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/126318
f on l, : =« jl~ i J ) ' " '£ ~ field at once, establishing a lead of any distance was difficult. Serrano held firmly to second a t the end of la p three , a nd he was followed by a n unbroken chain of Burgett, Shultz. Staten , W ein ert , Bell, Ellis and Hannah . Staten , riding the Bassett Racin g Produ cts Yam aha , wicked it up to pass We inert on the next lap , th en closed on Bu rgett to challenge him for th ird on th e fifth time around. At th e en-d- of five, Semics led with Serrano Jia nging on solid ly in second. Burgett held th ird under pressure from Staten . Mike Bell. a position swap ping J immy W einert and J immy Ellis, and Bob Hannah filled fou r hard-fought positions in fift h through eighth. A half lap lat er, Hannah had overtaken the Weinert/Ellis swap meet for sixth and set his sights on teammate Bell . Another half la p , and Bell settled for sixth as - th e "Hurricane" blew by. Fast -paced action .had the crowd disbelieving that only six laps of th e 20 -lap final had passed, Semics had built up a fa ir-sized lead over Serr ano. The ot hers had closed, making-it a long str ing of Serrano, Burgett, H annah , Bell , Ellis, Staten . Weinert and Darrell Shultz. O n th e eig hth la p , Shultz cu t under Wein ert a t tu rn on e. He th en inherited sevent h place almost immediately when Sta ten 's Yamaha broke a chai n . Less th an a half lap la ter. Hannah got out of shape on the Honda H ill whoops a nd overs ho t a tu rn losing four pla ces. He got u nd erw a y once ag ain behind We inert in eigh th place. Shultz was go ing for it! Bell and Ellis got past Burgett OK, but when Shultz and " Lum berjack" Bu rgett got side b y side , a tum ble ens ued t hat too k down fou r rid ers: Shultz. Burgett. Weine rt and Hannah! "H e was leaning on me, and I was leaning ba ck ," Burgett said of the incid en t. The pa ir locked together as Shultz tried to pass on th e ou tsid e of a tight turn , a nd th e others couldn't avoid them. Hannah was th e first to reco ver , an d at the nine and one-half lap mark. he rode in fifth beh ind Sern ics, Serrano, Bell and Ellis. Shultz remounted in sixth followed by Burgett a nd Kent Howerton. On lap I I , Bell a nd Ellis '- involv ed in a power struggle for fourth slipped past Serrano to fill the second third pla ces. Hannah overtook Serrano on the next time a rou nd, Lap l3 saw Sernics with a fou r second lea d over the Bell/Ellis d uel. Hannah followed in fourth , th en Ser ran o, Shu ltz a nd Howerton with a .five-way battle for eight h am ong Burgett, Croft , W arren Reid , Marty Moa tes and J immy W einert, The three-qu arter mark, la p IS , sa w Bell closing in on Sem ics. At the same time, Bob H an na h took a wide line through tum, one and slingshot past Ellis into th ird pla cel T he grandstands shook. Ga ry Semics was pumped. and he was rid ing on e of the best races in - recent months. But th e Can -Am 's . muffler had been damaged in a run -in with a lapped ride r, and the motor suffered some power loss due to th e change in back pressure.. Still , he tried . With five laps remaining, Semics was hanging on for dear life with a determined Mike Bell br eathing down his neck and a fast -mo ving "H urrica ne" gaining fast on th e leading pa ir. At the end of lap 16, Bell was gnawing on Sern ics' rear fender. A half lap later , crossing the Grand Tetons (a pa ir of m assive whoops or small mountai ns, d ep ending how you rod e them) Bell took th e lead . " (Above! TIm Welker 11621, Rich Eierstedt (201, Bob Hannah 111, and Mark Gregson 171cllead off the line for the first qualifying moto. (Below! Marty Tripes 127!looked hot but broke in his qualifier and didn't make the final moto. (Bottom! Beauty and the Best? Smoooooth, Jammer. One lap later , and Hannah overt ook an d with Tripes ou t for th e night . it Sem ics in his recovery blitz and ai med was hard ly worth risking a cras h for fo r Bell. Bell kn ew th e " H u rri ca ne" th e vict or y poi nts instead of seco nd was the re , a nd he put everythi ng he place. had in to hol d ing on to his so-close -yet When th e flag fell . it was Bell ou t in so-fa r cha nce a t victory in th e Coca fron t. H annah took second . putting Col a Superbowl of Mot ocross VII . him 28 poi nts ah ead of T ripes in th e On th e 19th la p , Ellis closed on, Super cross point sta nd ings . With onl y then passed , Sem ics. Hannah also had on e event rem ain ing in the series. reeled in Bell , a nd th e " H u rrica ne" Tripes mu st win his heat and the m a in was looking for pa ssing space. But Bell event while H a nn ah puts in a no -show left non e. in ord er to tie . •••L J:¥ .as.he.misht. Hannah..coyLd. see • • • • • -Jimmy-: Ellis .score d ~ well-earned no way a roun d his Yama ha teammate , third wh ile Gary Sernics and Ken t Howerton rounded ou t the to p five. Darrell Shultz pu t in an excellent showing for sixth , a nd he was followed by th e fast' Floridian Monte McCo y, Tom my Croft , Rick Brugett and Jim Pom eroy. • Results COCA-eOLA FINAL RAce: 1. M ike Bell lVaml; 2. Bob Hannah (Yam); 3 . J im Ellis (Ha n); 4. Gary Sem ics IC-A); 5. Kent How erton (Swl; 6. Darrell Shultz (Mail; 7. M ont e M cCoy (Yam); 8. Tomm y Croft (Han): 9. Rick Burgett (Yaml ; 10. Jim Pomeroy IHon); 11. M ark Gregson ISuzl; 12. Carlos Serrano (Ma il; 13. Gaylo n M osier IKawl ; 14. Marty Moates (Honl; 15. Marty Smith (Han); 16. Dennis Brand (M ai); 17. David Taylor IHon); 18. Rich Eierstedt IC-A I; 19 . Ken 2ahrt (C-A l; 20 . Stev e Staeka ble IKawl_ 9