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/126512
.. ~ 00 0') ~ lCIoc:kwise from top IeftI The Paul KnolVTIfTl Mooney rig leads Bruce Und/Jack Hart through tum four. Spectators gathered everywhere. Bill Davidson and Pat Dunn lost a chance for the win when they crashed. Wayne Lougee/sean Jackson 121 had handling problems; Reg PrIdmore/Kenny Green (163) placed second. Essaff/Harrold had the lead down the pit straight on the next lap, but Davidson/Dunn pivoted early in tum one, squaring it off to the inside and blasting out hard, nearly jumping off the Linden St. dropaway that is the turn one exit. They used that drive to slam the door on Essaff/Harrold in the following comer. Coleman and Bevans followed. Pridmore and Green had their prob· lems in the early going. That they were running at all was due in part to Cole· man and Bevans, who donated a needed piston. A fouled plug plagued them early on, but it started to clear and the Reg Pridmore Motorcycles· sponsored duo had their Rob North· framed TZ750 into the top four by the fourth lap, where they trailed Davidson/ Dunn, Coleman/Bevans and Lougee/ Jackson. Circulating, but well off the pace was the George Fisher/Mark Nowicki rig. "We fried a pair of points right off the start and ran on two cylinders the whole race," explained Nowicki. Out of the race on the first lap was the Jim Hayes/Matt Campbell chair, which suffered a broken rear hub. Up front positions still changed at will as EssafflHarrold led on the fifth lap, but on the next lap found them· selves in fifth as Pridmore/Green took the point position ahead of Lougee/ Jackson and Davidson/Dunn. On the following lap, Davidson/Dunn. had the lead, but one lap later Essaff and Harrold were back up front. The Lind/Hart entry went out after over· heating problems led to a seizure of the number one cylinder. Lougee and Jackson dropped off the leading pace when the front end - which they'd had problems with most of the weekend - turned to full lock through tum II, causing them to kiss the wall. Starting with lap nine, Davidson and Dunn set the pace out front as second through fourth were debated by Essaff/Harrold, Pridmore/Green and Coleman/Bevans. The 10th lap saw the demise of two teams. The Dobbs brothers, Tom and Dave, had been close to the leaders for most of the race. But they pulled off in the tum one run·off, smoke pouring from the engine. And Essaff lost the chance to win the race he'd set up: "I lost the countershaft sprocket. Do you believe itt" said Pete later. That left three teams in contention for a possible win. Davidson/Dunn led as the white flag was given, but Coleman and Bevans had other ideas. "In the first hairpin (tum 5) I got inside of them," said Coleman, "and we got a better drive off the comer. " Coleman and Bevans were still leading at the end of the long straight. Only five turns remained between them and victory. But one of those turns caught up to Davidson and Dunn. They highsided in tum nine and were out of the race. Davidson was taken to St. Mary's hospital nearby and was reo ported to be in good condition with a broken hand and severe lacerations. The checkered flag waved first to Coleman and Bevans, and Mark threw up a hand in victory as the crowd gave them a well·deserved ovation. In a post-race interview the press was warned against using the term "monkey" for "passenger." Said Bevans, "I consider myself as a passenger, and not as a monkey, because 150 mph is nothing to monkey around with. I act as movable equilibrium - not a monkey on a stick. " Some concern had been raised be· fore the race about the fact that the LBGP circuit is bordered mostly by bare concrete. Said Coleman in response to a question about that: "You're not supposed to race with the idea of going off the course." Pridmore and Green finished second, 4.50 seconds behind the winners. Like the winners, they turned their best lap in on the final lap. Coleman and Bevans did a 1:57.40 to a 1:58.19 for Pridmore and Greene. That was in the 57 mph range. Most of the early race had been spent on a 2:02 per lap pace, or about 56 mph. Mter their horrendous start, Fillery and Quinn went on to finish third, 39.64 seconds behind the leaders. The Lougee/Jackson rig, despite their front end troubles, persevered to finish fourth. Davidson and Dunn were credited with a fifth place finish ahead of Fred Hopp and Bill Alston, who were a lap down but still turned in with the fastest lap of the day, a 1:57.32. Seventh went to the half a motor team of Fisher/ Nowicki while Paul Knoll and Tim Mooney finished eighth. EIIaff/Harrold and Dobbs/Dobbs were listed ninth and lOth. Essaff is currently working on other venues for the EastlWest Sidecar Series, and reports considerable interest from other track owners. The format would stay the same: 12 teams, six from each side of the continent. • Results -onnv CoIenw>IMorlt _ _ (Yom): 2. Reg Pricl(if.., (Yom): 3. len FilIoryIS_ Quinn (~: 4. W..". ~ Jedc-. 1K8w1: 5. Bil ~ Dum (~: e. _ HoppIBiIlAlolon: 7. <>-ve _ _ Nowicl