Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Pete E. ..ff end Ke n Herrold ble.ted the . idecer race , Seying "cheese" wasn't nee:esury to drew .mile. in ~e R~ Ame.rice victory circle. . . the Novices (ebovelend the Expert lightweIght wInners (below) enjoyed the glory. drive of Chivington from the slow comers. Early leader Doug Brauneck watched the lead duo from a close third until his crank broke on lap five. "W hat a bum mer ," said Bra u neck. "Not making any money here means I won't be able to make the Loudon National now. " With Brauneck out, third became a battle between Sharp and Martin. Craig Morris and Gary Collins were dueling over fifth - which became fourth when Lawson dropped out and took their battle to the flag with Morris ahead by half a wheel. Lawson headed for the pits on lap 10. The engine went sour." said a dejected Lawson in the Kawasaki pits . " It was pointless to go on ." Lawson's retirement set the top five to the checkered flag . road racing. "I was very happy to do so well," said Nakamura slowly. "I wish to thank Danny Hyatt Performance for his sponsorship. He is also the tuner. Bobby (Behel) had third when we went into the final corner. but I / think he was trying too hard and therefore crashed." Behel, called Alabama by most of his friends , confirmed Nakamura's observation. "What can I say?" he drawled. "I was going for it, but my bike wasn't - in that comer. " Results NOV: 1. Thod Wolff (Yaml ; 2. David Reed (Yaml; 3. Nobuhiro Nakam w a (Yam); 4. Kevin Bronson (Yam); 5. Mark Ilougas (Yaml; 6. Jeff My... (Yaml; 7. K.,;m • Kyota (Ya m); 8. Franco Faggi (Yaml; 9. Steven Foote (Yaml; 10 . Garry Iaizzi (Ya ml; 11. Glen LaRock (Yaml : 12. George Nolan (Ya mt 13. Jay Foley (Yaml; 14 . William Hutt on (Yam); 15. Matthew Win iarsk i (Yam); 16. Peter A&chembrenner (Yam) ; 17. Charles Fairchild (Yaml; 18 . RK:hard Lydon (Yam); 19 . Earl S mith (Yam); 20 . Bobby BeheI (Yaml . Results 1. Dan Chivington (Yam); 2. Rusty Sharp (Yam l:. 3 . Gil Marlin (yaml:4 . Craig Mcwris (Yaml; 5. Gary Collins (Yam ); 6. Mi<:haeI Callahan (Yaml; 7. aruce Maus (Yam); 8. Dave Busby (Yam); 9. Jan JoIles (Yam); 10 . John Samwavs (Yam); 11. Alan W.d (Yaml; 12 . Andrea Week (Yaml; 13 . Gerold Smith (Yam); 14 . Dan Sidecar Essaff/Harrold show the way Guglielmo (Yaml; 15 . Jamea Wool....,. (Yaml. Lightweight Expert Chivington rolls to first win ELKHART LAKE, WI , MAY !II Dan Chivington grabbed the lead on the fourth lap of the 14-lap , 56-mile Lightweight Expert event and was never headed in his 12 cha rge to the ch eckered flag . Cruising home in second was Rust y Sharp after some initi al early battling. Gill Martin took th e show position . Representation in winner's circle spanned the USA with Ohio leading Colorado and Cal ifornia to th e cerem onies. Things m igh t hav e been different if the challenge by Team Kawasaki's Eddie Lawson had not been cut short by a sour engine while he was running second with fou r laps to go. "T his is my first win as an Expert, " said an elated Chi vington in winner's circle. "Am 1 happy? You bet. I couldn't have done it without the help of my brother Dean, he does all the tuning and built a really strong engine." Chivingt~n. rides out of ~is family's shop, Chivington Honda In Marion , Ohio. On ce in the lead , Chivington had the habit of looking over his shoulder and checking behind him in a couple ?f slower corners . " I haven't run first In such a long tim e that I just had to keep checking to see if 1 really was leading," !ngton. said Chi v Rusty Sharp was ready to give Chi~. ingt on a run for the money, but his front tire wasn 't giving him the tr ction in the corners that he wanted . "If the tire hadn't been ca using me to skate the front end a bit , 1 wou ld have gon e after Dan harder. As it was, all I could do was wait for him to make a