Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

00 0') M8rk Bernett .... SundlIy'a II'IlIin event cIwge fallo1liled by DemIII Shultz (14J. Johnny O'Mln MOL S18Ve WIse (8J and Kent Howerton (2). AMA Supercross Series: Rounds 2-3 Shultz sensational in Seattle! By Mark Kariya SEATTLE, WA, FEB. 14-15 When a factory rider goes through a winless spell, it's apt to get him down. But Darrell Shultz's confidence got a huge boost this weekend as he won both legs of the Yamaha Gold Cup Supercross in the Seattle Kingdome. The Suzuki teamster's first· ever Supercross win came Satur· 6 day night before a crowd of 32,889 after early leader Mike BeU went down. Bell, Yamaha's defending Supercross Champion who won both races here last year, recovered in third behind Shultz and Suzuki's Mark Barnell. Bell reeled Barnell back during the laS! lap and put a move on the current 125cc National Champ that sent both sprawling in a heap off the finish line jump. Barnell's bike ended up on top of Bell who salvaged second from the fracas. In Sunday afternoon's race before a crowd of over ~O,OOO, Shulu quiclc.1y wrested the lead from Barnell and held him off the entire distance, including a last corner desperation charge by Barnett that fell just short at the line. Anaheim winner Kent How· erton completed a Suzuki sweep of the top three with his third-place finish. Saturday Howerton, perhaps responding to a banner that read, "Seattle is Hower· town," headed the fint qualifier. Hounding him the entire way, however, was Yamaha's Bob Hannah who tried several last-ditch passes in the closing laps but came up snort. Warren Reid on a Kawasaki, Maico· mounted Carlos Serrano and Honda's Richard Coon filled the next positions that transferred directly to the final. Howerton's winning time of 8:~8.04 proved to ~ the fastest 10-lap heat time of the evening and earned him the $200 fast qualifier bonus from LOP. Barnett outran the ficId in the second qualifier. Honda's Johnny O'Mara raced along in second trailed by teammateJim Gibson for most of the race. A few laps from the finish, though, a lapped rider fell into his path, pUlling him down briefly but long enough for Gibson to ~ by. Yamaha:s Donnie Cantaloupi nipped Vickery Yamaha rider Arlo Englund for fourth on the final lap. Chud Sun roosted into the lead of the third qualifier aboard his factory Honda. Several laps later, though, Mike Bell bounded by in the frrst set of whoops and sealed the win. Sun's teammate Steve Wise held off yet another Honda teamster, Donnie Hansen, for third while Kawasaki's Jeff Ward advanced to fifth halfway through the race. Darrell Shulu kept the string of factory Suzuki holesholS going in the fourth qualifier, and he led from start to finish followed by Yamaha's Brae Glover and Yamaha support rider Phil Lanon. Team Kawasaki's Goat Breker recovered from a shon off-course excur· sion to fly past Honda's Ron Sun on the ~/under tunnel jump for fourth. La Habra Yamaha pilot David Taylor led the fint semi until painfully jamming his foot underneath the peg, forcing him to retire just past the midway point. Marty Smith guided his works Suzuki to the fore then, holding it easily in front of Maico rider Eric Eaton. In the second semi, Yamaha·mounted Spencer Morrison pulled the hole· shan but succumbed to Team Yamaha ace Rid Burgell'S late·race charge. Tbr consolation race found Yamaha rider Rick Johnson taking control of the race after the halfway mark for the laS! entry into the final. LOP Yamaha· mounted Gary Sen1ics and Bill Grossi on a Husky followed him in. As the pack flew toward the tint tum of the final, Barnett aDd BeU estab1isbed themselves in front with Bell leading at the end of a lap. Shulu,. Glover and Sun fell in ~hind them. The order remained the same during the fint part of the race, at least in the front few positions. Wise moved up from a fair start and dis· placed Sun for fifth. Howerton was also moving up, though from farther back. Charging from so far back tired him, however, and the farthest he would get to was eighth at the checlc.ers. With Bell and Barnell flying out front, ShuJu said later that, "I just watched how the race was setting up and it looked like Bell and Barnett were just a tad faster than I wanted to go. I thought I'd settle in and cruise the race out, see if I could pick it up at the end. "Like, in my heat race for the first four or five laps, I was pretty nervous and made a lot of mistakes. Then when I relaxed, I pulled away from Glover. "I though I'd get my lines dialed in and really get smoothed out and then start charging. I think I did catch 'em too. When Barnett fell, I almost hit his bike." Barnell was down and going again in a flash on lap eight, but was now running third just ahead of Glover. "I bobbled when he fell," Shulu continued. "I had to try to miss him and lost about three seconds on Bell. I staned reeling him in again a little bit and started getting a little bit tired from pushing so I thought, 'I'll back off a little.' Worked like a charm'" Tbr breaks fdl to ShuJu. After lead· ing for nearly the whole race, Bell got off. "I got over there (in the whoops) aDd Slarted to loolr. around him (Gibson, to pass), and I got my front wheel in

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