Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

00 0'> lLeft) Rex Staten 1261 got good starts in his qualifiers. Unset} Howenon gets going again in his Saturday qualifier as Glover slips past. Howerton rode like a man possessed, though, to repass Glover for the win. ITop right) Bell was fast but didn't have luck behind him. A flat slowed him Friday and he fell Saturday.IAbove right! Bob Hannah styled in practice Saturday. the inside. Flying toward the top of the jump, O'Mara collided with Serrano. The Maico pilot stayed straight and upright, but not so for the rider in red, white and blue. O'Mara and bike tumbled end over end, landing on the 'stadium floor beside the jump. O'Mara laid on his back for quite a while as emergency penonnel checked him over. He was able to walk away more shaken up than anything, the major physical damage being a tweaked finger. Glover continued his punuit of Howerton and the distance between the two shranlt. As they went into the big bertned right-hander after the tunnel jump on lap eight, Glover ducked to the inside while Howerton rooIr. the high line. Howerton apparently got in there a little too hot and slid to a momentary stop. With a couple quick fans on the clutch lever, he was away quiclr.ly but now behind Glover. Howerton rode liIr.e this was the ftnal in the last two laps. At the end of the back straight on the final lap, he bounced around the Yamaha teamster and held it the remaining few turns to the checltered. Cantaloupi, Serrano and Grossi followed them in. Staten and Bell led the pack out of the flJ'St tum in the fourth qualiller. Bell grabbed the lead before the fint lap ended, though, and that was it, end of contest. Bigelow moved into tbird after the halfway point leaving Yamaha rider Keith Oelerich to fend off Kessler for fourth. Yamaha·mounted Ricky Palmer, Brelter and Smith jetted to the fore in semi number one. Breker swapped places 'with Palmer quicltly, though, and was never headed from that point 00. 8 Smith also went by Palmer a lap later and tried to catch BTelter. That was his undoing. On lap six, he bailed attempting a double jump in the far sweeping· type tum and put himself out for the night. Hollis took the Suzuki teamster's vacated spot and held it to the finish for a transfer. Behind him, T&O Yamaha rider Tim Lunde put on a super charge through a tightly·bunched four· rider dice and after swapping positions back and forth with the othen, got third ahead of Keystone Yamaha rider Jeff Hicks, Mike Twigg on a Twigg's Cycle Yamaha and Clay Hoenshell on a Yamaha. In the second semi, Yamaha support rider Chappy Blose proved to have the most refmed reflexes as he blasted cleanly into the lead with King putting his Maico in behind. Jimmy FJlis moved up to third on lap two and the leading trio tightened up. Blose's bid for a spot in the fmal appeared to go down the drain when he got off at the end of the whoop straight on lap four. Though he remounted and got back up to futh, King and Ellis easily won. Blose wanted in to the final and did it the hard way by riding more laps than anyone this night. He rode a qualiller (10 laps), a semi (10 laps) and was now in the consolation (eight laps). Chappy had the start wired and kept it on two wheels for the consy win just ahead of Mark Rakestraw and Huskysupponed Derek Wedding. In the final, Suzuki proved to have the one-two punch as Barnett led the entire event with Howerton lurking just out of Barnett's roost. "Today I had to lead it the whole race so it was a little bit harder," a happy Barnett said later. "I wanted to get a bigger lead so I wouldn't have to work so hard. Four seconds ain't a big lead at all, one little screw up and that's it," Knowing Howerton was behind him worried him because the Rhinestone Cowboy had passed him in the last corner for the win on more than one occasion. "I said to myself, 'I ain't lettin' him get close. I can't.' I was just waiting for that white flag to come out. 'Come on, white flag; come on, white flagr" After getting the checkered, Barnett threw a victory fISt into the air as he flew off the final jump. The racing behind the flnt two proved to be more exciting to watch. Hanaen and Giblon started out battling for third while the Yamaha team was off to a slow start - Cantaioupi and Glover were sixth and seventh at the end of a lap while Bell and Hannah were mired further back in mid-pack. Glover came charging up and by lap five was preparing to give the 'Honda riden fits. He moved by both of them after a couple laps but could get no higher up. Pain in his left leg, incurred when he hit his knee on the triple clamp in the previous night's practice, helped slow him a bit. Gibson finally passed Hansen after the midway point and Bell came up to them. As he tried to pass Hansen in the whoop straight, though, the two clashed and went down hard. Both were up quickly, Bell glaring at Hansen, and both continued. Bell had to pull into the mechanic's area to fIX his ban which were laid flat in the crash. According to Hansen, "My foot got caught in his spokes and ripped me off the bike," Bell felt there was more to it than that. "I was gaining two seconds a lap on him. He was going over those jumps and knew I was coming and he cut right overt" Other observen felt it was just tight racing where one rider happened to get out of shape sending both down. At any rate, Hannah defeated Sun for futh followed by Staten, Hansen, Breker and King. Bell finished 12th behind Cantaloupi. Hannah's finish was among his best this year, but he claimed, "I was glad to get through it. I got one twisted bad anltle I got today. I got it yesterday, but it got worse today," he said with a laugh. "I was glad there was a lot of left handen 'cause those right handers were giving me a hell of a time. I wouldn't want to stick my foot down, you know. I'd just lift it up and go raaaa," as he twisted an imaginary throttle wide open. So, Suzuki successfully met whatever challenge was thrown at them one more weekend. It will be interesting to see if they can carry the streak outdoon to the fint National of the year at Hangtown. • Results FRIDAY ,. Mart< _ (Sun; 2. IInx: G"'- lVoml; 3. Jim Giblon (Hanl; 4. Donnie ...,.., (Honl; 5. Mike Bel lVom!; 6. Bob..",., lVom); 7. K_ _ 1Suzl; 8. W.... _ (KowI; 9. DomoII Shultz !Sun; 10. Johnny 0 ' _ (Han); 11. Stew Wioe (Honl; 12. ReI< S_lVoml; 13. Mort'( Smith (Suzt; 14. ArIa Englund lVom!; 15. Donnie Conlllloupi lVom); 16. Rid< Burlllllt lVoml; 17. GoIIt Br_ (KowI; lB. Chuck Sun tHanI; 19. KriaBigelowlVoml; 10. Mork Rok_IYoml. SATURDAY 1. Mork B _ (Sun; 2.. K_ HoWMon (Sun; 3. Brae G"'-lVoml; 4. Jim Giboon (Honl; 5. Bob Honnoh lVoml; 6. Chud< Sun (Honl; 7. ReI< S _ lVoml; 8. Donnie Hon_ (Honl; 9. GoIIt a - (Kow); 10. Alon King (Mai); 11. Donnie Con1oIoupi lVoml; 12. Mike Boll , lVoml; 13. Rick Burlllllt (Yom); 14. Worron Reid IKow); 15. DelIO Hollie lVom); 16. Kenny Keylon IYom!; 17. ArIa Englund IYom); 18. Mid

• Cover