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/126467
.... M 0.. -< (Above) Chuck Miller scored a third In the 2&Occ class. I Below) Darryl Kuenzer held onto SUicy until the final special test on Day Two; then ··MXperience" took the win. That'. M)(. cross-up and all. KTM'. Frank SUlcy, a regular on the AMA MX circuit. topped the field. AMA ISDT Qualifier Series: Round three MXperience leads to Stacy win atJ By Dale Brown SKIATOOK, OK, APR. 19-20 After a day and a half of riding and three special tests, only one second (point) separated KTM teammates Frank Stacy and Darryl Kuenzero But in the final special test, a five-lap motocross Stacy stretched his lead , ds d k h to 20 secon an too t e ~ve.r· all and 250cc Intent class WID ID the John Zink Two-Day Qualifier hosted by the Tulsa Trail Riders. .8 . . ThIrd overa.H, first 10 the 500cc Intent (to, quahfy for the ISDT) was Yamaha s La~ Roeseler, who also came on strong m . the final motocross R'd b to score t h e c Iass VictOry. I ers etter ' k nown as d esert I 0 ff -road /B aJa racers 'd . k d I we II m t h'IS event, as J'1m F'IS hb ac, Sc~t ';Iarden, Jack Johnson and Bru~e Ogdvle placed second through fift~ ID the 5~Occ. I class, and Chuck MIller was thud 10 the 2505. Suzuki's. Mik~ Rosso hung on through a rough time ID the motocross to eke out a two-seco~d victory'over Kawasaki's Jack Penton ID the l75~c.I ranks. I~ the l25cc class, Husky s Greg I?avls ~e back from an unusual expenence 10 the Day Two grass. track to burn up the motocross for a WID. Overall A honors went to 200cc class rider Morrill Griffith, edging o~t fel- low 200cc classer Kyle Doty, the leader after' the first day. In the B ranks, Open bike pilot Robert Ripley pulled out the overall win but 200cc class rider Chuck Coope; was well ahead before suffering 60 route points at Day Two's final check. In contrast to the previous week's two.day qualifier in Alabama where flood conditions prevailed, this event was marked b y su nshl'ne , warm tempera t ures. and dust . 'Barna winner Ed L . k 't h to enJ'oy however oJa wasn ere , , as Husky's Greg Davis reported that Lo'ak elected to bypass this event to giJe more time to his schoolwork. The Tulsa Trail Riders did a good 'ob of organizing the event and things ~an very smoothly. They didn't coddle the riders however; the slower "B" schedule (~sed both days) found competitors hitting the check with only. 2-4 minutes to spare. More than one rider found himself working on his bike right through to his two minute grace limit, and then pushing the bike through the check and finishing the job on the other side_ Dayqne Key time was 7 a.m., and the riders faced two 37-mile loops, each to be run twice, two grass track special tests and an acceleration test. Kuenzer did not get off to a good start. "I about killed myself a mile from the beginning," he related. "I went over the bars and landed, looked up and the front wheel goes boom. Nailed me right in the face." Team Yamaha's Rick Munyon didn't have things going his way either, as his carb's float stuck near the first check, causing the gas to pour out. Efforts to fut it were usuccessful, and after getting enough gas to finish the loop, Rick puJled out. Latf'r it 'was discovered that a piece of plastic from a jerry jug had wedged its way tightly into the works, causing the problem. Kawasaki's Kevin Lavoie ran out of gas a few miles from the pits, winding up four minutes late at the check. Stacy and Kuenzer started pulling away from the pack at the first grass track, posting 313 and 314-second times respectively, while most of theother top contenders posted scores in the 317 ·320 range. The riders had pre· ridden the special test while going out on the first loop because club officials feared that one section might be dangerous to the unaware. The section, a trip across a 50-yard wide concrete culvert whose far bank was a perlect launching ramp, but followed by a 3O-foot dropaway, drew. styling from. some .riden,. oohs and aahs from the spectators, but no disaster yet reported. After scores from the first three special tests had been posted, there were several tight battles in progress. Kawasaki's Dane Leimbach led Greg Davis by one second in the I25cc class. In the one-seven-fives, Rosso burned off a hot first grass track time, but cooled off slightly in the second one. He still led Penton by six seconds with Kevin Brown (Yam) just two seconds back_ Stacy and Kuenzer pulled off identical times in the second grass track and were still only one second apart. Jeff Fredette and his Suzuki were third, having amassed 16 seconds more than the leader. Maico's Steve Van Watermeulen had the lead in the 500cc class, three points ahead of Yamaha off-road squad member Jim Fishback. The three-point difference came as a result of Van Watermeulen edging Fishback by one second in each of the tests. Roeseler was five points down. The course was laid out almost entirely within the boundaries of the' John Zink Ranch. The landscape is often covered with square-edge rock, and that feature spread to the course and the rider impressions. Said one rider, "I think we found out what they grow here. This is a ranch and they grow rocks instead of anything else.'" Day Two . . . Ri~rs. set- off ,to. tackle three ~~re