Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

CO 0') M8rk Bernett lIeftJ took up where he left off end won both 12ficc motoa. Chuck Sun lrighd won hIa flm NetIonIIl of the..-on with. 2-1 telly. chandler and O'Mara were arguing over fourth. The coune waa turning into a bike beater with ~ the right lines contain· ing jutting roeb. Tuner lt~k Clark gave Barnett the sign to . ,and that's what Mark did, almost coming to a stop in some tight sections to save the bike. At the same time, Barnett's smooth style put him right on the track's record with a two minute, !II· . _ second lap time. Front-runners started to juxtapose aa Ward's teammate Tom Benolkin came in hard for third, tight on Jeff. Coon, O'Mara, Chandler and Gibson were spread in the 4-7 slots, and Denton and Yamaha's Scott Burnworth were gunning for eighth. Then O'Mara went .into overdrive and systematically worked into second near the mota's end. Barnett won with 19 seconds on O'Mara, and from there Ward waa ahead of a pushing Coon, who had edged Benolkin for fourth. A ways back came Gibson, Chandler and Burnworth. George Holland got Denton for ninth. Holland recently hit the magic age of 16 (when one can tum AMA pro) and U.S. Suzuki waated no time m getting George to his first National. Ward holeshot mota two with Barnett taking a safe seventh. Soon Cailtaloupi and Barnett fought over second, but Barnett took it quickly. He ~t close to Ward, and it looked like It might he the battle of lut year when the pair fought for the second mota win, but Mark went underneath to lead for good. Barnett cut a 2:28 for the track record early in the race and kept expanding his lead. Ward and O'Mara were 2·!I, Cantaloupi and Benolkin were tight in 4·5, and Gibson, Suzuki's Denny Bentley, Burnworth and Coon were following. DG's Mark Murphy did a heavy endo through a downhill section, his Yamaha endin~ up straight up and down against a post. He luckily rolled clear and restarted the race. Barnett never let off, using his usual hard riding style to thrust the bike through jumps. He finished the mota lapping up to ninth place! Ward followed WIth O'Mara balding out one wheel over Gibson for third. Benolkin had fifth to himself, and a moto·long, three-way dice for sixth ended Canta· loupi, Coon and Burnworth. "(t's been a really great year; I'm looking for all the motos in the series," said Barnett. (No National Champion haa ever won every mota in a season.) "Training hard and riding fast is the key. The rougher it gets, the better the bike worked. I was holding it wide open on almost the whole track. In the fint mota I spun the tire on the start pad - getting going was a little tricky. I'm looking to wrap this (U5cc National title) and the Supererou Championship up in a few weeks. " "The bike was missing a bit at high rpm's; the jetting waa a bit off," said Ward. ''I'll just keep trying, something could happen. Someone could get hurt practicing or something." I500cc NlItIonel Husqvama's Gary Pustelu waa the ho1eshot king in the 500cc c1... and shot to the front of mota one. "I don't know what's going on; I don't even get holeshots in local racesl" said Pustelak. The "Sugar Bear" of past seasons returned as Billy Grossi brought fans to life when he took over. Glover and Yamaha supported Arlo Englund moved into 2-!I. On lap three, Glover took Grossi to . lead, and Sun waa moving up on Englund. who waa in third. Pustelak and Yamaha-supported Kenny Keylon debated fifth. Glover held true and so did Grossi until late in the race when Sun came through on his Eric Crippatuned bike. Bell waa also on the move and used a slow comer to zip by Englund for fourth. Goat Breker was in the hunt with his factory Kawasaki, but gearbox problems cause his eventual finish out of the top 20. King was talten down in a fint lap mishap but was coming up quickly. He used a slingshot move on the outside to propel himself paat Smith. Honda's Danny LaP&rte and others. finally lock· ing into sixth. In the closing laps, Sun poured it on and began to cut Glover's seven-second lead. The crowd roared aa Chuck cut it