is Greg Baker. doing his own version of the South Side Stepoff at the Central GNC qua lifier. Mini (60cc) class' first moto that saw Angie Scott defeat the field of 17 under-l0 gu ys. She dropped to 14th in th e second moto however , opening th e door for overall winner Mark Miller (2- 1) and second place Randy Reed (42). In the Expert ranks , hometown Pro Glen Johnson (Su z) ran through both 125cc and 250cc d ivisions for a healthy da y's work. In addition to a $600 per class pa yoff. the Experts a lso received four foo t State Championship trophies t h r ou g h 10th pla ce . the same as Amat eur classes . The 250cc class provided some in terest for Johnson . but Mickey Piz zitola and Barry Callaway had to finally succumb to Glen's de vastating pace, settling for second and third overall. Another incredible double class win was turned in by former Mini Champ Derek Wedding who is only 14 years old. but a ble to wire a pair of Suzukis to I - I victories over t he high ly competitive 125cc and 250cc Intermediates . These overflowing classes also ran split first motos, consolations. and a second round final to allow the cream to rise to the trophy presentation and a place on the gate at the Astrodome , where the winners from all the State and Regiona l events will assemble to crown the Grand National C h a m p io ns of Motocross three months from now . The winners are getting faster and younger these days. exemplified by Mike Dickey, who only last March was a contender in Junior Mini. but today ran a strong second to Wedding in 125cc Intermedia te action , tallying 1-2 ahead of th ird place Troy Rogers (2-3) and Todd Kimbrell (6 ·4 ). Meanwhile, Wedding ran amok in 250cc Intermediate , sweeping first place practically unchallenged over local aces Donnie Elmer (3 -2) and Mike ,H o ld swort h (1 -4) , with Bill Newkirk fourth . The 100cc class was another biggie, with 54 entries. Trouble befell first moto winners Randy Jackson and Jimmy Braden . as Jackson slipped to ninth in th e final and Braden fouled a plug in the first turn . Ru n ning away with the second moto and class cha m pionship was Yamaha Support rider Clay Cauthorn of Del Rio on a new YZIOOE. Cauthorn has already qu al ified in Sen ior a nd !05cc Min is at the Lake Wh itney R eg ion al in No vember. After taking third in 125cc Intermed iate . Troy Rogers was ba ck for second in th e 100c c class with Ronald Dawson (5-3) third and Darin Eames (4 -4) fourth . Open class bikers had all kinds of trouble putting two races together. The first ro u nd wins of Chuck Adams and Chuck Nichols , along with the second of Jeff Wilson went down the drain with last moto DNFs. putting Lonnie Mizell in first with 2-3 finishes . ahead of David Faulkner (3-4) and local fa vor ite Reid King (12- 1). Since the GNC was formed in early 1976 . Over 30-class riders have been bending Direct or J erry Surber's ea r about a class of the ir own, and today th eir wish started coming true. An Over 30 Support cla ss was offered , 22 riders signed up , and the to p five transferred to the Astrodome Finals. Earl Cherry. Alan Davis. James Ba rnes. Randy Bla ckwell and Phil Ba nkston are in . along with the top two from the other Support class. the 60cc Mini -Minis. Results in Results Section. Kirschbaum bombs COR opening By Rebecca Sands EDM OND, OK , DEC. II Centra l Oklahoma Raceway, Inc . staged its first motocross race, drawing many enthusiastic riders wh o were happy to see a new track in the area . Kenny Castor (Yam) , took two firsts in the 100cc class on a brand new Yamaha. Paul Stine (Hon) ran second overall with Scott Adams (Yam) , third. Randy Kirschbaum (Yam) took first in the 125cc Experts and moved on to g ive Larry Brady (Mai) stiff competition in the 250cc Expert class . T hese guys ran neck and neck . ba r to bar. with Kirsch bau m winning. Alvin Myers (Suz) and Jim Thomas (Suz) had problems of their own . (each other). This was a real fierce battle. with Myers taking third overall. Thomas fourth . In the Open Expert batt le . Kirschbaum . in the lead . errupted a flat tire during th e first moro , forcing him to let everyo ne around. Brady rode ha rd to tak e first overa ll with Rod Reim (Mai) . seco nd and Mike Smith (Ya m). third . • Results in Resu lts Section.

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