Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

For the third weekend in a row the 125cc Pro class fell victim to Suzuki test pilot "Radical Ron" Turner and his RM 125T production bike. With his win Turner took over the Series class points lead from Yamaha/MolO'X Fox rider Jim Holley who suffered from a couple of crashes which left him down in placings and points with just two events left in the Golden State Series. The Open Pro class was picked clean by local hero. Team Maico berzerko Danny "Magoo" Chandler who spent the day looking uncommonly smooth and totally in control as he waltzed his 450 Megaform Maico to both moto wins. Team Yamaha's own Rocket Man, Rex Staten, didn't do too badly with a third overall in the 250cc class and a second overall in the Open aboard his production YZs 10 take over the series points lead in the 250cc class and increase his Open class points lead even further. But with Rex now off to campaign the Supercross Series, the 250cc and Open class titles are now up for grabs to any number of riders who could possibly win the last two races. 125ce Team Suzuki support rider Scott Burnworth saw himself turning an opening molO ho1eshot into a huge lead that would last for the rest of the race. Series points leader Jim Holley found his line blocked by a downed Johnny O'Mara of Team Mugen, and once Holley worked his Yamaha around he was near the rear of the pack. "As soon as I was back in the race, a few laps later I tangled with Jeff Watts and went down again," related Holley afterwards. Then if that wasn't enough, he hooked up with Dave Coupe as the two were working through the pack again and both went down. It wasn't Holley's day. Burnworth looked over his shoulder and all he could see was Luft/Honda's Gary Denton, Moto-X Fox's Mike Preston, Brian Carlson, Wargo, Rebuck and Wax ham way back in the distance. It looked like series frontrunner Denton might have been able 10 close the distance on Burnworth, but just as he was closing ground. he h'ad to pull off the track to straighten a berm-bent shifter. Both Brian Wargo and Moto-X Fox rider Dana Waxham were looking extremely hot as they moved up to displace Preston and Carlson for the runner-up positions behind Burnworth. Then on the last lap Ron Turner moved his Suzuki up from his poor start to pass Preston for fourth place. One of the first moto casualties was Team Yamaha's Donnie Cantaloupi, out for his first race in two months since a knee operation. After a couple of spills from his rusty condition, Cantaloupi decided to wait for round number two. Round number two saw first moto winner Burnworth crash riKht after the start and Brian Wargo kick his Yamaha out into the lead ahead of Denton, Larson, Wessel and ·O'Mara. On the second lap Denton stuffed his way inside of Wargo on a fast sweeper for a temporary shot at the lead that lasted up until two laps before the finish. There Ron Turner. steadily having worked his way up from a middle-ofthe-pack start, moved past Denton and took the lead which lasted to the finish. Denton wouldn't be allowed to hold onto second position either as Rick Johnson of Yamaha's Product Evaluation team and Donnie Camaloupi on his own YZ stocker came balllin~ past for second and third having elbowed their way up from the middle of the pack as well. Denton was able to retain fourth spot ahead of Larson. War~o and Waxham. Scott Burnworth mana~ed to .work his way back up to II th place by the end of the race after his first turn crash, but it was Ron Turner who collected the overall win for Suzuki for the third week in a row. 250ee Even though Honda's Chuck Sun dominated both motos from start to finish with his Eric Crippa-tuned RC250 Pro-Link, Chuck had the decency not to pull out a big lead which helped to give the impression of exciting racing. Which it really was. Moto one in the 250cc class saw Maico's Danny Chandler off in second spot behind Sun and ahead of LOP's Mike Brown, Yamaha's Rex Staten, Losh, Lawrence and Benek. First Brown tangled with Chandler, which was a mistake, and went down. But then Mr. Magoo boggled through a turn and Staten was past in a flash to claim second spot. Magoo closed back up on Staten, and for the resi of the moto the two ran wheel-towheel, at times never more than four seconds behind Sun and more often than not just four yards behind. The banging off Chandler must of gotten to Staten, and along with his bruised shoulder and hand from the previous weekend's crash, he backed off his pace -slightly to let Magoo have a secure grasp on second spot just three seconds behind Sun at the finish. Euro Cycles/Hi-Point rider Eric McKenna charged his way up to fourth spot ahead of