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/126471
Tony Wanket 11391. Donnie Hansen 11861 Warren Reid 1 Larry Wosick (271and Mark Lawrence (861lead at the start of the first 250cc m ot a. . 81. 12S/2S0cc National Championship MX Series: Rounds 3 /3 Glover, Howerton on top at So By Jim Gianatsis SOUTHWICK, MA, MAY 18 The rain which had been misting since early morning practice steadily worsened through the qualifying races and on into the afternoon's feature motos. The asphalt starting pad of Motocross 338 usually offers unexcelled kn ob-ripping traction , but the wet pave ment was slick as ice, prompting the rid ers and 6 their mechanics to shovel ramps of sandy wet soil across the grid to im prove traction for the all -important start. Each man wanted his machine to be leading into the first comer before the tortuously rough. high -speed . bermed course literally bashed and crashed everyone together in what had to be the fiercest National all year. Many top riders were left battered. broken and the worst of enemies by day's end. " I was really scared and didn't want to be out there.' ' claimed star Team Kawasaki rider Warren Reid who turned in a fantastic second place performance in the first 250cc rnoto of the day , only to be knocked down and run over twice in the second moto before heading back to the pits where it was safe. Team Yamaha's Broc Glover and Team Suzuki's Kent Howerton scored the decisive victories of the day. Glover took his w a t e r p u m p i n g OW 42 wrenched by Jim Felt to the trophy presentation in the l25cc class . The 250cc race went to Howerton and his Greg Arnett-prepped RH 250-80 works bike with conventional dual shock rear suspension , unlike the new prototype monos being raced in Europe , but equipped with a new magnesium guillotine slide Mikuni carburetor for improved throttle response. The mora l victory of the day were two local favorites who stole the enthusiast ic screams of the crowds , moto wins , and nearly all the glory. Team Honda rider R ich Coon from Ghent , NY , dominated the first moto of the 125cc class for a win , then came back from a near last place crash in the second moto to work his way back up to second place when another sp ill broke his colla rbone. Oblivious to t he pain, Coon remounted his bike and continued to ride th e remaining six laps at near full speed to hold onto fourth position , second overall behind Glover before collapsing at th e finish line and having to be taken directly to the hospital by ambulance. The other hero was T eam Moto-X Fox rider JoJo Keller of Plymouth , MA , who p laced t hird on his CR Honda the opening moto of the 250cc class after being knocked a rou nd by t he factory stars. His anger swelled for t he fina l race and he took the moto in a runaway ahead of Howerton a ll the way to the fini sh line. Only a flat tire prevented Yamaha's Marty Tripes from passing How erton in that second moto and making Keller the first non factory rider in Am erican motocross to win a 250cc National. History of the technological kind was made at Sou thwick as both Yamaha teamsters T ripes and Bell rode new OW 40 -E works bikes with Power Valves. Previou sly used on ly in proto ยท type Yam a ha road racing bikes, this la test Power Valve design uses mec hanical drive off the engine's cra nkshaft end to opera te a valve at the cylinder's exhaus t port for varying exhaust port height according to engine rpm for an improved power b and . At Southwick, though , the Power Valve Yamahas did not seem to have any clear-cut advantage over other bikes. 125cc National R ich Coon careened his watercooled RC125 Honda from one huge sand walled berm to th e next , roosting awa y with the lead that he had pulled right off the starting line of the first moto. It look like no one cou ld stop him , not even reigning class champion Broc Glover who quickly moved into secon d place aft er the start , nor current series points leader Mark Barnett who quickl y threaded his watercooled RA Suzuki int o th ird . Teammates Myerscough and Burnworth , along with PDQ's Pat Moroney , closed up on Barney, and the four played cuthroat for the next 15 minutes. Ba rn ett fell once, worked back up to third and then fell again . Up front, Rich Coon mai ntained a command ing IOv cond lead on se Glover for nea rl y t he entire mota .. . rig ht u p to the last two la ps where " Broccoli" na rrowed it down to just 40 feet at the finish line. Ba rn ett too k fourth behind Myerscough as Ph illip Larson moved in to collect top privateer spot with fif th . T he second moto holeshot was stolen by Coon again , but this time his lead only lasted 100 yards to the first turn where he fell and was hit fr om behind by Ba rn ett, leavi ng the both of them to pick up the pieces a t t he back of th e pa ck as Ron Su n 'ju mped his factory Honda int o a tem porary lead over Glover, Burnworth , Larson , Blose, Myerscoughand Ward . Yamaha 's Don nie Ca ntalou pi, who suffered bike problem s the first m oto , went out with a twisted ankle after a fall on the second la p . Sun soon faded into the pack , giving Glove r the lead. Glover's lead up front was not secu re as Myerscough quickly reeled Broc in and the two began trading close calls . Brian finally handlebarred his way around Broc after 10 minutes of pushing and prodding, while from behind, Coon was already knocking on both their doors j ust 15 minutes after the first tum crash which left him near last. Myerscough stayed out in front of Glover until the race began to unwind in the final few laps . Then Broc kicked in his afterburners to repass Bria n and retake the lead , holding him off to the finish . Coon thought he could catch the two front runners , and needed to if he wanted that first moto win to turn into an overall win , but go t out of shape and bailed off hard with only 10 minutes in the race left to go. As Ba rn ett wheeled by to collect third position, Coon struggled up from th e grou nd with a b rok en colla rbone, restarte d h is bik e quick eno ug h not to lose another position and held fou rth pl ace to the bitter end. After crossing the finish line , Coo n drop pe d off his bike and onto the grou nd to the be wild ermen t of all the factory tea m personnel around him who had no idea lie was inj u red and in severe pain. If that's not determin a tion an d guts . . . Glover won the race and tightened