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/126304
Koji Masuda (811) and Jimmy Ellis (18) lead a qualifying moto over an opening- lap jump . .. Broe Glover (13), M ike Jones (42) and Terry Clark (44) hook it through a sandy lefthander. . Rex Staten (22) and Marty Smith (31 get off fast while Tony D (5) wheelies and Gary Semies (11) bumps bars with Kenny lahrt (58). it W!os Koj i Mas uda who led the way in ' t first pr actice session by jum ping t!:l!: jsecond and fourth .. . good for ining 50 feet on any rider who wasn't doin g the sa me . After that , ev~o ne knew t hey had to do it , too , if t!iey wa nted to be competitive. Ken ny Zahrt had to ge t radical as al ways, and di it during p ractice wit h one ha nd off his'Ca n -Am's handlebars. On other sections of th e track as well tlie riders started letting it hang ou t a li ttl more than what could b e consid ered safe. More than anything, it was rider's desire to go fast er, rather than the track itself, which turned Saturday at the Astrodome into one of the most dangerous in Supercross histo ry . :Am ong the riders put out of com mission early in their qualifiers were Jimmy Weinert , Don Kudalski a d ocy Gratton , who nosedived and enaoed at the end of the quadruple jumps. Only H a rl e y-D a vid so n 's Kudalski , though , would have to go to tHe hospital for observation of a possible injured kidney . T exan Steve Wise was pumped for tlie night's win and got cookin' right off with the win of the first qualifier as Tripes m oved up to pass Reid a nd Savits ki for second p lace . Race two went to Hannah, who spent seven of the eight la ps tryi ng to find a line arou nd teamma te Burget t. T he track was wide eno ugh to p ass, bl,lt a t th e speeds they were goi ng it quickly narrowed dow n to one line in mos t sections . Marty Smi th won th e thi rd qualifier ahead of Sem ics and Howert on . Rich Eierstedt won the fourth after passi ng Ellis and early holeshot artist Masuda . Pierre Ka rsmakers got knocked silly in a getoff and was out for the eve ning. Greg Theiss won the consolation race to become the last rider to qualify for the feature. Announcer Larry Hu ffm a n had the crowd on their feet and cheering as the riders pulled u p to the line for the main eve nt. " I'm going to win th is one. I know I can, " stated Honda newcomer Steve Wise with confidence. His exuberance was high and would snatch him the holeshot with his Cliff W hite -p rep a red CR , but his bod y would buckle under the pressure of leading for five laps with a se ized shoulder, lett ing teammate Tripes past and into the lead. But the real drama would take place in tum one as 25 of America's top riders shot headlong into the comer with the vision of Supercross glory blinding any caution they might have considered ea rl ier . Bob Hannah saw it all and was able to provide 'a better insight into what happened than anyone else . " I just backed off going into the first turn . Smitty was wide open , got through the first turn , but lost it on the last of the three jumps which followed . Someone ran right over him . and another guy went over his head," he sai d . Ji mmy Ell is lock e d bars with a nother rider, a nd they forced ea ch ot her off th e outside of the firs t tu rn where Ellis ca r tw heeled over t he hayba les a nd a co ncrete em bankment. " I missed Smitty by going to the outside. • was in last p lace so it wasn't hard seeing where the clear line was. • just held the bike wide open over the double jumps and passed half the pack. By the time . got to the Toyota Tower j ump . was already in seventh place," Hannah concluded. Ellis was out with · a disl ocated sho ulder and Sm ith with a d isloca ted hip . Both woul d joi n Kud a lski in the hos pi tal. T he order at t he com p letion of la p one was Wise , Tripes , Sun , Masu da, Mosier, Ha n n