LOP rider Mark Lawrence, Suzuki's Ron Turner and Gary Semics riding this season for Team LOP as well. Race number two and Ron Turner got off the line this time in second spot behind Chuck Sun with Lawrence, Sernics, Ellis and Brown in pursuit. Danrry Chandler, meanwhile, had gone down in the first turn, run -over his foot, and retired from the molO after his excellent first molO showing. LOP teammates Lawrenc and Brown pushed their way up on Turner to try and take second place. The move worked as Turner dropped back to eighth from a crash. Lawrence then suffered bike problems which slowed his pace slightly and left him with fifth place by the time everyone reached the finish with Chuck Sun still out ahead. chased by Brown, McKenna, Staten, Turner and Ellis. Open Rex Staten had dominated the Open class throughout the Golden State Series and just wasn't expecting the competition Danny "Magoo" Chandler was dishing out this week. For the first molO "Rocket Rex" had the uphill start wired with his Yamaha 465, bUl before they got halfway round the first lap Chandler was kicking his Billy DePralO prepared Maico past Rex and into the lead. Staten's problems weren't about to end there either, as Eric McKenna next moved in with his Euro Cycles Maico. Throughout the moto Staten and McKenna held a terrific battle over second spot. often side by side and bouncing off each other. as Magoo continued to put more daylight between him and them. The fight finally resolved itself with Staten winning out of McKenna at the finish as Magoo collected 'the win, while fourth place was picked up by Dan Turner, Harrison Construction/Hi-Point Maico, Jerome Heiberger. Tim Locey and Steve Rhyan. The second moto took Magoo a lap and a half 10 take the lead away from Staten, but when he did it. it was just as convincing as in the first molO. Before long an eight-second lead was built up on Staten. Locey, Heiberger, Klassen, McKenna and Rhyan of the Maico wrecking crew. For a while it looked like a followthe· leader race with no action going on at all, but then with about four laps 10 ~o before the finish Parry Klassen o 00 0') (Top) Craig Wessel leads Mike Preston (1) and Scott Burnworth in 125cc action. (Above) Chuck Sun was a runaway 250cc Pro winner on the Honda Pro-Unk. (Below) Rex Staten works to hold off Magoo Chandler. found a burr under his saddle and began putting torque 10 the throttle of his Sisler Construction/MolO-X Fox support team Maico. First he picked off Heiberger, then with one lap to go berm shot his way around Locey and Staten without a second thought. It was then the last lap going IOward the finish, and Magoo's lead had shrunk from eight seconds 10 eight feet as Danny wheelied his Maico one-handed up the finish line hill to collect the checkered flag just ahead of Klassen. "I didn't know Parry was that close behind me until I looked over my shoulder after taking the finish," recounted boy wonder Magoo. "Next time I'll know better than to coast in to the finish'" • Results 125cc PRO: 1. Ron Turner 4-1 (SuI); 2. Brian WBtlgo 2·7 (Yam); 3. Galy Denton 7J1IHon); 4. Dana Wa.ham 3-8 (Yam); 5. Scon Burnwottll 1·11 (Suzl; 6. Mike Preston 5-10 IYaml; 7. Rick Johnson 14-2IYaml; 8. Phil Larson "·5; 9. Scan Rebuck 6-15; 10. Jim Holley 12-13 (Yaml; 11. Craig Wessell 17-9 (Suzl; 12. Jim Cressa 917; 13. Dave Coupe 15-12ISuzl; 14. Donnie Gantaloupi 31·3 IYaml; 15. Tim Mulvey 19-18; 16. Jeff Watts 16-21 (Yam); 17. John Yourd 22-14; lB. Tom Ddobirk 21·20; 19. Ross Maeda 20-22; 20. Troy Lee 29-14. 250cc PRO: 1. Chuck Sun 1-1 IHonI; 2. Eric McKenna 4-3 {Mail; 3. Re>c Staten 3JI (Yam); 4. Ron Turner 6-5 ISuzl; 5. Gary Semics 7-7 (Yam); 6. Tony Wanket 11-8 IYaml; 7. Jim Ellis 14-6 ISuz}; 8. Mike Marquey 13-10 IYaml; 9. Rick Bene!< 12·12 IHonl; 10. Mark lJIwrence 5-21 (Yaml; 11. Dave Wood 16-13 {Yam}; 12. Mike Brown 28·2IYaml; 13. Randy Packrandt 17-14; 14. Pat Wilson 9-22 IYaml; 15. Pete Wanke. 10·23 IYam); 16. John Rand 19-16; 17. George McNamara 21·15IYaml; 18. Starr Needham 26-11; 19. Phillip Overiand 20-17; 20. Larry fiooper 29-9. OPEN PRO, 1. Danny Chandler 1-' IMail; 2. Re. Staten 2-3 {Yaml; 3. eric McKenna 3·5 (Mail; 4. Parry Klassen 8-2 (Mai); 5. nm Locey 6-4 (Yam); 6. Jerome fieiberger 5-7 IYam); 7. Steve Rhyan 7-6 IMai); 8. Danny Turner 4-9 (Mai); 9. Randy Lash 9-8 IMai); 10. Larry fiooper 14-10 IYam); 11. Jim Fisk 12·14IMai); 12. Daniel Waller 15·12 (Mai); 13. Brian Davis 11·17 IYam); 14. 8ill Hagen 23-11 IMai}; 15. Richard Mathers 24-13 IMail; 16. Dave Evens 10-27 IYaml; 17. Tim Dias 20-20 IYaml; 18. Greg Nelson 19-21 IMail; 19. Starr Needham 25-16IMai); 20. John Volk IMai). 13

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