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/126477
choked back th e dust to see what eventu all y proved to be one of the better 500cc Nati onals of the yea r. 125cc National Chuck Sun got stylish enroute to winning the 500cc National at Golden State International Raceway. AMA 125/500cc National Cham pionship MX Series: Rounds 5/5 Glover, Sun rush to gold in northern California hills By Jim Gianatsis SONOMA . CA , JUNE 29 "I went over this jump, heard a crack, went over another jump and heard something crack again ," explained last weekend's 500cc USG P of Motocross winner Marty Moates. "The fram e was brok en up by th e steering stem. a nd I cou ld n' t go on ." Moates was put out of th e run ning in the first moto after being 12 a top contender for th e 500cc class win . H e couldn't make th e sta rt of th e second mota sin ce :\1\1A ru les prev ent the replacem ent of a bike's frame . Instead . it was T eam Honda 's Chuck Su n on a n Eric Crippa prepared RC 450 -80 Pro-Link who fended off Suzuki's reigning National Cha mpion Danny LaPorte to win the 500cc Nation - al class and continued to ex te nd his points lead on the tough, b ike-destroying course a t Go lden Sta te Intern a tional Ra cewa y (formerly Sears Point ). . In the 125cc Nationa l class, resumed after a six-week layoff. it was T ea m Yam aha hau ler Broc Glover . the reign ing three -tim e 125cc Nation al Cham p ion . who emerged the winner on his J im Felt tu ned OW 43 wat erpumper .. Broc scored strong back -to -hack mot a wins over Suzu ki's title challengers Mark Ba rn ett a nd Bria n Myerscough . . A crowd of ap proxim ately 4, 000 spectaLOrs waited for the delayed start of th e day's National . held up three hours for a m issing tra ck d octor, th en . , . .. Try as they might to mix things up, th e 125cc Natio nal class was an unin spiring freight train am ong th e LOp fac tory riders . Br oc Glover was dealing out the fastest la p times of th e day on a twisty , hig hly technical rid er 's track easi ly ex hi bi ting his skill. Broc was out LO claim his fourth consec u tive 125cc Nationa l titl e and break up in the process, th e three-wa y battle for th is yea r's points lead with Suzuki's " Bom ber" Mark Barnett and fighter pilot Brian "Messerschmit" Myerscough. Both motos th e win went to Glover over the two challengers by a steady 610 second margin . Scott Burnworth celebrated his signing of a factory contract with Team Suzuki and his first -ever ride on an RA 125-79 works bike by placing fourth the opening mota of the day, and then charging back from a crash at the start of the second mota to collect II th for a . well -earned fourth overall. Bending wrenches on Burnworth's aircooled works bike is Greg Arnette, Kent Howerton's 250cc National Championship winning mechanic who is lighting a flame under the " Little Burner" for the remaining 125cc races . Filling Burnworth's vac a nt support ride at Suzuki was Denny Bentley of Pe rry, MI , who d ialed in a very creditable first mota ride for fifth spot with his RMI25T, though second mota problems kept him out of th e overall top 10 of his first National. Once again su fferi ng mechanical problems whi ch have hampered his performance all season, home crowd fa vorite Donnie Cantaloupi from nearby Stockton was put out of th e running in th e firs t mota when his bik e began miss-firing with possible ignition troubles. The second mota saw Kawasaki's Jeff Ward holding off Cantaloupi for fifth position . T op non -fact ory rid er position was scored by LOP's Mike Brown with fifth overall , back in th e pack where all kinds of fighting was going on . There it was Br own tangli ng cables and footpegs with Mu gen's Jim Holley, Moto·X Fox's J eff " High Volt age" W atts, Kawasak i's C ha p py Blose and Hond a' s R ich Coon on wa terpu m pe rs , a long with hot ru nni ng priva teer Phil Larson . 500cc National The fighting raged a nd bik es and riders emerged like exploded field arti llery. Dro p -off jumps p laye~ ha voc with t he heavier machinery, blowing apart wheels a nd fra mes like tooth p icks. RP M rider Ga ry Pu stelak was full throttle down a rough straightaway when his production KX 42 0 Kaw asak i handgrenaded its fra me a nd the two ends parted co mpany, leaving the " Iro n Man" flying throug h the air wit h nothi ng beneath him but a prayer. In prac tice, Suzuki's Danny La Porte be nt his third fro nt a xle so far, this series, with his RN 440 floater works bik e . T he fron t wheel lock ed up solid a nd pitched him over th e handlebars. Lu ckily, he was unhurt a nd d id n't let it affect h is rid ing lat er in th e day, but it was certain ly no consolatio n fo r a two mont h lon g mech anical d efect wh ich has cost him any hope of retain ing his 500cc Nat iona l title . Rick Bu rgett kicked his fac tory Ya - . maha ou t of t he hole first to grab th e lead of the firs t moto as stro ng opposi tion q uickly la tch ed on be hind . LO P's Garv Sem ics, Kawasaki / No rStar's Goat Br eker , Ma rt y Moates on th e ot her LOP Yama ha . Gibson , Su n , La Porte , Staten, Mosier and a ll were hot on Burgett 's ex haust pi pe . Befor e th ey ca me a round to finis h th e first lap , Sern ics had pu shed his way into th e lead , and Breker was try ing to do the - ,