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/126412
lIIith a 1-1 score. ck; Behind th e locals were Howerton. Kevin Pracon , Kippy Pierce. Hannah , Jimmy Weinert and Mark Gregson. By lap six , Howerton had worked his way past the pair and snared the lead . Hannah was right behind in hot pursuit. Soon the two were battling, but Hannah found Howerton no easy mark and couldn't berm -shot by. Rough whoops infested the track , accompanied by criss -crossing ruts, and Howerton 's determination held Hannah back. Even when Hannah did get into the lead on two occasions. How,erton just .plucked . it right back Suzuki rider Danny laPorte started off the 500cc National MX season with a1-1 day ahead ofYamaha's Rex Staten. from him. This madness drove the crowd wild for six laps'. Then it happenedl Somewhere around the course Hannah rapped his hand on a fence post and was left with a broken little finger . The pain was obviously intense, but Hannah still continued to hound Howerton for another 10 'm in utes of the moto. Then, blinded with pain and his overpowering will to win, Hannah lost control landing off a jump and his Yamaha OW-40 careened through the trackside snow fence , over a pile of tires. cartwheeling across the ground. Within 10 seconds Hannah remounted and was back on the track again, but Howerton had the safety margin he needed to win the moto. Behind Howerton and runnerup Hannah, Mike Guerra turned in a fantastic ride to snare third ahead of LOP's Mark Gregson, Fred Vertucci, Hi -Point's Frank Stacy and local star Mark Robillard . After the second moto spun its wa y off the concrete starting pad , Howerton and Hannah took three laps to get around Vertucci and lind the 12 spots. Back and forth ' the Team Suzuki and Yamaha stars cut each other offfrom one turn to the next. By the _fifth lap . Hannah began pulling away. " I' d really pulled my back out in some of those holes out there and it started hurting bad and 1 had to slow down," said Howerton later. Hannah continued to stretch his lead considerably. although still in pain from the broken finger 'h e suffered in the first moto. Suddenly, halfway into the race his usually reliable Yamaha ground to a halt with a broken transmission . Hannah fiddled with the bike for a moment and then dragged it off the track and began the long walk back to the pits. For Howerton it was clear sailing. All he had to do was coast to the win . Honda's Steve Wise had charge his way up from mid-pack and .then passed Guerra on the next-to-Iast lap for runnerup honors. Wise had been forced to retire from the first rnoto with a sand-ingested engine. JoJo Keller brought his Bettencourt. Honda in for fourth ahead of Darren Rhoten. Stacy and Robillard . Team Kawasaki's Jimmy Weinert had a difficult time all day coping with the sand .tra ck , finishing 8·9 on the Uni-Trak Kawasaki ; 500cc National Raw gut horsepower and an impressive lineup of riders turned the first 500cc National of the season into an earth-shaking version of Star Wars_ Team Yamaha was out to conquer the one class they didn't already have clamps on, and they had reigning . National Champion Rick Burgett, last years runnerup Rex Staten, and Mike Bell on new 425cc Yamaha OW·4ls to sway the odds in their favor. They were going up against Honda's Gary Semics on a new RC-450- 79 and Marty Smith with his home-brew Mugenkitted RC-360 ; Kawasaki's Tommy Croft and Gaylon Mosier on 420cc KX Uni-Traks; Suzuki's Danny LaPorte and Darrell Shultz on all -new cylinderreed-inducted RN-400-79 machines; plus Maico's Denny Swartz, Keystone Motocross Centers Mickey Kessler and Moto-X Fox's Billy Grossi. As it turned out, only Marty Smith proved to be uncornpetitive as he , appeared unable to get himself dialed- 7