Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

•••••••••••• o 00 ~ M ~ ~ o .... u o -24 •• ~. • •••••• By Delbert Longbrake SIXES, OR, SEPT. 7 David Reimer rocketed to a 250cc Pro class victory while visiting Pro rider Rodney Smith from Antioch, CA, took top honors in the 125cc Pro class on a dusty d"y at the Sixes motocross. Much to the surprise of most folks, it rained on the central Oregon coast Saturday night driving even the most hardy campers to the Pon Orford motels. But upon arrival to the track Sunday morning, the locals were talking about watering the track because of dust. "Surely you jest?"' replied the riders. "Dust on a cold. cloudy day like this?" But as the day progressed, it did get dusty as the sky cleared and a strong wind blew across the track. The thought of rain must have scared off many of the fair weather riders and only three 125cc Pros showed up to do bailie. One of those riders was Smith who just happened to be vacationing in the area and heard about the races. Doug Frisbee from Eureka, CA, and local rider Jamie Claassen made up the rest of the class. Claassen took his Suzuki into the lead "'ith Smith and Frisbee close behind. Smith soon was beside Claassen and in the next moment, the two riders bumped into each other. This put Claassen slightly off balance allowing Smith to go by. From then on Smith rode in first. Claassen restaned and stayed just ahead of Frisbee for second. In the second 'moto, il was Smith's turn to get the holeshot with Claassen and Frishe.- in close pursuit, but Claassen looked much more determined in this second moto as he pulled alongside and passed Smith. The two riders circled the track at a blistering pace and soon Smith muscled back by to regain fim place. The IWO determined riders went out of sight in a fast left-band turn. but when Smith reappeared. he was all alone. Claassen was down in a cloud of dust and before he could get going again. Frisbee had gone by for second. The orde'r was never changed from that lime on. Four 250cc Pros and one Open Pro. who was scored with the 250s, charged out of the gate with Smith in the driver's seat. Behind Smith were local riders David Rei.mer and Tim Stillion and California riders Jack George and Kevin Lockhan. Before one lap was complete. Reimer had gOllen around Smith for first and the riders were soon blitzing it towards a fast triple jump section of the track. Rei,mer hit the second jump launching himself and his Honda 75 feet and landing on the ramp of Ihe third jump leaving just enough room for his scoot to straighten out and pop over that third jump. Reimer's lead lasted for five laps until he stalled in a flat corner letting Smith go by, but staying ahead of Stillion who was still in third. Two laps later, though, Smith rolled to a stop with a seized Yamaha and Reimer was again in front. Rod said later, "I knew it was going; it felt tight on the first lap." 'On the same lap, Stillion pulled off the track with a hurt foot. Reimer cruised iR for fint place with George in for sel:ond aboard his new Husqvama. Lockhan was third. In thellCCOnd moto, t~re were only three riders as neither Smith nor r _ .~. Stillion were able to stan. George was out in the early lead with Reimer in second, but Reimer slippe9 by the Husqvama rider before one lap was complete. After that, the order was set and never changed. Ted Perreard from Jacksonville, OR, led the 125cc Juniors from stan to finish in the flTSt moto. Behind Ted was a bailie for second between Mike Begley and Ron Cornelison. Begley was piloting a 125cc rotary valve Maico which could be heard all around the track, sounding somewhat like wind whistling through a wire. Cornelison held on to second with Begley dropping off the pace finishing founh. Third place went to 12-yearold Don Church from Rio Dell, CA, who was racing a 100 for the first time. Since there weren't any other 100s he had to ride in the 125cc class. • Perreard again dominated the second moto leading every lap. The big surprise again was Church as he pulled into third behind Cornelison and later passed him. Church, Cornelison and Begley freight-trained around the track for three laps. Begley slipped back slightly as Church and Cornelison continued on. But Cornelison fell giving Church a free ride to the flag in second. Begley brought his "whirring" Maico in for third with Cornelison finishing fifth. Results 125 PRo: 1. Rodney Smllh IYom); 2. Doug FrISbee IYom); 3. Jomoe Claassen (502). 