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/126440
. '" _ :"Iiit. - ~._- y Weinert 112J and John Hateley (17) IIf8 among the visible pursuers. estone Cowboy "I fell a half lap into the race!" Freddie exclaimed later, "They didn't tell us they'd watered the track!" Aldana took over when Spencer bailed, but just before they reached pavement again, he crashed, too. He remounted quickly, but now Lawson had the lead with Emde in second. Lawson looked like a sure winner until his bike quit three laps later. "I .was coming up the hill, and she just locked up," Lawson said of his 500cc four-stroke single. From then on, it was Emde's race. Aldana played for a while, doing wheelies down the drag strip straightaway for the ABC cameras but dropped out before the end. Emde, the only fini~her, transferred to the main~ent. Heat two, the dirt trackers, promised far more action. Jim Filice led Rick Hocking and Dennis Briggs through the first half lap, but by the second time around, Hocking had . pushed out in front. Jeff Haney quickly worked up to overtake Filice and Briggs for second, but right on his heels was Mike Kidd. Kidd foIiowed Haney past Filice, therr moved into second behind Hocking. Hocking and Kidd put on a spectacular show until Kidd's 750cc twin showed more speed on a downhill paved straight, and Mike took over.. _ At the flag, it was Kidd over Hocking. Scott Pearson moved into_ third with Alex Jorgensen and Rod Spencer in tow. Only Kidd transferred. Warren Reid shot off the line to lead the motocross heat through the first turn with Jeff Ward, Kent Howerton, Jimmy Weinert and Mike Bell close behind. Ward took over, just edging past to lead Reid at the end of lap two, but close on their heels was an impatient Kent Howerton. By the end of lap two, Howerton had the le.ad, leaving the two Team Green members to fight for second place. Howerton held on to win the heat and transfer to the main. Second through fifth went to Reid, Ward, Weinert and Steve Wise. Now, riders of all forms of racing were combined in two elimination heats. Rick Hocking led Warren Reid and Jimmy Weinert at the start of the first race, but: "I spun out right in the lead'" Hocking remounted and completed lap one in 12th place. And he wasn't giving up yet! Reid and Weinert were bumping elbows for the lead; Weinert passed on the road section on lap one, but Reid got him back only seconds later. The two Team Kawasaki riders continued to dice for the lead as, at the end of lap two, Eddie Lawson (now riding a 750cc twin), Alex JOl'J{ensen, I Jeff Haney and Mike Bell followed. On the third lap, Eddie Lawson fell on a tricky paved right·hander. "I went in a little too hot and had to lean it over a little too much," he shrugged later, bruised but not broken. "Sorry Shell," he apologized to the owner of the second bike he'd broken that day. Shell Thuet, builder of the bike Kenny Roberts had crashed during practice, suffered an expensive weekend at The Superbikers. In Roberts' case - he crashed in the same turn that claimed Lawson - a shock mounting bolt had failed at the critical moment that Roberts pitched the bike into the turn. Alex Jorgensen, right behind Lawson when he crashed, did an admirable job of missing both rider and bike. At the halfway mark, four laps, Reid still led Weinert by the narrowest of margins. the two staging a very exciting pass·and·repass show for the crowd, Jeff Haney held third, but Mike Bell and, incredibly, Rick Hocking were pushing to pass. By the time the checkered flag came out, Reid had managed to hold off Weinert for a win. Both Bell and Hocking had passed Haney by lap six, but then Bell stepped off. He restarted quickly and managed to recover to fourth place behind a long·gone Rick Hocking third. F.kh and, final ,n transfer spot went to Dennis Briggs when Haney suddenly dropped to eighth. The second of the two combined elimination heats saw Scott Pearson lead the opening lap. Following at the end of lap one were Rod Spencer, Steve Eklund, Steve Wise, Jeff Ward, Dave Aldana and Ted Boody. Wise moved in to challenge Eklund, passing him on lap two after some close racing. At the halfway point, Jeff Ward had gotten around Eklund, Wise and Spencer into second place. Wise also overtook Spencer for third, but Eklund was having bike problems. . "It started missing real bad, then stopped, " Steve told tuner Craig Fillmer later. Fillmer found the problem, a faulty condenser, and replaced it for the semifinal. By the sixth lap, the top four places were settled. Pearson had the lead over Ward, Wise and Aldana. But the battle for the final transfer spot went right down to the wire between Ted Boody and John Hateley. Boody got the nod, Hatdey got to try again in the semifinal. Aldana's finish line wheelie turned joy to embarrassment as he stepped off the back, sliding along and putting some new scuff marks on the seat of his leathers: 9