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/126410
Ray Beck bites the dirt behind Mickey Fay in the first semi. soon joined by Garth Brow and his Klotz /Wiseco H arley. While a war raged behind him. Kidd was sailing along smoothly in front with a huge lead. However. fate was to strike him a cruel blow . On the last lap, coming out of turn two. his machine went dead and he was left to coast to the finish line - dead last. Brow had been in second , but he slipped to fourth as they took th e white flag . Aksland had the poin t position and the lead when Kidd slowed and kep r-it in a frantic scuffle to the flag that saw W ilson and Romero take the next two spots as they crossed the line en masse. Brow and Phil McDonald were left to try again in the sem i. Junior Invitational Freddie Spencer has earned most of his national reputation as a road racer. but at San Jose he showed the steel-shoe crowd that he can do it in the dirt, too. His Harley qualified fastest for the event, with secondfastest tim e going to sou thern Cali fornia's Dorothy Rowe on a Yamaha . When the 12 ·lap race got underway , it was Pennsylvania's Bob Crabbe (H ·D) going into first ahead of Steve Monger. Spencer was buried in traffic . A first -lap crash claimed Jeff Haney, who had managed to qualify the XR500 Honda that he 's been having a lot of success with at the weekly Ascot half miles. Crabbe held the lead for the first four laps while Charlie Summers (Yam) latched onto second. Spencer was soon out of the middle of the pack and took the lead on the fifth lap. Holding down fourth was Rowe, and she rejected all attempts by Keith Day (Yam) to pass her. Crabbe stayed right with Spencer, as did Summers. and both got by Spencer with three laps to go . Spencer took back second before the white flag when Summers got off the groove and passed Crabbe on the las t lap to win by a couple of bikelengths. Semis 12 The first semi was led off the start by two veterans and a rookie. Chuck Palmgren had the lead with Sonny Burres and Scott Parker in his wake . Parker (Klotz/ W iseco H ·D) got away from Burres and lock ed up with Palmgren, passing him in tum three of lap three. Palmgren stayed right on the rookie's tailpipes for six and a half laps, finally using the draft to slingshot by going into tum three of the final lap. The l l-year veteran held on to edge the first-year Expert by a front wheel. Both transferred to the National. Gary Scott and Phil McDonald went for the remaining two transfers in the second semi. Ted Boody was in third and Garth Brow was knifing his way through the pack after starting on the penalty line. By lap four, he was on Boody's ta il, and a lap later, he was by both Boody and McDonald . Brow set his sights on Scott and passed him going in to turn one two laps from the finish . Scott remained in second and took the final spot in the 16-rider National. Tim Cartwright ended up edgi ng Boody for third . McDonald DNF. Trophy race The Cartwright brothers. Tim and Danny, were on the pole and Tim led Boody and Mike Minnig (H -D) into turn one. Minnig went for the lead on the back straight but Boody took it away in tum three. After that it was clear sailing for the Arai/Lubri-Tech/ MXL rider. Tim Cartwright and Minnig tossed second back and forth between themselves for awhile and were joined by Tom Berry (H ·D) . Toward the end of the race the rain started coming down in a gentle drizzle which prompted the display of white and checkered flags two laps early. Boody took the win easily, followed by Berry, Cartwright and Minnig. National The call was out for the riders in the National to line up quickly and beat the rain , but they didn't make it . There was a wait for several minutes before the rain let up enough. Vehicles were called out to pack the track . The riders lined up and took a practice lap, but the rain resumed as they gridded for the start. The riders took their machines off the track and the packing vehicles again took to the track to keep it dry. The rain let up again, and they tried to start again only to meet the same fate. By this time the mood of some of the spectators had turned pretty ugly. Police were called upon to handle the situation, and when they reacted with what some thought was excessive force against a female spectator, things got tense. Fortunately, the rain had stopped again, long enough to get the Eklund prepares to open the bubbly. while Scott prefers his own tonic. race started and divert the crowd's attention . Rick Hocking went for it off the start and soon had a good margin on the field . Steve Morehead was second and Joe Wilson , Ricky Graham and Corky Keener headed the rest of the pack. Hocking