Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

IAbove) Jeff Ward takes the first of several holeshots in a Friday semi . Jim Weinert (21) and Scott Gillman (205) lead the pursuit. IBelow left) Bob Hannah leads a pack on the first lap. Seconds later he'd been knocked off the track. IBelow right>Warren Reid didn't budge under Hannah's pressure. ornle) third from J aco bsen and LOP's Mark Gregson fin ish ed fift h . Kawasaki's Gaylon Meiser pulled the holeshot in the third moto , with Marty Tripes. John Savitsk i and Kent . Howerton in to w. On the second la p , T ri pes got around Mosier and was on his way , pushing the Jon R -tuned machine around the cou rse fast enough to set the fa st heat tim e and receive $100 from the Gold Belt/ DeHANdier p eopl e. Mosier h eld second to th e end , while Savitski lost third to Howerton around the threequarters mark. New Can -Am teamster Tony DiStefano fin ished fifth and took the fina l direct transfer to the final. Semis Jeff Ward put a good power-to weight ratio to work and led the troops in the first sem i aboa rd his Mark J oh nso n -p re p p e d Kawasaki . Scott Gillman and Rocket Rex Staten ran second and third until Staten reversed that order and set out after the "Fl ying Freckle." Staten closed in but did not pass . and on the fourth lap . was himself passed a fter he fe ll in a corner ent ra nce. Weinert had worked his wa y a ro u nd Gillman and when Staten went down, put a lock on second and made the fina l. Staten and Gillman were on their wa y to the co nsolation rac e wher e there was only one transfer left. Gary Kuest had the lead at the sta rt of the second moto, but Rich Binckley (Ya m ), Bill Joyce (Suz) and Jim Turner (Hon) went quickl y by him . It soo n turned into a four-wa y battle between Binckley, Turner. Joyce and J im Gibson (Suz ). Midway through the 10-lap event , Turner took the lead on his Mo to -X Fox mount . Gibson. had moved into position behind T urner and passed Binckley on the same lap. Can-Am's R ich Eierstedt moved into third but co u ldn't do an ything furth er , and soo n t here was only on e berth remaining in the final. Consolation Ku est , Jo yce and Staten were th e leaders as the co nsola tio n ra ce got underwa y. Rocket Rex made short work of it , taking th e lead on the fir st lap a nd running aw ay with th e eig ht . la pper . Bin ck ley and J oyce a rgued a bo u t second for awhile until J oyce fin all y took it for good . Bob Mye rs moved his Ma ico through th e pack to take th ird . Staten was on his wa y to the finals and th e ot he rs wer e on th eir wa y to th e pay line. Final It caught vet~ran su pe rcross observers in a total state of shock, but sharing the holeshot was Bob ," H u rrica n e" Hannah , along with Darrell Shultz. Shultz took the lead through the first turn followed by Hannah, Weinert . Mike Bell , Danny La Porte, Gaylon Mosier and J ohn Savitski, . Bu t the specta tors were not to be denied a Hurricane charge fro m the rear of the pack. As the riders ca me off the fast part of the track , went over a small jump and set up for a right hander, the Hurricane was thrown over the bars when Weinert. coming into the corner hard , T vboned him . That left Bell in sec ond and Hannah and Wein ert at the rear . On th e fourth lap , LaPorte caugh t and passed Bell , p utti ng T ea m Suzuki in the first two spots . Behind Bell were Sa vitski , Steve Wise, and Warren Reid and Mosier. Wis e and Reid were on the move after mediocre starts and th ey soon d isposed of Savits ki . Mosier and Marty Smith were soon past "J ohn Boy" as well . But in th e lead , Shultz was tiring. Ma ybe it was nerves, or the shorter suspension travel in the supercross Suzukis, but Darrell 's arms were giving way . O n the 10th lap, they gave way too m uch a nd he crashed. La Porte bo bbled and Bell too k the lead . Bell kept his Dave Osterman-tuned works Ya maha in the lead a ll the way to the checkered. Though t here were no paddle tires in this even t , Bell had the closest facsimile . The ce nter two knobs had been cut away on every other row of kno bs to cope with the la rgely clay track . It worked this night . The order behind Bell at the halfwa y point read: La Porte , Shultz , Wise . Reid . Mosier , Sm ith, Tripes , Hannah (I), Savitski , Weinert and Roger Bro wn . Shultz, still tiring , started fa lling 7

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