Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Cycle News 1980 05 28

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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Former SSDTwinner Martin Lampkin (117) placed seventh on his SWM. M ick Andrews (182) took fourth on his Yamaha. Stig Karlsson entered the only British-made machine: A 1952 Matchless. 10 are concerned. Much of this bike swapping has been caused by labor problems in Spain that have affected both Montesa and especially Bultaco. The Thumb-Up fac to ry has been closed since November by a strike triggered by the workers' refusal to accept a re duction in the labor force . Montesa was also closed by a strike early in the yea r, reopened and then was stru ck again . . At the present time only Schreiber remains on the Bultaco team . Tony Gorgot went to Ossa . Vesterinen signed , with Montesa . A week before Scotland, Martin Lampkin ended a 10-year association with the factory to sign with SWM . Another Italian company, Italjet, accelerated their entry into trials by signing the many time Spanish champion, Manuel Soler. Soler has been quite instrumental in the development of the Sherpa . The fact that he is the grandnephew of Bultaco's founder obviously indicates the gravity of the situation. However, Schreiber announced before the trial that he would remain with Bultaco for the remainder of the '89 campaign. Bultaco announced plans to commence production early in June. It is probable that th is reopening will be accompanied by a reorganization invol ving a workers' co operative. Soler missed the Six Days to do de velopment work in Italy. The first Ita ljet prototype should make its World Championship debut early nex t month. A t hird Italian com pa ny, Fantic, has been getting impressive results from Jaime Subira , for years a Montesa ma instay in Spa in . Subira's fift h in Scotland, on a 156cc un it. re flects the efficiency of their effort. Another brand switcher , Mick An drews. is back on Yamaha after a two yea r stint with Ossa . Andrews ga ve Yamaha quite a signi ng present in February, winning the Engl ish world round the da y after inking his contract. New machinery included Ossa , SWM and Honda models. Stites, sponsored by the Tryals Shope and Yankee Motors, the U.S. SWM importer . found himself on a brand new yellow machine. Jack reported extensive geometry changes and smoother powe r. It was a busy week for Stites . He left Scotland Saturday afternoon, rode an enduro in central England Sunday and flew home from London on Monday morning . . The new 250cc Honda was ridden by Kiyoteru Hattori of Japan (who finishd 16th) and Eddy Lejeune (12th) of Belgium. There is some speculation that the bike is a production prototype tha t would be built by a Honda R&D arm rather than the parent factory . Many in Britain seemed to sense the inevita bility of a foreign win , either this year or sometime" soon. One comment heard during the week was: "If a foreigner has to win it , 1 hope it 's Schreiber. At least he speaks English." Bernie, returning to Scotland for the first time since his Best Newcomer debut at the rain-drenched '77 event, dropped 11 points on Monday to take the lead, The weather, usually as unpredictable as a glue-sniffing water buffalo, was beautiful. Perhaps as much as two teacups full of rain fell during the week. Monday was so sunny Lane stripped down to a home-town Pleasanton t-shirt to ride the Pipeline. Tuesday looked like a 1-2 day for the Yanks. Bernie had a three and Lane had a four . Then Danielle Galeazzi came in with a two. With two days down Bernie led, 14 to 25. Lane was in ninth , tied with Vesterinen at 33. Vesty was low man on -Wednesday, but Bernie hung onto his lead. At the halfway point: Schreiber 43, Vesterinen and Rathmell44 , Sub ira and Andrews 45. Thursday was the worst day of th e week for early starters. With more than 250 riders spread more than four hours apart, the sections can often alter radically during the day . Andrews , Schreiber and Leavitt, all out early, lost numerous marks in sections that clubmen were cleaning later in the day. By dropping 51 points Bernie plummeted to eighth place, 28 points behind the new leader, Rob Shepherd. Rathmell, almost the last rider out, was low score with 17. With two days remaining, the leaders were : Shepherd 66 , Rathmell and Vesterinen 69, Andrews 84 . By Thursday, Schreiber could be seen practicing floating turns on the hillsides to shape up for the world round in Austria the following weekend. He felt that the "straig ht-on" sections were detuning the turning-trickery that has enabled him to win eight of his last 19 starts in world championships trials and all but one of the indoor or stadium trials he has ridden during the past two years . Friday was Shepherd's early day and he dropped 26 while Vesterinen came in with five and Rathmell scored an eight. Martin Lampkin, slightly offform earlier in the week on his new SWM ride , adjusted enough to underscore all nders with a four. Heading for th e showd own the leaders were : Vesterinen 74 , Rathmell 77. Shepherd 92. On Saturday Vesty came up with his second low score day of the week, losing just four ma rks. Rathrnell would ha ve had to "clea n" the day to beat him . Ins tead he dropped seven . For many, th e Scottish is the best week in trials . But for those trying to win it . th e test is generally an unrelenting pressure cooker with no relief valve . Vesterinen, Lampkin and An drews have all called it the toughest trial in the world to win . The weather, the road rid ing , th e sect ion sameness and relative ease as well as the long delays at many of the sections all are factors . Sch re iber was surprised by his early lead. He didn't expect it. Tuned to overcome th e tension of a single day showdown with riding brilliance, he has not yet acquired the feel for the different kind of pressure Scotland presents. There, fighting boredom or lack of challenge is part of the challenge. Dogged persistence, rather than bursts of dazz ling artistry, seems to be the key. Yet , despite 113 "easy" sections, the Scottish is a challenge that is won only by the best riders in the world. The winners of 13 of the last 14 trials have been world champions. Vesterinen almost gave up the chase after four attempts, complaining of the boredom of riding "sm all round rocks" all week. He stayed home in 1978 . Then he came back last year to take third. Obviously he has found the answer to accepting and combating the peculiar pressures ' of the trial. 1n time, this year's early leader may too acquire that knack and conquer the highlands. Leading the trial for three days in just his second start must rank as quite an accomplishment. But for all time, the honor of the first time for a foreigner belongs to Ytjo Vesterinen, • Results OVERAll: 1. Yrjo V.....inen. 78 1Men); 2. M8Ic:oIm Rathmell. 84 lM onl; 3. Rob Shepherd. 108 (Honl; 4. Mick Andrews. 111 lYam); 5. Jaime Subira, 114lFan); 6. 1Iemi. Schriber. 118 lBull; 7. Martin Lampkin, 121 (SWM); 8. Nigel ' 8irkett, 132 (Men); 9. Alberto Juvantoney, 148 lMon) ; 10. John Reynolds, 1491SuzJ ; 11. Chris Clerke, 150 lMan) ; 12. Eddy Lejeune, 154 (Hon). AMERICAN PLACINGS; 1. 8ernie Schreiber 118 16thl OA); Lane Leevitt 197 128th); Jeck Stites 214 l32nd); Scon Jordan 356 172nd) . 8EST DAILY PERFORMANCE; MONDAY - Schreiber 11. TUESDAY - Galeazzi2. WEDNESDAY - Vesterinen 11. THURSDAY - Rathmell17. FRIDAY - Lampkin 4. SATURDAY - Ves'eri nen4. MANUFACTURERS AWARD: Mont... lVest erinen - 1st; Rethernll - 2nd ; 8irkett - 8th ). BEST NEWCOMER; Eddy Lejeune 18e1gium). BEST CLUB TEAM : Bradford and Dsitrict IRathmell - 2nd; M. Lampkin - 7th; S. Lampkin - 26th).

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