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/126300
On th e res ta rt it was Barnett out fro nt again , tail ed by Gu erra , Pierce , Moroney. Jo yce and T oyama . The second lap sa w Gu erra make a bid to get arou nd Barnett and succeed to become the only rider to pass Ma rk in the series , bu t a fall one la p later turned t he lead back over to Barnett . Guerra remounted and tried to hold onto his second spot as Pierce reeled-in from behind and the two began twisting h a ndlebars together at the . midw ay poi nt in the race. At one point Pierce got by, bu t only ma n aged to get pit ched over the ba rs of his Yamaha for the effort when he tri ed to pull his pass off on a rou gh whoop·de sect ion . The to p three posit ions finished out the same as the first moto . 250cc Professional The 250 cc class has definitely been the hottest of the series , and this week the presen ce of Kudalski on t he Harley just ad ded more spice to th e banquet. Monte McCoy hol eshot th e first round with his Yamaha as the track's (jeep ruts p layed havoc with nearl y everyone , includ ing McCoy who got pitched before he ever com p leted th e first lap and Frank Stacy' who jammed his Moro -X Fox /Penton in a rut and lost h alf a lap working it loose. When McCoy got left behind , CanAm's Kenny Zahrt wheelied his Tom Halv erson-prepa red machine into th e lead. Kudalski recovered from a m id pack sta rt to move right up behind Zahrt at th e l G-minute mark . Don was anx ious to p ut himself into the lead and dove inside of Kenny in a bermed turn. trying to push th e Can -Am over the top , bu t Ken ny a nd the be rm held their g ro u nd a nd Kuda lski d idn' t. Pick ing h im sel f back u p o ff t he ground . Ku d alski set ba ck ou t in pursuit of Za hrt and ca ught him quickly, but this time the two orange bikes followed each other for two la ps as Don waited for Za hrt to bogg le before tryi ng to sq ueeze by again . . When Ken ny tripped u p in a tig ht berm , Don was p ast in a flash with the lead . bu t then Za hrt bashed right back inside of Kudalski a t th e next turn a nd rook the lead bac k, th en Kudalski took it back aga in in the following turn as he bash ed into Zahrt a nd Kenny nearly bunced off the bike with a flying "W ." This went o n for an en tire lap befor e Don stuc k the Har ley in a rut and it looked like Ken ny would p ull awa y with a clea r shot at th e win , but just as Ken passed Do n in the rut. Kenny's Can- Am su ffered a loose electri cal co nnection tha t brou gh t him to a qu ick h a lt within sight of the chec ke red flag . The win was Kudalski's as McCoy found him self back in second spot. a h ea d of J ohn Calarhes , M ick ey Kessle r . Frank Sta cy and Ma rk Robilla rd wh o had a ll ba ttled just as exciti ng ly over fourth place th e entire moto . Zahrt pulled th e hol eshot in the seco n d m oto , ahead o f McCoy, Moates, Calathes, Stacy, Robillard and Rhyan . Kudalski had been run off ' th e track com ing off th e lin e a nd was having to work himself up fro m last place. On the second la p Monte McCoy took a sho rt lived lead away from Zah rt before Monte began a series of ge t-offs wh ich would leave him sixth for the mo to . Fr om lap three to the finish line the second moto belonged to Zahrt as he recorded his first victory of th e series. Ha ving a bang-up battle over second spot we re Moa tes , Kessler, Stacy and Calat hes . Kessler was nea rl y a put out o f a ction with ' possib le .broken foot as he nailed a sta lled rider wit h his J& R Ya maha and fell over. th o ugh he did fini sh. Marty Moates put his Husy into second spot a ~ th e fin ish as Kudalski moved int o third place with the Harley, good enough for the overall win . h is ju nior, to shame. ISDT and TwoDay star Frank Gallo blew an excellent to p ten p lacing in the fi rst moto when he managed to find the only hole in the track ... and a dry one a t tha t .. . and stick himself t here fo r nearly an entire lap. He'll never live it d own si nce if anyone shou ld have misse d it , it was Fr ank . Winning the fin a l Open moto was just as much a breeze for Kudalski as winning the first. Pulling into victo ry ci rcle amid th e popp ing of cha m p