Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

P'""I 0(") ... G.I ..c o ... u o Yamaha'. neme was on almost everything - the rec:e, the jump and the winner. Here Mike 8elll391 shows Kewasaki'. Jeff Ward 1261 the way over Yamaha jump. Trans-USA MX Series: Final round Howerton, Bell take it to the max at Sears Point finale By Charles Morey SONOMA, CA, OCT. 21 Twenty-two Trans-USA MX Series points separated Team Suzuki's Kent Howerton, the leader with 163, and Team Yamaha's Mike Bell , who held down the second slot at 141. With a maximum possible score of 50 points up for a double-moto winner, Bell's winning the 1979 Trans-USA Championship re- 6 mained a possibility. But Howerton wasn't about to let that happen as they prepared for the final outdoor motocross of the year at Sears Point International Raceway. "We figured all this out after last week's race," Howerton grinned as he showed a chart of placings. They'd calculated every angle, taking finishing positions two through 14 in the first moto then computing the lowest allowable finishing position for each instance in round two. "He was so carefuU" Howerton's tuner Greg Arnelle laughed when it was over. "Kent didn't want to make any mistakes, like hit the gate, so he waited for it io fall. He usually starts good, but he was so slow this weekl" Arnelle seemed more nervous than Howerton during the day. If Howerton played it overly safe, Mike Bell was a complete opposite. The lanky Californian skimmed the back-falling start gate in both motos outdrawing everyone in the first race, then backing that up with a" second place start behind Suzuki's Darrell Shultz in round two. The Dave OsteTl)lan-prepared works Yamaha performed flawlessly, and Bell rode it to two moto wins, his absolute best. But Howerton and Amell had their collective act together, too. And only an error on their part would have let Bell steal the Trans-USA tide. When Kent took third in the first molO, his chan showed that they needed only to place 12th or beller to become the 1979 Trans·USA Champion. His fourth placing easily accomplished the goal. In the National class, Team Honda's Jimmy Ellis put a cap on the series with a second pla.ce overall 5-2 ride. Ellis led Husky-mounted Ron Sun 158 to 125 going into the Yamaha-sponsored Sears Point race, still vulnerable if he or his George Ellis-tuned works bike failed. But Sun finished 4-5 in a tighdy-contested National race for fifth overall, and the Ellis program worked perfecdy. Larry Wosick, riding a Moto-X Fox/Kawasaki Uni-Trak, stole the show in the National event. Wosick held off all challenges, spending most of his afternoon out in front of the 28 others. International "The hardest thing about this race will be dodging rocks," Mike Bell commented after practice, but when the gate dropped to release the first International class moto onto the super Sears Point course, the rock problem dropped to memory-status as Bell blasted into an immediate lead, the track his own and no roosts in sight. Yamaha teammate Rex Staten followed as they completed lap one, and hounding him were Husqvarna's Chuck Sun, Kawasaki's Jeff Ward, Suzuki's Darrell Shulu and Kawasaki'$' "Jammin' Jimmy" Weinen. Riding next, in seventh, was 125cc Champ Broc Glover on a 250cc Yamaha. Completing the top 10 were LOP/ Yamaha-mounted Many Moates, Honda's Gary Semics and Tommy Croft. Due to his extra ounce of caution at the starting gate, Howerton rode 11 tho Surprise poor starter Brad Lackey rode in 21st place. Lackey had his problem~, some of them mechanical, and would put in an 18-5 day. By the third lap, it became apparent that Kawasaki's "Tee:ny Meanie" Jeff Ward was out to wm. He'd passed Sun, then Staten, and moved in on Bell. Only two seconds separated the tallest man on the course from the shortest one. And at this point in the race, the big guy showed no advantage. Around the 15-minute mark, Bell and Ward led Shulu, Staten, Sun, Glover, Weinert and Moates. Then Sun stalled the Husky and dropped back five places_ By this time, Howerton had recovered to eighth. The top four positions held steady, but places five through 12 shuffled constandy as Moates and Howenon worked their way up. At the halfway point, the order read: Bell, Ward, Shultz, Staten, Howerton in fifth, Moates, Glover, Sun, W.arren Reid and Danny Chandler. Finally free of the heavy traffic, Howerton began to unwind the big Suzuki. At the halfway mark, he was 25 seconds behind the leader. A lap later, he'd knocked five seconds off that margin! Another lap passed, and he'd shaved it to 16 seconds behind Bell. He'd closed on Staten, and the. pair picked up the pace, in tum closing the gap on Shultz.. The leaders were in sight, and Kent had narrowed their margin to 12 seconds by lap 14. Staten, still coming back from an injury earlier in the season, held on for all he was worth, but Howerton found a way past on lap 17 following a fierce duel with the Yamaha rider. Lap 18 saw Bell pick up an advantage over Ward, apparently due to better stamina late in the race, and on the same lap, Howerton closed to within three seconds of Shultz. When the two-Iaps-to-go sign came out, Bell led by two seconds over Ward. Shulu held third, but Howerton had cut the gap to two seconds. On the last lap, Kent pulled past Darrell on a long uphill to take over third place. When the checkered flag came out, it was Bell safely in the lead with Ward second, Howerton third, Shultz fourth and Staten fifth. Completing the top 10 were Reid, Sun, Glover, Chandler andSemics. Round two saw Darrell Shulu judge the gate best, leading up Sears Point's long staning chute and through the fiTSt lap. 'But Bell was hot on his rear knobby, and Mike started pushing from the opening lap. LOP-sponsored Marty Moates had dialed-in a better start 'this time, and he held down third place on lap one ahead of Brad Lackey, Chuck Sun, Jeff Ward, Arlo Englund and Kent Howerton. Parry Klassen and Gary Semics completed the top 10. Again, Howerton began to pick off riders, gradually working his way toward the front. This time, however,

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