was drawing away from the field while Wilson moved into second. Keener took over fourth and Steve Eklund also got by Graham for fifth . Another lap saw Morehead drop back some more as Graham passed Eklund and they both nailed Morehead. Eklund got around Graham and Wilson to occupy third on the fifth lap. But then his battery, drained by the wait for the start , pooped out and . Eklund started slowing coming out of tum four and coasted around dead last on lap seven, to be greeted by a red flag - the race was halted due to the rain starting up again . That provided time for mechanic Craig Filmer and the rest of the crew to change batteries in the bike. The race was to be restarted according to the sixth lap order. The delay was about 20 m inutes. but finally the rain stopped - later the sun actually made spot appear· ancesl The single-file restart was led by Hocking, Keener and Graham. The order remained that way for one lap. Then Graham eased by Keener as they both put pressure on Hocking. On lap eight, Keener went from third to first on an outside move through turn two . Hocking got back in front once, but Keener blazed past on the front straight. Now the front three - Keener, Graham and Hocking were joined by Gary Scott and all four were mere centimeters apart . Behind them were Morehead and Eklund; Eklund having made up six positions in four laps. Keener led most every lap past the grandstands, but Scott and Graham were both using the draft and different lines through the comers to take the lead on one part of the course or another. By the 15th lap, Graham and Scott had pushed Keener back to third . Now Keener was embroiled in a tangle with Morehead, Hocking and Eklund , while Graham and Scott traded the lead furiously. Hank Scott moved up on the battle for third, and some distance behind him, Brow and Romero were trading paint over eighth place. Palmgren and Wilson had dropped out of the race. With two laps to go , Eklund went by the grandstands leading Graham and Scott, but on the following lap, was in second and then dropped to third through the first two comers. That the race was going' to be decided in the final two corners and half a straightaway had been clear for some time. Graham went into the th ird turn in the lead, but that was where Scott was planning to make his move. " My bike was working really good through three and four and I thought I'd be able to g<;t a draft, but Ricky stuffed it in harder than I thought he'd be able to, " said Scott after the race. Graham's move thwarted Scott, but it may have also cost him some momentum. "I didn't think I would get Graham coming off turn four, but he was going really slow and I got a drive on him ," said the winner after the race. At the finish it was three riders occupying two bikelengths with Eklund leading the way over Graham and Scott. Morehead just got by Keener for fourth . Hocking took a close sixth and Hank Scott was right there with Hocking to finish seventh, a good distance ahead of Brow and Romero. Brad Hurst finished l l th behind Goss, and Skip Aksland , bothered by a shoulder separation two weeks ago, was 12th. Scott Pearson and Scott Parker took the last two po ints-paying positions. • Results MAIN: 1. Steve Eklund (H-OI: 2. Ricky Graham (H-DI; 3. Gary Scott (H-OI; 4. Steve MOfehead (H-D); 5. Rick Hocking (H-D); 6. Corky K _ (H-D); 7. Hank Scott (HD): 8. Garth Brow (H-OI; 9. Gene Romero (H-Dl; 10. Randy Goss (H-OI; 11. Brad HUlSt (H-O); 12. Skip Aksland (H·DI ; 13. Scott Pearson {H-DI; 14. Scon Park.. (H-D); 15. Joe Wilson {H-Dl ; 16. Chuck Palmgren (H-DI. TROPHY RACE: r, Tad Boody (H-D): 2. Thomas Berry (H-DI; 3. TIm Cartwright (H-D); 4. Mike Minnig (HOI: 5. Buddy Robinson (H-DI; 6. Eddie Lawson IH-DI; 7. Sonny Burres (H-OI; 8. Mickey Fay (H-DI; 9. Bubba Rush IH-D); 10. Danny Cartwright (H-OI. TIME: 6:32:43 . JR . INVITATIONAL: 1. Fredd ie Spencer (H-OI: 2. Bob Crabbe (H-DI; 3. Charli e Summers (Yaml; 4. OOfothy Rowe (Yam); 5. Keith Day (H-D); 6. Ray Dugan {H-Dl ; 7. Steve Mong.. (Yaml; 8. Steve Polson (Yaml : 9. Jeff McDaniel (Yam): 10. Brian Thompson (H-O); 11. Dave Busby {H-DI; 12. Jeff Haney (Honl . TIME: 90.968 mph. AMA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPI WINSTON PRO SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. Steve Ekund 1591; 2. Randy Goss 1401; 3. Gary Scott (391; 4. Ricky Graham 1351; 5. Rick Hock ing (31); 6. Garth Brow 1291: 7. Tad Boody (23); 8. mE( Mickey Fayl Dale Singleton/Mike Kidd 1201; 11. COfky Keener 1191: 12. Steve MOfeheod 1181; 13. mEl John GennailRon Pierce 1161; 15. mEl Skip AkslandlJay Springsteen (131; 17. Scott Pearson (12); 18. mel Mike Baldwin/Lance Jones 1111; 20. Ronnie Jones 1101.