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/126522
THE NATIONAI~ PAPERS Thoughts about the four California N~ne" The Ascot IT, Sacramento Mile, San Jose Mile and Ascot Half Mile are now history. Three of the four drew all time record crowds, and if din track racing is dead, according to some, they must be looking at the wrong dirt. The four Nationals produced four different winners. No other type of cycle or car racing hu the depth and balance of the 'SI vernon of the Winston Pro Series. When they lined up for the 16·rider final at Sacramento, no fewer than 10 of the riders were former mile track winners. At San Jose, Ig riders were former mile winners. At the. Ascot Half Mile, nine of the 14 finalists were former half mile National winnen and aD but two in the main event had won at leut once in National competition! No fan or promoter can ask for a better field than that, nor can they find it anywbereelse. I watcbed botb Jay Springsteen and Garth Brow ride what I feel is tbe best half mile final ever for both. Yet they did not win. Maybe Randy Goss was making up for his final race in '80 when he won tbe tide but ran only fifth, behind Hank' Scott and Springsteen. Some called it "Backing In." But I doubt if Goss will ever ride better than he did in winning Ascot on May 9. He came from far back in the pack. H~ passed and repassed Brow, Springsteen and Mike Kidd to win in near record time. Goss had come to Ascot on two occasions earlier this year to test his bike and ability in a pair of regular season half miles. He won them both and also won both heat races and both Trophy Dashes. So witb his National heat race win and the main event, his Ascot streak now stands at eight in a row without a lossl He also broke the Dash record for the three laps distance and the Friday night IS·lap mark. He already holds the regulation five.lap heat record, so mark Randy down for three records at the track be says he likes the best of them aD. Once again, it wu rather sad to see one of our major races on TV" the San Jose Mile, and only see the leader for most of the main event. Here comes Jay Springsteen - there goes Jay Spring· steen. When will TV ever get a pro· ducer or a director that understands that somewhere on the track in any race that there is in fact a race going on? It wu unfortunate that this wu only the second time the San Jose Mile hu not been won on tbe lut lap, the lut tum, or at the finish line. Tbe only other time wu back a few years when Greg Sassaman broke away from Gary Scott early in the race and won going away. Too bad TV cannot do night events. The Ascot final was perhaps the best ever. Ken Squier, the commentator for CBS Sports wu in the stands watching and told me later that it was the best race he had ever watched. Shay Glick. the award·winning ·mo· torsports writer for the Los Angeles Timej, was also there - just shaking his head after it was all over. (The Times sends him to Indy and down to Florida for the Daytona 500 each year.) Of the 14 mile winners at San Jose, only Gene Romero failed to qualify for the fmal. At Ascot. the dozen half mile winners all made the fmal except Alex Jorgensen, Terry Poovey and Ted Boody. Coming in, Steve Eklund wu the point leader and came within inches of not making the National out of the semi. That is just how tough it is this year. Now for the progress report on Honda and Yamaha. After three Na· tional attempts it appears u though Honda baa pulled ahead. They put one of their machines into the Ascot final. The same machine, ridden by second year Expert Jeff Haney, also was one of the futest qualifiers futer than eventual winner Randy Goss. The night before the National, Haney had so many handling problems with the bike that be lost control on the front straightaway near the finish li~ and was out of control all the way to the first tum before he crashed. Freddie Spencer looked SO-IO on Fri· day night but looked like a contender on Saturday night until he was caugbt up in a restart situation in the heat and did not get back in form for tbe transfer. At Ascot, the Yamabaa were wisely withdrawn after practice. Manager Ken Clark stated they were not handling rigbt after Jimmy Filice fell twice in practice. Trying to develop and work out bugs at Nationals is a big chore. But there is little doubt that somewhere along the way this season it will all come together for both tearns. In the meantime, a lot of people are asking why the Harley team of Goss and Springsteen look to be so much quicker than ever before - starting witb San Jose. The two most common rumors are: (I) Harley went to work because they 00 knew Honda and Yamaha were in to C') stay. 2) Harley pulled out all the stops and went to full potential (Back to work for even more horsepower). Either way, it is obvious that they have a pair of bullets, and Jay and Randy are riding better than ever. The only rider who had a chance to beat Jay at San Jose was Randy - be was a full ftw jecOftds faster when he won his heat race. Then be broke on the starting line for the final. Every once in awhile we run across a rider that undemands what off track promotion is all about. The latest is 'SO winner of the Peoria IT, Scott Pearson. He contacted me before the race at . San Jose and handed me a first class decal with his picture and name on it. It listed his sponsors. He said that he would be glad to hand them out to any and all kids after the races. The west gets a break now until the mid·summer road race at Laguna Seca. The dirt wars pick up soon with half miles at Louisville, Harrington and Topeka, plus the Ellthart Lake and Laconia/Loudon road races. Harley, Honda and Yamaha will be at the dirt events with Yamaha and Honda also in the road races. Let's hope that they are all as successful as the recent four race affair in California. ..... ..... Roxy Rockwood EVERY CYCLIST NEEDS THE MAINTENANCE MAN THAT COMES IN ACAN. Cycle 1>rive Chains Control HandleS & CaI1/es If maintaining your bike in top condition is top priority, try new 1ii-Flow"':' The advanced penetrating lubricant with 'Thlkm'!' 1ii-Flow lubricant has so many motorcycle applications, it really is the Maintenance Man in a Can. Because 1ii-Flow has Th1km*one of the slipperiest substances in the world -it makes things slide better as it reduces friction and rejects dirt. Use Tri-Flow literally all over your cycle; fork assembly, chain, links, pins, throttle and brake cables. In fact, you'll run out of Tri-Flow before you run out of uses! Because after you're finished, bring new 1ii-Flow N lubricant into your house. Use it on anything that slides, glides or pivots. 0Jle1islered tr>demarIc ~ E. I. DuPont De Nemoun IIll! Co.• Inc. C> I!IllI Costa Meso Lubricants. Inc. 1ii-Flow is a tr>demarIc ~ Colla Mesa I.Albricants, Inc. Why is 1ii-Flow so unique? It's more than a penetrating lubricant, it's a complete maintenance system. With rust inhibitors, solvents, water displacers, and Thtkm'!' Right now, many stores have a special rebate to help you get acquainted with new Tri-Flow. For a free booklet, write to Costa Mesa Lubricants, Inc., P. O. Box 129, Olive Branch, Mississippi 38654. Maintaining your cycle is a lot easier with Tri-Flow T.M The Maintenance Man in a Can. , TM TIE .lIIITEIIAJI:E lWIlIJ CAJl 5 -..