Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

I'"""l I'"""l ...... .... 0.. « M A winner on his way: Broc Gloverlllulls down the Benzal Hili dropeway with the entire 12&ccNatlonel cIeu In tow. AMA 125/250cc National .Championship MX Series - Round two Glover, Hannah clean sweepSad By Cha rles Morey and Bo bi Scott Photos by Terry Whytal and M orey ORANGE. CA , APRIL I Priva teer power, such as it is, suffered a severe blow at T ri -Cross Promotions' Coors/Yamahasponsored AMA 125/250cc N ational Championship MX Series round this Sunday at.Vic Wilson's Saddleback Park. Not onIY did reigning AMA National . Ch amplons Broc GIover an d Bob Hannah, both 0.£ ~eam 125cc National Please be advis ed that an in terim rule suspending the claiming rule at motocross event s for an indef inite period is in effect. Notify your .race m eet referees of this interim rule for announcement at all future race meets. After furth er review and consideration, we will either modify the rule or reinstate it as it now reads in our rulebook,. · - The action came about as a result of last week's claiming of Marty Tripes' works Honda . Team managers from th e big four manufacturers met with AMA officials following the cla im . made their poin ts conce rn ing necessary R&D provided by racing and asked that the AMA .consider the "card start" - the same system as always , except for the missing gate :... and when the number one card turned sideways, they were off. It was Broc Glover, riding his Jim Felt-tuned Yamaha and living up to the large single digit on the number plates, who led the charge down Banzai Hill . "Banzai Hill's pretty scary when you're going down it with a bunch of other guys!" Glover would admit to announcer Bruce Flanders at the day's end. But his feelings weren't evident in his riding style as he and Team Suzuki's Brian Myerscough bailed off the dropaway cliff side by side. Glover and Myerscough led the way through the opening lap , followed by LOP's David Taylor, Suzuki-mounted privateer Tom Odekirk, Bellevue Suzuki rider Pat Jacobson and Team Honda's Warren Reid . By the end of the second lap, the order - except Glover and Myerscough - had been Yamaha , score perfect 1-1 VICtones on the hilly course but the claiming rule was suspended. ' American Motorcyclist Association referee Butch Lee announced the iders' ruling at the morning n ers meeting. The change was a last minute decision , and Lee read a telegram sent to the race , headquarters hotel by AMA Professional Racing Commissioner Mike DiPrete. It was addressed to AMA MX Manager Carroll Chandler and wordedas follows: 8. problem. .It should be stressed that the rule suspension is tem.porary . a~d th~t the final change. If any, IS sull undecided. " Saddleback s starting gate , ~he victim of overanxious holeshct arnsts from a 250cc class qualifying moto, was given a rest when the first I25cc National class moto got underway. AMA referee Butch Lee called for a , revised. Donnie Cantaloupi's Moto-X Fox Yamaha held third under fire from Reid who was working hard and looking for a spot with the leaders. Taylor rounded out the top five , but Suzuki's Mark Barnett had him in his sights. _ Brian Myerscough was putting his Chris Haines-tuned works Suzuki through the paces in repeated efforts to make Glover settle for number two . But Glover wasn't having any of it, and the resulting battle of the wills was spectacular. A second fight - this one a three-way skirmish - was shaping up for places three through five . as third runner Canraloupi became a target for Reid who in tum became Barnett's intended victim. Kawasaki's "T een y Meanie" Jeff Ward had gotten a poor stan, but lie was moving .a t "mach nine " (announcer Flanders' term for National-caliber speed) in a catch-up effort. At the end of lap four, Ward rode just outside the top 10. One lap later, he moved into eighth. And on the next time around , he put the new Uni -Trak Kawasaki into sixth, right behind the frontrunners. ' By this time, Reid had found a fast line around Cantaloupi, and he held down third place. Barnett overtook the nonhern California Moto-X Fox team rider one lap later. then pushed even harder and reeled in Reid on the next time around. But now the crowd's attention was on the two lea d e rs. Myerscough swooped Glover on the big downhill. and Glover ran into a problem at the nt:xtturn . " I crashed. I was riding really stiff in the first moto, and the front wheel went over the berm. I was making a lot of m istakes .. ." he said afterward . Glover was up immediately; he lost only a few Seconds and no positions: . But now , near the halfway point in t h e 40 -minute-plus -two-lap moto , Warren Reid decided it was time to take back third place from Barnett. Warren wicked up the Brian Lunnistuned Honda and got past the Team Suzuki rider on the sweeper near the Webco building. Two very close duels ensued. one between Myerscough and Glover for the lead , the other as Barnett hustled to recapture his spot lost to Reid. All four were fighting lapped traffic as well as each other. Glover caught Myerscough near the 30-minute mark. He pulled alongside on the downhill where Brian had passed him earlier. then passed on the next tum . One lap later. Barnell overtook Reid again. Cantaloupi still held fifth ahead of Ward and Gary Denton, and the final positions seemed set. But on the finallap , in an attempt to stuff the Suzuki in under Glover on a hard clay turn, Myerscough made a mistake. The front end washed out, and down he went. Both Barnett and Reid $Ot by while he picked up the Suzuki, but he salvaged a fourth for the moto behind a victorious Broc Glover, Mark Barnett and Warren Reid. Cantaloupi held fifth ahead of Ward and Denton. Jim Gibson , Chappy Blose and David Taylor wrapped up the top 10. When the repaired starting gate dropped for round two, Saddleback specialist Jim Gibson rocketed up the long starting 'chu te followed by Reid and Ward. Ward fell on theopening lap. restarting outside the top :!O, and a major pile up stopped a number of first lap frontrunners. Among them was Mark Barnett who came around dead last atthe end of lap one. " I - think I started it ," Barnett grinned sheepishly when asked about 'the crash. "I got in a big rut back

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