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') Kent Howerton 121 and Mark Barnett lSI lead into the tim turn of saturday night'. final. Alan King 1431. Cheppy Blose 1331 and Goat Braker 1201 try the hltih line. Behind the Ieeders are Rick Burgett 1181. Carlos Serrano 1821. Donnie Hansen 1211. Jim Gibson lbehlnd Howertonl. Mike Belllpartially hidden by Barnett>. Broe Glover 181 and Donnie Cantaloupi 1191. The crowd w •• estimated to be 24.000 saturday and 17.000 Friday. ANA Superc..oss Series: Rounds6U7 'Dome bl_te'd twleeby Barnett By Mark Kariya HOUSTON, TX, MAR. 1~-14 Mark "The Bridgevill~ Bomber" Barnett bounced back from his worst weekend (last week's Daytona Supercross where he finished eighth) and said "bombs away" as he scored back·to·back wins in two nights of racing at the 1981 Mr. Pibb . , Supercross m Houston s Astrodome. 6 The twO wins easily vaulted him into the series points lead as he also .won his qualifiers both nights. Barnett's Suzuki teammate and poim leader going into the weekend - Darrell Shulu - suffered a knee injury in practice Friday. He stiJI qualified for the fi.nal where he rode a IfUtty race to finish ninth, but the injury ~ too palOtul for ~ to at~em.pt t~ nde. Saturday. Hes now third 10 POlOts WIth 1 ~4. For Barnett, "It's all coming together now. I guess it's not too overdue. It's overdue in my mind; I want to win 10 bad. Now I've been doing it, 50 I think. it's gonna come a lot easier 'cause I've got seJf·confidence. "I've always had self-confidence in the past - I won the 125cc Championship last year - but Supercrosa is the hardest to win 'cause you have to be ftrst or second the whole series. There's no room for mistakes. " Barnrtt made no mistakes he couldn't correct as Team Suzuki rolled to their seventh straight win this season. Kent Howerton backed up Barnett on Saturday with a second which helped put him in that spot in points with 148. Broc Glover was the highest placing Yamaha rider with a second and a third. It wasn't as good as his two·one last year but was enough to tie him for sixth in points with Bob Hannah at 101. Hannah's weekend was better than it has been in a while with finishes of six and five. Defending Supercross Champion Mike Bell was hampered by a flat and a faIl in the two nights of racing and his flOishes were 5-12. He is now founh in points at 1 ~2. Friday Jim Gibson scooted out to a quick lead in the first qualifier with Broc Glover shadowing him c1oseIy. Glover's teammate Donnie Cantaloupi and Darrell Shulu on a factory Suzuki held positions in third and founh. Glover hounded Gibson for the first half of the race and ftnally found an opening in a left-hand comer where he ducked underneath for the lead. After that, the Yamaha teamster just rode it out to the checkered for the win. Late in the race, Shulu seemed to fade a bit due to the pain in his knee, and Kawasaki's Warren Reid worked his way up to make several thrusts at Shulu. Reid tried especially hard to get by in the last two laps but got out of shape a couple of times and decided to save it for the final. . Barnett was never headed in the second qualifier. Chuck Sun on a factory Honda, Hannah and Yamaha·mounted Jimmy Ellis k.ept Barnrtt company out of the gate. Ellis dropped back to eventually finish sixth, going to a semi instead of directly into the final. While Barnett cruised along ill from, Hannah drew himself up to Sun and tried to pry for an opening. They tangled and fell in the big bermed right-hander after the tunnel jump on lap four, but both got going again without losing position to Rick Burgett on another works Yamaha in founh. Hannah fi.nally succeeded in slipping past Sun on lap six and kept him back. to third the remaining distance. Husq· varna·supported BiJly Grossi edged Burgett for fourth a lap from the finish with Ellis and Vickery Yamaha's Arlo Englund also close behind. Howerton and Honda's Do.nnie Han· sen ran away with the third qualifier. Rich Coon kept his factory Honda a steady third the whole race while Maico's Mickey Kessler moved his way up from sevemh on the opening lap to fourth after following Carter's Yamaha rider Mark Rakestraw who DNF with a collapsed rear wheel. Team Suzuki member Marty Smith tangled in the banners along the whoop-infested straight on lap one try. ing to avoid an out·of·shape rider. By the time he got going again, he was at the back of the pack but on the gas and managed to get a direct transfer to the final with a futh. Rex Staten looked pretty pumped and ready to win prior to the (ounh qualifier. When the gate fell, he blasted his Rocket Rex Racing Yamaha imo the early lead with Mike Bell and Honda's St~e Wise ready to pounce on him. Both chased the Rocketman down before the first lap ended. Bell headed off to an unchallenged win, but Staten gave Wise some fight in the early going. He passed the Texan back for second on lap two and held him off until Wise went by after the tunnel jump on lap four. Kawasaki's Goat Breker finished not