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/126324
Marty Moates 119 1rode his LOP-sponsored RM 125 Suzuki to a third overall placing w ith a 7-3 score. ~25cc World Championship MX Series - Round 10 Glover perfect at Mid-Ohio 125cc USGP, other top contenders fall by the wayside By Jim Gianatsis LEX IN GTO N , O H ,JU LY 23 _ Due to political complications the Russian/ U.S. news journalist conflicts and incidents involving Russian dissidents - the Russian and Czech riders scheduled to ride the 1978 Valvoline 125cc USGP at Pet e W eid ner's Mid- Ohio MX track did not pa rticipate. Bu t it didn' t really matter. The Americans would have bea ten them anywa y.. . Team Yamaha 's 125cc National Champion dealt out back to back rnoto wins . with Brae Glover selling th e Mid -Ohio motocross course afire at the Valvoline Oil -sponsored GP event. Gerard Rond of Holland on the European Team Yamaha. OW watercooled bike took second behind Broc's non-watercooled Jim Felt-prepared bike. Boxing-in R a nd was Marty Moates with the LO P-p repa red R M Suzuki turning : in an outstanding performance for third overall. But the race was in no way easy - picki ngs for the Americans. Seven interna tiona l riders, in cluding the fou r top sta rs of the 125cc W orld Championship class , came prepared to win. Reigning Wor ld Champion Gaston Ra hie r along with Suzuki teammate and this season's World Championship ' points leader Akira Watanabe, Yamaha's Rand and KTM 's Siegfried Lerner all came to America. , In the las t four years of the Mid-Ohio GP, the upstart Americans had beaten them three times at their own game. It . wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that every American who finished in front of the Grand Prix regulars cost them valuable World Championship points. For Suzuki's Gaston Rahier, the three-time 125cc World Champion, every point was important in trying to close the gap in the standings on Watanabe. Gaston was also riding under a handicap. At the Grand Prix the weekend before in Europe , enthusiastic spectators had accidentally pus hed over a steel barricade in his path. His hand ca ught on it and he suffered ,a b ro ken finger which was in a splint at Mid -Ohio . Sa tu rday's first practice. session on the improved course, which included a $40,000 track sprinkler system a nd rerouting of the backsection , saw time trials turning into a two-way tug between Yamaha's Bra e Glover and Bob Hannah . Each would go out and better. t he other's previous fast time. Broc finally edged out Bob as practice ._- - _.- ... -. ended. The track surface had dried out from its early slightly-muddy condition , recording a time nearly one second faster than Hannah's at 2 min. 51 sec . Broc was riding his latest National bike while Bob was aboard an old works bike from last year which Keith McCarty had thrown together for this race. Motoone Both H annah a nd Kaw asa ki's J im Weinert ha d to m ake seco nd row starts, despite the somewhat small 25bike field , because they weren't regular 125cc National riders this season as stipulated by FIM rules. Weinert was riding Kawasaki's KXI25 watercooled bike despite the fact teammate Gaylon Mosier had turned quicker lap times with his normal aircooled model. Glover rocketed a beautiful ho leshot ahead of Mosier, Ro nd , R a hie r , Weinert , Gregson , Reid , Masuda , Wise and Moates. Trying to make an outside sweep of the pack through turn one was Bob Hannah , but it only set Bob up for a poor position going into the U-shaped second turn where he was held up by a stalled rider. Bob restarted back in 23rd palce, but within just four laps the " Hu rrica ne" was already passing World Champion Rahier for fourth ยท . place. Up front, Glove r had al ready b uil t up an unbelievable 25 -second lea d and was beginning to ease u p h is charge. For a number of la ps Mosier and Rond traded seco nd position with knees and ha ndlebars until Ga ylon ba iled off as he accelerated out of a corner: T he bike fell on his leg , . lea ving it sore enough for him to wan t to retire from the moto . T his left the Team Ya ma has of Glover, Rond and Hannah running 1-2 -3. The other Europeans co u ld n ' t match the American's pace and began dropping back. First Reid ~ot by 11