Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Cycle News 1979 06 13

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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Series leader Grllham Noyce and tuner Bill Buchka. slight I~ad in the point standings. The fourth and final rac~ befor~ Carlsbad in th~ World Championship Xri~, took plac~ in Italy. Mikkola was back in form, winning both motos as Noyc~ dic~d his way into second ov~rall. Lack~ suff~red problmt5 again and th~ b~t h~ could do was a fourth ·plac~ in on~ moto. That arso cost him the I~ad in tli~ World Championship standings as both Noyc~ and Mikkola 'mov~ ah~ad of him. Am~rican Chuck Sun was r~ov~ring from his brok~n wrist and plac~d in th~ top 10 for th~ second (Top to bottom) Mike Bell placed third last year. Danny laPorte is uttra-hot . AMA 500cc National Champ Rick Burgett. And Carlsbadace. Gerrit Wolsink. w~kinarow. Coming into Carlsbad for th~ BelRay 500cc .Unit~d Stat~ Grand_ Prix, th~r~ hav~ b~n four diff~r~nt ov~rall winn~rs in th~ four races held thus far, as w~1I as a total of fiv~ diff~r~nt moto winn~rs. It's obvious that for the fIrSt time in this d~ad~, th~ 500cc World Championship 'MX S~ri~ is a wid~ o~n gam~_ With ~ight out of 12 Grand Prix r~aining, ~~ry rid~r will be going all out this w~~k~nd to win at Carlsbad. . Picking -a win~r for Carlsbad is next to. impossibl~_ Tb~ ~r~nnia] favori~ is Gerrit Wolsink. His Suzuki knows its way-around th~ hard-packed hillsid~ lik~ it was born ther~, winning tbe Unit~ Stat~ Grand Prix thr~ years in a row. Last y~ar H~ikki Mikkola won th~ rac~, and it's obvious from his doubl~ moto win two w~.ago in haly that H~ikki is back in full form' from his injury. Hounding Mikkola ~~ry inch of the way last year was Brad Lackey. It is obvious that Brad is now ~ven faster this year and will certainly take advantage of the fact he is racing on home soil' to try and r~take his lost points lead in the Champioriship. If the Kaw~ki stays together, Brad won't let himself be beat and vows Wilh the support of his fans he will win. And finally there is the present seri~ I~ader Graham NOyce, who in his third year with Honda, has picked up enough skill to be a Grand Prix frontlin~r. Graham's ultra-reliable Bill Buchka·tun~ Honda may just be th~ ~ge the Englishman n~ to take th~ '78 winner. World Champ Helkkl Mikkola has recovered with this encounter of the close kind and willretum. win at the bike-breaking Carlsbad course. One Am~rican rider who is not a Grand Prix regular should not be left out of the picture eith~r. He's Suzuki's Danny LaPort~, winn~r of the first four motlls in this year's AMA 500cc National Motocross Championship in America. Danny I~arned ~ery trick possible from the world's greatest rider, teammate Roger DeCoster, and th~ similarity in their riding styl~ is astonishing. Danny is running on such a hot streak he can't be left off the list of potential winners for Carlsbad. Never before has there ,been a tougher battle for the 500cc World Motocross Championship, and the Bel-Ray 500cc United Stat~ Grand Prix has all the makings to be the hard~t fought war in Grand Prix history. When the heavy guns pull up to the starting gate with the most powerful bikes in motocross this Sunday the 10th of June, you won't want to be anywhere else but at Carlsbad Raceway. • 15

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