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/126430
company in mid-air as they fleW off the uphill jump by the finish line and he dropped back even further. Next it was Jeff Ward kicking past Moates to hold the lead for a lap before Chuck Sun swooped by and took control of the race as Moates got stuck in the. mud and Malherbe moved into third ahead of a battling Bell, Lackey and LaPorte, soon to be joined by Greg Theiss with his LOP Yamaha. Around the ~O-minute mark Chuck Sun was still holding on to his less than secure lead, and with Ward having dropped back in the mud, Malherbe now held second ahead of Bell, LaPorte. Reid, Theiss and Lackey. But then, suddenly charging up almost unnoticed until now, was Darrell Shulu, who picked off the riden ahead of him one by one. With two laps to go he passed Malherbe for second spot and reeled in on leader Chuck Sun. The last lap was nothing less than a full scale mud slinging, wheel banging battle between the two as Shulu tried desperately to stuff his RN-420 Suzuki past Sun's new 1980 model production 420cc Husky. Sweeping around the finish line turn, Sun held the inside line as Shultz went wide, but Sun held on by less than a wheel length to keep the win from Shulu's grasp. MaLherbe placed third with his conventionally suspended RC-450 works Honda ahead of Bell, Howerton, LaPorte and Brad Lackey on a new 440cc Uni-Trac Kawasaki which will be his next year's GP bike. Teammates Weinert and Tommy Croft were mounted on production 420cc Uni-Tracs. The second mota was just as exciting in the opening laps as Jeff Ward used his 250cc Uni-Trac Kawasaki to snare the start over all the big bore bikes. Shultz was aced out of any chance at grabbing the overall win on the fust lap when his Suzuki stopped dead for some unknown reason. Teammate Howerton was left in last place when his flapping right foot got caught in his rear wheel and brought the bike to a halt, fortunately without injury to Kent, who once loose would blast back up to claim seventh by the end of the moto. The lead. meanwhile, didn't stay with Ward for very long as Malherbe wicked past on the second lap and began pulling away. Ward continued to drop further behind as Weinert held onto second position for a few laps before bailing off in the mud and turning the runner-up position over to a fight between Bell and Barnett. That didn't Last too long before Barnett wiped out in the mud and drowned his engine. Most of Team Suzuki was put out of action when LaPorte retired as well with engine problems. At the 28-minute mark it was Malherbe running with a 10-second lead over Bell. Sun. Glover. Ward. Arlo Englund, Moates, Parry Klassen and Howerton. Brad Lackey continued to }lave a heclr. of a time. "I was battling with Chuck Sun and had just passed him by jumping into the big mudhole, but somehow my gearbox was in neutral and the bike just stuck. I wasted all my energy just trying to pull it out of the mud," said America's top GP contender, after the race. From that point on the top running positions remained unchanged as Malherbe continued leading a safe distance ahead of Bell, .Sun and Glover. Finishing in that order both Malherbe and Sun would tie in series points, but the day's overall win would go to Malherbe if Sun couldn't pass Bell in the 20 minutes remaining. "I thought about catching Bell. Eric Crippa signaled me that 1 was gaining on him at first, but then he started DONNIE CANTAL OUPI chooses BOSCH to win Top Privateer recognition in 1979 125cc MX National Championship ; • ~ II E After a long season of tough 125cc National Motocross competition, MOTO-X FOX sponsored DONNIE CANTALOUPI emerged as the first non-factory supported ~ rider. Performance like that demands a top rider and dependable equipment. DONNIE CANTALOUPI'S FIRE POWER? BOSCH Spark Plugs The Winner's Choice Special Thanks To: mOTO-X FOX ~ ROBERT BOSCH CORPORATION Dept. CN 345 E. Grand Ave. S. San Frandsco. CA 94080 BOSCH Spark Plugs DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY PEOPLE IN THE EAST SAY: "We Don't Care How The HELL They Do It In CALIFORNIAI" HERE'S THE ANSWER! m. e g . ) L. Indica!p. the number of shirts you need In the parentheses by the proper size. @$6.96each.California residents add 6% sales tax. Name................... . . City. . . . . . . . . . . ... State. Zip. Cycle News Products, Dept. 20W38 P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801 17