Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

o 00 O'l O'l I-< Q.l ..0 e ~ o Z I.Mry Roesel., teemed with Jack Jot . . . for their third Bajll 1000 win in three years. . SCORE Off-Road series RoeselerlJohnson make it three years running at Baja Ioookm By Dale Brown ENSENADA, B.C., MEX., NOV. 7 Yamaha teamsters Larry Roeseler and Jack Johnson topped their third Baja 1000 in as many years, as they were the only entry to complete the 660 miles of the Negra Modelo SCORE Baja 1000km in under 13 hours. The Roeseler/Johnson time of 12:45:13.91 was 19 minutes better t han t hat 0 f t he runners-up, Yamaha's Bruce Ogilvie and 6 uta bac.... Thr first thrtt bi...rs wrrr Class 22, or Opm displacrmrnt mao cbiors. JIID Fl5hbac'" and Bob Ruurn com. plrtrd a year· long swrrp of thr 250cc Class 21 in SCORE point rvrnts, win· ning W class rasily aboard thrir Tram Yamaha 1981 1T250. Chuc'" Millrr. Third ovrraU was taun by Brmt Wallingsford and Scot Harden of Tram Husqvama, anothrr 16 min· • , . &. - • - • - .... - - ..... _ ••• J •• J. _ _ •• _ _ • __ t.;.. '" • 1 I ' Class 20, ior 125cc machinrs, had apprarrd to br srcurdy in thr hands of Bob Maxwdl and Chris Howard with Irss than 100 miles to go. But thry brokr a connrcting rod and thr win wrnt to thr Prrmirr Yamaha tram of Krvin Casr and Waynr Martin, who rrcovrrrd from mrchanical problrms tbrmsdvrs. In thr agr catrgory classrs, Rick Shirry and Strvr Staats rodr thrir Dick Allrn Yamaha/Lrctron·sponsorrd mount to thr Class SO win. Thr Yamaha win strrak was bro"'rn by D.A. Davidson and Tom Grant, who won Class 58 on an Anahrim Hus· qvama macbinr. Aftrr running from Ensrnada to La Paz in 1979 (and srt to run a similar " I I , ,., _.,... ~ .... rvrnt in 1981), SCORE rrtumrd to a loop format that startrd and finishrd in Ensrnada. The loop followrd a familiar routr through El Cbinrro and Nuevo Junction. But from thrrr it vrrrrd on thr trail to "Thr Summit," a rocky routr ovrr thr Sirrra dr Juarrz Mountains. Aftrr following thr rocky trail down, thr coursr tumrd north towards Mrxicali, and then south again to EI Chinero. Thrre a loop was fashion· rd through San Fdipr and Laguna Diablo, and run twice before racrrs pttlrd off and hraded to San Matais Pass. Thr course thrn ran through Mikr's Sky Ranch and Vallr de Trinidad before jumping back on the morning's course and going back to Ensrndada. The rvent was filmed for ABC's Wide World a/Sports. Four hdicoptrrs, a crrw of 45 and announcers Jim McKay, Jackir Stewart and Sam Posey combinrd to produce the show, whiCh will rrportrdly br airrd in thr ftrst quartrr ofl98L The first motorcycle left the stan linr in Ensrnada at 6:15 a.m. Chuck Millrr, aftrr starting fourth, was thr first bikr into EI Rayo, 48 milrs from the start, drspitr somr problrms. "I crashrd brforr Ojos Nrgros and hurt my arm a littlr bit," said Millrr later. Rorseler was srcond on dapsrd time.at EI Rayo, but by Nuevo Junction, was physically srcond and vrry closr on dapsrd timr_ Most trams chosr to changr ridrrs at Nuevo, and Ogilvir and Johnson found thrmsrlvrs in thr driver's srat. But both werr soon unseatrd. Johnson was thr first to get off: "I wrnt over the bars in some rocks. Would you brlirvr I landrd in' the only soft sand patch-in thr wholr roc'" fiddl" he rrlated latr~. Five miles out of Nuevo, OgilVie collided with a cow, going down hard on a mer and a shouldrr and reponing 'difficulty holding on as he went down thr Summit. Carburrtion problems werr also starting to rnter the picturr as the valve srat assrmbly was mrssed up and the carb would Irak gas at Irss than WFO throttle settings. Johnson passed Ogilvie for thr lead and was onr minute ahrad of chrck tMer, Cohubuzo Junction. FIshback and Rutten had estabJishrd thrir Class 21 lead by thr first chrc1t., and by chrck thrrr had a thrrr-minute lead on Dan Ashcraft and Georgr Erl, who would shortly thrrrafter encounter mrchanical troublrs. Ironically, mOSt of the Class 21 teams rncountrred mr· chanical problems in this area. Only Fishbac'" and Rutten and the Bill Tariing/Jeff Kaplan Honda would make it to chrck four, 129 milrs into the course, brfor~ 2 p.m. In Class 20 only four bikrs startrd, and only threr made it to thr first check. Thr MaxwdllHoward Yamaha was first to check one, and by check thrrr had oprned up 12 rninutrs on thr Casr/Martin entry, who wrre fol· lowrd in tum by the Scott Coutts/Daryl Folks Husky. Shirry and Staats had started last in Class SO, but by check thrrr thry had the lead, srvrn minutes in front of Mac Douglas and Lon Prterson on a Quality Motorcyclr Service Yamaha. Casry Folks, riding the race solo on a Sportsman Cycle Husky, hrld down third. Perennial favoritrs in Class 58, Dick. Vick and John Watkins, had thr class Irad on dapsrd timr at thr first chec'" and arrived at the srcond onr in lhe lead. By Cohubuzo, thry had a four· minute margin on the Davidson/Grant team. Back out front, Johnson was rxtrnd· ing his lead as Ogilvir continurd to have proble.ms. His partner Millrr said latrr that, "Bruce ran out of gas twier. Hr had to bum a ride from somr Mrxicans down a wash about two miJes to grt SOIDr gas from another pit."

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