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/126349
i ~ THE t 0') f' 0') NAr-rIONAL 0 ~ ~ = ~ PAPERS ~ -, It seems ,the flag no sooner dropped on the , final Camel Pro Series National at Ascot , then here we are just around the corner from the '79 slate of. major AMA events beginning at the Houston Astrodome. Ther.e will be some changes , something old and something new. T he '79 round will official ly be known as the Winston Pro Series, and Ch arley the Camel ha s been p ut out to stud or gon e on to other field s. Jay Springs teen and Steve Eklund will be at Houston to renew their private war, the war in which Eklund won both opening battles at Houston las t yea r, becoming the firs t rider to ever tri p th e light twice in the same meeting. Steve Morehead has been added to the, Harley-Davidson factory team whll~ Corky Keener has been placed in serm -tearn status and Ted Boody d ropped from the roster . It looks like Eklund and Garth Brow either chose to sta y under the privateer blanket, or weren't ask ed to switch sides. Houston is always attractive to both full - and part -time fans because the season is new , and t he riders and equi pment are fr esh . It 's . a lso t r ad it ionally two grea t shows In 24 hours under ideal weather ' conditions . T here ca n be no ra in dates for Houston - th ey don 't need them Bill Spencer, th e Sidney Greenstr~t of northern California's District ~6 , N.orth, has put tog ether some charter flIghts for west coast fans . Since las t year, t he ai rl ines have changed so much that fans can now fly to Houston for a fraction of what it used to be. Check it out. The fans from Louisiana again have something to cheer about. and you haven't heard fans cheer until you hav e heard the 5 ,OOO-plus from the Bayou State . In the early yea rs it was Mike Gerald as th e hero. Mike has now retired after on.e Housto~ win , and t aking his place this yea r WIll be the Junior, Freddie Spencer, who will race both nights in the special " In vi t a ti on a l" races . Spencer is one of the most talented all around riders I have seen come down the straightaway in a long time. While he is better known as a road racer he just might be even better on dirt : At the ripe old age of 16, Fr eddie has five years of dirt track experience , most of it as a winner . 1978 wa s not a goo d year fo r rook ies. Only one fin ished in t he to p 2? a nd none ~ade it into the N a tiona l winner's circle in a single event. The rookie crop for the Houston eve!1ts is basically unknown outside of their home areas. California 's Wayne Rainey and two or three from Ohio and Michigan. plus one from Iowa will all be good bets as first-timers in Natio nal racing under the roo f. Maybe I hav e saved the best for las t for your readers to mull over as th e year comes to an end. Here it is: I am guess ing strongly that Kenny Ro berts will ride in both Houston races. The same Kenny that I tagged " King" a couple of years ago in one of the columns. Kenny has not ridden a dirt track event since September of '77 and has not won a National short track since 1976 , nor a TT since '75 . Yet I feel for sure/that he and Yamaha will team up for a. comeback at Houston where he ha s won three times in the past. T he new 500 cc Road Ra ce World Champion will give nothing away at Houston since Yamaha builds fin e I bikes for both short track .and TT proven by Steve Eklund who raced backyard specials to victory in both type events las t season. Kenny has not put his foot down, at least for mC?ney or intentionally, for a year and a half but hometown Modesto is ' n ot over-crowded and he and Skip Aksland still have their "playground" oval and TT somewhere nearby. The official tag on the Houston events is again the Yamaha Gold Cup ra~es, and Yamaha sells motorcycles in th e U .S . Pace Management, the promoters of the Houston races, long ago started planning the Feb. 2-~ events. They do ~ .su perb job .of planning and organ IZIng and their efforts will payoff to the tune of over 40 ,000 people each night come February. . Springsteen wants to tie Carroll Resweber and win the title four times . Eklund feels he should have won it in '78: ~ksland vows .he is going to win it all In 79. Spencer IS going to show that he is in fact a dirt tracker and King Kenny wants to make sure the fans don't forget him . Can you ask for a nything more for openers? Roxy Rockwood Stre ยท e . tch your weekead~ Ride your motorcycle to work Monday! " .oMG Em. presents a serious work in motorcycle pleasure DMG MAICO SYMPHONY #1 in GO FAST MAJOR - performed by a select group of artists On Wrench R on Bak er Don Dailey Bob Messer On Torch Mik e Dailey Brad Meridith On Phone Greg Dailey MayeDailey Ginny Dailey On the Gal ProMX One ofthe great works Don Draskovich CRC #1 1979 in motorcycle classics" CMC' 1 1976 Bill Rubley Pat Hubbs Asat Cust - Leading Critic Jason Yodogawa Jo e Stern Desert 1505 S, Pacific Ave ., Warr en BaTT SRA #1 1978 Tim Plant DRA #1 1976 San Pedro , CA 90731 CRC#l 1977 213 -833 -1301 Enduro Bob M esser Capt . of Team Army R et. If you don't rid e a Maico KenLewis AMADist.n#1 1979 before you bu y your new bike Garner Palensk e AMA Dist. n #J 19 79 - You cheated yourself Ron Serato DMG -.