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/126460
o 00 (j) CN (Above) Kawasaki's Kevin Lavoie won the Open A c:Ius, while telImm8t8 Ted Leimbach (below) _ second in the 2!iOcc A I'8nks. 12 (Continued/rom page 10) I r~ed it up the grips got hotter, son of a built·in incentive system. They're in the prototype stage right now, but I can say that they work really well." Drew Smith, who finished second to Burleson in the standings in last year's title chase, dido't fare too well at Stone Mountain - he was and has been riding with a broken bone in his left wrist for the past two monthsl "I broke the bone while doing some practice riding, and it's healing very slowly. I'm using a cast, but nothing seems to help. Today I had two flat tires, and that didn't exactly help me to do my best." Mike Rosso, a Suzuki teammate of Smith, thought he had the National won hands down. "Hey," he said with a smile while the scores were being tallied, "I had overall in the bag. The only problem was that I had 100 miles still to go. What luck. huh?" "I liked the run," said Kawasaki's Open A class winner Kevin Lavoie. "You could call it a ridge run. Fint we ran one ridge and gassed up and then ran another ridge. It was a lot like the trails we had at last year's Two-Day Q.ualifier in T etmeIIee. I'll tell you one thing - if you didn't watch out for the pine tree branches that were covered with ice you could get slapped around pretty good." Numerous bloody DOleS and scratched faces were in evidence belonging mostly to riden riding with· out some fonn of full coverage helmet. The cold did get to Burleson. "I had the frame of my glasses break at the second check. I took them off to clean them and they must have been brittle. Fonunately, I always carry a second pair although they weren't as good and I did a good deal of squinting for the rest of the run." One familiar face back on the scene was Ted Worrell. "Hey, I feel great," was his comment after the run. "I didn't ride the final five Nationals last year so that I could get my knee back in shape, and it was the best thing I could have done. I'm back in the hunt. Yau better believe it." It appeared that Overall A winner Terry Cunningham wore a smile all day despite the cold. "It was my first ride on the Husky," said Cunningham. "I picked it up about a week ago. Gee, I'm putnped. It's not too bad a way to stan out things." Jack Penton and Rod Bush were seen comparing scores intently after the finish. "How did you drop less than I did at this check," queried Penton. "Hey, you did it to me at this other one," countered Bush. In the end it was Penton and his Kawasaki over Bush and his KTM by one point for the 200cc'A class title. "That's it," said Bush. I win all the rest from now on." For sheer enthusiasm you couldn't beat John Martin. The Can-Am factory rider was repeatedly heard whooping and hollering as he rode the trails. He wasn't trying to warn slower riden that he was about to pass - he was just having a good time. "I like to win," said Martin. "But no matter where I finish I have a good time riding." Martin's score was good for second in the AA class. "Anytime you lose 40 points and win overall, it had to be a tough run," Burleson sutnmed it up. "The weather made things a bit miserable, but didn't really add to making the trails rough. All you really had to do was Set a good pace and keep on it. Usually you make time on the open road, but at Stone Mountain going fast on the open roads meant freezing and a good shot on check out the mow and icecovered pavement." • Unofficial Results AA OVERAll: 1. Did< Bur\eoon. "" (Hus). AOVERAll: Terry Cunningham..~ (Hus). AA: 1. John Fero. 47lYlml; 2. John MII1in, ~ IC·A); 3. Drew Smith. 49 (Suzl; 4. Ted Worrlll. 50 (Hanl; 5. Killin Snopp. 52 (Suzl. 125cc Po; 1. A. KMn. 132 (KTMI; 2. F. McGlIn. 143 (CoAl; 3. G. CopoIInd. 157lYeml; 4. B. P_ce. 188 (C· AI. 200cc Po; 1. Jock Penton. 50 (KIWI; 2. Rod 1luIh. 51 (KTMI; 3. B. 1IIrrothIS. - . . 55 (KTMIKTMI; 5. L Roesoler.57 (Yeml. 250cc Po; 1. C. Grev. ~ (Suzl; 2. Ted l.AIimboc:h. 49 lKIWl; 3. J. " ' - . 581Suzl; 4. F. GIIo. 83 tKTMl; 5. D.~.87IKTMl. OPEN Po; 1. ~ ........ 55 0CIwI; 2. W. ShIIIDn. 84 (CoAl; 3. R. 1100._06.. (N." .............._84 lYemI; 4. W. a-v. 16 ..,......... Edtiu>rJ