Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

; Northern California-Northern Nevada-Oregon-Washington-Idaho-Utah-Alaska-Canadll- Northern California-Northern Nevada-Oregon-Washington-Idaho-Utah-Alask I: NORTHERN DATELINE ~ E o . I _ 00 Cj) ~ ,. tion seem ed to work well but after he hit the tr ee . he de cided to hang it up for the da y. When asked why he hit th e tr ee he commented, "Because 1 d idn 't want to go over th e other side which is just as steep as this side. " And with th at another season was over at Handlebar Hill . The season should be starting up again around November. There are some changes planned for next yea r, one being to move the starting area which will add two new jumps and another 200 feet to th e hill . The facilities at Handlebar a re excellent for both spectators and riders. With an overnight camping area in a lush green peaceful valley, a good snac k bar, and excellent viewing of the superb hill. Handlebar Hill will definitely be a must for hillclimbers and fans ! Results Kerry Peterson turned in II stellar performance at Han dlebar Hill. Peterson goes over the Handlebar By Delbert Longbrake ROSEBURG . OR. MAY 11 "T oday I only ran 30 % nitro and alcohol but I usually run 65 %." Those were the words of Kerry Peterson after he took first place .. 34 -- in the Exhibition class at the last hill climb of the season at Handlebar Hill near Roseburg . OR. Kerry. fresh from the win at the W idowmaker hillclimb in Utah , blasted his Pa lmdale Harleysponsored 800cc Triumph up the 1150-foot hill in 23 seconds, only three seconds off Ron True's long-standing 20-second record climb. As is usually the case. standing 'a t the bottom of the hill sipping a cool one and looking up towards the top , Handlebar Hill doesn't look that steep. But after climbing to the 600-foot mark and looking up at 550 more feet to go . the hill suddenly turns so steep that it makes a person dizzy to look down. Along both sides of Handlebar is an over -abundant supply of poison oak which is in full capacity th is time of year. Someone commented that a fortune could be made by selling Calamine lotion at the snack , bar. Lu ckily there was none of the nasty weed around the spectator area . The hill itself goes up fairly smoothly until the 740-foot mark where there is a jwo-foot rock-type ledge. This ledge really sepa ra tes the men from the boys as the rider has to hit the ledge just right so as not to lose time . either by flying through the air or by shutting off too long. One rider reportedly blew up his front tire all, th e ledge in practice . Peterson commented that overall . the hill was very challenging and not just a drag race to the top . It rained much of the week before the climb and that , combined with the fact that it was Mother's Da y, made for a ra ther poor tu rn out. Those who d id attend found the hill in nearly perfect condition with traction plus! The first riders on the hill were the .. 0-200 class and Erik Pierce was the first rider. On his first run. Erik went 270 feet . Jerry Allen was in' the same class and all, his run went 320 feet. By the th ird run j erry had gone 500 feet for first place and Erik came in second at 400 feet. Rick Chapman was the first 250cc rider to try for the top , and after about 712 feet he took a trip through the poison oak . The first rider of the day to go over th e to p was Steve Stith from Riverside , CA . Ste ve and his mod ified Maico went over in 30 .6 seconds and tha t was good enough for firs t place in th e 400cc class. The only other ride r in th e 400cc class to make th e top was the pr esiden t of th e hosting club , Ironhors e Enterprises, Dave Morris. Dave went to the top in 33.88 secon ds. Chuck and Kerry Pete rson were both riding the 500cc class but both had bad luck. Chuck went 785 feet only to lose his igni tion and Kerry seized his Wheesmith Maico so both had to watch the other 500s . Dave Morris rode the 500cc class also and on his third run he turned a 30.35 second run. This just barely kept him ahead of Randy Hvall who stopped the clocks at 30.50 seconds. Both riders were :on Yamahas. In the Open class , Dick Chambers took his 750cc Triumph to the top of the hill in 25.3 seconds. In second was Tom Allen on another Triumph, a 650 . Tom's time was 27.6 seconds. Chambers also rode the Open Exhibition class. Dick is the local favorite hail ing from Grants Pass, OR . Wearing leathers he bought in 1959. riding a straight gasoline-burning Triumph '750 which he bought new in 1966 , and with a Yokohama tire which looked like it could have been on the Triumph when Dick bought it in '66. Mr. Chambers flew over the hill in 26 seconds. Dick was the very first rider to top Handlebar Hill back in 1968 and another time he rod e up the hill while standing on th e seat! Kerry Peterson . armed with 800cc's of Triumph, nitro in the tank and chains on the tire made his first run count. Spewing dirt and rocks 50 feet behind him. he had t he yellow flag at th e top of the hill waving at 23 seconds. It was a good th ing his first run was a good one because at th e top he lost a seal in his Triumph and his oil pressure dropped to five , pounds. Kerry thought tha t his 23. second run would hold and h didn't want to chance blowing an engine with another climb com ing up next weekend . There was one other interesting en trant in the Open Exhibition class. Dan DeYoung. Dan is th e secretary of the local club but that isn't what made him stand out, nor was it when he hit a tree at the top of the hill. It was his rear tire or rather lack of said tire . Dan received instant acclaim at the Widowmaker two weeks earlier.. when he unveiled a rea r steel rim which had medal paddles welded right to the.riml There was no rear tire involved at alii People kept telling him that he had forgot to put his tire on. Dan's inven - ll-200: 1. J errv Allen 1500 ft.l; 2. Erick Pierce 1400 tt.l. 250 : .1. Rick Chapman. 