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/126461
; • • ~ t " ~ 0 00 C') ~ C') ~ U 1-0 ~ ~ Donnie Hansen 11861 found the hot line at the 1It8rt. but Rex Staten 1161 found It at the finish Hne. AMA Supercross Series: Round five Rocket Rex blasts'em, Smith second at Daytona By Charles Morey DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 8 Under Florida's scorching winter sun, Team Yamaha's "Rocket Rex" Staten rounded the last turn, popped out of the final Gary Baileydesigned "gator pit" and rolled across the Daytona Supercross finish line in an almost anti·climactic end to a day of close, fast· paced racing, Whil h . I Ii . e t e SIX· ap qua fying heats 12 had seen knock.dow!i1·drag·out action, often from gate drop to checkered flag, the 12·lap final event saw Staten take the lead. on lap fiv~ and moto~ on to a secure VIctOry on his Tom Volln·tuned factory Yamaha. Back on the pipe and looking hot on his new Suzuki following his inauspicious season start in Atlanta last weekend was Marty Smith. Smith led early in the final moto after Team Honda's Donnie Hansen bailed while leading the pack. He had to let Staten past, but Marty held on to finish a safe second place ahead of Team Yamaha's AMA Supercross Series points leader Mike Bell. Andre Massant, sole European rider in the 'SO Daytona Supercross, had pla~ed fifth i~ his qualifyi~g moto, easily transfernng to the maIO event, But a slow start in the final combined with the tight infield course and a star· studded field kept the Belgian Maico rider from placing better than 18th. Preliminaries Qualifying moto number one fea· tured a classic just-like-the·Superbowl Barnett/.Bell battle from start to finish as SuzukI's Mark Barnell grabbed the holeshot. o~er Yamaha's lanky, Mike Bell. Wlthm three laps, the paIr had left third place rider Arlo Englund almost 15 seco,:,ds behind to lead a second race agalOst the snarhng pack. Bell hounded Barnell mercilessly, but Barnett n~ver flinched ... all the way to the firush line. ~nglund, riding a PDQ Yamaha, held third, followed by Darrell Shulu, Mike Guerra. Mark Lawrence. John Day and Jo Jo Keller. The top eight transferred directly to the main event, larger than normal because Daytona accepts a -fl-rider field rather than the standard %S-man SUpercrOlS starting Line·up. Heat two had the makings of another no-boids-barrm ronftootation with Rex Staten, Chud Sun, Danny LaPorte and Marty Tripes gftting off the line fast. But on the second time around, both Tripes and LaPorte dropped from the front runners in separate crashes. "I went right through the haybales'" Tripes said later from the back of his Team Yamaha truck. "Sun crashed me. I was on the inside, and he rammed me. I went from srcood to eighth." Tripes eventually finished seventh for his transfer to the main. LaPorte apparently got off harder; he restarted at the back of the pack, but did not finish the mOlD. Sun was flying, looking as good as he had while winning the Atlanta SupercTOlS on the previous wedtend, and he palled Staten near the halfway mark. Chuck put a little d~~,~r 1 l') the second placer, then rode to the checkered flag unchallenged. Staten held srcond place OYer Yamaha team· mate Broc Glover and Team Honda's Steve Wise who had started in 10th. Rounding out the eight transfer spots were Larry WIISick, Spencer MorriIon, Marty Tripes and Chuck's little brother, Ron Sun. Georgia'sJoe Ragen popped the bole· shot in the third qualifier, but hot on his tail were Team Suzuki's Marty Smith and Kent Howenon with Honda's Donnif: Hansen pruswing them. Ragen led the fint half Lap, but by the time a full circuit of the Daytona track was completed, Howerton held the point over SJ;Ilith and Hansen with Ragen in fourth. As Howenon pulled away, Hansen kept Smith honest for most of the moto before Marty pulled a short-but-secure lead for the finish. The remaining transfer slou were filled by Jimmy Ellis, Dan Conway, Mark Gregson, Donnie Cantaloupi and David Bailey. The fourth and final qualifying moto set the stage for three of SoCal's flDeSt to perform a runaway dice for the win. Kawasaki's Jeff "Teeny Meanie" Ward led Team Suzuki's Brian Myen- .,~a~~~!J~.~~~