Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

whole thing was done in much fun and even honestly. It was decided to run one 40·minute moto. The Open Pro riders are a very friendly and loose group. . Ron Sun . . . . brother Chuck 8t Mt. View. but Chuck got by liner. Anderson and the Suns shine at Yamaha Gold Cup Mt. View round By Delbert Longbrake SANDY, OR, MAY 5 The $60,000 Yamaha Perpetual Gold Cup motocross series head· ed deeper into the northwest as round two moved to the Mt. 26 View Cycle Park near Portland. And moving the fastest around the Mt. View traclt were Oregon's own Sun brothers, Chuck and Ron, and Washington's own Jim Anderson. Anderson rode his Yamaha suppon/Dallas Baker Products Yamaha to double moto wins in the 125cc Pro class and then followed Ron Sun's American Honda to two second place finishes in tIie 250s. Ron followed big brother Chuck into the finish of the Open Pro moto, but only after he had made Chuck chase him for many laps. The day got off to a slow stan when the ambulance didn't arrive at the track on time, causing practice to start rather late. Things finally did get rolling, however, with the stan of the I25cc Pro qualifiers. Two qualifiers were run WIth 15 riders from each transferring, and five riders transferring from a consolation race, malting a class of 55 riders. With all the qualifiers completed, the way was finally clear for the main motos. As they lined up, everyone was putting their money on the LOP/ Yamaha suppon rider, Eric Hall, for the holeshot. And just like a fIXed bet, Hall got it. About this, Eric later commented, "I weigh less.than the others." Behind Hall in second was Cunis Clark with Yamaha suppon rider Gary Kuest in third. Anderson was founh. '. Anderson passed Kuest on lap two and then passed Clark on lap five when Clark bobbled. The only rider ahead of Anderson then was Hall, and on lap seven, he pulled by for first. Kuest followed Hall to the flag for third. In the second moto, Bellvue Suzuki rider Robb Manning took the holeshot honor away from Hall who was back in mid-pack. Anderson followed the 15· year-old Manning for one lap, and on the stan of the' sec0S:r:I" on a fast in for first. uphill straight, he po Jeff Cropper followed for third with Rowdy Blasdell holding founh. The order never changed from then on. The 250cc Pro class contained 57 riders, so qualifiers were not necessary. Ron Sun pulled away from the gate in first, and he never had any reason to look back. Ron was definitely in control of his Honda and he looked very comfonable on the Mt. View track. Bob Buffaloe and his Lander Cycle Craft Yamaha found second while round one 250cc class winner Phil Oveland rode in third. In 10th place after a bad stan was 125cc winner Anderson. But Anderson was chasing Oveland by the founh lap. Both Oveland and Anderson went around Buffaloe when he slid out in a fast right·hander. He was up immediately but in founh. Anderson then passed Oveland, who had twisted his knee and was in much pain. In fact, he would not be able to stan the second moto. Sun was riding so well that Anderson had no chance to catch him, so he had to settle for second with Oveland placing third. The second moto staned while a hard wind blew across the track, and it looked lilte it might rain. Anderson de· cided to make Ron Sun work for the win so he pulled the holeshot. Sun was in second with Manning in third. As the moto progressed, it staned raining and the track turned slick. In fact, Sun almost paned company with his scoot on a large jump. Ron said later, "I scared myself. I said, 'No more of that ...' But still he was able to get around Anderson who decided second was better then nothing. Manning and Buffaloe continued on and at the finish placed third and founh. The Open Pro class was scheduled as the 19th race, the last race of the day. A movement was staned by Chuck Sun to run only one 40 minute moto because the program was staning to run very: late, and it was feared by the Open Pro riders that they might not even get a second moto. A meeting was called in order to get each Open Pro's vote. There were 22 riders in the class, and as each rider would come up to vote, Chuck would alliain the situation while a traclt of· fiClal would wait to take their vote. Finally, a group of riders who voted "yes" gathered around the voting area, and each time it looked like a "no" from a rider, they would kindly persuade him to vote yes. Chuck would explain that in 40 minutes you're just getting warmed up and tuned into your machine. If that didn't work, another rider had a six· inch knife. At last there were only two riders who hadn't voted, and when they stepped up to the window to do so, who would be on the officials' side of the window to take their vote? Inside the tower taking the vote was Chuck Sun, smiling liIte a used car salesman. The Ron Sun admitted with a laugh before the moto, "I might have a little competition in this one," as he pointed to Chuck, but when the gate dropped, it was Ron who was ahead of Chuck. However, first place belonged to Tom Poage. With the completion of one lap, Ron had moved around Poage as did Arne Hettman. In founh was the National Champ, Chuck Sun. On lap two, Chuck was in second and right behind him was DMG/Maico West rider Larry Hooper. Ron, Chuck and Larry bliued aro\lnd the track pulling far away from the pack. Hooper feU back from the Sun brother"' battle, but by that time he was way ahead ofJohn Christian. Ron and Chuclt continued to race back and forth with the crowd going crazy. Every spectator had a big stDile. It almost appeared that Ron and Chuclt did too. Ron led for 11 laps, but on the 12th lap, he missed a berm and Chuck sneaked by. At the finish the order was Chuck, Ron, Hooper and Christian. The Yamaha Gold Cup series now turns to Washington and the Washou· gal motocross track. Results e- 125 PRO: 1. Jim _ _ lV_I: 2. Jeff lSuzl: 3. _ MIming lSuzl. 