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/126426
lAbovellt's the flm moto of the 125cc Pros and Dede Cates is elreedy gone. ·Pursuing ere B.-benrSp!elmen (121. Terry Bender 1181. Dorene Peyne (611 and Cerey Steiner I1I.lBeiow Ieftl Cates gets support from fens end cbempegne for the win (below right!, Cates takes Women's National MX title By Mark Kariya CARLSBAD. CA, AUG. 19 Eighteen-year-old Dede Cates rode flawlessly to secu're the number one plate at the Worrien's Motocross Nationals held at Carlsbad Inter:' national Raceway. almost a year, she came to 50 Lady Luck seemingly smiled only upon her as most other competitors were beset with problems of one sort or another. 24 Cates scored three wins and a .second in the four motos that determined the overall Expert champion on a center-pan works 250cc Honda and a two, day old 1980 Suzuki RM125. Kawasaki provided the bikes for run,ocr-up Barbara Spielman. The transplanted Californian now living in. Illinois hadn't raced ·or· ridden in '. California a week before the Nationals "to practice. " Defending champ Carey Steiner overcame spills and other setbacks to gamer third on her Western Wheelsl MXL/D&J/KRW Helmets-sponsored Yamahas. Though very light and joki!1g off the track'; "Elbows" Cates showed she meant business from the ver)' beginning of the first 125cc E>: pert moto by catapulting out of the gate and into the lead halfway down the stan str~ight, _ __. _ _ _ _ That was the closest anybody got to the Q.&E Cycle-spomorcd rider as she put on' an unrelenting charge to the checkered. Spielman rode second tbc whole way aboard Gaylon Mosier's old factory flier. Steiner had to hold off Dorene Payne (Kaw) for the flJ'lt few laps b~fore she could t~ to catch Spielman, She settled for third, though, with Payne founh and Cindy Duma fifth on a Crotch Rocket Factory Suzuki. In the first 250cc Expert mota, Wheelsmith Maico rider Pauline Pitt got the jump on everyone else froin her startin~ position on the outside. Exitmg tum one in froDt, though, was Texan Kathy Holman (Han) with Rhc Helms (Mai) and Cates in tow . Holman and Helms began to pull away a bit in their own duel. At onepoint, Helms ducked under the RoseRich Yamaha of Rouston pilot going into a turn. She couldn't get enough traction on the muddy inside line to ma~e the pass sticlt. ~~~r • anc! • Holman scooted by. lkims dropped out shonly after that . wima b~ piston, giving Cates the task of finding a way around Holman. It wasn't Holman's day. however. Her 125cc yamaha had blown up on the flJ'lt lap of tbe uSec Expen mota' and now ICRre stomach cramps began slowing her pace. Actually, it was surprising she lasled this long, bccaux she was still recovering from a bout with mono. Holman managed to hold off CateS until lap eight when Cates zipped past just' before the ledge. Ca tea. rode the rest of the mota unchallenged. While this went on, Spielman was making an astounding comeback after . a first lap mishap that left her far behind. Midway through the mota after Helms jCtircd, she climbed into founh and zeroed in on Steiner. After forging by ber, Spielman kept pr~ing in order to catch Holman. Two laps from the end, though, ~he bailed coming off the jump after the