Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Continued from page 19) sponsored Italjet, but Densford turned it around in the deciding last moto. Bubba Erickson couldn't have done much better than he did tonight. 'He races in both the Junior Cycle Stock Junior and the Junior Cycle Modified Junior races. Bubba entered and won both of them and took home two super . trophies and don't forget the two kitesl Erickson left the day after this race and went down to San Diego so he could compete down there as well. It was a long weekend for Bubba. In the Stock event, he was followed by Ronnie Densford and Steven Kotajarvi. During the Modified racing, Bubba was pursued by Matt Blacklock and Kotajarvi once again. Troy Welty races most every week and the Canyon Country rider is confident in the S3cc Stock 9-11 Junior race. He hooked two first-place wins which gave him the best trophy and a kite. Welty aced Matt Harrison and Marc Edwards out of the winnings. Erickson was not the only rider who was able to claim two first places. Toby "Sneaky Snake" Lawes was just as successful and he whipped two small classes as well. His first win of the night was the S3cc Stock Junior 12 + races. He beat Chris Mathews and Chuck Pegg and they finished in that order both times. Then he went and did the same thing in the S3cc Modified 12 + race by staying in front ofJim Collier and Troy Welty. motos and he really proves It. Dick Mosley, who knows a tbing or two about riding rough tracks, came in second, and George Spearing, who is generally in there with the winners, took third. In moto two it was Buzz Moeller with the second and George Spearing capturing the third. Ed Scheidler of the Amateur class got a bum start in both motos but this didn't prevent him from finishing as winner in both. Curt Wyatt, who just moved up to Amateur, wasn't a slow starter by any means. He simply went full speed and took second in both motos. The Novice division began with Ray Montoya applying the power in moto one, and he kept things going his way for first place win. Bob Alloy was in there with a very nice second. Alloy was out there with the holeshot in the second moto and as luck would have it he ended up out there in first. Ray Montoya, who was relentlessly on Alloy's rear fender and giving him a bad, bad time, came in second. Results MASTER: 1. Jjm Beltnick IMai). EX: 1. Ray Sanchez IVam); 2. BUll Moeller IHusl; 3. Dick Frampton IHusl. . AM: 1. Ed Schiedler IVaml. NOV: 1. Bob Alloy IVam). Old Timers do It at the Dunes By Bob Alloy Results PEE WEE STOCK: 1. Ronnie Densford IIta/; 2. Jim Chamberlin tltal; 3. Tony SuleI< lllal. JR CYCLE STK JR: 1. Bubba Erickson ISUl); 2. Ronnte DensfOJd (Yam); 3. Steve Kot8jarvi (Yaml. JR CYCLE MOO JR: 1. Bubba Erickson ISUl); 2. Man Blacklock ISUlI; 3. Steven Kotajarvi IVam). B3 STK: 9-11 JR: 1. Troy Welty IKawl; 2. Man Once again we were back at the Dunes. This week's MX was held on the international track as last week's was, however, this time it Harrison (Yam); 3. Marc Edwards (Suzl. ... VALENCIA, CA, OCT. 19 was run in reverse direction making things just a bit tricky for those of us who imprinted the track in our minds the way it was. Numero uno MXer in the Masters class was Ron Miller with his wrap up of both motos. A nice first place trophy was Ron's reward. The Expert division had lots of ex· citement. It began with Dick Frampton taking the lead but by lap two it was Chuck Woody commanding and bringing in the win. Woody was followed by Ray Sanchez in second place and Dick Frampton was in there with third. Sanchez didn't mess around in the sec· ond moto. He just grabbed up the holeshot and kept his Yamaha right on tbat winning line to take the big one. Looking good and riding the same way was Buzz Moeller who came in second. Dick Mosley wrapped up third place. The Amateur class began with Jim Cooke out there with the holeshot and really gassing his Suzuki around those laps. Then it was Asker Larnkjaer who seized the opportunity to pass and then took control of the action. Larnkjaer then commanded himself into a first place win. Cooke was in second and Ed Scheidler came in third. The second moto .began with a brilliant show of action from Cooke, but Don Hobson was right there on Jim's fender and he took over. Hobson kept