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/126419
. . (Left) Gaylon Mo.ler and Rocky Williams. winning team In the 500cc race.IAbovel Larry Wosick 13391 and Bob Hannah 111 get the jump on a 250cc class start. AMA 250/500cc National Championship MX Series: Rounds 10/6 Hannah's title despite Howerton's win; Mosier sweeps 500cc motos By Jim Gianatsis MT. MORRIS, PA,JULY 8 Knocking his dislocated knee back into its socket, Team Suzuki's Kent Howerton charged back in the second moto of the Hi-Point Racing Products-sponsored 250cc National MX to whip .Yamaha's Bob Hannah and pull off the fmal race win of the series at High Point' Raceway. For the second week in a row, It handled terrible. 'We got it sorted out for the next race at Saddleback, but..then I got a flat fr~nt tire there ~n one·m~t<~. The followmg weekend !n Phoemx It was a flat rear tire. I stili . Hannah had to be c~ntent with the m~naged respectable finishes, but not runnerup spot, whIch was. go.od good enough to keep Hannah from enough t~ put the wrapper o~ his third pulling out a strong points lead," said the Rhinestone Cowbpy. consecu.tlve ~MA 250cc National MX Champlo~ship. Team Kawasaki's Gaylon Mosier Every Inch of . the way throughout H h d puIIe d 0 ff h' secon d 500cc N' 15 atlona I h t e l 0 race senes, owerton a . 0 f t L - 1979 season WI'th h'IS Roc II.y wm n<: h dogge d Hanna, t h e G reg A rr~ett Williams tuned 1Jni.Trak KX-520 SR er_ep~redhaR,H-2501so·79fa~l:o..ryd_Suzukihof works bike and in doing so moved nents vmg a nalcu own t e l h" I d II' S h ' II. b t ". c oser to t e. senes POints ea er, overa wm at out WIC, 11:' . . Suzuki's Danny LaPone, who finished th II 'th 15-2 d . really got off to a bad stan m the At the first race (Hangtowu) the seven overa WI a ay. 250cc Netional bike was new and wasn't IICt up right. senes. The opening moto o~ the hilly Mt. Morris track looked like a possible Hannah runaway as Bob quickly rocketed his OW·40 Yamaha past Carlos Serrano's Maico, and Darren Rhoten's Honda, to take the lead and pull some 25 seconds ahead of the field. Howenon had gotten off the line in seventh place then pushed his way past Suzuki's Gillman, Moto-X Fox's Wosick, Honda's Wise and the others to claim second after 10 minutes. By then Hannah seemed too distant to catch, but. Many Tripes soon began providing Kent additional incentive to go quicker as he battled Wosick two laps for third and then closed on Kent. On a downhill off-camber turn, Kent hit his foot in a rut which knocked his knee out ofjoint. ". made the tum at the bottom of the hill, then on the way back up it 1 threw myself off the side of the bike to knock the back of my knee and pop it back into place." By the end of the moto Tripes had pushed Howenon to within 10 seconds of Hannah as the Rhinestone Cowboy just barely managed to hold off the Typhoon by a wheel length at the flag. Larry Wosick's Mike McAndrews prepared CR Honda was top nonfactory machine in founh ahead of DG's John Savitski, Scott Gillman, KTM's "Boo" Stichter, LOP's Gregson and Pomeroy, and Frank Stacy on another KTM. Steve Wise was forced to drop out of the mO,to with a groin i,:,jury, while Maico's Danny "Magoo" Chandler managed to stay up on two' wheels only to have to retire with a twisted knee. Kawasaki's Jimmy Weinen retired from the moto, saying, ". was feeling dizzy and uncompetitive.• thought it was just better to pull off and not get hun." Race number two saw Howenon launching himself off the line with the holeshot as Serrano pulled another good stan aJ:1ead of W05ick, Hannah, Stichter and Savitski. A surprise move was pulled by 17-year-old Wosick 'on the second lap as he diced past Serrano and moved up to challenge Howerton for the lead. For nearly a lap Wosiclt pushed to get by 7