250 PRO: 1. IlDn Sun lHonl: 2. Jim _ _ lV-rn; 3. _ MIming lSuzl. OPEN PRO: 1. Chuc:It Sun lHonI: 2. IlDn Sun lHonI: 3. IMty Hoapor 1MoiI. PEE WEE JR: 1. Domon Devil lV_I; 2. GrIm ..,..,.,. tv_I; 3. Ched K~ tvoml. PU WEE EX: 1. Rick SImrnM lYoml; 2. Jeff DeiII' tv-rn. MINI JR: 1. Rick SImrnM: 2. Corey _ tv-rn; 3. C_o-IKM. MINI INT: 1. Todd _ 1~1; 2. _ Ie-. lSuzl; 3. SIwle _ tvoml. MINI EX: 1. IMty _ IKM: 2. Rick CeIarie tv_I: 3. Donnie _lV-rn. 100 lSuzI: 2. 0... e.xtiIe lV_I: 3.S JR: 1. Rick ISuzI. co-ve 100 INT: 1. IMty HoIonbfod lSuzl; 2. Jeff ChIprNn CSuzl. . 125 JR DtV 1: 1. Rick CelarielVoml: 2. Jodv Jomioan ue-t: 3. _ HoI tv-rn. 125 JR DtV 2: 1. Don Keilh lSuzI; 2. Devid F1_i~ lSuzl: 3. Jon Dum lSuzl. 125 : 1. Keilh FoidoI tvoml: 2. C_ _ lHonl; 3. Tonv ~ tvoml. 250 JR: 1. R_ _ 1~1: 2. PhIllip Sin lHonI: 3. Tm lindIlly lHanI. 250 INT: 1. Rod Hullmon lSuzl; 2. lindIlly Wum lV_I; 3. AlIn HinIdy lHonI. 250EX: 1. Mildl Loren lSuzl: 2. Tmc..tHuol. OPEN JR: 1. 5 _ R_ lSuz): 2. . - ~ lHonI: 3.1lImoy _lV_I. OPEN INT: 1. Eberl tvoml: 2. Guy Toedtan". lV_I; 3. Den SoIIord tvoml. ~ SR: 1. IlDn Long ISuzI: 2. BiN _ lV-rn: 3. 5..... Oobome tv-rn. ~ JR: 1. lVoml: 2. Don Tyler I~I: 3. Donnie I~I. OlD TIMER NOV: 1. John _ lV_I; 2. _ HeMe lV_I: 3. John Semmler tv_I. .-.v .-.v _ _ co-ve MInis mow 'em at sHR scrambles By Selly Sideliner BRENTWOOD, CA, MAY I Obie Leff and his 60cc Yamaha did some excellent racing at the Sand Hill Ranch scrambles to· night. The drop of the flag caught Obie behind a looped-out rider and in last place through the first 5WftpeF. As the 80cc Novices stretched it out on the back straightaway, Obie and his 60 kept the gas on and picked 'em off one by one for a first place on the last lap. Cun Bissell raced to another fine performance and easily won the' 80cc Expen class. Jim Hanbauer, a Friday night regular with more than his share of wins, showed up on a Horsepower Factory Honda to show the Vets he didn't want anyone else close to him. As the wind and the dust staned gaining momentum, so did the racers as the evening closed with the Open Experts. Dave Faria and Jerry Brandt dueled in their heat like it was the main. Jerry passed Dave in the last tum and hesitated momentarily which forced Farias bike to stall. Faria took no chances in the main and jetted to the front while Brandt and Dave Rodriguez battled the entire 12 laps for second. Jerry took the placing, but Rodriguez is a real contender as this was only his third Expert race. Managing to hold founh was a real feat for Kimo Casey on a 125 Yamaha against the Open bikes. Northwest RR season oft to fast startatPIR By Russ Cazier PORTLAND, OR, APR. 26 God does indeed love motorcycle racers and proved it by present· ing the Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association with an un· IelISOnably warm and sunny Sunday for its season opener at Portland International Raceway. The largest spectator turnout in anyone's recent memory watched 114 entries compete in a full slate of Grand Prix, Cafe and Production clasies. Crashes kept two fme performances from registering in the box scores. Brian Sutton, handily winning the first of two heats in both 250cc GP (on a TZ250) and Open Production (on a Suzuki GS1100), fell hard in the second heat of 250cc G P and broke a coUar· bone. Rhys Howard, looking like a sure winner in both 550cc Production and 600cc Cafe riding a stock Yamaha 550 Seca, was taken out in Tum Nine when a GPzIIoo fell in front of him. Both bikes and riders ended up·in a Chinese puzzle-like tangle against the tires stacked along the Armco, but neither rider was hun. Tim Hall, with an entire year of road racing behind him, decided to step up or step back, and he showed up with two beautifully prepared TZs - a 250 and a 750. "The 750 scares me half to death," he said, "but it sure is a lot of fun to tum on down the straight." Hall showed the good sense to take on the 750 in easy stages and finished third in Open GP behind Ray Baker on a Kawasaki superbike and Daryl Cornwell on a TZ250. The spectators were treated to the sights and sounds of bi$' twins in an Italian/German exhibition as 10 Ducatis, Moto Guzzis and BMWs thundered around the track. The exhibition naturally turned into a race with the Ducatis working to the front of the pack. The Yakima, WA contingent sewed up wins in 750cc Production - Rod Chronister on a Suzuki GS750 - and 550 Production - Robbie Adams on a Yamaha RD400. The Flying Stan Award must go to Tony Howard. In his first road race ever, he trophied in the hotly contested 750cc Production class riding a 650 Kawasaki. Howard had good words for the OMRRA: "The new riders' practice was neat. They put us in small groups behind an experienced racer and staned us out real slow. We did five laps, picking up the pace a little each lap. Then we stopped and talked about what we'd done and then went out for open practice. It all just really felt natural to me." Dan Zlock won both 850 and Open Cafe on an 850 Suzuki cafe machine,

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