Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

J Southern Callfornla·Arlzona-50utbern-N evada.Soutberi'caiiiorn i';.-Arlzoaii.South.;; Nevada.Southern California. Arizona I: Western hotline ~ E o 00 en ...... Erik Kehoe leeds Bobby Kline in the AMElHonda American Minic:ycle Series. Kehoe takes AME/Honda American MinIcycle Championship Series opener By Judy Greenberg Photo by Bob Greenberg VALENCIA , CA, MAY 10-11 American Motocross Enterprises launched the 1980 Honda American Minicycle Championship Series, with two full days of racing 32 at In dian Dunes. T his was the first of nin e regional championships to be held coast to coast through June and July, with all entries qualifying for the Grand Nationals at Lake Whitney , TX on August 1-3. American Honda went all ou t with factory 'VIPs on hand, along with a courtesy motorhome and Honda display for public contact and assistance. Twenty-eight CR80 and CR125s were donated to be awarded through the series, along with contingencies from Hondaline, Kal -Gard, Super-Seer , Duralube, E.C. Birr , Bosch, Dunlop, Nippondenso and a Pro -T rac trailer. Spectacular four column t rophies ranging to over four feet awaited the riders from California , Nevada and Arizona who converged on the reversed International track and sandwash to battle their way for the Western Regional titles. Yamaha's Erik Kehoe exchanged his rninicycles for motorcycles and double victories. Kehoe will carry the title for the 125cc Expert/payback class, with Kal-Gard's number one Honda rider, Bob Kline second and A.J. Whiting (Yam/ AJRP) third. The trio ran nip a and tuck from the pack in the first few laps of moto one. Kline had trouble with his rear tire and settled int o a solid th ird , while Whiting kept the heat on Kehoe to the wire. Pro -Trac's Dave Coupe (Suz) pa ssed Mark Bledsoe (Yam) and held him off until the last la p when he lost enough horsepower to put Bledsoe ba ck in fourth . Jerry Shore (E.C. Birt Hon) , back from a long lay-off, finished sixth. The second time, Kehoe holeshot with Kline in hot pursuit. Whiting for locked in heavy traffic, as he wat ched them fade into the distance. Bledsoe held third while Whiting traded places with Coupe, David McGhee, and Shore. He was there to take third when Bledsoe spun out at the halfway point. A mere five seconds separated Kehoe and Kline at the finish , with Whiting 28 seconds later, followed by Coupe, McGhee, Shore, Da ve Lynch (Hon) and Bledsoe. Kehoe's second pair ' of wins came out of the 100cc Expert class, with Jack Gr eenberg and Brand Johnson placing the ir Suzukis second and third . George R&D Suzuki-mounted Holland took it all in the 83cc Stock and Mod ified Experts and 105 Open classes. R&D teammate Troy Blake and Kawasaki's San Storer swapped second and third overalls in a field of top Mini Experts. They exploded off the line with Holland in charge of moto one of the Mod ified class. Storer held second as Blake and DG Hondamounted Mark Meredith closed in. Flying the sand whoops , Storer and Blake were side by side . Blake kept the pressu re on trying to get around , but Storer kept his wheel in front for a tight fini sh. Larry Brooks , newly appointed to the American Honda Minicycle race team, pursued Holland out of the gate of moto two. Blake took second in t he sand as Storer haunted Brooks in fourth . They ran tight into the far turn where Brooks ran into trouble, putting Storer in third. Meredith and Rick Hemme glided by the checkered for fourth and fifth. U.S. Yamah a riders Eddie H icks and Mouse McCoy swapped wins for the 61cc Stock and Mod ified Expert classes, with R&D's Scott Brown finish ing third overall in both. McCoy took off with an immediate lead in the first Stock moto . Brown grab bed second when Hicks went down and Marty Rickard slipped int o third . Hicks was back up and on the gas. and mo ved back to th ird by the finish . McCoy fired off to win the second round with Hi cks second and Brown third . The 83cc Stock and Modified 12-16 Intermediate classes were won by Todd Campbell of So. Cal. Kawasaki . Pro-Trac's Bobby Moore finished the first round of the Modified in second followed by R&D's Rudy Dickinson and Team Honda's Todd Hewatt, Campbell charged up the hill to lead the second round, only to lose it by taking a spill a lap later. Donnie Sigrist (R&D /Rocket Rex) took over with Alan Lippie behind. Hewatt and Dickinson overpowered Lippie as they closed on Sigrist. As the pressure mounted , Sigrist relinquished his lead to Hewatt who continued to stretch it out. It looked like a sure win for Hewatt as he prepared for the checkered, bu t a few turns before, he threw a chain and Sigrist was back in front for the win , followed by Dickinson , Campbell and Lippie. With repairs quickly made, Hewatt jumped back in for a ninth place finish and sixth overall. The new " Kal-Gard Kids ," Kyle Lewis, Cindy Dumo, Jack Greenberg, Andy and Zoli Meszaros placed their smooth running machines in the top three of all classes run. John Ethell went back to back for the 61cc Stock 9·1 I Junior wins. Jeff Reynolds took the early lead in to the wash , 'where Ethell took over for the first moto win . Robert Headworth finished second and Reynolds th ird. Headworth held the lead for most of the second round, with Reynolds making a pass in the sand on Richard Hunter. Eth ell moved into third and when the flag came out, it was Ethell, Hunter and Headworth. The winners of the min icycle classes entered a drawing for a CR80 which was won by Junior Cycle Expert and 83cc Intermediate Scott Brown. The motorcycle class winners drew for the CR125 whic h was won by 100cc Intermediate Zoli Meszaros . The Championships for Regional Two will be held in Austin, TX on June 8. Riders who attend from other regions can race the National classes to build points towards winning a CR and a Honda support ride. Results 125 MOO EX; 1. Erik Kehoe lYom) ; 2. Bob Kline lHonl ; 3. A.J. Whiting lYom). 125 MOO INT: 1. Robbie Brown (SUlI; 2. Anav M...,os lYom) ; 3. JacI

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