250 PRO: ,. Oo",d Ret""" IHonl; 2. Jack George lHusl; 3: Kevin lockhart (SUlI. _ MINI INT: ,. Dennv Edwards IKowl; 2. R•• Young (Suz); 3. Rockv KtSlner (Kawl. MINI EX: 1. Don Church IVaml; 2 Rustv Retmet IHanI. 100: 1. Don Ch"'cI1IVoml. 125 JR: 1. Ted Perreard 15021; 2. M,ke Ileglev IMoiI; 3. Ron Cometison (Yam). 250 JR: 1. John Parket IMa;l; 2. Gene Mrller IHanI; 3. Rck Roberts (Varni. 250 INT: 1. Jock Hud>on lHanI; 2. lJInce Sperling lHan); 3. Andy Bol>IIot IYaml. OPEN JR: 1. Oolnd Ilobollot IYoml; 2. Bernard Palmer IYoml; 3. M;ke James IHusl. OPEN INT: 1. Kent Reynolds IKowl; 2. Dol. Ret""" (Husl; 3. Ken Kulluson (Husl. PEE WEE 50: 1. Freddre Nordslrom PEE WEE 50: 1. Jeff Oa;ley; 2. Jason Jansen. MINI JR: 1. Jeff Vance; 2. T;m Byrd; 3. Kirk C_. TURKEY: 1. T. R Tuttle; 2. Gog Brvan; 3. Russell Hanson. 3040: 1. Rob lauver IYaml; 2. Jim Lehr (Yam); 3. R;rn"rd Bvrd IVoml Bledsoe takes two at AME Sprockets Park By Laura Richard BAKERSFIELD, CA, SEPT. 6 The American Motocross Enterprises put on another good night of racing at Sprockets Park. Bakersfield Yam a h a rider Mark Bledsoe was able to put together wins in both the 125cc and 250cc Pro 'races. As the gate dropped for the first round of the 1255, it was Bledsoe with the boleshot followed by Kern Spon Cycle Husky-mounted Randy Lewis and third being held by Honda support rider Jerry Shore. Bledsoe was able to hold off the pack to finish in first. Moto two saw Shore with the lead followed by Bledsoe and Can-Am rider Randy Harder in third. Shore and Bledsoe fought it out the entire m~to with Bledsoe passing Shore and Shore taking the lead back in a great pass-on ·Bledsoe. Shore was able to take the moto win. The overall for the night went to Bledsoe with Shore taking second and third going to Lewis. In the 250cc Pro class, Bledsoe was able to take his Bakersfield Yamaha to back-to-back wins after fighting off strong compe5ition from Honda rider Brett Cross who finished second for the night with Honda-mounted David Strong taking third. Another Bakersfield Yamaha rider, Darin Oliver, took back-to-back wins in the Open Pro race as Can-Ammounted Greg Torgerson finished second and third went to Kern Sport cycle Husky rider Phil Taylor. Honda rider Paul Hager was able to put together back-to-back wins in the 250cc Intermediate class while Yamaha rider Darren Pritchett took second and third went to Honda rider Beaver Ellis. Chris Lara took his Suzuki to backto-back wins in the Mini Junior race with Suzuki rider Jason Manin finishing second and third going to another Suzuki rider. Gary Riekki. In the Mini Expert class, Yamaha rider Andy Ellis took home the number one honors. Results 500 PRO: 1. Datin Oliver (Yam); 2. Greg Torgerson IC-Al; 3. PhH Taylor IHusl. 250 PRO: 1. Mark Bledsoe IYaml; 2. Brett Cross IHon); 3. David Sttong IHon). 125 PRO: 1. M..k Bledsoe (Vam); 2. Jerrv Shpre IHonl; 3. Randy LewoslHusl. 500' INT: 1. Harry Boudakian tSuzl; 2, Dan Smith (Husl: 3. Sieve Zimmerman (Suz). 250 INT: 1. Paul Hager IHanI; 2. Darren Pritchen IYaml; 3. Beaver Ellis IHonl. 125 INT: 1. Gary Cunis ISUll; 2. Oar,n Layton IYom); 3. Sieve Leonard 15021. 500 JR: 1. Mike Abbott IYam); 2. Scott C r _ IKowl; 3. John Williems IC·AI. 250 JR: 1. lJInce Horton IHusl; 2. Joe Roark IKowl; 3. B,en Dawson (Honl. 125 JR: 1. John Davis (Yam); 2. James Revnolds IYaml; 3. Bobby Kotanjien IS02). VETS JR: 1. Lee Orewtv IM..I; 2. Carl Casanova (Yam). 100 INT: 1. Gene Stephens ISUl). 100 JR: 1. Lou Henderson ISull; 2. Charley Frsnet ISUl); 3. Ron _,tworth ISUll. 250 BEG: 1. Randall C,mental IC-AI; 2. Jomes Howard IC-A); 3. Randy Gartett IC-AI. 83 EX: 1. Andy Ellis IYoml. 83INT: 1. Kevm F;"td IKow); 2. Wesley F",rh IYoml; J. Jim Hetsser IVaml. 83 JR: 1. Chrrs Lara 15021; 2. Jason Matt,n (502); 3. Gary Rl8kki ISull. 83 BEG: 1. Sandv Schaefet (SUl); 2. Chucll M..k; 3. Gary Kngbaum (Yaml. 611NT: 1. Doug F_\Yaml;2 ChrisLara(SuzI. 6t JR: 1. Manuel Ctumbs IVaml; 2. Jeff Revnolds lSull; 3. Steven Ko"",",,,, IYoml. Italian exhibition draws racers and fanstoPIR By Russ Cazier PORTLAND, OR, AUG. !II The Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association held its last road race of the season at Portland International Raceway and attracted the largest turnout of riders of the year. New riders ca.me out for the first time, old riders dug out the leathers and most of the regulars showed up, all in spite of gloomy weather forecasts and the usual end of season equipment woes. A principal attraction was tbe Italian exhibition race. which drew out