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/126403
Observed Tria ls Championship Series. toppi ng t he Monresa -mo u n ted Spa nia rd J aim e Su bira 50 points to 54 .7 . World Cham pion Yjro Vesterinen placed fourth for the day behind Montesa's Ma rland Whaley. Whaley picked up his third placing with a 61.9 score over Vesrerinen's 67 .3 point total. Schreiber now holds fourth place in the point standings with 32 : Vesterinen leads with 53 . The International Champions Cha l· lenge, .t his year's version of U.S. vs . The World Speedway competi· t ion, faded away last week w hen the f inal round, slated for Ascot Park 's half mile track, was cancelled. Bad weather early in the week made the oval impossible to groom, and the European riders had to return home for the start of their own speedway season making a "rain date" impossible. The U.S. won the series. Darrell Shultz. promlsmg first-year with Team Suzuki rnotocrosse r , crashed while practicing Mar. 14 at Saddleback Park and broke the "phalanges" bone. just below the little finger in his right hand. Shultz reported to Dr. Robert Kerla n , the L.A . . Rams team physi cian who treated Tony D last year. and is expected to undergo an op eration Mar. 22 to have the break pinned . Predictions are that Darrell will be riding in three weeks. ra cing in six weeks and . hopefully. will make h is return at the Pontiac Silverdorne Supercross even t. He ha s b e en transferred to the 500cc AMA National Championship MX Series from the 250cc program ; he'lI join Dann y LaPort e in the Suzuk i challenge for the 500cc titl e. Suzuki want s to move Scott Gillman. originally signed up to ride the 500cc class . into the 250cc category. Maybe the AMA will allow that move. and maybe not ... James W. Clarke, father of road racer Mike Clarke, died Mar. 12 in a van accident near San Antonio, TX while returning from Daytona. Reportedly , the right rear wheel on the van broke causing the accident. The funeral was held Mar. 19 at White's Funeral Home in Bellflower. Condolences may be sent to Doris Clarke, 9520 Ardine St.. Downey, CA 90241. Mike had crashed at Daytona, breaking his shoulder, and had returned by airplane earlier. The AMA 125 and 250cc National Motocross Championship Series begins on Mar. 25 at Prairie City OHV Pa rk - not Plymouth - near Sacramento. CA . Advance tickets are on sale at northern California Ticketron outlets. the Howe Ave . Bo x Office in Sacramento and leading area motorcycle shops . Advance tickets save you $2 - Sa tu rd ay's go for $5. Sunday's for $6 . Dirt Diggers North. the promoting club. expects up to 35 .000 fans to show up and watch some of America 's premier motocrossers go for it on the new one and a half mile track that's described as "really wild ." Spectators traveling to Hangtown are advised to use the following route : Hwy. 50 east from Sacramento to the Zinfandel exit. turn right South to White Rock Rd., and then a left least) on White Rock and drive seven miles to the track. 2 And now for the continuing saga of how the world turns on the southern California speedway scene: Du e to circu mstances beyond his im mediate control (but he's wor king on it) Lou is Kossuth has been forced to lim it Saturday night speedway events on the Santa Ana Stadium oval to practice only. until further notice. Ra ther than close the facility down. due to subve rsive political pressures compounded by the lack of an AMA sanction (which has been applied for - but he can't get anyone at the AMA to return his phone calls) . Kossuth has opted to keep the track open to riders for practice to keep in shape for the upcoming season . Spectators are welcome; it'Il only cost $1 to watch . For more info: 714 /529 -1832 . Heikki Mikkola's hopes for a fourth SOOcc World Motocross Championship received a severe blow at an Int ern ational race in Belgium this weekend. Mikkola crashed in the f irst moto and reportedly tore ligaments in his knee. The initial prognosis is that he w ill be out of action for three months and miss half of the series. Maico-mounted Ivan Van den Broeck won both motos, followed by Team Honda's Andre Malherbe (2-3) and American Husky rider Chuck Sun 15-4). Suzuki's Roger DeCoster took runner-up position in the second moto after mechanical problems dropped him from the first. The World Road Racing Championship Series opened in Venezuela Mar. 18. with Barry Sheene leading a Suzuki sweep of the 500cc class. Following the former World Champ were Virginio Ferrari. Tom Herron. Franco Uncini and Michael Rougerie. In the 250cc class . Yamaha -mounted Walter Villa topped Kawasaki 's reigning champ . Kork Ba lli ngto n . American challenger .R and y Mamola (Birnota Yam) placed fifth . Four inches of rain following the start of the Tulsa Trail Riders John Zink AMA National Enduro forced the event to be halted at the fifth check with 5& miles run. Most of the A and AA riders made it that far, and Iowa's John Martin, riding a Can -Am in the 200cc A class, topped all scorers with 12 points lost. Finishing 13 points down was Maico-riding Perry Davis, Billy Geier IKTM) was the only