Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

inada- Northern California-Northern Nevede-Oregon-Weshington-ldaho-Uteh-Aleske-Ceneda-Northern California-Northern Nevede-Oregon-Weshington-ldaho-Ut Open Experts chose to run one long moto of 12 laps with the provision that the track would be watered immediately before their motos.. Added to the fact that the track was thoroughly doused while waiting for the return of the ambulance, it helped considerably. Rod Smith holeshot the 250cc only moto with Joey Schlag second. Larry Wosick was moving his Suzuki from sixth and by lap two he took over second as Schlag crashed and remounted in the back of the pack. Wosick was putting extreme pressure on Smith as Brad Emery and Jerome Heiberger closed in. Wosick got by for the lead, but on lap four, he crashed and Smith regained the first spot with Emery close behind. At the halfway point, Wosick was challenging Emery for second as Smith still led. Wosick passed Emery and moved up to dice with Smith until gaining the lead for good. Wosick won as Smith fmished second. Emery, Heiberger and Jimmy Robertson rounded out the top five. Jim Ellis came out of tum one first in the Open only moto with Neil Snarr and Heiberger close behind. Heiberger started working at getting his Can-Am around Snarr's Yamaha and the two diced back and forth for a couple of laps. After "Jeromium" had complete control of second, he took off after Ellis. As Heiberger's "canned ham" took the lead away from Ellis, Schlag was passing Snarr and getting his KTM ready to zap Ellis also. By the time Schlag was in second, Heiberger had a comfortable lead and had no trouble holding it for the win ahead of Schlag, Ellis, Snarr and Randy Losh. Debbie Jamerson was in front of Sue Wood in the Powder Puff Expert race, but at the end of lap one went wide, letting Sue slip by in a left· hander. Sue overshot a tum later and let Debbie regain the lead which she held to the end. Debbie won the second moto for the overall as S~e's 2-2 finishes gave her runner-up position. The Mini Expert lead went right to Timmy Aston's Yamaha as Tyson Vohland put his YZ in second. Tony F10res moved in close to Vohland but never threatened. Aston won as Vohland, Flores, Eric Liddel and Chris Plain rounded out the field. Aston and Vohland went 1-2 in moto two for the same overall. Joruslead at Archie Clark MemorialST another great night of racing. Matt Wait didn't have to say "Hey, waitl" in the Pee Wee c1Ull as he took the checkered on his JR50 over Ron Ray and Aaron Bricker, both on Y-Zingen. Winkie Freitas had little trouble in winning the 80cc Expert class despite the hard charge from Mike Macedo. Winkie and the Del Callsen-tuned Honda had the point CR80 throughout with Macedo the chaser on the McGill Yamaha YZ. Ronnie Hayes and Scott Casey had the other pan of the battle taking trophies for third and fourth. Freitas came back for another big win in the lOOcc Expert class with Scott Casey and Kelly Fischer doing the chasing. It looks like a runaway for that number one mini 'kid plate. Starts being the critical part of the racing scene on the short, slim grooves, the 250cc Expert is always the one looked at the closest and Gerry Carr did another fine job of controlling the situation. Off the line it was the Jorgensen boys and their Can-Ams. You should have seen the competition between the two; it was worth the price of admission. Aaron Hill is the young up-and-coming kid with a CR250R and did a great job of chasing and putting wheels in the right place with Joe Knight, mounted on the ex-jim Filice Yamaha. chasing the entire crew. Joe has a few things to change on that bike, but just wait until