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/126321
T he " Rhinestone Cow boy" quick ly made amends in ro und two as the long -legged wor ks Suzu ki boun d across the deeper ruts to ta ke the lead. Righ t behind . Howerton were Pomero y, T heiss and Hannah. Three laps la ter, Hannah was lead ing and Ellis , Karsmakers and Eierstedt had passed Theiss. Before Hannah could dial in his usual lead , he found one of the bigger hidden holes in the backsection swamp , the Yamaha stopped like it was tied to a post , and Hannah smashed vital personal accessories as he bailed over the bars. Howerton retook the lead as Bob got underway in pain. For a couple of laps Hannah battled with Pomeroy, but then Jim dropped back with bike problems to leave Hannah with second, still a good distance behind Howerton's 2-) winning performance. Honda's J im Ellis got pitched over the bars and lost vitaI seconds looking for his false teeth in the mud. Rather than leave them behind , Jimmy popped the muddy ivories back in his mouth and took off again to retain sixth place. Marty Tripes retired early in the race as chain problems detuned the Typhoon again . Mike Bell (above) plays the "before " part. Ricky Burgett (below) displays the clean "aft er" image. - ---- - - .. -----~ 500 National T hose huge holes hidden under water out on the back section of the course weren't p laying any favorites. Danny LaPorte got halfway around the track with the lead of the first Open moto before he found one wit h his Suzuki and wip ed out. Steve Stackable found himself with the lea d afte r th at , but within two more laps it was Yamaha's Rick Burgett hydroplaning past Short Stack's Kaw asaki for the front position. Little Rick sn at ched out a 20 second lead over Sm ith, Bell . Stackable, Croft, La Porte, Clark, Stacy and Mickey Kessler in just two laps before the wild ride put R ickey on his head and back down to third place. Lead positions were changing as fast as track conditions. The muddy water hid all the bumpy hazards underneath and picking the right line was like racing by braille. By the halfway point, Bu rgett had berserked his wa y back up into the lead , passing Smith. It would be the last anyone would see of R icky who played it cool th e re maining d istance W victory. Movi ng up to third in a n equa lly brilliant ride was Mic key Kessler on his p roduction YZ400 Yam aha . The fina l moto of mud saw Gary Semics sp lash his way a round th e track with the lead for two la ps before his Ca n -Am DNF for thesecond tim e of the day. Danny LaPorte took over for Ga ry, tailed by Kessler , Terry Clark on the Wheelsmith Maico, Burgett, Staten's Bassett Yamaha and Frank (Continued to page39) -- "'KGR LV 9