showing this power and won first place. Following Hobson was Cooke with another second, and Ed Scheidler with another third place win. The Novice division featured Jim Gates out there- in the lead position with Dal Calais a close second. On the fifth lap Ray Montoya changed the cast by taking over first. Montoya kept up this power and ended with the prized first place. Calais took second and Gates was in there for third. The second moto was all Gates. He just whizzed around on his Suzuki, faster th.an anyone or anything out there on B3 STK: JR 12+: 1. Toby Lawes IVaml; 2. Chris Mathews (Hent; 3. Chuck Pegg tHon!. B3 MOD 12+: 1. Toby Lawes IVam!; 2. Jim Collier IVaml; 3. Troy Welty IKawl. TEAM RACE: 1, Buddy DumolSteven Kotajarvi IVaml; 2. Jim CollierlToby Lawes IVaml. Old Timers double- crossed at Saddleback By Bob Alloy ORANGE, CA, OCT. 25-26 Lots and lots Qf motocross excitement this weekend at Saddleback. Each moto was half an hour with 15 laps each. Points won were 22_. combined for the two days and total points determined the winners. Saturday's action started with the Masters class and Marvin Olson taking both motos with his usual excellent techniques. Then it was the Expert class and Tom Widick with all the action. Tom kept control of things for the 15· laps and took the first place honors. Buzz Moeller came ripping in for second and following Moeller it was Ray Sanchez. The second moto was Sanchez's from start to finish. Bob Berdyck took second. Third place was won by Tom Widick. Bob De Miranda looked like he owned the track as he went along his way, wrapping up both Amateur motos. Ed Scheidler did some good riding on his Yamaha and took second in both motos. Novice Melvin Sbapario did some really great riding in both motos. He won the first and despite taking a fall in the second, he came back and won that one too. Bob Alloy clinched both second places. Sunday's action saw Expert Ray Sanchez take it all in motos one and ,tW9, Ray says he really likes these long the track. Calais took a second and Gene Uebelhardt came in third. Results MASTERS: 1. Ron Miller (Vaml. EXPERTS: 1. Ray Sanchez IVaml; 2. Buzz Moeller IHus!; 3. Dick Frampton IMai). AMATEURS: 1. Jim Cooke ISUlI; 2. Don Hobson ISUl}; 3. Ed Scheidler IVam). NOVICE: 1. Jim Gates ISUl); 2. Dol Calai. IVam); 3. Gene uebelhardt IMaiI. Kennedy, Marquis smokeCRC Golden Bear GP By Terry Rezek RIVERSIDE, CA, NOV. 2 Oh, my aching neck! This was a spectator's delight, if you could turn your head fast enough. There was hot 'n' heavy racing on the ground and spectacular aerobatics in the air. While the California Racing Club was staging two three·hour races in front of you, the USAF Thunderbirds were performing their maneuvers overhead. Riverside Raceway is just north of March AFB, where the Thunderbirds were apparently practicing for an air show. Their flight times, with a refueling break, put them over· head right in the middle of both races. As Jerry McNeal of CRC said, "This is a class act. We provide something for everybody." For sure, both races were class acts, with powerful characters, fast action and dramatic changes at the climax. The first race included bike sizes up to 250cc and classes from Beginner to Expert. From the front row of Experts, Scott Kinnier and Mike Johns won the long starting drag race in a dead heat to the first jump. In the half-mile of rough ground that followed, Kinnier pulled away from Johns and began looking for space. The course was only six miles long and, with 17 laps to run, he knew he'd be in traffic from lapped riders by the third or fourth lap. Everyone else was aware of this also, and the scrabbling began. Even though the dirt part of the course was rough, the loooong stretches of pavement made it very fast overall'and tall gearing was the trophy formula. Chris Farrow led the Novices into. the early part of the race and, in the last wave, Barry Crawford again con· vinced his mini that it was a much bigger bike and proceeded to put it right up there with the 250s. Immediately behind him, Mike McNeal and Ray Arney juggled positions for a few laps with McNeal taking firm control of second in lap four. He set off in pursuit of the vanishing Crawford but nature got there first and bit a hole in Crawford's tire on the 10th lap. McNeal