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/126483
o 00 en 1""""1 " "" - :'~': ' " ~. Sunday's main event start finds Chuck Sun (63). Mark Barnett 1101. Jim Gibson (291. Darrell Shultz (15) and winner Broc Glover 11 1) in front. AMA Supercross Se' ies: Rounds 14-15 r Bell, Glover fly at Phi"y, Bell locks up title By Tom Mueller Photos by Henny Ray Abrams and Mueller PHILADEL PHI A . PA , AUG. 9·10 Yamaha factory riders Mike Bell and Broc Glover each took a turn at dominating the jump-studded but short course at JFK Stadium, but when the doubleheader weekend came to a close it was Bell out front alo ne as the new 1980 Su percross Cha m pion . Bell has seen titles elude him in the past, b ut now it was 6 his turn to displace teammate Bob Hannah and take the coveted crown home . Second in the standings and now mathematically ou t of th e game with only one round remaining in San Diego on October 25 is Suzuki's Kent Howerton . Howerton got the edge on Bell in the 250cc National Champion sh ip race , but Bell returned the favor in Supercross competition . Honda's ' Chuck Sun, Suz uki's Mark Barnett and Glover trail Howerton into the final ro und , " I'm going to call my mom and da d and tell them I won - maybe th en it will sink in that I'm t he new champ , It sure feels good ," sai d Bell. Only a sma ll portion of JFK Stadium was utilized for the eve nt , due to the fact the infield was covered withplush turf which is used ' by th e Phi ladelphia Eagles football team . The area was consta n tly being watered and became off-limits to course designers . What re su lted was a short course - one t ha t Bell cou ld cook over in 45 seconds. Pace Delta Motorsports , the promoters of the event , opted for jumps that catapulted riders straight up into the air every 10 feet or so on th e straights. liming was critical, and small mistakes turned into big inj uries. Many riders found themselves under pressu re and crashed out of contention. The injury rate was high. Supercross racing hasn't visited Phila delphis since 1974 . and its return to the area was rather well received . Re ported attendance was 20 .393 for Saturday and 18.857 for Sunday, and those who attended .were an enthusiastic bunch that received the attentio~ of CBS cameras as they filmed the race for one of their Sports Spectacular slots. Saturday Practice got underway wit h Bell get · ting down to business in short order in the first practice group and ju mping some jumps two a t a time. " I haven't even do ne every thing I'm goi ng to do yet ," said Bell a fterwa rds. "There's no sense in giving rid in g lessons to everyone , As short as t he course is, th ere's many places to pass , It 's too bad th ey cou ld n't use more of th e a rea. T hey would have had the best track of them a ll,.. "T here's only one fast line ," sai d Howerton. "You can take other lines, but they're slower. " Howerton was at tacking th e co urse with a Team Suzu ki twin shoc k bi ke as were teamma tes Den ny Bentley. Da nny La Po rt e , Ma rk Barnett a nd Brian Myerscoug h . O nly Marty Sm ith a nd Da rrell Sh ul tz used the Floa ting Sus p ension Syst em. ' equi pped bikes. "T he Floaters are 17 po u nds heavier than the twin shock bikes." said Howerton . "That 17 pounds puts you in a whole different ballpark in Supercross ." Some complaints were heard concerning the danger of some jump sections after the first practice session , a nd some parts of the track were reworked before p ractice started again . T he second time out New Jersey rider Kevin Kirby went down hard and broke the femur in his right leg . It was the start of many jump-related injuries. Heat one saw Glover, Bell . Myersco ugh. KT M's Boo Stichter and Sm ith in the hunt for first: Bell went into the lead and Glover fell. Then in the ove r / under tunnel section a freak accident occurred. Myerscough took out a banner on top of the bridge, and whe n Bell came u ndern ea t h the bridge the banner ca ugh t him around the neckl He was ab le to hold his pace, but the banner made Bell loo k like he had just escaped the ha ngman's noose. Bell pulled ou t a lead to the checkers wit h Stichter ge tti ng second a nd never lett ing go. Glove r cha rged back and go t RPM rider Mickey Kessle r for third . Kessler was followed by Arlo Eng lu nd for the fina l tr ansfer slot . . "I d idn' t know Glover was getting close ," sa id Stichter. " but he ke pt co ming and coming. Then a t the finish. whaml He was way up in the air! I had to look back and see if he crashed, but he made it ." Honda riders Don nie Hansen and J im Gibson led qu al ifier two , but the first time around Gibson and third place ri der Howerton went down when Howerton jum ped on top of Gibson's down ed bike . Hansen never let go of first a nd Kawasa ki'sJeffWa rd slid int o second. Howerton put in a rem a rk a ble ride from 18th to third, while LOP's Marty Moates took fo urth . Pat Moroney fought with a flat front tire for most of the race but still cha rged to fift h. Sun, RP M's Gary Pu stela k and Steve Wise on a factory Honda led the hea t three charge. Pustela k dropped back and Wise got Sun. Honda support rider Da n Conway moved to third and LOP's Steve Martin took fourth. Dave Hollis kept the gas on for the fina l transfer, pursued by brothers Frank and Andy Stacy on KT Ms. " I felt uncomfortable at first and left Steve at the helm . T hen I bumped the motor out of gear and then I stalled it ," said Sun. Once again, Yamaha's Marty Tripes showed everyone that when he wa nts to win he can. There wasn't such a thing as throttle control for T ripes through the j umpy straights - he just held it on . Barnett was back in second fo llowed by a cl uster co nsisti ng of Do n n ie Ca ntaloupi on a factory Yama ha . Ka wasaki's W arren Reid and Suzuk i's Da nny La Porte . Den ny Bentley ate it hard a nd di d possib le dam age to his shoul der, p utting hi msel f ou t for the week en d . T he n ca me t he move of the day . Tripes, Ba rn ett . Reid and La Porte ca me across the lin e for their transfers . Ca nt aloup i was headed for t he fifth .. and final slot, but Kawasaki suppqrt