Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126511
EDaytOftQ'81 ~ OftQ'8I - - the past at Daytona was absent. At times, spectators responded, but in the fmal the lack of a real duel for the win kept things mellow. Instead of the usual qualifying system used in Supercross where 25 riden qualify, Daytona's gate accepts 41 rid· ers so eight riders transferred from each heat, four from each semi and one from the consolation. E Prelimineri•• D....I Shultz picked up win number three of the ...... by holding off DonnIe e.m.IoupIln the ftMI. AMA Supercross Series: Round 5 ner Mark Barnett and Bob Hannah on the ground. Shulu took the lead from there and held a charging Donnie Cantaloupi at bay the entire race. Shultz on form •• again With his win Shultz took over the points lead in the series with 122. Mark Barnett finished eighth and is now second in the standings with 117. Kent Howerton was seventh and now has 106 points for third in the series and defending Supercross Champion Mike Bell is a close fourth in the points batde with 101. The Gary Bailey·designed track was fast, but the speed necessary to be a winner caused some riders trouble. Many tricky whoops, drop-offs and double and triple jumps accompanied fast straights. Holding it on off one jump and clearing two or three others without landing was the trick, but it took skill and timing. Rider consensus after practice was that the tra'ck was very fast and jumps were dangerous if one didn't attack them correetly. Top riders were looking aggressive, but most were saving hot moves for their heat races. Attendance was fme at a reported 50,000 but the usual roaring crowd of By Tom Mueller Photos by Charles Morey DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 7 Team Suzuki's Darrell Shultz once again proved his 1981 hot streak is no fluke by wrapping up the Supercross round at Daytona. Shultz won 20 out in a first tum clash which left Atlanta win- Team Yamaha's Bob Hannah got a nice launch out of the hole in qualifier one, but it was Suzuki's Mark Barnett, Honda's Johnny O'Mara and Moto-X Fox's David Bailey in charge through lap one. Barnett brought the crowd to life when he pulled the stops out over the back straight triple jumps and cleared all three, grabbing about four seconds of air time. He pulled a strong lead to the finish with hard, consistent riding. O'Mara held second and Honda's Donnie Hansen edged Bailey for third. Hannah took Maico's Alan King by the line and Yamaha supported Dave Hollis came in next. Jeff Surwall claimed the final transfer on his Yamaha. It was Shultz's game in qualifier two as he rode to a win. Honda's Rich Coon and Kawasaki's Warren Reid tightened up the 1·2·3 slotl at midrace, and Reid won the balde for second. Coon, Kris Bigelow, John Reinbolt, Jeff Hicks, Rex Staten and Mark Garrison rounded out the transfer spots. Q.ualifier thre~ offered some dicing as Yamaha's Brae Glover took the lead only to stall by the slippery road c:nRing. Some clashing in turn one left Honda's Chuck Sun behind. Yamaha's Donnie Cantaloupi lost no time jumping into the lead and her· serked his way to a win. Glover came back to second and stayed there, and Suzuki's Kent Howenon got in ahead of Steve Martin on a Cycle Springs Yamaha. Maico's Mickey Kessler topped Vickery Yamaha rider Arlo Englund for fifth. Next came DG's Mark Murphy, and Andy Stacy kept his KTM ahead of Sun who was minus a clutch lever. "Someone railed me at the start of the race," said Sun, who was headed for a semi. "The clutch lever was so loose I hit it and it came off... Ambulance flags came out during lap one of qualifier four when Dan Conway crashed into a dip. Suzuki's Many Smith owned the holeshot, but Maico's Carlos Serrano took the lead away by lap two. Suzuki's Denny Bentley came up on Serrano and took him near the end of the race to win. Defending Supercrosa champ Mike Bell had problems but kept pushing his factory Yamaha and landed third. Smith headed Yamaha's Rick Burgett for fourth and Keith Oelerich won out over Honda's Jim Gibson. Mike Twigg held on for the last slot to the final. Kawasaki's Goat Breker had problems in his heat, but semi one was his all the way. He pulled a nice lead on Can·Am'sJim Holley and Jim Ellis. The two balded for second with Holley getting the edJte. Bill Grossi put his Husky across the line for the fourth and last transfer. Five riders went down in turn one in semi two, but Florida's Kenny Keylon got by to lead. Chuck Sun held it on hard over the triple jumps to take away the lead and from there looked smooth until he almost crashed off the saine jump he passed Keylon on. Maico's Enc Eaton and Troy Vincent claimed the other transfers. Wemyu Scott took the consolation holeshot, but Doult Longwell worked