ah , C lark , Bu rgett , Mike Jones and Reid . Halfway into the race, th e 10t h lap, Tripes was lea d ing and H a nna h had just passed Wise for second p lace after having come off the line last . "Man y definitely had a good lead on me when I broke through traffic a nd into second spot. I could see him way up ahead and he sure looked smooth." The order shifted to Tripes , Hannah, Wise who would soon stall on a jump, Sun, Masuda , Bu rgett , Clark, Semics, Jones, Eierstedt. " La p after lap I got closer to Marty. It took me something like five laps to catch him. It was in that sandy sweeping tum before the tunnel which leads up to the Toyota Tower J u m p . Marty went for the shorter inside line. I went wide and smashed into the side of the stadium wall, usi ng it for a berm. I bounced off the wall and sq u ared the tum, aiming for the inside of Marty. We were side by side going through the tu nnel a nd as we raced side by side up th e T oyo ta Jum p I just slapped the clutch as hard as I could and banged the gearbox into fifth . The bike exploded forward and I swep t past Mart y as we sai led over the jump ," Hannah described the race for the lea d. " I was just too nervous," Ma rty sai d after having to set tle for second pla ce behind the Hu rricane for the second night in a row . "I wanted to give Bob a good run , b ut he was a bit faster and really out of shape. • was wanting to win, but no t by taki ng the kind of ch a nces he was ." Having finally gotten over his earlier sq uirreliness which resu lted in first turn crashes at Seattle a nd Atlanta , Hannah was back in stride in an attempt to retain his Supe r cross crown. T ri pes will make it ha rd, beca use even if Bob wins every ra ce remaining in th e 1978 Series, Tripes still has a b ig enough points lea d th a t seconds and thirds are all he needs to hold off Bob. While m ost of the other top factory stars were overcome by the track and each other , excellent rides were turned in by the likes of Glover , Sun, Masuda, Bu rgett a nd Terry Clark to fill out the top places. T he series now takes a twoweek break before the two-day show at Pontiac, Michigan , on April 1-2. • Results FRIDAY MAIN: 1. Bob Hannah (Yam; 2. Marty Tripes (Honl; 3. Tony DiStefano lSuzt. 4. Steve Wise lHon); 5. Milte Bell (Yam); 6. Broc Glover (Yam); 7. W an en Reid IHon); 8. Marty Smith CHont. 9. Gayton Mosie< (Kaw); 10. Rich .. Eiorstodt C C·A); 11. Jim 8r IHon); 12. Kent Howerton CSuzJ; 13. Tommy Croft IHon); 14. Mickey Boone CSuzJ; 15. Mark Bumotl lSo2); 16. Jim Pomofoy lHon t. 17. Gary Somics IC·At. 1B. M ike Jones CHon); 19. Rick Burgett (Yam); 20. Jotl Jenni ngs IBuO; 21. John I Savi1ski (Yam); 22. KOl Masuda lSun; 23. Marty Mootos ISuzJ 24. Roger Brown 1502. DNF: J im ; Weinert lKaw). SATURDA Y MAIN: 1. Bob Hannah (Yam); 2. Many Tri pes !Han); 3. Brae Glover (Yam); 4. Chuck Sun (Hua); 5. KOli Masuda (Sun; 6. Rick Burgett (Yom); 7. Torry Clark lMall; B. Gary Somics IC·A); 9. Steve Wi se IHon); 10. Rich Eiorstodt IC-A); 11.Kent Howerton (502); 12. Jim Pomeroy lHon ); 13. Tomm y Croft IHonl; 14. Mike Jan os CHon); 15. Rex Staten (Yam); 16. Mark Barnett ; 1502) 17. Frank Stacy IKTM); lB. Tony DiStefono 1502) ; 19. Grog Theiss IHon); 20. Mickey Boone ISUl); 21. W anen Reid lHon ); 22. Danny lJIPorte (502). DNF: Gayton M osie< lKaw). Marty Smith (Han . J im 8 1 is IHon). TOYOTA SUPE RCROSS SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. Marty Tripes 1130); 2. Bob Hannah 1111);3. Kent Howerton (74); 4. Steve Wise (67); 5. Jim Ellis 1 ; 6. Tomm y Croft 1 ; 7. Rich Eiorstodt (58); 8. 661 591 Marty Smith 1 ; 9. (f1ve-way tiel Mike Boll. Tony 531 DiStefano. Brae Glover, Gaylon M osier. Jim Pomeroy 142) 14. Mickey Boone 137l 15. Terry Clark 136) 16. ; ; ; mel Gary Semica, Rex Stat en 135) ; W. ,en Reid (34) ; 19. Ma-k Bamon 132 20. Rick Burgett. ); ia 9