agn e corks, t he Killer h oisted T rim Lea thers trophy girl Laura Lee into his arms, g ave her a big smack on the lips and declared , " I'm ready to go another moto if you are!" T hen in a n aside to AMA referee Freddy Eph rem , "Goo d lookin' guys get good' lookin ' girls like this all the time , but see how hard us Po llocks have to work a t it. " • Open Professional There was no time ou t betw ee n motos , forcing Kudal ski to litera lly jump off the H arlcy after winn ing the 25 0cc class and onto his Yamaha , waitin g for him o n the starting line of the Open class . T wo 30 minute rnotos back to bac k on an in fa mous killer flori da sand track. N ow we kn ow why Weinert gave Kudalski his n ickn a me. Cutting across fro m th e far side of the starting line, Don left his Ya maha pegged as he dived into turn one and cut off the entire pack , building u p a lOO-yard lea d before he got mor e t han two turns down the track . J oh n Joyner wou ld prove to be Den's only real co mpetition as he reeled in a nd passed Don on "rher hir d la p of the ra ce. It was pa int swa pping for ne a rly two la ps before Don finally pulled awa y cleanly with a stro ng lead th at wouldn't be headed again. Sam Da yton wou ld slip by J oyner bo th motos to secu re second p lace each time, lea ving J ohn with third overall for t he da y. Afte r bike p roblems in th e first rnoto , J oey G ratton , another Florid a sand specialist , would slide his Team ' Ma ico bike up to fourth spot in ro und tw o , ahead of Mickey Boo ne and Barry Higgins. " O ld Man" Higgins , wh o certainly has to be collecting Social Security by now , took fourth overall after a st rong fourth place fin ish in the openi ng ro u nd to p u t the kids , most of them more t ha n 10 yea rs Results • 125cc: 1. Mark Barnett IS uzl 1-1; 2. Mike Guerra (Yam) 2-2; 3. Kippy Pierce (Yam) 3-3: 4. Pat M oroney ISuzl 5-4; 5. J eff Hicks ISuz) 7·10; 6. John Grant ISuzJ 11·9; 7. John Reinhoh IS uzl 8-14; 8. Tim Miller IS uz) lQ13; 9. J ames Fitzgerald IS uzl 13-11 ; 10. Rick Lupp ICS MI 9-15; 11. Greg Tovorn a IVaml 4- ; 12. David J oneslSuzl 19-6; 13. John Bord ers ISuz) 6-19; 14 . 8i11 Joyce (Suz) - -5; 15. Anthony M asciardl i ISuzl 15-12; 16. Steve Martin (Yam) • ·7; 17. Randy Kirshbaum lVam) ~; 18 . Stan Abt ISuzJ 12-17; 19. Gerald Wat· son IVamI 14-18; 20. Pau l Mihalik IS uz) 16-20. 25Occ: 1. Don Kuda lsk; IH·D} 1·3; 2. Marty Moat es IHus l 3-2; 3. John Calathes IMaij 4-4; 4 . Monte McCoy lVaml 2-7; 5. Mark Robillard lVaml 7·5; 6. Frank Stacy IPenl 6-8; 7. Mike Kessl er lVam ) 5-10; 8. Ken Zhart IC·Al - ·1; 9. Tony Sumney IVam) 8-9; 10. Gary Pute lak lMaij 12-11; 12 . Stephen Rhya n IKTM) - -6; 13. Fred Vertucci 15. David lS uz) 17·12; 14. Mark Rakestraw IMa;} Boles IMail 15-17; 16 . Robert Mallos IS uzJ 11 • .; 17. James Massara IMail - -13; 18. Thomas Kellan IVaml 19-15; 19. Martin Murphy ISuzl 18-16 ; 20. Robert Shoup ISuzl 16-18, . Open : 1. Don Kudalsk i IVaml 1·1; 2. Sa m DaytOn lMail 2·2; 3. John Joyner (Yaml 3-3; 4. Barry Higgins IMail 4-6; 5. Micke y Boone lSuz l 5-5; 6. Wernyss Scott IMa il 6-8; 7. Terry Martz IMail 7-14; 8. Frank Thomas lVamll5-7; 9. Mon te Ander son IMaill Q-13; 10. Joey Gratton IMaij - -4; 11. Frank Gallo IKTMI 19-9; 12 . Brian Thom pson lVamI 14-15; t 3. Daniel Waller lMaij 8- -; 14. David Jordan IVamll l ·19; 15. Troy Brad shaw IBull 9- . ; 16. Thomas Cumb y tVam l .. l0; 17. Doug las Bergman lVaml 13-18: 18 . Gary Cast>e< lSuz l - ·11; 19. Gary Haynes lVamI16-16; 20. Karl Taylor lVaml· 12. io- -: onttsa 1.978 250/360 VB Motocrossers • 38mm carburetor • Latest "Marzocchi" front forks • New lighter frame • Padded cross bar handlebars • Heavy-Duty spokes • Betor remote reservoir shocks * • Rear set handlebar clamps • Updated exhaust system • Anti fade rear brakes ••••• And much more • 360YB THE 1.978 mentesa MOTOCROSS MACHINES ARE ON THE WAY Check out the new features and prices at your local Montesa dealer to see what a bargain a race ready machine from Spain can be. Don't walt too long because fr~m early indications the demand for quality.race machines '1\~ may cause a short supply. monttsa Viva Distributing Co•• 10625 Yanowen • Burbank , CA 91505.213·766·6101 21