mistake. It was really a fun race and without the slow start I got , th ings m igh t have been different," said Sharp afterwards. " I wouldn't be here if it wer en 't for Gary Groves . He tunes and owns the bike. We might be a low budget effort , but we have a lot of determina tion ." Sharp also cit ed The Flower Shop his business - as sponsor. Gill Martin wanted to make a closer race of it also, but was balked by slower traffic early in the ra ce and lost his tie with Sharp. "After Rusty got awa y from me I kept a steady pa ce," said Martin. " I got a pit sign that I was pretty safe in third so I d id n' t take any chances. The track is nice , but th e asphalt sealer they used in som e corners was very slick and cut down on the lines you could use. You raced corn er to corner in some places. Martin thanked T ony Sm ith Racing for his sponsorship. "T ony owns th e bike and is a heck of a tuner, also ." All finishers were Yamaha mounted. The final settled down to a pattern of sorts on lap four with Ch ivington leading Lawson by some 10 bike lengths as the pair play ed rubber band around th e circu it. Lawson, after a change of gearing on his Kawasaki sponsored -mou nt from the heat ra ce, was still unable to match th e smooth Novice ELKHART LAKE, WI , JUNE 1 Wolff howls in • runaway wm The first round of the five-event Casto) S Sidecar Challenge Series fell £0 the Kawasaki-powered rig of Peter Essaff and Kenny Har- ELKHART LAKE, WI ,JUNE 1 rold. The Californians took over the lead on lap three of the eight-lap event from second -place finishers George Fisher and Mark Nowicki and led to the flag. The th ird chai r to cross the line belonged to Winfried Hopp and passenger William Alston. Mechanical problems whittled down the field as the long circuit took its toll on machinery, stressing engines, fram es and driving ability to the max. The lead changed three times in the opening t hree laps. Once Essaff/ Harrold took command, the Fisher/ Nowick i rig could only follow and hope that the pair might make a slip. They.didn't, Racer's Edge House Painting was listed as the major sponsor of the winners while the second-place chair of Michiganders Fisher and Nowicki was self-sponsored, Fred's Cycle of Philadelphia is the home base for the Hop p / Alson duo . Last year's hot running Bill Davidson and Patrick Dunn were among those hit with 'major mechanical problems. Thad Wolff made short work of the 14-lap. 56 -mile Novice event once in the lead and cruised home an easy victor over David Reed and Nobuhiro Nakamura. The real fight had been for thi rd with Nakamura , Bobby Behel and Kevin Brunson all scrapping around the entire course. Behel crashed out in the last tum while third allowing Mark Bougas to fill out the top five. " I'd like to thank Neil Sorensen, my sponsor and tuner," said Wolff. "T his made 'the trip from California worth while." Wolff rode the ra ce with a brace on his left wrist , the result of a break six weeks ago that Wolff did not want to reinjure. . . " I sort of rode my own race In second," said David Reed . " I couldn't ca tch Thad so I waited for him to make a mistake. 1 was pretty safe from those behind me ." Reed rides out of A&M Harley-Davidson in Kannapolis, NC. "Jack Callahan sure tuned me a strong bike . We'll be back at Loudon." Nobuhiro Nakamura used to be a professional MX rider in his home country of Japan although for the last six yea rs he has called Gainesville, FL his horne-, Itis his .sec.o.nd. yea r in ~!"~ • Resu lts 1. Peler EsaafflKonnelh Harrold (KIwI ; 2. George Rsher /M.k _ (KIwI ; 3. W.,fried Hopp/William Alston (KIwi ; 4. David DobbsITom Dobbs (SuzJ ; 5. Paul KnoIIJDen Pierce lSuz); 6. Jamea HayslJ . _ Campbell lSuzl; 7. Doug Kalinaillfad Fufker (KIw I; 8. o • • R~d Duprae/Marvin HageIe lSuzl. . 0 • •

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