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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126474
Burgett decelerates ahead' of Denny Swartz (31) and Arlo Englund.
500cc National
Maico's Denny Swa rtz picked up
wh ere he lef t off at Red Bud last week ,
taking the holeshot in the first moto,
Burgett was kick ing off Sun as the two
dueled for posi tion. PDQ's Arlo
Englund. Kawasaki's Ga ylon Mosier
and Ma ico support ride r Alan King
were also in th e hunt . Marty Sm ith
' crashed hard half a lap into th e rac e.
and was seen on his kn ees off the track.
He regai ned composure and took off
again about two and a half m inutes
down.
Burgett . Swartz, Sun and Englund
were doing the pacin~. Sun closed on
Swartz, but it took him a number of
laps to pass - Swartz was no easy
.target .
By ha lfway , Burgett had a lead h
would hold to t he finish . The only
thin g that' a lmost sto p ped him was a
near get -off through some whoops.
Sun was trailing , a nd LaPorte was t he
man to watch . From a poor sta rt he
ran to fourth. He tu rned it int o a th ird
by more's end .
O ver the finis h line ca me Bu rgett,
Sun, LaPorte. Kawasak i's Goat Breker,
Yamaha support rider John Day, Wheel ·
sm ith Maico rid er Steve Rhyan, Englund and Mickey Kesser. Swartz had
faded to 10th.
"For abou t 30 m inutes my feel were
on fire ," said Burgett while soaking his
feet in ice water. " It felt like there was
a blowtorch underneath them. I was
just cruising for awhile ,- but then I
decided it was time to get down ."
"That was the hardest to keep going
it's ever been. After about lap five I
was dead ," said Shultz as he ate a
banana in the pits . " I' m not really in
shape,,- I have to work on m y bike all
week.
" My seat came off and I had to
stand - I couldn't take th e heat ," said
King. He had tried to walk off the '
track, but passed out go ing to th e pits .
Ma ny riders too k the hea t hard.
" My ri b feels funny," said Smit h
from under a wet towel in the Suzuk i
p its. It was later learned fro m Suzu ki
T eam Ma na ger Mark Bla ckwell the
ri b was possib ly crac ked.
J immy Weinert ha dn't don e well in
mo to on e , and a rock kn ocked his gas
petcock off at th e start of mot o two,
putting him out for the day. Sun.
Burgett,
Honda 's Jim
Gibson ,
Englund and LOP's Ma rt y Moa tes
went into t he lead . Moates soon
plugged into th ird . Burgett challen ged
Sun untillappers set h im back. Moates
was look ing th e best he has th is season ,
holding a consistent third that didn't
fa de until late in th e race - whe n
LaPorte came up to do battle .
The Moates/LaPorte clas h was
tight. LaPorte would close , but
Moates would turn on his motor in the
straights and get his ed ge ba ck . Finally
LaPorte got by in the fast sweeper.
went after Burgett and go t him , but
t hen fell . Su n took th e win with a 20
second lead follow ed by Burget t ,
Moa tes, LaPorte, Gibson and Englund.
" I could have gone better , but as hot
as it was I just pa id out th e energy as I
went ," said Sun. " Las t week m ud. this
week heat, next week elevation (in
Colorado) - we ge t a little of everyth ing."
"1 was dead at the 15 minute m a rk ,"
sa id Burgett. "I needed somebody to
pace me. When LaPorte went by I fol·
lowed him . Then he slid out. "
" My brake pedal siuck and I went
down, " sa id LaPorte. I just set a good
pace the second time out. I've been
breaking so much in the last two weeks
that I haven't ridden an y rnotos lat rly -'.
Results
2SOcc NAn ONAL: 1. Kent Howerto n, 1·1 (Suzl; 2.
Mike Bell. 2·2 (Yaml ; 3. W arren Reid. 4-3 IKaw); 4 .
SIeve w.... 5-4 (lion); 5. Mike Guer ra. 7-5 (Husl; 6.
Steve Martin. 8-6 (Yaml; 7. La