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/126306
after a leisu rely opening phase. ."l was surprised. got such a good sta rt. All tha t work I' ve done during the winter to strengthen my legs paid off and. was second or third going in to the ha irpin. . "But 30 laps is a long wa y in that heat so I. eased off a little and Steve Baker (Suzuki ), Takazumi Katayama ( Ya m a ha) and .Virgini o Ferrar i (Suzu ki) passed me . " I lost seve n sec o nd s to J ohnny Cecotto (Yam a ha) and Pat Hennen (Suzuki) and th en 1 thought. had bet ter go qui cker. I reck on ed by that time they'd be feeling the heat so I sta rted to press on . " . got pa;;t Steve. and caught Pat. I followed him for a while. By that time Cecotto was ou t of t he ra ce . I closed on Katayama who was leading but he worried me . I cou ld see he was likel y to fa ll and I didn't want him to take me with him . . " He nearly did . though . I was right wit h him when all of a sudden he spun it on a right bander. L uckily . was on t he inside lin er ' Shec nc went on to win with Texaco Hero n Suzu ki team m at e Pa t Hennen a fine second and Ba ker , on his Olio Nava Fiat Suzuki , kept going to take third pla ce · delighted with th e wa y his 1977 works Suzuki went. St eve Parrish , plagued by ove rhea ting problem s with his Su zuk i throughout pract icing , th ought he had made the long trip for nothing when it seized again on lap three. But it freed a nd he pressed on to fourth spot a nd eight valuab le world cham pion sh ips points. Of the Yamahas on ly Cec otr o 's bike , th e officia l fa cto ry one, was firted with th e new power valve. An d it -went well eno ugh in pra ct ice for t he you ng Venezuel an to set fastest rim e a t 1m 35.3s. fra ct ion all y a head of Kenny Roberts on hi s ye llo w and bl a ck Am erican -sp onsor ed works Yam ah a a nd Shecne with Hennen fourth and Bak er fifth. But th e Yamaha cha lle nged fizzled out. . First race was the 350cc in whi ch th e new Kawasakis , enlarged versions of the fam ilia r 250 s made their debut in the -hands of Australian Gregg Han sford . Kork Ba lling ro n and Mick Grant. Bu t it was ex -Harley Davidson ; teamster Franco Unc ini who set the pa ce during practicing. Now rid ing Yamahas for Venezuela's Yamaha im porter Venernotos , he equalled Cecot to's lap rec ord of 1m 38 .2s 10 lOp th e list from Hansford . Patrick Fernandez (Yamaha ) and Patrick Pons (Ya m a ha) both of France, reigning world cham pion Katayam a (using a twin aft er br eaking his three cylinder Yamaha in 't h e first .. pra cti ce sessio n ) with Ballington seventh a nd Gram fouru-enrh with a bike that would not rev. Former world champi on Walt er Villa . now the lon e H a rle y Davidson rid er. had been e lim inated wh en his bike seized a nd he brok e a co lla rbone in the ens u ing crash . From the drop of th e flag Gr am made a superb sta n . shooting through the ranks ahead of him to lead int o th e first corner. He sta ved ahead for two laps but then a mi~fire set in and he was soon ou t of t he ran' , Ka taya m a took over the le ad on lap three. b ut Hansford . with a superb bit of riding . whistled past the su r p rised j a pa nese on a co rn er a nd pu lled awa y. The b londe Au stra lian looked to have rhe ra ce in his poc ket as he huilt up a commanding lea d ove r Kat ayam a who was left di cing furious ly with Uncrru. Then H a nsfo rd 's Kawasa ki began 10 smoke a nd 10 t he !k lig ht of th e crowd . Uncini . 'who had pa ssed Katayama . gained ground . On lap 16 Un cini passed Hansford who toured in 10 retire with an oi led ...... .... ont e Seattle.Supercross 1-0 0.. -e nd Tripes fV1arty Honda Atlanta Supercross ndHowerton Kent Suzuki Daytona Supercross · nd Smith Marty MattyTripes Honaa Jimmy Ellis Honda Honda Dunlop's long history of success at major AMA Championship r oad'races and motocross events tells you why more cycles ride on Dunlop than any other tire in the world. At Dunlop, we believe that a motorcycle is only as good as its tires. That's why we offer a full range of race-proven tires for all types of motor. cycles and motorcycling. ~_wr_rr I ' l l " Available at your or . . . , &1.&• .-J"'~ motorcycle dealer. .~ The!!.!!!!,!!! po 80It 1109. Bufta lo. New Yor" 142 40 Mo,e motorcycles ,ide on Dunlop tires than anyothe,tiies in the world ~ -9In\KEWBBB ftEJ"Eh\ Husqvarna Motorcycle. - Perts - Service . 605 Frwy. at Carson 11747 E. Carson St. Lakewood. 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