Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Southern Californla·Arizona·Southern Nevada· Southern CalUornla·Arizona·Southern Nevada· Southern Californla·Arlzona Western hotline o 00 0') r-4 J im Tarantino 1 721, Clark Jones 1561 and Danny la Porte battle at SSM . «: finally ta ken by Robert Ma rino (Yam). Dysert event ually dropped out of the race and third place went to Tea m Montoya r ider Robert Reisin ge r (Kaw). In the next round , Gormley again pulled the holeshot , but he didn't hav e it so easy . This time Reisinger was right on his tail and pushing hard . On the sixth lap. Reisinger moved into the lead, but Gormley was staying close behind. It wasn't until the very last lap that Reisinger pulled a strong lead as Gormley slacked off, knowing the overall was still his. Marino was third for third overall over Andy Kirker (Yam) , who went 4·7. Dean Cates (Suz) had been in the 250cc class . but he had a mediocre day there, only managing a seventh. But in . the 125cc Pro class , he really shined. The first moto went to Cates hands down with Rick Jackson moving up late in the moto to claim second over Varney Holbrook (Suz) and Gormley. In the next race, Cates was trying to do it again , holding a good lead through most of the race. But as he came into lapped traffic on the very last lap, Gormley managed . to sneak under him and take over . That d idn't affect Cates' standing as the overall winner, but it put Gormley in second overall over Jackson. The most unusual race of the da y had to be in the Open Pro class. Eric MacCracken (Yam) took the first moto going away, but a broken transmission took him out of the final round. Jon Frisen (C-A) of Riverside Suzuki won the next round after finishing seventh the first tim e out. The overall looked like the p rope rty of Eddie Michetti (CA) who was running consistently in both rnotos , but he lost his chain on the last lap and the win finally wound up in the hands of joe Stem (Mai) who got two thirds. Results WOMEN'S: '1 . K«en Leitinger (Yoml ; 2. Dee G,anger IS02I; 3. Denise DeVines ISuzJ. PEE WEE: 1. Christopher Lowen (Yam); 2. Wesley Klein (Yam). . MINI BEG: 1. T...ry Woody (5021; 2. Patr a Beckley lSo2); 3. Tod Sciaqua lKawI. MINI NOV : 1. Kevin Richey (Honl; 2. Tom Combs tKaw). 38 125 BEG: 1. Todd ~ (Yern); 2. T.O . Swets (SuzJ 3. Ftenko..e (Yom). ; 125 NOV: 1. Chud< Wheeler lSuzJ; 2. Matthew HeIIsy(Yam); 3. Kirlt Williams (Yernl . 12511'lT: 1. Mark CIarlt (Yom l; 2. Doug Davison (SuzJ; 3. M _ Curty IHan !. 125 PRO: 1. Dean Cates lSo2); 2. Craig Gormley (Yaml; 3. Rick JackIon (Yam). 250 BEG: , . Butch WIrtZ (Hanl; 2. Monty Burham ISuzI; 3. Mike Barron (Kaw) . 250 NOV : t . Kevin Cox (Mai); 2 . Ray Conway IHus); 3. can Cannon (Mai). 250 INT: 1. Pat W eber (S02I; 2. Mark Branch ISuzl; 3. Eric Caymak (Yaml . 250 PRO: 1. Craig Gormley (Yaml; 2. Robert Reising er tKawl ; 3. Robert M arino (Yam). OPEN BEG: t . T..-ry Delange (Suz); 2. Edward Scon {Hus!; 3. Larry Lowen (Yam!. OPEN NOV : 1. Ross Thompson IKawI; 2. Lance Ives IS02l; 3. J ail Cramer (Yam) . OPEN 1 1'lT: r. Alan Thompson {Kawl; 2. Bob Cronkite {Hus! ; 3. Bruce Walk... (SuzJ. OPEN PRO: t. Joe St ern (Mail; 2. Rannie Gibson IS02I; 3. Jon Friesen (C-Al . SR VETS : 1. J im O'N eal IC·AI; 2. Ron Brehm (Yam); 3. Paul Wilde (Yam). INT VETS : 1. Dennis Rosenberg IHan ); 2. Gary Bates (Yam); 3. T.W. Swets (S02I. NOV VETS : 1. Richard Chase (Yaml ; 2. Mike Youch um (Yam). BEG VETS : 1. Bob Alloy (Yam); 2. Tim Joines lSo2); . 