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/126297
;; III • ~ E Steve Eklund 111 1, Terry Poovey 1181 and John Genna i 1201 form a strong front as the TT ma in even t contenders clear the Astrodome jump. AMA Grand Nat'l Championship/Camel ProSeries-Round on Ek und takes first of two at Astrodome TT By Dale Brown HOUSTON. TX , FEB . s Steve Eklund started a winning weekend at the Astrodome by beating John Gennai and Jay Springsteen in the Friday night TT event that opened the AMA Grand N ational Championship/Camel Pro Series. Riding a Yamaha 11500 span- I sored by Stanford University mathWhile leading his heat race, Springer's front wheel washed out under heaVy braking. and the champ had to win the semi to make the main, em atics professor Mario Zanotti and tuned by Tom Hastler, Eklund took th e lead m idwa y through th e race fro m Gennai, who too k second on a Triu m ph twin . National Champion Sp ringsteen , on th e Bill We rner-tuned fac tory Harley, worked his way throug h th e pack for third . J oh n H ateley, who won last year's TT in the 'Dome, finished fourth a head of Mike Ca ves. Chuck Palmgren, Billy Oliver, Ted Boody , Alex Jorgenson a nd Gary Scott. Ti m e Tria ls Springsteen set fastest time with a 27 .23 second ' clocking around the Harold MurrelllPat Singletonconstructed TT course set inside the short track. O rego n's Chuck Joyner held second fastest time with a 27.34. Jorgenson. Eklund , Brad Hurst , rookie Eddie Lawson. Hateley, Boody , Dave Aldana and Randy Goss rounded out the top 10 qualifiers. Heat races 6 Springsteen grabbed the lead on the first heat . followed by Billy Oliver and Dave Aldana. But a couple laps into the race, Springsteen went wide into · the tum exiting the infield, grabbed too much front brake a nd went down. Aldana took the lead and went on for the win, ahead of Terry Poovey and Oliver . Springsteen made a tremendous charge from last place, almost catching Oliver on the last lap but winding up in fourth . just outside of the top three transfer spots. Mike Kidd had been told shortly a OH 12 before th e race started that' he had been disqualified for usm g unapproved cylinders on his Triumi>£ twin. H e rod e the race "u nder protest ' and fin ished sixth behind Brad Hurt. Eddie Lawson pu t his Shell Ra dn Specia lties twin into the second head lead but the race was red-flagged when Randy Goss got off hard upon landing fro m th e ju m p. Goss haa broken a bon e in his left leg thrre weeks ago and cut off the cast for diis event. H e shook off the crash ana rejo ined th e race , which was treated -to a nother -La wson holeshot. Gennai - n second for six laps, then pasS" :! d Lawson for the win . Yamaha-mounted Mike Caves finished third. the final direct transfer to the main. w Gary Scott took the th ird heat holeshot, but the race was red-flagged when three riders went down before the first tum. On the restan . Jorgenson , on the Jorgy's BSA aad Gary Scott, riding the vener able Eyel Knievel Triumph, took positions 0l1e and two . These held and John Hate!!::y took third. Ii. Eklund was the ru naway winner UI the final heat, the fastest one of the nigh t. Behind him, Boody, Ch uck Palmgren and Skip Aksland battlal for second. The transfers u tim a tely went to Boody and Palmgren . ;y, Semis vo Mike Kidd and Jay Springsteen I~ the first semi, swapping the lead until Kidd dropped out with a broken primary chain. Springer went on to an (Continued to page 8)