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/126457
!Above) Kent Howerton (4). aItown here with Rex SUiten. emerged from the weekend blltterect"but .econd in .erlea points; (Below) AftM Bel split In the tIneL Chuck Sun briefly Iec:I Broc GIo".- Set.; (Opposite pege) Mike Bell - the victor. AMA Supercross Series: Rounds one-two Bell doubles at Kingdome Supercross opener ing him home. By Mark Kariya Photos by Action Oz and Kariya SEATTLE, WA, FEB. 9-10 Mike Bell kicked off the 1980 AMA Supercross season with back-to-back wins at the Yamaha Gold Cup event in Seattle's Kingdome this clear and chilly weekend. 18 In Satu!day night's race, he led a factory Yamaha sweep of the top three places, teammates Broc Glover and Marty Tripes follow- Bell made it look easy on Sunday as he won his qualifying heat race handily and later led the main event from the drop of the gate to the checkers 20 laps later. Honda and Kawasaki did crack the Yamaha stranglehold Sunday with Texan Steve Wise getting the runnerup and Jeff Ward nipping fellow Uni-Trak pilot Warren Reid in the last corner for third. Saturday It was evident from the start of the weekend's racing that the revamped Kingdome track would be extremely fast and the initial practice sessions confirmed this. Loose and rocky soil soon gave way to numerous deep ruts and grooves, though, which maintenance crews kept flattened as much as possible. Winner of the qualifying moto for alternate riders. was Phillip Oveland who blitzed his Champion MX Cycles Can-Am to an almost uncontested win over Tim Miehliuch's Yamaha and Blain Elledge's Honda, giving them all a chance to try to make the final. The first qualifying moto saw Kawasaki's 'lammin' Jimmy" Weinert take control from Jimmy Ellis' PDQ. Yamaha midway through the race. Marty Tripes came up through the pack and joined Weinert at the front. EIns, Yamaha's Donnie Cantaloupi and Kawasaki's Chappy Blose zipped' in behind them to earn a berth in the final. In the second qualifier, Bell flew by early leader Reid after the whoop-dedo section, and though he couldn't shake the Kawasaki teamster at all, he kept his lead intact. Steve Wise led a Honda one-two in the third qualifier, ahead of Donnie Hansen, Team Suzuki's Darrel Shultz and Maico's Danny "Magoo" Chandler. Toyota Triplecrown and Superbiker's winner Kent Howerton romped his works Suzuki through the fourth qualifier, easily beating Jim Gibson's Honda and Marty Moates' LOP Yamaha. Billy Grossi took his Moore & Sons Husqvarna to the first semi win ahead of Honda-mounted Rick Benek, both riders transferring to the main. Broc Glover, who hasn't ridden many stadium races in the past, looked like a strong contender for the final by running away with the second semi .. Suzuki strongman Mark Barnett slipped past Honda-mounted Carlos Serrano a few laps from the end to also earn a spot. With only the winner going into the big event, the consolation race was a do-or-die effort in which Goat Breker's U.S. Norstar Kawasaki triumphed, just holding off Team Suzuki's Brian Myerscough. At the start of the final, Chuck Sun blasted his air-cooled RC250 Pro Link into the lead. Yamaha's Rick Burgett got inle trouble early when he hit some bumps wrong in the first tum and was pitched off, taking doWn Steve Wise among others. Glover said later, "I couldn't believe the start I pulled'" It was indeed a good one that put him right behind Sun and ahead of Hansen and Bell. Sun led the first five laps .before succumbing to Bell's surge for the lead. He began to fade a bit after that, dropping to an eventual fourth and confessed later that "the only thing that held me up was my start. I'm still used to my Husky," he said and as such, couldn't get a rhythm going. Bell certainly had his clicking as he began to stretch his lead after the halfway point. It did diminish somewhat the last few laps, though he didn't ease up. Glover just started to find good lines around the rocky course. He didn't pose a serious threat to Bell, however. Tripes, stuck behind downed riders at the start, began to move up after he thought that those in front of him "weren't going that fast, so I decided to go for it." He moved by Sun for third on lap 12. Howerton survived an endo in which he hurt his left arm and came from the back of the pack in a strong charge that put him in striking range of Sun at the finish.