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/126516
second lead. "I was pretty content with
that 10 I just kind of kept that pace the
whole time instead of trying to push it
and maybe making a mistake.
"It wasn't your average Saturday
Saddleback. They put a lot of different
stuff it! it, and it got rougher than
usual. It got a lot ~f potholes in .it.
Banzai and a couple up' and downhills
they put in there made the whole track
a lot better. You had to watch it, it was
really slick; you had to. use a lot of
throttle control and technique."
GiblOn caught Ward after 20
minutes and slipped underneath for
second after the IRC downhill. Try as
he mi,ht, though, the Saddleback
specialist couldn't make a dent in
Barnett's lead.
Ward fell off the pace after the
midway point. "I crashed about
halfway and bruiled my shin bone.
The bike wouldn't start right away,
and I dropped way back," he said.
He was still able to stay ahead of
O'Mara who had problems of his own
that held him back. "About halfway
through, my shoclt blew up. I had DO
return damping; it was basically a
00
0')
spring."
Magoo started out around 15th and
steadily worked his way up, passing
Buroworth for fifth just before getting
the white flag.
Johnlon got seventh with Yamaha's
Donnie Cantaloupi, Bentley and BenoI·
kin following.
2&Occ Nlltionel
Moto-X Fox rider David Bailey on a
works Kawasaki, Yamaha's Bob Han·
nah, Honda's Donnie HaDRD and
Kawasaki's Warren Reid were the fint
to drop off Banzai Hill and toward the
lint right-hander. Kent Howerton
staned around seventh but was up to
fifth at the end of the fmt lap with
Hannah and Hansen ftghting for the
lead, Bailey and Honda-mounted Ron
Sun third and founh.
Hansen slipped underneath Hannah
as they reached the top of Banzai and
squitted out of the corner in front at
the beginning of lap two. Howerton
moved into third a shan time later
leaving Bailey, Yamaha's Rick Burgett
and Reid scrambling for fourth.
Hannah snatched the lead back
from Hansen the next time around
and started to pull a lead on the Honda
rider. Howerton crept up on Hansen
and baaed him after the 1S·minute
point. As they bounced fanher around
the jump.filled track, Howenon shot
by Hannah for the lead.
Hannah shot right back, though,
and tried to stuff underneath Howerton in the berm at the bottom of the
IRC downhi11. The two went at it back
and fonh, each working on the other
but neither gaining the advantage for
long as there was much plllhing and
shoving taking place.
After the midway point in the mota,
Howenon suddenly went down on the
shan downhill after the double jumps,
sliding down the hill and losing second
to Hansen. "When I went off the top
of that double jump, I was kind of
surprised that he ran into me. It was
pretty dam aggressive, bumping into
each other, but I'm not gonna back
off, I'll fight. Me and Barnett's done
the same thing except we don't run
over each other.
"He just gassed it and ran straight
into me. It knocked the bike out from
under me and I fell backwards onto
him and landed on his bike, then he
gassed it, and it drug me halfway
down the hill," Howenon said later.
Hannah was upset at what
happened and didn't like it a bit. "The
fint time he passed me, he rammed
me, 10 I got a litde mad and I passed
him back. Second time he passed me,
he rams me. Third time he p8llell me,
he rams me. Fourth time he got
rammed; I rammed him on purpose
laoc:kwlle fram 1Dp ...., M.k IImwtt .... the ..coud 121cc ~ off ...... DannIe HeI-. got tt*d 210. Scott
BwnwoI1h
to fourth 121. Johnny O'M. . fallavn Dannie e.m.Iaupl: Jeff Wn bounded hla way to MCOnd
121.
end Hawwton gew the f8na the . . . they ClIme to ... In bath 2IOcc matae.
just like he rammed me the three times
out there.
"That's all, he was riding ditty. If he
wants to ride ditty, I'll ride ditty, but
that isn't the way I want to ride. That's
the way it goes IOmetimes. It don't
matter" to me; I'd just as soon not,
but. ..
Howerton was up as quiclt1y as he
could and got going again, catching
Hansen after a couple laps. When
Hansen apparendy missed a shift in
the gulley part of the track, Howenon
was quiclt\y past and about five seconds
down on Hannah.
A shan time later, Howenon was up
to, then past Hannah again and kept
it to the checken.
Hansen's Honda blew a seal in the
shock late in the race and he just
putted the last couple laps with the
back wheel hopping madly. Reid
broke away from his early duel with
Burgett and Bailey and passed Hansen
on the last lap.
Suzulti R&D rider Ron Turner went
past Suzulti·mounted Larry WOIick
with a couple laps to go for the seventh
s~t with Wayne Boyer and Yamaha
nder Kris Bigelow next in.
As the field 1ined up for the second
round, Hansen, Hannah and Hower·
ton chose the three positions on the
right side of the gate next to each other.
When the gate dropped, Howerton and
Hansen flew to the front.
Hannah got by Hansen for second
early on the lint lap and set his sl'ghts
immediately on Howenon as the
crowd prepared for a replay of the tint
mota. Hannah zipped past the Texan
IS minutes into the mota but, as in the
fint race, couldn't shake him. The two
stayed glued to each other for the rest
of the race with Hannah repulsing
each pass attempt Howenon made.
Said Howenon afterwards, "I just
couldn't hang on to the ban; my arm
got 10 tired: Coming down those
downhills, it'd just start shaking and
my hand would come off. I tried; I
couldn't hang on." Despite his elbow
huning from his fint mota crash with
Hannah, Howenon gave it a good run,
tried one last desperation pass on the
fina1lap but ended up on the ground
while Hannah rode away happily.
Hansen rode third for practically
the entire race with Reid founh until
Turner passed him before the white
fla,-. Sun finished sixth followed by Bailey, Burgett, Tarantino .and
Bigelow.
•
Results
125: 1. _ _ CSuzll-l; 2. .."w.d IICM 23; 3. Johnny 0 - _ IHonI ~; 4. Scott _
(Yom) ...; 5. o.my
ISuzl 7-6; 8. flick
_
(Yom) ~7; 7. Tom llenaI