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. . . .dco-eoJoao YD.,••••o a.kota ·K.· -oIdala 'I' • dc. eo Y Ce.b'aI PipeliDe .... 00 .... 0') I- I Johnny O'Mar8ltop) bla.ted away with a flrat and a .econd In two cia.... In Montana. Phil Laraon labove) launched hlm.elf to third 125cc Pro. Holland and O'Mara take to the High Country By Delbert Longbrake Photos by AI Baker and Longbrake CORVALLIS, MT, MAY 2!1-24 George Holland and Johnny O'Mara flew from their southern California homes to the wide open spaces of Montana, and . 50 once there, flew around the Corvallis motocross track, taking first overalls respectively in the 125 and 250cc Pro cluaes at the Second Annual Coors High Country Classic $10,000 motocroIII held near Missoula, MT. O'Mara, riding a Mugen/Al Balter Productsprepared Honda, rode to double moto wins in the 250cc class and also took second overall in the 125cc class. Holland put in !I-I finishes to take fint overall in the 125cc class aboard his factory sponsored Suzuki. With nearly !l00 amateur riders on Saturday and 1!10 Pro riden on Sunday (and a spectator turnout on Sunday estimated between 2500 and !lOOO), the Second Annual Coors High Country Classic motocross earned the unofficial title of the largest motocross ever held in the state of Montana. And with riders like Holland, O'Mara, Boo Stichter, Ron Sun, Jim Pomeroy and Phil Larson all present, it had to be the largest group of top name riders ever to assemble at anyone motocross in Montana. Local rivers were reaching two and three feet above flood stage, and people were being evacuated all around the area of the High Country Classic, but on Saturday the skies cleared and temperatures reached the upper 70s, leaving a perfect sand track for the Amateurs. And it was as if someone somewhere knew what they were doing when it rained Saturday night but cleared again on Sunday. The sun shined bright, the temperatures again rose to the upper 70s and the snow-capped Bitter Root mountains were in full view of the traclt when the spectators arrived to watch the Pros. The track was again nearly perfect. The gate would hold !l0 riders so with 46 125s and 250s and !l8 Open Pros, qualifying motos had to be held in all three classes. The qualifier winners in the 125cc class were Holland and Larson. But in the first 125cc moto, it was Johnny O'Mara who was out in first with Larson and Holland baclt around eighth. A small stream, dubbed Coors Creek, crossed the traclt several times, and one of these crossings got panicularly bad, makin/{ a large bog hole. Jeff Cropper was riding in second place but fell in this bog letting Holland, who had been moving up rapidly, by for second. But Larson was also on the move, and in fact, paaed Holland. At the fmish the order was O'Mara, Larson and Holland. Holland said afterwards. "I got a bad stan, and I had to take all the bad lines to get around the slow riders. I got tired." So in the second moto, the 15-year-old Suzuki rider got the holeshot and led the entire race. O'Mara staned around l!1th place with Larson just ahead of him in ninth. The two riders worked their way through traffic, and at the flag came across in second and third. Holland said later, "If you get the holeshot, it's not so bad." The 250cc qualifiers were won by O'Mara and Robb Manning, and at the stan of the first moto, the order was O'Mara, Ron Sun and Manning. But in the same mudhole that claimed Cropper in the 125cc claas, Manning stalled his machine letting Gary Kuest by for third. Sun and O'Mara swapped places once, but O'Mara finally repassed and held first to the flag. Kuest also got passed but by Bob Kline who rode on for third. In the second 250cc moto, the roughness of the traclt was becoming the biggest concern of the riders, and most had to stiffen up their suspension. O'Mara seemed to have his Al Bakertuned suspension right on as he grabbed the lead and pulled away. Sun and Larson battled for second for several laps, but Larson had to drop out of the moto when he developed bike problems. Idaho Yamaha ride Warren Hickman fell in behind Sun for third. The Open Pro moto saw Ron Sun pull away from the pack and lead to the checltered. In second place was California Maico rider Tracy Oswell while Boo Stichter rode in third. Stichter later dropped out with an ailing Honda. Meanwhile Jim Pomeroy, who had staned in 1!lth place, moved into second. Jim was easily the most popular rider with the crowd, and as he moved up