seven S5 Ducatis, one Darmah and two Moto Guzzi Lemans. Three of the 900 SS Ducatis also entered in the regular sprint races and did very well, placing second, third and fifth in Open Production. The two 10-lap exhibition heats produced some of the finest sounds and sights that PIR has had in years, particularly from the leading five Ducatis as they rounded tbe grandstand turn in a tight pack and roared majestically away down the long fron t straight. The.re was considerable discussion of doing it again next year with different marques, especially a twocylinder machine of German manufacture. We can't wait. The first sprint race of the normal race day format was 125cc GP and Tod Dressel and Pete Jacobson gave their usual demonstration of full contract road racing with two heats of incbes-apan, fairing-rattling racing. An interesting sidelight to their perennial duel is the fact that Dreslel, who ~ Astoria Honda-Yamaha, sponsors hIS nemesis. This day was Jacobson's as he overcame a small lead in Ihe second heat and nipped Dressel at the flag for the day's win. . There was good racing back in the pack in 250cc GP, but it was no contest for the win as Brian Sullon pulled completely out of sight of second and third place in both heats. SUllon also rode Dan Freeman's Open Cafe Kawasaki in Open GP and won that class as ~ell. S':'lton is looking more and more hke he IS ready to try on the big guys in Lotus Land to the south. Keith Pinkstaff showed a nice tow:h of competitive spirit by eschewing the easy pa~ on the long front straight where h,s GSII00 had such an obvious top s~ advantage over Tom Y~ng's Ducau, but Tom held him off for several laps and Keith finally had 10 pass on the shorter back straight. Or stay behind, which was a bit more sportsmanship than he had in mind. . Pi~taf~ had an excellent day of rac109, wlllmng both Open. Production and Open Cafe, bUI he got off to a slow stan. crashing in the first turn of the first lap'of practice. A slight mist on top of a track that hadn't seen a hard rain in momhs made for the slickest surface that anyone could remember, but the track was dry and in good condition by the time heat races staned. Pinkstaff had good cause 10 be grateful that GSM is one of his sponsors (Moto Race and Moto Tac are others) since he had an extra set of handlebars handy to replace the set Ire pretzeled in practice. Steve Dawley, on a KZ750 with the wrong tires. had to remount the stock wheelbarrow handlebars just to muscle the wobbling beast around the track. Tires obviously can make a lot of difference, especially on a shon-coupled superbike. Dawley showed even more grit after he crashed on the last lap of the first Production heat, then rode in three more heats with an apparently separated shoulder. The last race of the season focuses attention on points standings and Dawley was more allentive than most. Gene Brown's venture into the world of non-GP racing proved to be fun and profitable as he won 600cc Cafe on a '500cc Yamaha single, and also managed to show a GSIOOO rider the fast lines around PIR in a combined 600cc and Open Cafe heat. Sec~nd place in 600cc Cafe went to Dick Blocksrna on his wife's GS550. Whereas Dick raced with his wife's k.nowledge, if not her consent, a reliable source repons that Les Bark.er will not be able to take his second· place trophy to work with him at Gresham Honda. Barker decided that an appropriate use for the Honda 750F demo bike provided to him as an employee involved the attachment o{ number plates and strategically applied safety wire. Results OPEN PROD: 1. Keith Pinkstaff ISuz); 2. Tom Young -IDuel; 3. Roch C _ (Duel. 750 PROD: 1. Rod Chronister (Suzl; 2. Las Barke! IHanI; 3. Stove 0ewIey CKowI. 560 PROD: 1. Robett Adams (Yaml: 2. Oicl< Blocksma (502); 3. Alan How.d (Yaml. 430 PROO: 1. Robert Adorns (Yaml; 2. Mile. Johnson (Yaml; 3. Larry Buck IYaml. OPEN C~FE: 1. Keith Pinkltaff ISOlI; 2. Dan Freeman (Kawl; 3. Tom Young IDueI. lI50 CAFE; 1. Dan ZIock ISOlI; 2. Michael Nellis \ (Kowl; 3. Mike Johnson (Kowl. 600 CAFE: 1. Gene Brown (Yam); 2. Oicl< IIlocIcsmo CSOlI; 3. Mike Johnson (Yam). OPEN GP: 1. Brian Sutton (Kowl; 2. Stove Dawley (Kawl. 250 GP: 1. Brian Sutton (Yom); 2. Gene Brown (Yamt; 3. Chris Robinson IYam). 125 GP: 1. PeIe Jacd>oon CHan!; 2. Tod o.-l tHan); 3. Jim - . (Hanl. Pi_ OPEN SINGlE GP: 1. Sam L.on.w CIISAl; 2. ....V Vevig CSuzl; 3. - . : I (Yaml. 250 GP SINGlE: 1. BiI Stallord (Yam!; 2.lIiII_ IHanI.

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