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/126323
E • ~. t M ik e Letton and M ark Beva ns t op ped t he sid ecar race. Mark Homchick (32)aced out the Novices at Sears Point. I Klinzmann (San jose BMW/Dean Lear/DG/Ron Lang BMW) and Ritter held second through fifth. Ritter got around Klinzmann in the Carousel on the first lap, then passed Smith on" the next lap. Cooley , meanwhile, had started to build a pretty good lead. According to Ron Pierce, who would have ridden another Yoshimura GSlOOO, but was injured in a crash in the 750cc National, the Yoshimura Suzukis have really gotten . the handling and suspension fine tuned. National winner Mike Baldwin, riding a Reno Leoni/Premier Corp. Moto-Guzzi, started near the back, but was up to sixth by the second lap and past Smith for fifth two laps later. On the fifth lap, Ritter got by Pridmore in the sweeping tum 10 and Baldwin passed Klinzmann for fourth. Smith dropped out a lap later -with a . flat front tire. At the halfway point, Cooley was securely out in front with Ritter having ojiene up ' a short distance over Pridmore. Baldwin, Klinzmann, john Long (Longevity ~MW), Keith Code (Vetter/Number One Products Kaw) and Kerry Bryant (Yoshimura R&D Kaw) comprised the rest of the top eight. Four laps later, Baldwin was out of the race. First an exhaust megaphone had gone, then the steering damper went and Baldwin pulled into the pits. A lap later, Cooley came to a halt in tum eight. The rear sprocket was no longer attached to the hub. Code, who 'd blown up an engine the week before the race and borrowed one from Yoshimura, had passed Long for fifth. Everybody moved up a notch when Cooley dropped out. Ritter kept on ripping around the track to win by 12 seconds over Pridmore. Klinzmann was third ahead of Code , Long" Bryant, Mike Kauzlarich (Coliseum Cycle & Ace, Co. Kaw), Steve Epstein (Kaw), who had been running higher but finished with a flat rear tire, Vance Breese (Euromart MG) and Steve Mallonee (D. Breetvor Tri). Results 4O-MILE FINAL: 1. Paul Ritt8r (Duel; 2. Reg Pridmore (Kawl; 3. Harry Klinzmann (BMW!; 4. Keith Code (Kawl ; 5. ~ohn Long (BMW!; 6. Kerry Bryant (Kaw); 7. Mike Kauzlarich IKawl; 8. Steve Epstein IKawl; 9. Vence 8 reese IMGI; 10. Steve Mallonee ITrll. AVERAGE SPEED: 79.908 mph. b Homchick w ins Novice; Spencer breaks By Dale Brown SONOMA, CA,jULY 15 Mark Hornchick, riding a Phil Schilling-owned, sponsored and tuned ·Yamaha , kept pace with the early leaders, and took the lead late in the race, winning the 40· mile , I6-lap Novice final over james Adamo (Yam) and Gordon Seim (Kaw). Glen Shopher, winner of the first of two heats, started on the pole and took the early lead. Louisiana's Freddie Spencer, winner of the Daytona and Loudon Novice races, came from his second row stan (the throttle cable had tangled in the monoshock during his heat, causing him to finish fourth) to run third midway through the first lap and second at its conclusion. At the end of the second hip , Spencer had the lead with Shopher and Homchick doing the chasing. In the next few laps , Spencer drew out about two seconds ahead of Shopher, who had about the same distance over Homchick. ' But . on the third lap, Spencer noticed an increase in engine temperatrue and a loss of revs . By the sixth lap, he was out of the race. The left header pipe spring had gone and the safety wiring did not hold the pipe on. Shopher took over with Homchick second and the rest of the field aways behind. Rusty Sharpe (Yam) , the second heat winner, held third early , but New York's james Adamo, on a non-monoshock TZ250 , stormed through to take third and hold it . Homchick, who said after the race that he 'd been pacing himself with the idea of finishing well and earning his Expert transfer, started moving up on Shopher. On the l Sth lap Homchick was right on Shopher's tail as they approached a group of almost ·lapped riders heading into tum II , a second hairpin right bander. Shopher overshot his line in the corner, wh ile Homchick shifted down to first. moved way inside and took over the lead. Shopher moved right back on Hornchick's tail. but approaching turn II two laps later. the main bearing on his TZ250 went and he was out. Homchick finished with a good lead over Adamo. (who finished the race with a broken shock). Gordon Seim, Al Collis, Bill McGrill . Rusty Sharp, Ron Hlavka, Mike Van Dyke, Billy Addington and Bobby Behel . Results 16 LAP FINAL: 1. Mark Homchick (Yam); 2. James Adamo (Yam); 3. Gordon Seim (Kaw); 4. AI Collins (Yaml; 5. Bill McGrill (Yam); 6. Rusty Sharp !Yam ); 7. Ron Hlavka (Yam); 8. Mike Van Dyke (Yaml: 9. Billy Addington (Yam); 10. Bobby Behel !Yam ). AVERAGE SPEED: 78 .256 mph Letton/Bevans 'count on attrition' for sidecar win By Charles Morey SOMONA. CA,jULY 15 "We were countin' on a lot of attrition," sidecar pilot Mike Letton grinned broadly through his abundant moustache after he and passenger Mark Bevans sixth at the end of the opening lap of the 30·mile, 12-lap sidecar final sawall five leading rigs drop back or out with mechanical difficulties. When the worst was over, the Letton/Bevans Spoooge Engineering 'h a nd -m a de , 900cc Honda-powered . rhree-wheeler cruised in first . Assisted by Honda of San Francisco, tuned by Mike Herren and held together by a Huffman Welding W orks frame, their sturdy rig proved to be the answer in a class nearly destroyed by an incredible attrition rate. Reg Favorites the Pridemore/Ken Greene TZ750· powered Vetter Fairing rig and the Loudon-winning Gary Gipe/Pete Essaff Kawasaki-powered machine led at the start. The Gipe/Essaff unit shot ahead at the drop of "Bouncing Bob" Malley's green flag but bogged immediately when Gipe killed the motor. He dropped the clutch, restarting the 900cc motor instantly , but lost precious split seconds · in charge for turn one. The Vetter rig topped the drag race up Sears Point International Raceway's hill leading to turn two . The Suzuki-powered Craig Marx/Mike Parkinson machine . had qualified for the outside pole, joining pole sitters Gipe/Essaff and Pridemore/Greene on the front row. But a transmission idiosyncrasy which made it difficult for pilot Marx to find neutral forced the duo to circle in first gear behind the starting grid. Another idiosyncrasy - a number three plug with a strong tendency to foul - kep t the third-best qualifying team from doing well . As the rigs came back across the starting line in completion of the opening lap , 'Pridm ore/ Greene established a spot out in front with the VVayne Lougee~Randy Hough Kawasaki in second. A tight trio of the Vance Breese/jack Morris Kawasaki , th e Gipe/Essaff Kawasaki and the Number One plate-holding Suzuki rig of Larry Coleman/Wendell Andrews rounded 'out the top five. Letton and Bevans sailed a long steadily in sixth. dreaming of no more than a possible top five placing in their second N a tion a l attempt together. (They DNF Loudon with a broken jackshaft.) Gipe and Essaff drove from fourth to second on lap two and tried to the flying close the gap on Pridmore/Greene machine. On lap four , a pproaching the final turn before the finish line, Pridmore/Greene slowed, then pulled off the escape route into the pits. The Gipe/Essaff machine, sponsored by WIzard's Custom Painting and Pete's Machine Shop , took over. "We're goi~ to move the radiator maybe try a different one," Pridmore explained after simply stating, "overheated," when asked the problem. "We've had this problem before, and now we're going to do something that we know will work!" Gipe and Essaff looked like sure winners. They and the Pridmore/Greene team had become the first sidecar tearns to break the two-minute lap barrier at Sears Point; both had turned 1:59-second times. At the halfway 'm a rk , they held a 17second lea d over second place holders Lougee/Hough who in turn were seven seconds in front of Coleman/Andrews. Breese/Morris held a distant fourth ;Letton/Bevans were fifth . But the race was only half over. Lap 10 saw Gipe and Essaff come by pointing animatedly to their flat rear tire. They would hold onto second, eventually being passed by the winner on the final lap . "W e had a little too much detonation, and we cracked two pistons and probably more, " jim Clapp. mechanic with the Lougee/Hough group described the blown motor that ended the Number Two team's ride. "T he mount for the sidecar wheel broke," reponed Larry Coleman in explanation of the Coleman/ Andrews DNF. The hack wheel jammed against the fender forcing them out. ..Something in the clutch let go, " said Vance Breese. "I don't know what it's doing. but for some reason it (clutch) seized." DNF for Breese/Morris. "I could smell the rubber burning, and I could see Gary (G ipe) almost a half lap ahead ." Mike Lenon smiled again. "I knew if I held the pace, we could catch him . We passed them on the last lap . For new guys, we feel like we're in the hunt. " • Resu lts . 12·LAP FINAL: 1. Mike lenon/Mark Bevans (Han); 2. Gary GipeJPete Essaff IKaw ); 3. Red Gorsch /David Fredrickson IKaw); 4. Gary Allison /Franklin Butcher (Suz): 5. Leon VanOrsdale/Bernie Thomas tHon ); 6. Doug Rowe/Jim Huber (Ka) ; 7. J erry Person/Norman Jamison (Tri); 8. larry COlemanIWendall Andrews IS uzl: 9. Ooug OanielsfTerry Montano lHan); 10. W ayne lougee/Randy Hough (Kaw l. AVERAGE SPEED; 65.706 mph . 9