Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

ILeft' " Rocket Rex " Staten topped the SOOcc c1ass, IAbove) Team Yamaha series leaders Glover and Burgett. IRightl Mechanic Jim Felt signals the AMAIMr. PiBB 125cc National Champ. ILower right) Team Ho nda 's Marty Sm ith sailed to secon d behind Sta te n in the 500cc race . AMA/Mr. PiBB IZS/SOOcc National Championship MX Series - Rounds 8/8 Glover clinches I2Scc.titIe, Staten scores sooce win By Jim Gianatsis ST . JOSEPH , MO , AUG. 13 Reigning 125cc National Ch am pion Broc Glover wrapped up his second consecu tive 125cc title this weekend at Agency Motocross with back-to-back moto wins. The T eam Yamaha rider, who can do no wrong this season on his Jim Felt-prepared OW 37 works Yamaha , was more tha n ela ted over his well earned title. 6 "T his cha m pionshi p really makes me fee l good. The dust and heat were so bad today, I cou ld hardly breathe . The heat , though , really didn't bother me until I stop ped. Then it a lmost killed mel It had to be the toughest ra ce of th e year ," said Glover. Broc cha rged his way from behind in both motos on the fast and dusty Agency course in races delayed by th e lack of ambulances . Temperatures close to 100° sent at least a dozen riders to t he hospital with heat prost ra tion , Ba ck ing up G lover's win wa s another winning performance by a Yamaha rid er - this one in the !)OOcc c1ass-by :Fontana., .CA's Rex Staten . i Rid ing under Bassett Ra cing co lors , Rocket Rex scored his first Na tional win aboard one of Team Yamaha's exot ic OW 39 42!)cc works ma ch in es prepared by Da ve Ost erman. " I' m SO happy," sai d a grinni ng Staten. "A National win is wha t I wanted and I finally got it ." Staten's only competition all day ca me from - teammate and present !)OOcc National Championship po ints leader Rick Burgett. But the Lumberjack suffered problems in the first moto when a rear brake pedal came loose , dropping him from first to eighth place. In the second moto it looked like Bu rg ett would beat Staten, but he " killed the motor twice and fell down on ce . Usua lly I pull in th e clutch for the tu rns to keep from stalling the engine, but m y hands wer e just too tired to work ." Staten explained Burgett's radical cornering technique: " R ick goes int o the turns wid i open and then slams on the brakes , lock ing them up at the last possible moment . I couldn 't get around him and ju st wanted to follow because he sets a faster pace , but I wasn 't about to wait for him wh en he sta lled on that last lap of the last rno to ." 125cc N ational Many Moates pulled off a hol eshot but spun out in the first tum. A big p ileup in the following sweeper took out Honda's Warren Reid and Steve Wise , leaving them on e lap down . At the end of the first lap it was Da ve Taylor, Dan Chandler , Glen Johnson , Glover and Gaylon Mosier across the line in that order . . On the second lap "Magoo" Chandler passed Taylor for the lea d and Glover dropped Taylor to third on the follow ing lap. Right after Glover got around him , Taylor endoed on some man- made stad iu m type whoops and suffered a possibl e broken collarbone. At the halfway point Glover had a solid lead and was pul)ing away and Chandler was out of action. Ron Turner on the Luft Yamaha held second with Gregg Toyoma on the Cross-Up Suzuki in t hird . While Kawasaki teamster Mosier was working his way through the field after a bad start, Warren Reid fell again on the stadium-type jumps and retired. Also joining the DNF list was Bria n Myerscough with electrical problems on his works Suzuki. At the finish it was Glover by himself, followed .by Turner, Mosier, Gregson and Johnson. Moto two saw G lover stall his bike on the stan and come around nearly in last place at the completion of the first la p. Off the line and around th e,,} circuit on the initial to ur it was Reid ,lI£ My ersco ugh , J e ff Ward, Moates, 2 Randy Hess, David Jones, Mosier and Dan Turner. 1 Warren Reid continued to lead at the halfway point with Myerscough still hanging on to his rear fender. A good battle for third as well was taking place between Ward and Moates, but Moates pulled his LOP Suzuki int o the pits when he became a victim of d ie heat . a As the pit crews signalled " 3D ~ minutes" Glover continued his charge back up and he and Mosier passed n Ward for the 3·4 positions. Following Ward at that point were 'W ise , Ron Turner, Mike Guerra , and Moro-X Fox Yamaha-mounted Dan Turner. The Reid-Myerscough 1·2 held a 23 · second margin over Glover at the m idway point. As the pit boards signalled "40 m inutes" Glover passed Reid to take the lead and Myerscough drop~d Warren back another notch. At the checkered flag the order read Glover , Myerscough, Reid , Wise and "l Gregson . Ward had slowed towa rd the end as his bike began to seize; Mosier was penalized one lap for j umping the start; and Ron ' Turner had wrapped up a commendable second overall aboard his Billy Keffer-tuned Luft Yamaha - privateer powerl 500cc National Honda 's Many Smith led the big· bike class off the line ahead of Denny Swartz, but Many soon washed out the

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