it's right. Bernie Carbanilla rode the Yamaha of Salinas mount to the 500cc Novice win over Dave Painter on the Concord Yamaha special. Bill Knight proved that even the big guys can put it on the smaller types with a good 500cc Junior win on his Hayward Yamaha over Don Stommell and Jim Cutts, both of the ancient age set. The finale was a thriller with Joey Knight taking his uncle's machine out for the 500cc Expen win over Aaron Hill on the Del CalIsen Honda and Dennis Houser in for third on a Concord Yamaha special. Results PeE WEE: 1. M8tt Wlit ISuz): 2. Ron Roy lYlm): 3. -'-on IIrickor lYoml. lI6 EX: 1. WonIcie _ lHan); 2. Mike Mecedo lYoml: 3. Ronnie H.yeo IK.wI. lI6-1ooJR: 1. Jon Nu_I~): 2. TodToyto< IYom). lI6 NOV: 1. Shod _ lHan): 2. Jon Noyer lYom). 100 EX: 1. lYoml; 2. Scott eIYoml; 3. K8IIey _lYom). 125 NOV/JR: 1. Bob Curry lYoml: 2. WODdot Rogen lHonI; 3. Ron Riok (Suz). 200 NOV: 1. Doug GrolIIlYoml; 2. Dwight Linch ICAl. 250 NOV: 1. Donny Mc:DonnoI lHonI; 2. 51-. . . . . lYoml. 250 JR: 1. P.J. ~ CK.wI; 2. _ _ lYom); 3. Gr8g Go., lYoml. 250 EX: 1. Alex .Jorver-'lICAl: 2. Kim .Jorver-'l IC-AI; 3. -'-on HlI CHoni. _ NOV: 1. .MIt - . . . CMont; 2. Doug GrolII lHoni. _ JR; 1. John c..lHonI; 2. Mike s-tz lHonI. _ EX: 1. Jim _ _ lHonI; 2. Lynn _ _ lHonI. 500 NOV: 1. _ e:.-lYoml; 2. 0 . . . _ lY". 500 JR: 1. iii KnighllYoml: 2. Don S _ tHan): 3. Jim Cuno lY". 500 EX: ,. Joe KnighllYoml; 2. -'-on HlIlHonI; 3. Donnio _ !Yom). By Bill Spencer LODI,CA,MAY25 Short track motorcycle racing continued its sojourn into the middle of the season with the 14th annual running of the Archie Clark Memorial at the Lodi Cycle Bowl. The )orgel1leD brothen took the top spots 10 the 250cc Expert class while Joe Knight was the 500cc Expen winner and took fourth in the250s behind Aaron Hill who did-a great job for the niJ.ht with a second to Knight in the big bike class. The Lodi M.C. has done a great job, continually improving its facility with a bigger and better track and what better way to remember Archie Clark, one of its fallen members, with Greene blasts to AFMGSIRwln By Karl Okamoto SONOMA, CA, MAY 17 Don Greene, the third-place finisher in the Daytona National Novice' race this year, set a blistering pace to take the AFM's 250cc GP race at Golden State Raceway today. Greene (Yam TZ250) got by fU'lt lap leader Glen Shopher (Farmhouse Rest.lShoei/ND Yam TZ250) and proceeded to record 1:51 lap times in prevailing over a swift field. Shopber lost second slot to Fred 00 0') • AFM's Golden Stete Racewey event provided tight. paint scratching racing. Winten (Yam TZ250) when Glen slid his racer sideways on the last lap in tum seven, allowing Winten to pass underneath. John Glover (Fairway Yam TZ), last race's winner, got off to a bad start but was gaining ground on the leaders when the laps ran out. The guys got riled at the last 125cc GP when Jill Keenan (KT Eng. Yam TZl25) beat them, and they spared no mercy today. Danny Coe (Tony Murphy/Can-Am 125) seized his Rotax motor in practice, but recovered to win easily, followed by John Chermak (Berkeley Yam TZI25). Keenan pushed her Roland Cushway· tuned water-cooler past Jeff Leggitt (Honda MTl25R) and Bill Mullins (Concord Yamaha 125) to salvage third place. 600cc Production and Box Stock classes, formerly dominated by Honda CB550s and more recently by Yamaha XT500s, have been drastically changed by the new 1981 models. The most competitive bikes now appear to be the Yamaha Seca 550 and the Kawasaki GPz550. For example, the 600cc Box Stock class had 25 participants, with 10 GPz's and four Secas in attendance. John Glover won the Box Stock race on his Seca followed by Phil Beck on a GPz and Joe Montoya on a Seca. Beck and his GPz took 600cc Production, followed by Frank Mazur an a GPz and Montoya third again on the Seca. In the bi~-bore Su"pe.,-....