AA rider to break into the top six, f inishing third with a 16-point score. Scott Ripley took the B win with an 18. . Bultaco-rnounred Bernie Schreiber cleaned house in the Mar. I I Spanish round, the fif th event in the Wo rld King Kenny Robert s is "u p and wa lki n g." acco r di ng t o Yamah a Ra cing Ma nager Kenny Cl ark . "He's pro gressing nicely . I just talked to him a little whi le ago." said Cla rk . KTM's Jean-Jacques Bruno won the Mar. 18 International MX event in Verdun France over Maico's Hans Maisch. American riders didn't fare well. Moto-X Fox rider J im Turner put in a 6-6-DN.F day on his Honda, Brad Lackey registered a DNF on his Kawasaki and Jim Pomeroy put in a 18-24-DNF day for Bu ltaco. But just wait 't il the season starts! Dick Bu rleso n dropped only three points in the Dusty Wheels M.C. 125 mile AMA National Championship Enduro in Saline. LA on Mar. II to take overall honors. Suzuki's Drew Smith took top AA laurels with a four point loss. and Yama ha rider John Fero p icked up the top A class trophy. also with a four point score. Only four points separated n's inning total from that of the fourteen th overall best score in t he closely contested event. The Groundshakers M.C. ran backto-back European scrambles in Searchlight, ~V and Marv Chapman, riding for Motorcycle Tie Center on his Suzuki, won both 125cc races . Sportsman Cycle Husky riders Keith Adams and Fred Hansen won the 250cc races, as Butch Laswell and Jack Johnson split the Open class wins. The Uni-traks are comingl According to our favorite semi -reliable source at Kawasaki , the new single-shock rear suspension factory motocross b ikes will debut a t Hangtown. bo th in the 125 and 250cc classes. Papa's still checking on it , and he hopes to fit in a photo feature on the latest greatest trick stuff from the green people as soon possible - maybe next week . Speaking of Team Green, Brad Lackey has a European address where you can send all kinds of funny cards, lengthy letters and simple sincere best w ishes. Let's keep Brad knowing he's being backed up by each and every American MX fan while he 's doing his best to bring home a number one plate. Keep those cards 'n' letters goin' to Brad Lackey, c/o Patrick Wygaerts, Pleinstraat 69, Aiken, Belgium 3820. Billy Grossi has received two pre produc tion 42 0cc KTM mo tocross bikes . Pap a wishes Sugar Bear the best of luck on the '79 AMA National Championship MX Series trail. Barry Briggs speedway school, raIned out last weekend, win run this (Mar. 24-2&1 weekend. Same time. same place. same.profeaor. The Dirt Diggers M.C . lost a co urt attempt to force the U. S. Forest Service to grant them a permit for the Mar. 18 Red Garter en duro. T he Fo r est Service had reportedly promised the Diggers a permit, but alledgedly backed out of t he promise due to Sierra Cl ub press ure. Attorney George Step ha n argued that the club was being denied the right of due process . bu t defense atto rneys responded that motor cycle riding on public land is a privilege, not a right. The judge. though reportedly sympathetic to the clu b. agreed wit h the defense's argument a nd ruled that the case was out of his jurisdiction and returned the m a tt er to the Forest Service. T he event is offi cially stayed , and t he Forest Service must say yes or no to th e pe rmit within 25 d ays of the hearing. H owever. a t this poi nt. th ings d on 't look too good. We'lI keep you informed . Papa's been talking - mostly listening - to a flood of phone calls either reporting the loss of the Red Garter. asking about it or just relieving frustration and anger verbally. One of the most constructive calls, from Fred Kuhn, had this suggestion: " You guys are spending a bundle of money!" Fred said when the Dirt Diggers M.C. called to notify him the event had been called off. " So. just keep my money and put it toward the leg al defense fund, or whatever .. . " Fred figures the money's spent already, anyway. So why not put it where it may help the Dirt Diggers, and other clubs, avoid a recurrence of this totally aggravating state of affairs7 It's either that or use it to buy beer to cry in . .. Road racers Keith Code. Rudy Ga lindo and Kevin Burke will tea ch an AFM road ra cin g school on Ma r. 24 , the day before th e regula r AFM event at Willow Springs . It's a n a ll-day schoo l; the price is $35 : a nd we understa nd new rid ers must take this school be fore they can co m pe te in an AFM ra ce . Co ntact H a rry Bresach at 714/523· 3892 eveni ngs or Keith Code a t 213/ 46 3-6594 d u ring th e daytime. Kawasaki Motors will sponsor the Kawasak ilHangtown Amateur Photo Contest as a part of the Carmichael Honda Hangtown Motocross Clessic. First placa goes to the photo which the judges decide " best depicts the 11th Annual Hangtown Classic: ' Maximum of three entries, B&Wor color, no pros and you must not possess a press pass for the event. Entry forms and full inf orm ation available at all participating Kawasaki dealers in Sacramento. Citrus Heights. Jackson, Woodland, Placarville, Yuba City, e Roseville and Stockton. Answers to puzzle 111.