3. Hal Blood IYam l. National stars battle at SSM MX By Terry Whytal ORANGE, CA , AUG. 2 National Expert riders like Honda's Donnie Hansen, Kawasaki's Jeff Ward and Suzuki's Danny LaPorte made an appearance at this week's Saddleback Saturday Motocross races and ga ve the spectators quite a show. Use of th e long track and many ' stadi um type jum ps made the course challenging and exciting with the top riders able to display th eir skills with unusual a croba tics. It was, however . th e lesser known local Pros and Na tional privateers who went home with most of the purse money as th e name riders encountered mechanica l problems. LOP Yamaha rider Kippy Pierce best ed Hansen and LaPorte in th e 250c c Pro race while Eric MacCracken topped the Open Pros on his Yamaha after Ward DNF. "H oleshot" Hansen lived up to h is nickname in the first 250cc Pro ra ce as he easily roosted into the lead. Follow . ing Hansen through the first tum were DG Honda rider Jim Tarantino and Kippy Pierce. At the end of the first lap Hansen had already established a commandinlf lead over the pack with Tarantino still holding off the charges from Pierce while David Gerig held down fourth on his Husky. Honda rider David Hammond rounded out th e top five with IsnT/ enduro specialist Rick Munyon putting his Yamaha int o the sixth place slot ahead of Danny LaPorte.. LaPorte soon found his way past Munyon and la tched onto Hammond's rear wheel. Meanwhile Robert Reisinger was piloting his Mission Viejo Kawasaki up fro m a bad sta rt and working into seventh by lap five . Ano the r local favorite , Clark J on es. was working his Hu sky for all it was worth as he tried to overcome a rearwa rd sta rting position . Halfway thr ough the race the ba tt le for seco nd place was really heat ing up behin d Hansen . T arantino still held onto second ahead of Pierce bu t th e top six riders were very close with La Porte look ing for a way around Pierce while holding off the challenges from Reisinger and Jones . Pierce slip ped past T arantino with a few la ps remaining a nd the fin ishing order was Hansen , Pierce. Tarantino, LaPorte. Han sen agai n used th e power of his water-coo led factory Honda to launch in to t he ea r ly lead of moto two . Reisinger surprised himself by gett ing a good sta rt a nd se tt li ng in on Hansen 's rea r wh eel as th e pa ck headed thro ug h the fir st lap . Tarantino follo wed in th ird a hea d of Jones, Gerig , Pierce and La Porte , Reisinger bailed off in the stadium whoops and Jones took over second. Reisinger was a litt le slow to remo unt but he began a tre mendous charge that would carry him to fourth at the finish. As Hansen again ra n away from the field the battle for second place beca me intense. Suddenly LaPorte pulle d off the track with a twea ked and wobbling front end a nd Ha nsen 's lead faded away as he igni tion went sou r. Hansen cont in ued to circulate the track a t slow speed as Pierce charged in to th e lead followed by Jones and Tarantino. A t the checkers Pierce was safel y in th e lead and the overall win was his. Tarantino picked up the second place money as Hansen held on to finish fifth for the moto and third overall ahead ofJones and Reisinger. Jeff Ward had the Open Pro class wrapped up until the final few laps of the second moto when he threw his chain. Ward struggled to replace th e chain for about 20.seconds and finally got the ro llers and sprocket to line up a nd he re-entered the track still in first place. Unfo rt u na tely his chain soon came off ag ai n and the day was over for the Kawasaki teamster. Eri c MacC racken went on to post th e win ah ead of Husky rider Billy Keefe and Yama ha-mounted Tom Thomas. Results OPEN PRO: r, E,ic Macerack en (Yam ); 2. Bill Keefe (Husl; 3. Tom Thomas (Yam). 250cc PRO: 1. Kippy Pierce (Yam): 2. J im Tarant ino (Han); 3 . Donnie Hansen (Hanl. 125cc PRO: 1. Rik Nielsen (Yaml; 2 . Fted caldwell (Yam l: 3. Clvis Morey (Yam). OPEN INT: 1. Greg Painter (Mail; 2. W """" Beebe (Suz); 3 . Ner! Tho (Suz!. 250cc 11'lT: 1. Dan Ashcraft IHusl; 2. Jim Brodie (Han); 3. Bill Boyer (Hon!. 12Scc 11'lT: 1. Alan Coats (Yam); 2. Alex Jud IS02I; 3. Boyd Thomas (Yam). OPEN NOV : 1. Kurt Knudsen (Yam); 2. Doug Rand (Yaml; 3. Andre Buther (Yam). 250cc NOV: r, BiU Hair (Yam); 2. St eve Cosey (Yaml ; J . Vint Butter (Ya ml. 125cc NOV: 1. lane St eeber (Yam); 2. J im Carstairs (Yaml ; 3. Kurt (Yaml. • VETS : 1. Lynn M cGraw (Yam); 2. Jody W eisel (M ai); 3. Fted Peacock (S02I. 250cc BEG: 1. Kevin GOOer (Yam); 2. John Barnes (Yaml ; 3. Mar co Proto lSo2). 