690 ft. (Vam); 2. James Hall. 500 ft. (H-DI. 400 : 1. Stev e St ith, 30.6 sec . (Mai); 2. Dave Morris. 33.88 sec, lVaml. 500: 1. Dave Morris, 30 sec. (Yaml; 2. Randy Hvall, . 30.5 sec. (Varni; 3. Dan Deyoung. 800 ft. (Vam), OPEN: 1. Dick Chambers. 25.3 sec. lTd) 2. Tom ; Allen. 27.6 sec . (Yaml; 3. Dave Morris. 29.3 sec . (Yam). OPEN EX: 1. Kerrv Pet erson. 23 sec, ITri); 2. Dick Chamb ers. 26 sec . rrr il: 3. Rich So usa. 28.6 sec . rr ril. Fremont Raceway MX opens on new track By Mel White FREMONT, CA , MAY 11 Fremont Raceway opened its 1980 season today and the fact that 300 riders showed up may indicate that Fremont is starting a hot new season. The track is' in all, entirely new location west of the main grandstand and everything must be constructed anew . A variety of problems has plagued the construction effort with the result that of the many features promised in the advance publicity. only the stadium-style sand track materialized . The used foundry sand brought in to make the track surface worked remarkably well. It got very rough but it 'kept good traction and produced virtually no dust. However. it contains a lot of metal filings , which , mayor may not prove to be a problem, and large sharp chunks of waste casting metal are mixed up in it which should not be part of a motocross track. Improved facilities ar e on the way and when completed, will serve regular Friday night racing as well as open practice sessions and Sunday races . Fremont expects to become northern California's most complete racing facilit y. When it does. this crowd will probably be back to enjoy it. , Gary Rabe (Hus) had the holeshot in the first moto of th e Open Experts with Dan CasteJhano (Yam) and Rick DeLong (Mai) following . That line up prevailed as those three bikes pulled out a strong lead until the th ird lap when Rabe fell and got up in third position. DeLong, now in second place, fell a couple of times also. but managed to get moving again without giving away any spots. Mike Lane (Yam) was on th e move until he also fell and lost a hip . The second rnoto saw Castelhano take the holeshot with Rabe and Kelly Smith (Yam) following . Del.ong got a last -place start. T im Alarcon (Yam) was soon int o third. At about mid-race, Rabe and Castelhano tangled in a comer a nd lost enough time to let Alarcon move into the lead . By this time DeLong had worked up into fourth and was preparing to make a serious bid for second place. He fell several times trying but was still able to get past Rabe and fin ish th ird. Alarcon had a handsome lead and took the checkered flag well in front but Castelhano was still in second which won him first overall. In the first moto of the Open Intermediates. Kenny Henze (Suz) had the hoJeshot with Steve Paovodieh (Mai) behind, but by lap's end Paovodich had established himself as the leader with Henze a solid second. At 'm id race . however, Henze stalled his engine in a tight comer and found himself in fifth place before it would fire up again. Steve Hays (Hus) was there to take second-place honors . In the second moto Henze again had the holeshot with Steve Ortiz (Mai) next. Ortiz and Henze traded the lead a couple of times but neither of them garnered the win. Paovodich, third off the start, tallied a perfect 1-1. jim Beeman (Hon) had the holeshot in the first mota of th e 250cc Experts followed by Craig Wessel (Yam) and Jim Cunningham (Yam). Wessel was into the lead before the lap was over and not only stayed in front but stretch ed out a lead well cushion ed by lapped riders . Alarcon kept on the move from a mid-pack start and was into second place for the checkers. Beeman held on in th ird. Cunningham got out in front to have the holeshot in moto two. Harold Hutson (Hus) was next and Wessel's was soon the third bike in line . On the fifth lap Hutson managed to get in front of Cunningham but as luck (bad) would have it, Hutson stalled his engine in a comer and Cunningham was too close not to go down behind him . Wessel maneuvered around th em into the lead. Alarcon came up behind Wessel and the two of them began inching ahead of the others lap by lap until Alarcon grabbed all, opportunity to get in front of Wessel and easily held the lead for the remainder of the moto, assuring himself of first overall. Alex Chellew (Yam) , John Curci (Hon) and Scott Castaneda (Yam) had the best starts in moto one of the 250cc Novice Division One, although jim Ownes (Yam) soon moved ahead and stayed to finish first. John Malcomb (Yam) maneuvered into second, Cu rci stayed up for th ird and Castaneda was a strong fourth with lapped riders making the going a lot tougher toward the end of the moto. Castaneda had the lead from the first turn until the checkered flag in mota two. riding with enough grace a?d confidence to make the rough , difficult track look easy. Curci, Malcomb and Owens were in it again as well. In fact. the scores were the exact reverse of the first moto scores making it a four-way -t ie in points for first place. Wessel Jed the 125cc Experts around the first tum in their first moto and held his lead for several laps before being displaced at the front by jeff Watts (Yam) and finally retiring from the moto for good. Mike Beier (Yam) and Willie Miller (Hon) were in tight formation behind W essel at the start and for the last half of the moto Beier was right behind Watts dicing for the lead. A little farther back Miller, Mike Holmes (Suz) and Joey Schlag (KTM) contended fiercely with each other. Ultimately, Watts came in first , Beier a close second and Holmes third for themoto . Watts was in front for the whole second moto followed first by j im Cressa (Yam) then Holmes and from mid-race .on Beier was again in second place.

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