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/126431
o ~ '" ..c' Q,) o ... u o Interl'llltional cIus winner Kent Howerton pushed his body end the RN-400-79 to extreme limits on the hilly Red Bud track. Trans-USA MX Series: Round two Under the weather Rhinestone Co By Jim Gianatsis BUCHANAN, MI, SEPT. SO Kent Howerton slouched in a folding lawn chair beside the Team Suzuki truck. Huddled in a thick winter jacket zipped tight to the collar, hands stuffed into the pockets, head buried beneath a wool stocking cap. only his swollen red face was . 'bl h I r vtSl . e. For t e ast lour days the Rhmestone Cowboy had been 12 battling with the flu ... aI!d from the rattle of his cough erupting from beneath the insulation holding back the chills of fever, this was one fight he seemed to be losing. "All I need is a good start and then I can work back from there." When the gate kicked out for the second race of the Trans-USA Series at Gene Richie's hilly Red Bud Track 'n' Trail course it was Kawasaki's "Bad" Brad Lackey wheeling his 440cc works Uni-Trak into the lead. Only Bower· ton was right behind, chased by lasl week's Series opener winner Andre Malherbe, Marty Moate,s, Mike Bell, Chuck Sun and Steve WIse. Howerton had gotten the start he wanted. But then, rather than drop back from there he decided to push himself to the limit. On the second lap Howerton wicked his way past Lackey to take the lead and began pulling away at an incredible rate of 2·S seconds a lap. Beneath him, the RN-400·79 factory Suzuki danced and wheelied like a spirited thoroughbred race horse. Mechanic Greg Arnett had detuned the monster 450cc motor by lowering the compression and Howerton was finding it much easier to ride than the week before as he pitched the 215 pound beast sideways over tbe jumps, riding it with tbe throttle locked on like a 250cc bike. Thirty seconds into the moto Howerton's lead evened itself out at SO seconds. Behind him, Lackey had been scratching since the third lap to hold off Grand Prix rival MaIherbe of Team Honda. Moates still held fourth, while behind the LOP Yamaha rider a wild clash had been taking place between Yamaha's Bell, Husky's Sun and Suzuki's Mark Barnett for fifth that had the three swapping positions every lap. With two laps to the checkered flag, Malherbe finally found a line around Lackey to take over second only to lose it with one lap to go. "My front wheel got out of the berm. The ground was slippery and my front wheel went out. I fell," said Malherbe. Malherbe remounted to retain third behind Lackey. Bell stuffed his Yamaha in for fourth, followed by Moates who held off Yamaha's Broc Glover (first 250cc bike), Barnett, Arlo Englund, Danny Chandler and Jimmy Weinert. Englund had forsaken his usual Vickery Yamaha YZ ride to take over injured Rick Burgett's factory OW Yamaha, Hampered throughout the Nationals with a shoulder separation, Burgett will sit out the rest of the year to heal. Suzuki 500cc National Champion Danny LaPorte suffered carburetion problems throughout the race before retiring. The question which remained though, was whether Kent Howerton who had devastated the first International class moto had any strength left to piece together a decent second moto finish and still come out with the overall win. Even Kent wasn't too sure. "I was really beginning to feel funny those last few laps. But by then I had a nearly 4O-second lead before lapped riders started slowing me down. All I need to do now, is get another good start like that one." Did he everl This time it wasn't follow the leader, either. Howerton out-dared Bell, Weinert, Semics and Malherbe through the first turn sweeper with a throttle-pegged broadslide that saw him disappearing into the sunset again. Ten minutes into the moto, Howerton's lead over Malherbe was 10 seconds as Glover took over third after having steadily worked his way up from a seventh place start. At the midway point Howerton's