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/126294
· _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.•._.-._._.. I: Western hotline Dan Guin won t he first 500cc Junior m oto at CMC's oPening Golden Sta te Series round, but fe ll back to third in t he second moto, for second overall. Matt Nelson w ent 1-2 in t he 125cc Inte rmediates for t he win in CMC Sadd leback's Sportsma n action. Mud and guts highlight CMC Golden State Sportsman action By Patti Firth-Trotter ORANGE, CA ,JAN . 8 After weeks of rain and the ever present threat of race cancellation due to the mud the first race of the Continental Mote-sports 14 Club (CMC) /Suzuki-sponsored Gold en State Series became a reality. The only hitch in what was a perfect day of racing came late in the afternoon when the day ran out of light and two classes of riders had to be on the track at once. . Jim Williams, a 500cc Intermediate rider, ripped his Yamaha up the start hill to signal the beginning of th e sportsman racing. Jim was abl e to retain the lead for the entire race. Tim Sarian (Ya m ) stayed right with Williams to finish second. Dale Lewis (Mai) got a third place start but he was quickly displaced by Gary Peterson (Yam). On the fifth lap Scott Slayton (Mai) took over third putting Peterson and Lewis back to the four-five slots. In the second rnoto, Gary Peterson kept the lead with Sarian again finishing second . Due to more consistent moto finishes. T im Sarian took the overall and the certificate for a brand new, super trick DG helmet. Open Juniors went next on the thoroughly mushy track. Bultacoriding Dan Guin took an early lead in the first rnoto. "A lead that he held until flagman Buzz Croft signaled it was all over. Behind Gu in on the first lap was J im Ro y ( Ma i). Su zuk i speedster Jim McIlvain a nd Yamaha mounted Richard Lau ghery. On lap two, McIlvain passed Roy and locked himself into second. Warren Yoho (Hus) moved to third with Tom Thomas getting his Yamaha to'fourth . McIlvain stayed with the leader, Guin , until the last lap when an argument with a mudhole forced him, to drop back to fourth. Thomas took over second and Frank Emerson (Hus) , who had gotten a 16th-place start, crossed the finish line third . Yoho , Stephen Labrie (Yam) and Dan Ryan (Bul) followed . Tom Thomas was the star in the second moto. When the gate dropped Tom was wide open and away , giving the other 25 riders something to think about - pursuit. Richard Laughery was able to keep his yellow mount close to the leader, but never close enough. Guin , who won the first moto found himself in a massive traffic jam and had to be satisfied to finish third. Greg Bo oko u t , riding a fairly trick AMMEX, worked his way into fourth. Labrie and Yoho finished fifth and sixth. Thomas got the overall with Guin and Laughery taking the next honors. While in Europe , 250cc Intermediate rider Fred Caldwell (Mon) must have really watched the way the G . P . riders get started (Cald well covered the West German 125cc GP fOT Cycle N ews . . . Ed itor]. The way Fred smoked off the line to take the lead in the first moto was beautiful. Alan Olsen (Suz), Scott Slayton (Ma i) and Dean Adkins (KT M) followed . The mud was tak ing its toll on the riders. On lap two, Caldwell was way back in the pack as was Olsen . Adkins took over as parade master. Darrell Brown (Mai), up from 10th was second with Slayton third. Mike Brown (Yam) . ' a nd St eve Chandler (Yam) got a good dice going with Chandler edging Brown out. Adkins looked to be the winner, but Darrell added just enough body English to get the best of things and take the win. Adkins , Slayton , Chandler and Keith Doege (Yam) got the next points. Hyped from the first rnoto win , Darrell Brown did it again in the second. Keith Doege, not at all satisfied with fifth in the first round , blasted around the course for a second place finish . Tom Bell (Hus) did a complete turn around after finishing 30th and gassed it for third . Mike Brown came across the finish line in