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/126302
Voted "Most likely non-Yamaha rider to win" is Australian Gregg Hansford. He took fourth in 77. Tires While the restrictor rule may have made a lot of people question its wor th o the tire companies are glad it was passed. The restrictor effect of smoothing out the powerband should literally add life to the tires by greatly reducing tire spin under hard ac celeration. And tire life was what all the hassle was about last year. True. the best the tire companies can do at Datona is make a compromise tire to handle on both the banking and through the infield twisties, However, there has been renewed interest by Goodyear, Dunlop and. Michel!n a~d all have done extensive testing In preparation. Machinery In a word . Yamaha. This year's Yamaha TZ750 is such a close replica of last year's model that the only change noticed by U.S . ridersreceiving bikes was obliteration of the '77 "C" model designation and replacement with a "0" on the ship' ping crates , A spare parts kit worth $2,000 was included in the $6,995 selling price. Streamlining of the fairing and seat body work and restrictor tinkering will tell the tale. Frame and suspension modifications should be in evidence on some foreign entries. ' Kawasaki's lone entry. Greg Hansford, will be aboard proven machinery with another yea r's worth of work done on it . Knowledgeable sources insist that the racing department of Kawa saki Japan keeps a machine and also lends technical assistance. The f act ories For the first time in almost ten years factory backed entrants in the 200 will number only one. Johnny Cecotto will be the only " tru e" factory sponsored (Yamaha) rider entered. His contract is with Yamaha Japan. Kenny Roberts and Steve Baker should also be looked upon as factory riders. Although their machinery will wear the colors of Yamaha Motor USA and Yamaha Motor Canada. respectively. the corn panies are direct arrns of Yamaha Japan and , as such . factory machinery. The only real difference is that Cecotto's machinery will be maintained by factory mechanics, The racing, which has boiled down to a case of "the haves" and the " ha ve nots" in the past few years will again prevail. But this time the cast of " haves" is greatly reduced - although extremely formidable - and that one fact could, with a little luck, put a non-factory entry in first place in the payoff line, A prediction If il seems that perhaps you've read a predicition like this last year and the year before and rhe year before that . you're right. Once again America's best road racer, Kenny Roberts, has to be the favorite . Kenny Roberts' seventh start in th e Da ytona 200 needs to be a luck y one for him . Roberts, more than in any season. pa t , needs ,to ..win Dayt qn a, Perhaps that one fact will make ' the difference: Needing to win rather than wanting to win. This whole article could be devoted to Roberts and the years that he has been the odds-on favorite to win only to be plagued by gremlins of every form and nature . In Roberts' illustrious career, only the glory of a Da ytona 200 victory has eluded his grasp. A victory for King Kenny would leave his legion of American fans with something to savor while Roberts' tackles the competition on the World Championship scene. It would also give Roberts' a psychological lift going into the Venezuelan GP only one week after Daytona. Previous Daytona winners Steve Baker (1977) .and Johnny Cecotto (1976) are not coming to Daytona to look at Roberts' rear tire. Neither are Gary Nixon , Gregg Hansford, Skip Aksland , Christian Sarron, Gene Romero, Dale Singleton and a host of others. The use of the restricrors remains the unknown factor in the odds. All the testing in the world cannot compare with 200 miles at racing speeds. Sundav will tell the tale. Who's who in the 200 Yama ha _ ' In addition to the Roberts . Baker and Cecotto trio . Yamaha mounted riders will dominate the majority of the starting grid. The spectrum of privateer entries (as opposed to factory cl.oselle.y.e.o.n.th ilil•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• llc supported) runs from those on a shoe stri ng budget to those with enough backing to be factory in everything,but name. Gary Nixon and Dale Singleton have to figure as darkhorse challengers. Nixon . the veteran of 22 racing seasons and two Daytona 200 victories. and Singleton. in his third Daytona start and one of the fastest road racers in the U.S .. have an edge on the field . They have been doing tire testing. Each has well over 200 laps testing in the past three months and that amounts to a lot of miles on DtS . I Track knowledge is of paramount im portance. (Kenny Roberts has also done his share of tire testing recently and also rates an edge on the cornpetition.) Gary N ixon is the sentimental favorite of a lot of people. The red head shows no signs of slacking off in his bid to win .Daytona again. If anything, Nixon is more determined than ever. Last year's effort was cut short by a broken wrist sustained in a mid- week crash. Nixon was ready then: he is ready now . Erv Kannemoto will again be building and tuning Nixon's machinery. Dale Singleton has been quietly been making a name for himself and figures that this year it will all come together. Tire and restrictor testing have given the Georgia rider added confidence that he is indeed one of the fastest young racers around . One additional edge that Singleton has over many riders is that he builds his ~wn I _