through the pack, the crowd waved him on all around the track. This was Jim's first race in over a year. Placing third was Steve Banning. In the second moto, Stichter pulled into first with Pomeroy in second and in hot pursuit. Sun was in fifth place and bouncing all over the traclt. After several laps of this abuse, he pulled off and later he made no excuses when he stated, "I got tired. I took the easy way out instead of going to the hospital." Pomeroy, with the help of the crowd, pulled around Stichter who was also feeling the roughness of the track through his Pro-Link. Both he and Sun were seen giving their shocks to Al Balter for some modifications after the race. It looked like a sure frrst place for Pomeroy, at least it did until that old Pomeroy luck struck. His Suzuki sheared the countershaft right off the motorcycle, and his sprocket, still hooked to the shaft, fell onto the ground. Stichter rode by for first, but Boo had another problem. Riding like a true desen racer, Tom Kelly found himself a pace, a fast one at that, and coming out of nowhere, he was soon pressuring Bool But time ran out for Kelly, and Stichter took the win. Kelly said later, "I hated to see that white flag. I could have ridden like that for another hour. " Stichter stated, "I could have gone a little faster, but I would have been out of control. I think I could have held him off." This waa Stichter'. fll'lt race in many months aa he juat had a cut removed from his leg one month ago. Stichter milled and said, "We're backl" The $10,000 waa divided up among the winnen with O'Mara taking a large chunk. With loti of good racin;, good cold Coon and warm weather, the weekend was a big IUCcell. Watch for the Third Annual Coon High Country Classic next year. Results 125 PRO: 1. <>-ge _ISuzl; 2. Johnny 0 ' _ (HonI: 3. Phil ...... (Yom). 250 PlIO: 1. Johnny 0 ' _ (HonI; 2. Ron Sun lHonl; 3. w...._(Yomi. OPEN PlIO: 1. T_ o.w.I law; 2. Tam K.IIy (Hull; 3. Rondy L.aoIl (yomi. 86 EX: 1. Bobby Moore (Yom): 2. MbToytar 1KM: 3. Eric Tlc:e (Yom). 86 B: 1. ~ TIlarnI-1 (Yom): 2. Cofy _ (Yom): 3. RlcIc SImmet (Yom). 100 "" 1. S_ ~ IIC8wl; 2. Bobby IIouc* 11C8wl: 3. S-lAe lSuzl. 100 B: 1. Mik. Toytar (Suz): 2. S _ 00l0f (Yom); 3. Todn--lSuzl. 125 "" 1. Miko Wh/lo (Yom): 2. K Moon (Mugl: 3. .. Aon~IHonl. 125 8: 1. S_ V _ lSuzl: 2. Som _ _ Dicl< (Yom). 250 "" 1. Kim _ lHonl; 2. Rondy W _ IIC8wl: 3. Don Corwy (Suz). 250 8: 1. Doug _ {HonI; 2. KOfri _ _ (Yom): 3. Jeff ~ (Honl. OPEN "" 1. Rondy I' . 0011 (Moll: 2. IIruco Slingloy (Yom): 3. Sid Soitz (Yom). oPEH B: 1. Sc:rotch Dicl< (YomI: 2. Gone SmiIII lHonI: 3. GIeg Soh.. iI" (Suzl. VETS: 1. AI _ _ lHonI: 2. Millo Gil (Yom); 3. K .. Chic:kainw lMoil. (Yom); 3. Sc:rotch Landrum, Taylor and Horton sensational at Tex·AMA finale By Charlie Wiese SAN ANTONIO, TX, MAY 17 In the final round of the TexAMA spring series at Riverside MX, heart-stopping action climaxed as motocrossers from mini to mighty bent it back in a fmal effon to collect some valuable AMA points. In the afternoon program, racing action was never better, and when the dust cleared, Kyle Landrum (Suz), Bryan Taylor (Suz) and Kevin Honon (Hus) had taken overall honors in the 125, 250 and Open Pro events; respectively. Intense racing action wasn't limited to Pros, however. When the Novice and Intermediate riders moved din on the hilly south Texas circuit, spectators and parents alike watched with anticipation. In Micro Mini action, Clay Branch (Suz) sped to consecutive wins asJ.R. Larose (Yam) came back from a round one soil sample to finish second. Minibike madness continued in Mini Junior action with Darrin Champagne (Yam) taking the overall win despite his second round turf test. Champagne also collected top honors in the four-race series. Mim Seniors provided thrills in both action-filled motos as Stacey Marek took his Rose Rich/Yamaha suppon YZ to a pair of impressive wire-to-wire victories. Danny Storebeck (Yam) managed a second with his 2-!I effort as points leader, "Mr. Minibike," Bryan "Boom Boom" Abernathy (Yam) dropped to ninth after a soil sample in round one and a close second in round two. Abernathy was back on form in Stock class wars as he aced the talent-fUled event with Storebeck talting notes in second in both rounds. 100cc Novices bent it baclt in search of the fast lane with "Cool" Kent Fox (Yam) piloting his "yellow bird" to overall honors at Riverside as well as bec;()Ining the overall winner in the senes.