~u,..eeoHt contest, s Darrell White (Suz 750) again rode an exceptional race, staying with winner David Emde (Calif. Suzuki of Orange GS750) the entire time and almost pulling it out on the last lap. Denny Doherty (Hon 856), the club's trophy hander-outer, stepped away from the trophy booth long enough to take the Open SS class win. Longtime AFM and AMA competitor Gordy Seim returned to Golden State and borrowed his old Can-Am for ·the 250cc Production race. Greg Overman (C·A 250) wasn't impressed, however; he won yet anotber race with a comfortable margin berween himself and Gordy. Kirk Graves took the 450cc Production class again, using his Yamaha 575 (TZ750 pistons in an RD motor) to secure the victory. In what must be considered a thoughtful expression of support, Graham Sheet Metal had handleban and hats available for the fourth, fifth and sixth-place finishen of certain races. This provided IOmething for the racen that are often skillful enough to win, yet lacking in motor or money (or both) to keep up with the top three. Although Golden State is known as a tight track, lots of horsepower can still overcome a great deal of mistakes. Finally, the status of track ownership is still in doubt. William Koll, Don Manh, Bob Bondurant and the Long Beach Grand Prix Association bought the track in June of 1979 from Filmways, Inc. However, a dispute has arisen in the sales agreement and the Koll/Manh/Bondurant/LBGPA group has ceased payments. Fore· closure followed this year on May 19 with the ownership returning to Fum· ways. Filmways is now negotiating for the sale of the track with several prospective buyen according to mllllaF Ric Farren. What happens after the sale is anyone's guess, but Farren says that the present schedule will hopefully remain intact. The next AFM race is scheduled for June 7, followed by Laguna Seca anJune 14. Results OPEN GP: 1. Tom _lYom): 2. DIcIt_ IK.wI. 500 GP: 1. J.tf ~ lYom); 2. o..id ~ lYom); 3. Tim O·HorIIlYoml. 250 GP: 1. Don Gr-..lYoml; 2. Fred _lYoml; 3. Glen Shopher lYom). 125 GP: 1. Donny Cue IC-AI; 2. John a.m.k lYlml: 3. Jill K_lYoml. SIDECARS: 1. _1Krl*m IItow): 2. - . . klnne IItowl: 3. DeWittlDeWltt lYoml. OPEN SUPERSTREET: 1. Donny DalwIy lHan); 2. Tom ~ lHonI; 3. Syd DeSoto (Suz). 7liO SUPERSTIEET: l.lloWI EmcII (Suz); 2. DIrNII WhI1a(Suz); 3. Rid< ~ lHonI. 100 SUPb\S IREEl: 1. Bob Runyon !YonW; 2. ~ v-.ao lYoml: 3. W8yne ManlDyoIlYomI. OPEN PROD: 1. Chrio s - d (Suz); 2. JIlt IngIwn lSuzl:3. o.rr.I ~ lNarl. . 71lO PROD: 1. 0... EmcII (Suz); 2. _ _ IK8wl; 3. Donnio Ftvw lHoni. 100 PROD: 1. PhI_ ae-l; 2. _ _ CK.wI; 3. Joe McdDya lYoml. 4liO PROD: 1. ICirl< Grw.lYoml; 2. ...... Mor.lY"; 3. Tf8C\I DoMuro lYoml. 250 PROD: 1. Gr8g 0-..... CC-AI; 2. GanIon Seim lCAl; 3. .... Aomina lYoml. OPEN BOX ST1t: f. Chrio S _ CSuzI; 2. M8r1in SIwpe CSuzl; 3. RIlph 0Ib0me CSuzl. 7liO BOX STK: 1. . . . _ CItMI: 2. _ w-.-lHanI; 3. Donnio r:,yw lHoni. 100 80X STK: 1. John GIcNw lYoml: 2. PhI _ tItowl; 3. Joe - . - !Yoml. Brown burns FresnoTT By Cora Jones EXETER, CA, MAY 24 "amaha-mounted Joe Brown from Paso Robles made a rare appearance 'to take hOIne the gold in the 250cc Expert class from the Fresno TT. It was anybody's race going into the fint tum, but Joe, in his usual hard-charging style, kept the wick on and took the checkered for the win. In other action, Joe Avila in the 80cc Expen class got the jump off the line in front of the pack as we have seen 10 often lately to lead the race for 47

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