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
Mike Bell (39) did the deed before a crowd estimated at 62.000 peop le on his Dave Osterman-tuned factory Yamaha at the Coca-Cola Superbowl of Motocross. AMA/Toyota Supercross Series - Round 10 e " ., em( " ow s By Charles Morey Photos by Felix Adamo. Dale Brown. Brian George and Gary laudig ' LOS ANGELES , CA , J UN E 24 Stadium Motorsports' Coca-Cola ·Superbowl of Motocross VII, anticipated duelling site for AMA/Toyota Supercross Series leaders Bob "Hurricane'·' Hannah and Marty "Typhoon" T ripes, instead became the stage 6 for Lakewood, CA's Mike Bell to claim his first Supercross victory before a crowd estimated at 62 ,000 . Bell, riding his Dave Osterman tuned fa ctory-backed Yamaha , worked up from a barely -in -the-top-I 0 start to overtake ea rly leader Gary Semi cs just past the three -quarter point in the 20 -lap Coca ' Cola Final. He went on to take the win only a heartbeat ahead of Yamaha teammate Hannah who had suffered an even worse start th en had to recover from a tangle with three. other riders for his second placing, Asked if he'd felt the Hurricane's pressure , Beli responded, " I guess ; but there was just no way . .I just had to do it. Somebody had to beat him ." Marty Tripes , predicted to occupy one of t~e top two slots at Superbo~l VII , _ ~alled to transfer from hIS ~uallfYl,:,g heal when the :ream Honda stuck in f.ourth gear: The DNF preclud,ed him fro~ a second chance t~ qualify for t.he final event through either the serru finals or trophy dash, Honda teammate Jimmy Ellis followed th e Yamaha duo to the checkered flag after overtaking Can Am's Gary Semics in the closing laps . Semics held fourth -with Suzuki 's-Kent Howerton following. in fifth . Compl eting th e top 10 were Maico mounte-d Darrell Shultz, Yamaha rid er Monte McCoy , Team Honda's Tommy Croft , Team Yamaha 's Rick Burgett and Honda teamster Jim Pomero y, Qualifying motos The- KWEST·FM Qualifier , first of th e four 10-lap elimination motos where the top five places transfer directly to the Coca -Cola Final , saw Suzuki rid er Mark Gregson lead Bob Hannah , Can -Am's Rich Eierstedt , Yamaha -mounted Ron Turner and Tim Welker through the opening lap . It took Hannah one-quarter of the .moto to find the , best spot to pass Gre-gson, ca tching him in mid -air off the- breathtaking Coca -Cola Catapult then passing on the outside line of the next right -hander. Eierstedt closed on Gregson next , hounding him unmercifully in the tight sections at each end of the Los Angeles Coliseum course- (Goodwin's White- Knuckler) 'but losing ground on the ' long straightaways. The top three would remain unchange-d for the rest of the - ..ra c-e·- - -. The fig-ht for the two final transfer spots was tou gher. Just past the halfway mark , both Steve Stackable on th e factory Kawasaki and John Savitski , riding his Bevo Forte-tuned ' Yamaha, closed on fourth place holder Ron Turner , Both passed , but th en Sta ckable stalled in a turn ; Turner hit him and stalled, too. Meanwhile, Gaylon Mosier had put his , T ea m Kawasaki on Savitski's rear fender and was pushing to pass . "Gassin' Gaylon" Mosier made his move with two laps remaining , taking fourth and lea ving the last transfer slot for "John Boy" Savitski . Heat two , the Malibu Gran Prix Qualifier, fell to Wheelsmith . Maico/Hi-Point Racing rider Darrell Shultz who led lap one, lap 10 and every other lap in between. Dennis Brand, also Maico-mounted, held off ' Ya ma ha 's Mike Bell for three laps before Bell jammed past on the turn following the Coca-Cola Catapult and settled into his eventual second place fini~hing position. Honda 's 500cc National Champion Marty Smith, .sixth 'a t the completion of lap one .. worked up behind Brand, applied pressure , then passed for third .