fourth. The overall winners were Darrell Brown, Keith Doege , Mike Brown and Steve Chandler. With 33 riders on the line it was standing room only for the 250cc Juniors. Joe Crozer piloted his Maico up the start hill to begin an unending race lead. Joe totally dominated the race. Flying Machine Factory rider Tony Rogers rode a strong second with Yamaha-mounted Darren Kaiser pushing "TR" hard. Dale Blackburn (Mon) was ,able to push through the mud to stay ahead of fifth place Mike Burnett (Mai). At the mid-point in the action, the mud had ta ken its toll ; the machines were encrusted in adobe. The final lap had Kaiser, Burnett , Doug Silverstein (Kaw) and Rogers follow Crozer under the checkers. In moto two, Crozer was again the first man to cross the finish line with Kaiser going for second again . , Howard Wright (Yam) bettered his first rnoto sixth place with a third. "TR" finished the race in fourth . Burnett and Monte Roy (Mai) took the fifth , sixth place points. Matt Nelson (MM) went 1·2 to win the 125cc Intermediate overall. Doug Lott (Yam) sta yed with the leader for two laps until he was displaced by Mike Schoffstall (Hon), Mike kept his machine full open only to be disappointed when Tom Satchell (Yam) swooped by for a second place finish . Mike Toycen (Yam) spent the entire moto picking off riders and by the time the race was near completion, Mike had positioned himself in third. Mike has made the transition from Mini to 125cc with no trouble . Husqvarna-riding Mike Monaghan finished fourth . Ed Vidovich (Suz) and Schoffstall crossed next. Tim Murphy (Yam) captured the first place points in the second moto to take second overall. Finishing sixth in the second moto gave Toycen third overall. J unior 125cc rider Mark Page (Suz) took home the big win with Jerry Trimble (Suz) getting secon d. Gary , Chaidez (Suz), Dolan Peterson (Yam) and Ph il Lucidi (Suz) were the next finishers . Whaley shows dear head at ATAlITA IIHangover Trial" By Bill Markham ORANGE, CA ,JAN. 8 After 10 days of rain over Southern California the sun came out in tribute to the American Trials Association's first sanctioned event for 1978. Aptly titled the "Hangover Trial, " this annual post -holiday event was put on by ATA's member club. the ITA , at Saddleback Park. Mud, slush, puddles and a new terrain sculptured by the ra in awaited riders as they negotiated their way through a tough pedestrian's "section" to get to the sign-up table; half buried in mud! The nippy air made for high spirits at the riders' meeting during which Jean Fradette, I.T.A .'s hard-working presi dent, was honored with an impressive plaque in thanks from I.T.A. members for this past year's excellent trial series. Marland Whaley (305 Hon) began the new year on the upbeat to say the least! His bike displaying the coveted annually awarded ATA Expert class number one plate, Whaley easily took a first for the day with a I5-point ride in the Expert class. Mark Eggar (325 Bul) was second with 27 points, Paul Webster (348 Mon) was third with 38 points and Greg Lersch was a close fourth with 40 points. The Amateur class has early symptoms of "nip-a -ruck-iris" for the year if this trial is any indication! "Hotshoe" Mike Bernbaum (326 Bul) and "whiz kid" Rick Bieniak (350 Bul) tied for first place with 52 points; decided in Bernbaum's favor by cleans. Mike Allen (348 Mon) was a close third with 54 points and Rick McCabe (350 Bul) rode to fourth place with 59 points and a missing front fender. , " Bom bin' " Ron Benigar (250 Hon) won the Novice class with 45 points and right behind him with 46 points , was David Ige (175 Yam). Scott Kolar (350 Bul) hung in there for thi rd with 50 points and "smilin" Mike Grant (250 Mon) took fourth with 52 points. Not to be outdone, the "older set" had a close competition in both Senior classes. The Senior A class ended with a 38-point tie between Tom Burman (350 Bul) and AI Roper (350 Bul). Decided by cleans, first place went to Burman (22 cleans) and second went (Continued to page 16)