inherited first and held it to the finish. Back in the 250s, Kinnier was in control through the fifth lap and Steve Blakely had replaced Mike Johns in second with Johns' teammate, Troy Smith, also moving up to third. Smith is a hard charger, not at all the type to settle for third. He began leaning on Blakely and Kinnier and on lap six suddenly jumped past both to take first. The gauntlet had been flung and Kinnier and Smith began a serious battle for first. Smith led for two laps, then Kinnier for two and, again, Smith for three. Kinnier took tbe lead again on lap 13 and really pushed for some air. ·Over the next two laps he was able to open a good margin between himself and Smith. On lap 16, fate stepped in and dealt Kinnier a disastrous blow. Upon reo ceiving the white flag, Kinnier decided he couldn't chance another unfueled lap and chose to cash in his margin to .. ... -_. get gas. After exiting the finish chute, he turned back to his pits for gas. After pitting, he was returning to the finish chute on the course when he collided with another rider exiting the pits. The other rider went down but Kinnier's momentum was greater and he was deflected into and through some wooden barricades near the finish chute. The barricades did not slow him enough and he struck a low cable bordering a parking area. Although the cable actually caught his bike and not him, the deceleration was like an aircraft catching the arresting gear on a carrier. He stopped nght now! He was down and definitely out, . only seconds from -winning. He was taken to the hosJ;lital but a Monday morning check disclosed that his injuries were not serious and he'll be up and about soon. Meanwhile, somewhere back around lap 10, two Amateurs, Rob Kennedy and Roy Porter had closed in on Blakely and began their own war for third. By the next lap, Kennedy liad an irrevocable hold on third and was looking for more. Porter and Blakely were left to a lap by lap dispute for what looked like fourth at this point. The final lap turned out to be fateful for more than Kinnier but not as painful. Kennedy had passed Smith who dropped way back, leaving Blakely in third. When Kinnier crashed, all jumped up and Kennedy found himself in the winner's circle much to his delight and his sponsors'; Dick Yamaha and Builder's Allen Plumbing. Blakely was now second, followed by Porter, Lorne Crawford and Troy Smith. And so it ended. At l:OO p.m., the Open classes, the Junior/Seniors, the 'Seniors and the Women's classes got to play for 100 miles of dust, potholes, and possible seizures on the stretches of lay-on-yourank and bjte-your-gas-cap pavement. Eric Graves got one of his usual out-of· the-mouth-of-the-cannon starts and had five yards on the competition in less than a quarter mile. By lap nine, he had pushed his way to a half lap lead. The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate, which had gouged so many riders today, now thumped Graves on the head - on the head of his engine anyway. One of the many passes at high speed on the asphalt prov¢ too much for the piston, which grabbed the cylinder in a death embrace and stopped all progress: As any road racer will tell you, a 90 mph slide on pavement can be very wearing on your personality and many parts of your anatomy. When Graves picked himself and his newly ventilated leathers up, he found that his piston and cylinder had become as one and no man could put them asunder. From the first lap, Jim Burt had faithfully followed Graves, trying to close the gap and hoping for just this sort of break. Burt now moved into first and, despite anns that were screaming for relief and a bike that "really scarfs on gas," held it for four laps. That super thirsty bike may have proved costly. Coming up steadily through the ranks was Jerri Marquis and he methodically disposed of Bryon Farnsworth, Rick Lee, Ron Weaver, Lance Ives, and Herman Ortega, averaging about one and one-half laps per pass. By lap 12, he was in Burt's hip pocket waiting for his break or an extra pit stop. He got his chance on lap 15 and grabbed it with gusto. He quickly opened a 10·second lead and that proved to be the victory margin. Burt remained in second, followed by Farnsworth, Lee, Weaver" Ives and

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