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/126434
I • • ~ E 0) ... l"0) o r') ~ ..0 o ... u o IAboveJ IDBA top Fuel 11 K.,.,y Annesley had 10.000 reasons to smile. IBeIowJ OIdIIhoma's Sid Pogue took the Pro Stock win and title. (AboveJ Ken Blackburn took the Super Eliminator win. turning in a record 8.021180 mph run. (Below) Pro Comp titalist Terry Kizer. Kawasaki sweeps IDBA World Finals Photos by Joel Breault GULFPORT. MS, OCT. 12-14 Motorcycle drag racers and fans flocked to the fourth annual running of the International Drag Bike Association World Finals. IDBA Director Tony Lee reported a record number of entri~ for the Top Fuel and Pro Stock categori~. The d t d' . crow was no. lsap· poulted. nor were the nders. as many new world records were set. 16 Kawasaki riders enjoyed a field day for the finals: se..en Number One plates _ awarded to them in aU seven di.w.-. These riden not only receive the prnrige of heing Number One in their division. but the IDBA pays extra bucks fOl" eftT}' event they enter for the e:.tJWiDg 1980seuon; win, lose, or rain. Many sponson of racing products oIKftd contingency money to the ridrn meeting their qualificalions during die meet. American Turbo Pak. Bates Leathers. C.M. Performance. ILawasalr.i Moton Corp., Klotz Special F_ula. Products, M.T.C. Ensi...... ring. R.C. Engineering, WIKCO Pistons. Inc. were included. In the Street Stock Eliminator Class Mikr Phillips. sponsored by Pace Kawasalr.i turned in a winning e.l. of 11.6% to edg«"outJim Dodich who was If Ned by Bryce Heads and Miller .. . Kawasaki. Dodich turned In an 11.65 and although he losl here. he e.t. and remained the points leader and received the Number One plate to carry into the 1980 season. In Sponsman Modified Eliminator Class Roger Monroe (The "Velvet Toothpick"). on a Kawasaki·powered A Altered machine, turned in a winning elapsed time of 9.50 seconds. Roger is sponsored by Pace Kawasaki. Runner·up in this class was Carl Johnson who ran with a handicap time and turned a 10.73 e. t. The Ultra Stock Class saw one of the longest and most unusual finals in motorcycle drag race history. Hamp Osborn and Paul Gast. both on Kawasaki-powered bikes, wound up in a foot race to the finish. Osborn, sponsored by C.O. Nyberg and C&W Cycleworks. broke a chain out of the hole. Gast, on the other hand. lost fire at the line as he released his clutch. Both riden, realizing that neither would finish under power, decided they both had an equal chance on foot. No elasped time was recorded as both riden took several minutes to push their bikes down the asphalt ~ mile strip. Due to a technical ruling. concerning the loss of engine power. the quiclter Paul Gast lost to Osborn because Gast lost fire on the staning line. In the Pro Comp Class semi·finals. Terry Kizer, on a Turbo-powered Kawasaki sponsored by M.T.C. Engineering and Cosman Specialities. defeated Eraldo Ferraci on a Honda. Kizer turned an 8.59; Ferraci. a 9.01. In the other Pro Comp semi· final. Jeff Masters on a gasoline·powered. factory experimental "funny bilte". sponsored by Krol Racing. Klott Special Formula Products. and Wiseco Pistons defeated Larry Musick on a B·Gas Dragster, with a lay·down frame. Both Musick and Masters use Kawasaki Power Plants. but Masten enjoyed a one tenth second handicap because his bilte is a "sit·up" type machine venus Musiclt·s lay down dragster. Masten won this semi·final with a 9.11 for a 145.49 mph. finish. Musick turned in a 9.10 for a very close semi·final run. In the Pro Comp Final. Kizer. the II plale holder for 1979 turned in an 8.50 for a 161.00 mph finish. Masten drew a 9.25 for a 142.85 mph finish. but due to a technical problem. the handicap of one half a second had not been dialed into the timing computer. This meant the run had to be repeated. During the repeat of this run. Kizer red-lighted out of the hole and shut it off half way down the strip. losing to Masters who turned a winning time of 9.25 E.T.. and a mph run. Kizer had 142.82 accumulated enough points to retain his Number One plate. In the Super Eliminator Class. Kermy Blacltburn. sponsored by Wiseco Pistons. Klotz Racing Fuel and Corman Chassis. broke his own world record in his semi·final against Dick Frey also on a Kawasaki. Blackburn tunied in a record smoking 8.02 180.00 mph flat run. Dicit Frey broke on this semi·final run and shut it down tuming a 15.06 E.T. In the other Semi·Final Super Eliminator run. Ray Price. sponsored by Harley·Davidson. on his Harley powered "funny bilte" defeated John Sands on a Honda powered machine. Price turned in an 8.64. Sands a 9.06. This brought Blackburn and Price to the Super Eliminator Final. Blacltbum's Kawasaki could not top the earlier record setter, but went on to defeat Ray Price in the fina.ls. Blackburn turned in a 8.15 . 161.87 mph performance over Price's 8.87 . 165.04 mph. Darrel (Zip) Eakle. a fierce competitor in this class. went down on his run, sustaining only minor injury, but it eliminated him from the competition.