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/126418
>. ::s ~ Bad Brad Lackey tallied a.4-2 finish to stay In the hunt on points. Gerrit Wolsink continued his carlsbad ways. win{ling overall In Cenadll World Championship SOOcc MX Series: Round six Wolsink rolls -in Canadian GP By John Hueston and Karen Gillespie th~ or four laps to ~t my rhythm back." Mikkola trail~ Rond by ~ight ~onds. MOSPORT PARK, CAN,JUNE 17 Suzuki mounted Gerrit Wolsink of Holland combined two devastating late race charges through the sand and dust on the rough two .. kilometer Mosport Park Circuit to capture the overall win in the Cycle World Honda SOOcc MX GP of Canada. The Flying Dutchman's second and first place finishes, good for 27 GP points, mov~ him to within nine points of championship standings leader Graham Noyce who motor~ to fint and third places. MtBWards Wolsink said. "Although • am consid~~ a sand· s~ialist. I don't like sand tracks. I am fit and t~ bike 15 good also." He not~ th~ exce1lmt ~ar suspmsion on his works Suzuki that allow~ him to mak~ tim~ on th~ many rough uphill portions of t~cou~. Noyce's lightning quick Slam and a wi&-open ~rformance dazzJed the competition and s~taton alike. Af· tB a 5lart to ftnish win in t~ first mOlO. it took som~ bad luck and Wo!sink's suPBb conditioning to p~t a ~~at in the ~ond. . Hopes for a 1979 American World Champion we~ kept ali~ by Brad Lack~ on the Uni·Tralt· Kawasalti. His Sleady riding kept him in the hunt with four-two finishes. but ~ drop~ to third in the overall standings with 1M p6tnts. Finland's Heikki Mikkola had a mi~rable day earning no points. A fine ride in the first moto en~ with . Heikki and his Yamaha lying in the dirt after challen.,ging for ~cond place. He pulled off the track early in the ~ondmoto. 22 Former World Champion Roger DeCoster fa~ only slightly ~tter as ~ dro~ OUt immediately in the fir-' st race and was held back in ~nth by a poor stan in the ~nd moto. At ~ ~nd of Saturday's practice. Noyce, Lack~. DeCostB and Miltkola had turned the fastest times, Many of th~ int~rnational rid~rs lik~d th~ track, but ~xpressed conc~rn about th~ v~ry dusty conditions which w~r~ particularly bad on th~ back ~tions of th~ track. Th~ track was wat~r~ through th~ night, but on Sunday it was mdmt that dust would ~ a probl~m .. Andr~ Vromans h~ld th~ fast qualifying tim~ after practic~ Sunday morning with Andr~ MalhB~ ~ond just ~ging Lack~. Suzuki t~ammat~ Gerard Rond and Wolsink held founh and fifth, rep~ tively. Noyc~ d~id~ that th~ only way to avoid th~ dust waS to g~t out in front at tbe stan. A w~1 ah~ad of Rond as th~ pack char~ through t~ first tum in moto one. Noyc~ squ~~ into th~ choic~ line in th~ ~ond turn and was n~B h~ad~. At t~ compl~ion of ~ rust lap it was Noyce, Rond. VandmBr~ck. Mikltola, MalhB~, Lack~. Bruno. Vromans, Wolsink and Ko~I~. DcCostB was immediately out with a bad ignition. By th~ ~nd of lap two. Noyc~ had a 14 ~ond I~ad. Mikkola was hounding VandmBr~k and w~J~anJacque Brun(),bobbl~ his 'KTM, Vromans and Wolsink w~r~ quick to capitaliz~ dropping him to· ninth. Mikkola blast~ past VanDenBr~k on th~ following lap. Noyc~ st~tch~d his.l~ad to ov~r 20 sec-onds as th~ ret strung . otu ~hind him. Wolsink' mov~ up to ~ngag~ in a du~1 with Lack~ and to~th~r. th~ duo moy~ toward th~ front. At ~ halfway mark, Rond had cut into Noyu's ~ad. Said Graham latB, ". crashed in th~ whoopa about half· way around, I saw stan and it took Wolsink ~an his mov~ by passing Lack~ who was h~ld up mommtarily by a lap~ ridB. Th~ qui~t-spok~n Dutchman was ~rious now, probing Malh~r~'s line at ~ry turn and finally passing on a rough uphill straight. H~ imm~diateJy ~t aft~r Van&nBr~ck's Maico which f~1I vic· tim on th~ following lap. Mikkola ~~d Rond fatiguing and c1~ in. On an off·cam~r straight. Rond h~ld th~ smooth high lin~ with . MikkOla sw~ping low through t~ roughet section. An ins.tant latB, Mikkola's front wh~twash~ out and h~ ~nd~d into th~ sand. Sor~ and shak~n, H~ikki r~mov~d his h~lm~t and rod~ slowly back to th~ pits. Wolsink. moving v~ry quickly now . took ~ond away from tir~ t~ammatlr Rond and with on~ tap rmtaining, ~t aft~r Noyc~. only ~nds ah~ad.Noyc~'s m~hanic. Bill Buchka, said that Wolsink cam~ so fast h~ didn't hav~ tim~ to warn his rid~r. R~playing th~ final minute of t~ first moto. Noyc~ said ". don't nor· mally look around. I slow~ down to ~ s~ on th~ last lap and smsing som~thing. look~ round and saw y~Uow right t~r~. • thought, 'Oh God, not now, 'and scr~w~ th~ gas on." Graham ~g~ GBrit at th~ finish bya~ond. Th~ bumps and h~at took th~ir toll of Gerard Rond who crash~d his way to th~ finish dropping from ~ond to sixth. H~ collap~d in th~ paddock with h~al exhaustion and was tak~n to th~ track. hospital, r~covering later thaI afternoon. . Mikkola, nursing a sore side and leg ~tween motos. motioned to his flatten~d front rim, attributing his fall to -a rock hidden (n the sand. Noyce b~gan round two wh~r~ he ended round on~, This time he duck~ ahead of J~an Jacques Bruno to win the start and disappear ah~ad of the charging mob in a cloud of dust . According to DeCostB. who stan~ beide Mikkola. "Heikki s1ip~ sickways at t~ Slart,.. giving both IJlftI a bad stan and ~I~gating th~ to the back of the pack. Bob Wright got completely ~ up leaving a jump and high·sided s~tacularly. The shaken Englishman' call~ it a day. Mikkola pull~ off as lap on~ ended, explaining later that it would have been impossible to gain mough positio~ in t~e thick dust. Noyce cl~ out lap two with a )4. ~ond I~ad, a tradition he stan~ in moto on~. Malh~r~ and Bruno ~ld steady while Wolsink, mindful of .a char~ too late. moved into founh spot ahead of Lack~. Vromans moved past Kim~r while B~renyi succlimb~ to VanDenB~ck's effort. Wolsink vault~ past Bruno on an uphill. A lap later, presu~ by I Lack~, Bruno drop~ his bike en· tering a corner. Lack~ and Vromans ~ quickly by. . _ Wolsink and r.ack~ passed Malher~ on lap 12 as th~ push~ aftB Noyce. Lack~ s1ip~ th~ laps later but h~1d a distant third. Two lapi from t~ end, Noyce flip~ over the bars and a jubilant Wolsink moved into t~ I~ad. Said Noyce "I rode my tail off to ~ that lead. People say I was ti~, but. simply misjud~ a bump." On th~ last lap Lack~ matched ~ond from Noyce who was off· rhythm from his' dismount.. Lack~ said he was ready to win t~ ~nd mOlO. but drop~ his bike ~arly in the race and, "by th~ time 1 got my ~ond wind, it was too late." The 250cc Suppcxt c1au prov~d to ~ a ~ndit for Kirk and Kris Bi~low of Michigan. The brothers ran on~· tWO in both motos to ~asily out distan· ce the ret of the field. • Results ' Moto One: 1. Grlham Noyce IHan); 2. Ge"i' Wolsink (Suz); 3. Ivan VandenBroeck IMai~ 4. Brad Lackey MaI_ , (Kaw); 5. Andre than); 6. Gerard Rand (Suz); 7. Andre Vromana 1Suz}; 8. .leen J _ Bruno IKTMI; 9. ~ Schmitz (Mail; 10. Bob WrightICCMI. MOIO Two: 1. Gerrl. WoIIlnk; 2. Brad lKkey; 3. Graham Novce; 4. Andre _ ; S. Andre Vromana; 6. .leon Jacq_ Bruno; 7. Roger llaCoot.- lSuz); B. ' - VandenBroecl<; 9, Fritz K _ IIerenvi lVarnl. lMIi~ 10. loll 25Occ: Support: 1. Kirk IIigalow I~I; 2. Krio IIigalow lVarnI; 3, Mllut _ IC"",; 4. WrIfIv Levy c~ 5. Donnie - ' - 1Kawl: e...... _ lMail; 7. Janna " - ' - lHuaI: 8. IIriIn Ward CSuzI: 9. Arr6r IIiahap lHonl: 10. Ricll Hudoon lVarnI.