to three seconds, but time ran out. Bell used a downhill to p'" Grossi for third. Grossi held fourth, and Pustelak took fifth with King. Englund and Maico's Mickey Kessler next. Pustelak took the lead again when the gate dropped for mota two. but Glover was right behind. Breker wasn't happy with his outside starting slot, but used a power-on slide to edge the pack for third. By lap two, Glover, Bell and Breker led a Pustelak/Sun/ King dice for fourth. Keylon had been up front but crashed face fint and restarted back in the field. Mark Corbett had also been in the chase, but mis· judged a line and ate a post. He was checked out and WlU OK. Glover put 2!l seconds on BTelter. who took second. Broc looked ready for the checkered flag, but a snapped chain in the rough stuff sent him strutting to the pits in disgust. Broc reentered the race two laps down and finished an eventual 27th. With Glover gone, Breker became a surprise leader. but he again met up with tranny problems and succumbed to Sun's charge. Chuck ran a faat pace from there to the finish over Breker, King. LaPorte. Bell, Grossi, Englund and Husky's Steve Rhyan. All frontrunners were spread out in lapped riders. "Ililte to earn my wins, but if someone's going to give them to me, I'll take them. If it comes down to the title, I want to beat Broc fair and square," said Sun. "I 'almost hit the same post I did lut year that broke my fmger. I'm not going to give up. Things happen. Never giving up is the key," said SUD. "In the fuat mota I crashed hard in the mechanio' area," said Bell. "Look at my arm and hand (they were swollen from falling on some rocks). In the second mota my front brue stuck, and I crashed off a jump." "I had that one won. but my tranny got stuck in fourth," said Breker. "I fried my clutch trying to make those hills." • Results _ CSuzll·l: 2. JtIf WIOd lK8Wl 126cc: 1. _ 3-2; 3. Johnny O'MInIlHonI2~;4. Jim ~ IHonI ~ 4: 5. Tom _lK8Wl": a. Rich e-.lHonI4-7; 7. SCXlIl_IVomI ": e. Donny a..-lSuzI710: 9. CSuzl It; 10. Clwto_lSuzI 13-11: 11. DonnIe c.-.p IVomI .-e; 12. Doug .-IVomII2·15: 13. PNI L.--IVomI 1&-13; 14. IIabby Hondy lSuzIl4-1a: 15. Gory _lSuzI·-10; la. TomRiceIVomIl~14;17. _ _ IVomIll.: la. Donny......, lSuzI ·-12; 11. . . _IVomI 1~·: 20. DMd _ IVomI ··17; 21. _ Murphy IVomI 17··: 22. R8ndy K--.... IVomI ·-11; 23. ~ T8YIDr !Suzl20-19; 24. R8ndy T_IVomIl.·; 25. _ _ lSuzI··20. . 0 . - pIo<*lg out fA \Illp 20. I5OOcc: 1. Chuc:Il Sun lHoni 2·1; 2. . . . . . IVomI 35: 3. Alon KIng (MIll &3: 4. . . GoaooI tHuoI 44: 5. o.mv L.-. 1HonI12-4: a. Me> Englund IVomI 7-8; 7. Gory ~ CHuol &-10; 8. MIry SmIIh 1IuzI.7; 9.. _ GIowr IVomIl-·: 10. GaM.-lK8Wl .-2; 11. T...., asw..o lMoilI3-11; 12. _ SIde lMoilll·1a; 13. . . . """"- lMoil,,-,a; 14. MIcIaor ~ lMoil ~.: 15. CHuoI ... 18. Alon PlaInD lHulll~14; 17. PNI ~ IV8IIlI''''3; Ie. MIll _lSuzI ··12; 1•. mel CSuzlI7·17: 20. _ ee.-fK-' 14-·; 21 . ...., s...r...IV... •• 15; 22. K...., K~ IVomIl&-·: 23. KMII Mem ·-11; 24. Jim _ CKTMll.·; 25. DMd Edclwt IV'" .-20. . 0 . - pIocing out fA .... 20. o-vo _ is-.""" V_ 1211 NATIONAl. CHAMPKlNSHlP POINT STANDINGS: 1. _ _ l2IlOI; 2. JtIf w.et " _ 3. Johnny 0'MInI 118ll1; 4. SCXlIl_ 11521: 5. JIm ~ 11411; 8. _ ~_7. T o m _ 11M; 8. Donny a . . - 1111~ t. DonnIe c.-..p C93I: 10. Donny "'1111; 11. Gory -1111: 12. PIlI L.--.: 13. Clwto _ .11: 14. ErIc ~ a5OI; 15./U. 18. . . _1311: 17. _ Murphy l37l; 18. Tom Rioe C34l; 1•. Rich e-. f32l; 20. -...,.l4lil; Doug '-1301. IiIlOoc NATIONAl. CHAMPIOIiISHlP POINT STANDINGS: GIowrI2191; 2. Chuc:Il Sun l208l; "'11841: 4. mEl GaM ICIng 11411; 8. MorIy SmIIh 11_ 7. Donny L.-.11211; 8. . . GoaooII1131; •. Me> Englund 11071; 10. o.n.I ShultIIlIOI; 11. Gory ...-1171; 12. MIcIaor ~ l1lII; 13. _ 14. T...., asw.no 1M/; 15. K...., K8YIDrlA 18. JIm • 1121: 17. Alon PlaInD 1311: 18. Jahn RoinhDIlI3Ol: 1•. Mob\' McInIyre C29I; 20. PIt _ _ 1._ .-1_ 3." S_...,., 127). MX MANUFACTURER POINT ST~: 1. .a: 2. Y _ l7lI2l; 3. _ I72llI; 4. _ l 5 n l : 5. -l2lI2l; 8. ~ 11711: 7. KTM 1131 ~ 8. e-Am l2III. I ~ 15

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