Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

..-4 00 0') ..-4 ( ~ from ebove left) Barnett tries to free hi"'"" from S8turdey'. finiah .... cruh with Mike Bel. Barnett wea not eIw8ya the model of control. Bel en... bud on Broc Glover who finlahed the _kend with 5-8 piecing•. one groove and my back wheel in another, and when 1 went off the jump, it put me on the ground sideways," Bell said later . "I didn't stall the motor. but the bike turned around and so-J had to tum the bike all the way around. It was like in fourth gear when 1 took off, so it was just really a pain. It was really frustrating; 1 was really disappointed," said Bell of watching both Shultz and Barnett flash past. Shultz was free and headed for his first stadium victory. Barnett and Bell, though, provided a stirring, literally knock-down fight at the end. Bell caught up to Barnett on the last 'lap. He stuffed underneath the Suzuki in the final comer to gain a slight edge, but when they flew off the finish line jump, bikes and bodies met in mid-air. Both went tumbling to earth with Bell ending up face down on the rrack, a Suzuki on top of him. Fortunately, neither was hun badly. Bell did get second with the move. A disgusted Barnett said later, "I didn't think he was that close at tbe finish or I would've gone to the inside. I kept it wide open hoping to pass him back, and we both tangled in air, and we botb hit the ground pretty hard. "It was going pretty smooth 'til that bappened. He shouldn't have done that, 1 don't think. It was a bad move on his part." Bell explained, "We came over the big jump, and I saw he was going to the outside so I ran it inside and passed him fair. What happened is when I went off the jump, I drifted outside thinking he was just gonna know that I passed him and get off the gas. but he didn't. He stayed on it and landed on top of me. The pass was legitimate; it's just that we got tangled up over tbe jump." Wise and Glover finished four/five while both riders were still on the rrack. As of6c~1s hurried to clear tbe track, Reid and Ward also came in followed by Howerton, Hansen and Coon. Sunday The SUperCTOlll Series point standings after Saturday night's event showed a unique three-way tie for first among Bell, Barnett and Shultz, eacb having 48 points. Howerton was four points back in fourth. Barnett went wire to wire with no uouble in the first qualifier, Wise holding his distance in second. Englund marched up through the ranks to finisb third with Reid and David Taylor next. Barnett received the LOP fast qualifer money thanks to his 8:45.03. Glover shot into tbe lead in the second qualifier flanked by Hannah, Breke.r and Bell. Hannah bounced past Glover after the second set of whoops, and tbough Bell challenged him beavily in tbe first half, the Hurricane managed to stave off his teammate. Bell dropped to third afterwards followed by Breker and Cantaloupi. _ Gibson, Sbultz and Hansen led the pack through the wboops in the third qualifier. Slowed a bit when a haybale fell off a jump and hit him, Gibson gave up tbe lead when a lapped rider's bike fell in front of him, catching the Honda's front wheel and putting Gibson over the bars. . Shultz assumed tbe lead after that while Hansen held off O'Mara for second. Burgett, and Larson were next across the line with Gibson sixth, headed for a semi. The start of the fourth qualifier found Ron Sun, Howerton and Chuck Sun in the early lead. Howerton took over before the end of a lap and looked to be an easy winner until he got spit off on the last lap bending bis bars and pulling some back muscles. Chuck Sun took the win with Howerton recovering in time for second followed by Coon, Yamaha-mounted Larry Wosick and Semica. Ward outclassed the field in the first semi with Kenny Keylon on a Yamaba always a secure second throughout the race. Gibson made sure of a spot in the final as he also