12Scc BEG: 1. Kevin Albrecht (Yaml; 2. Brigh Finmarck (Honl; 3. & ic Alloy (Yam l. Rex rockets at Corona By Ron Lawson CORONA, CA , AUG. 1 Team Yamaha's Rex Staten was once again at CcKona Raceway last week , trying to get back into shape for the remaining AMA 500cc Na tiona ls which injuries have kept him ou t of so far this season. In the 250c c Pro class, he went to a double win with most of his competition comi ng fr om Juan Benavidez and his Kolb e Can-Am , Andy Northrup of Honda of Pomona and Redlands Suzuki's Marty Miller. Staten was on top of every lap of moto one with onl y last week's winner Northrup to ke ep his pace. Bot h Miller and Benavidez had gone down in the early laps and had to spend tlie whole moto making up for lost time, Benavidez eventually finished third while Miller came in sixth behind Jim Snyder (H on) and Da vid Behlings (Yam) . In the next rnoto it was Miller on top of the sta rt with both Staten and Benavidez in close tow. When Miller and Staten got to the new stadium jump sect ion on the first lap, they both let off, but Ben avid ez didn't and tlii: Ca n-Am rider flew by and into the lead. On the next lap, Staten, too , was double ju m pi ng th e four off-camber whoops a n d he passed Mill er a nd reeled in Benavidez, only to have th e lead d r op ped into h is lap wh en Bena videz low-sided in a tum . He go t up in time to save second , but then fell ag ai n several laps later to wind up [n fou rth. Miller , in the meantime, was passed by Northrup who went on to net second. Overall , it 'was Sta ten , Northrup, Benavidez a nd Miller. T he 125cc Pro class saw Rodney Brand (Kaw) ta ke th e win with two second place fini shes. The first moto went to Ryan Eid e (Suz) who took th e lead when early leader Varney Holbrook (Suz) fell . But Eide himself went down in th e nex t round and couldn't fin ish the race. Holbrook won that rnoto and got second overall with his 5-1 score. Third went to Yamaha of Redland's Tod Gibboney who went 3·3 in his first attempt at the Pro class . One of the biggest races of the da y was the 125cc Intermediate class. The top three across the line in both motos, however, were the same. with Eddie Glover (Ya m) pulling off the double , play while Ruber Torres (Yam) and Bob Berney had to play runner- up. .JI Results MINI BEG: 1. Ron W illiams ; 2. Brett Gugell ; 3. Ken CliNlon . MINI NOV : 1. Dan Hovis (Yam); 2. Kevin Richey {Han}; 3. Eric Bellwood (Yaml . MINI INT: 1. Don Turk (Yaml ; 2. PIlil sm ith (So2); 3. J eff Schaeffer (Kawl . 100 BEG: 1. Gary Scaren (Yam); 2. Greg Kopp (Yam); 3. Dee Dee Ashley (Yaml . 125 BEG: t . Lane Steeber (Yaml; 2. Bob Hooper (Yaml ; 3. Scott Yenzer {Han }. 12 5 BEG: t . J erry Forde (Yam ); 2. Darin Maddox (Yam); 3. J ohn Gable (Suzl . 125 BEG: t . Rusty Taflinjer (Yam); 2. Bruce Harerow lSo2); 3. Geoff Manack lSuzJ. • 125 BEG: 1. J ohn Com stael< (Yam); 2. Jere WaH • (SuzJ; 3. Dave Maybury (Yam ). 125 NOV : r. J ail Sherrill (Yam); 2. Paul Blis (Suz); 3 . Pat Schrallier {Hanl. 125 1 1'lT: 1. Eddie Glover (Yam); 2. Ruber Tortes (Yaml; 3. Bob Berney ISuzJ. 125 PRO: t , Rodney Brand IKawI ; 2. Varney Holbrook lSo2); 3. Tod d Gibboney (Yam). 250 BEG: t . Jail Laighty (Yaml ; 2 . Rick Hahn (C·Al; 3. M onty Burcham ISuzJ. 250 BEG: 1. Ftank Rooki IHan ); 2. Butch Wirtz IHan); 3. M ike Kelly IHan!. 250 NOV: 1. Merk Anderson (Yaml; 2. Chris Flemming (Yam); 3. Chris Fartow (Yam). 250 1 1'lT: 1. Mik e Blake lHon ); 2. Pat Weber (SuzJ; 3. Ken campbell (C-Al. 250 PRO: 1. Rex Staten (Yaml; 2. Andy' Northrup (Honl; 3. J uan Benavidez (c-Al. OPEN BEG : 1. Gary W ie, (Y am) ; 2 . Gary Schwarrenbech IM ai); 3 . Gary Truaell (Yam). OPEN NOV: 1. Bruce Beetty (Mall 2. Gary Bates ; (Yaml ; 3. Mike Tuck ... (Yam) . OPEN INT: r, Robert (Yom); 2. Rob Wea_ (So2); 3. Ron Weevet (S02I. e- Holley hauls at AMEnlghtMX By Laura Richard VALENCIA , CA, AUG . 1 What started out as one of the hottest days of the summer turned out to be one of the nicest nights for racing as American Mota-

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