outdistanced the field in the second semi, Can-Am rider Jim Holley following him a ways back for the next transfer. Spencer Morrison and Yamaha rider Dave Hollis shared tbe early lead in the consolation. Morrison ran into trouble with the rutted wboops several times, bowever, which dropped him from contention. Hollis kept the lead safely despite a Rick Johnson run on him tbat ended when Johnson fell off a jump. Three Suzukis and a Yamaha stole the start of the final event. Barnett, Shultz, Glover and Howerton zipped out front with O'Mara, Wise and Bell right behind_ Shultz led every lap with Barnett several lengths to the rear. Toward the end of the race, Barnett picked up the pace, a sense of urgency coloring his riding as he sped onward to what promised to be a last lap confrontation with Shultz. "I was waiting for the last couple of laps to get him and where I wanted to pass him, I got screwed up in lappers, and 1 had to follow bim through his line," Barnett recalled after the race. "I couldn't pass him then. Then it was kinda too late at the end. "I rode a lot better, a lot smarter (in this final), but he just didn't make any mistakes and that's what I was waiting for. It never happened." When tbe lilst lap came, Barnett could wait no longer and decided to force the issue. JUSt feet bebind Shultz coming off the tunnel jump, he gassed it into the outside line of the final comer and tried to banzai around Shultz. "I had to go for it right then, but he just heard me coming, be said," Barnett stated. "A few times 1 lapsed into myoid style and tried to push a Iitde too bard," Shultz said. "Barnett was right behind me, and it didn't bother me a lot, but 1 didn't really like it. 1 wanted to see if 1 could get three or four seconds to where 1 couldn't hear his motor everytime 1 shut off to brake. It kinda bugged me. "I tried to pull away a little bit, and 1 almost crashed so 1 said, 'I've got to calm down and just let him follow me.'" And follow Barnett did, though it wasn't by much at the checkers where his last comer charge fell sbort. Howerton, hampered by lOOIIe triple clamps due to his qualifier crash, "just rode it as fast as it would go without losing control and managed to stay in third place, so I'm satisfied." Bell advanced to fourth by the finisb, just ahead of O'Mara whose fifth marked his best Supercross finisb in three tries. Chuck Sun barely held off a berserking Hannah for sixth with Glover, Gibson and Coon rounding out tbe top 10. • Results SATURDAV 1. Dorrell Shultz CSuz); 2. Mike IIeIl lVom): 3. _ _ ISuzt; 4. S _ Wioe lHonI; 5. Ilroe Glo.lVom): 6. W.... Reid IK.wl; 7. Jeff Word lK.wI: 6. K.. t _ _ ISuzt: 9. Donnie.- IHonI; 10. Coon (Hon); 11. Arlo Englund lVom); 12. Bob Honnoh 1V1m); 13. Rid< IIurgott lVoml: 14. Jim Giboon (Hon); 15. Chud< Sun IHon); 16. Donnie ContBloupi lVom); 17. Rid<.Johnoon lVern): lS. Mertv Smith (Suzt; 19. Johnny O'M.alHon); 20. S _ Mooiaon IVam). SUNDAY 1. 0..011 Shultz lSuzl: 2. _ _ ISuz); 3. K..t _ _ (Suzl; 4. Mika SoillVaml; 5. Johnny O'Mata (Ho,lI: 6. Chud< Sun lHon); 7. Bob Hannah lVam): S. Sroe G~ lVaml: 9. Jim Giblon IHonI: 10. Richard Coon (Han): 11. Rid< Surgett (VarnI; 12. Stave Wioe (Han); 13. K..ny Keylon lVern); 14. Donnie Cantaloupi lVaml; 15. Phil ~ IVam); t6. Donnie '-IHon); t7. Lany Woaick lVaml; lS 10 Englund (Vam): 19. DaYid Toylor lVaml: 20. W Reid (Kawl. SUPERCROSS SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. DamIII Shultz (76); 2. M.k Barnett (731; 3. Mika Bell 167): 4. K Howerton 1661; 5. Stave W ... I46); 6. Bob ... Hannah (45): 7. Jim Giboon (37); S. mE) Richard Cooni Ron Sun (36); 10. Sroe Glo.-I34I: 11. Johnny O'Mata 1281; 12. Arlo Englund (25): 13. Rid< S..-gen 121): 14. Donnie .-(19); 15. W.... Reid (17): 16. Jeff WardIR.. S _ (14); lS. Rid< J _ (131: 19. R_ mel Donnie ContBloupi 112l: 20. Danny LaPorta 1111. 7

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