Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

IClockwlse from top left) Primo Goffl 12861 and Richard Halstead 1661 a~e among the early 1~cc Schoolboy leaders. Ronnie TIchenor 12141 won 85cc Modified 7·11 while Scott Brown 11111 was third. Mark t1lltlbran 1441 goes by an unidentified 86cc Stock 12·14 competitor as Bryan Brunerlfar right! picks his bike up. Bryan Smith. Robe., McGhee 1881. David Beckington:I221 an(t Matt Haberman 1281 lead !be 61cc cia.. off the start ' - . Kitsch was fourth overal1,. Kitsch. put in a double effort in the mud race and came in tired but confident. :'When it gets like t):lat'l just stand up all the way around the track and keep the gas on,'.' said Kitsch. California's Willi.am Surratt put his Kawasaki in front of 52' others in ·the 85cc Stock 7·p class using three seconds and a win in moto three. This class was also involved in the mud fiasco as. they were pulled ~ff the ltne before their final moto due to condi· tions and a 12·14 class was run. Their final moto was plugged in near the end of the program. Team Green's Scott Brown of Cali· fornia looked to. have the class in the bag with three first place rides in his division, but "Lizzard" Brown isn't used to mud and could only come up with a 12th the last time. out. It Idt him second overall. "I hit my leg on one of those metal posts in one moto," said Brown. New York's James Wool· ridge controlled the final mud run and coupled it with his other finishes for third over·all. . Tichenor and Surratt matched up in the 85cc Modified 7..11 class and Tichenor came out on top. Tichenor went three for three in his division with Team Green's "Wild Willie" SurraH going I·I·~ in his division. Surratt is' coming off a leg injury incurred at the Ponca City (Oklahoma NMA finals AUj(ust 11·16). Willie's le~ required over 40 stitches. Surratt pulled a fine lead and. held it in the final moto, but Tichenor "'as getting pit signs to think and cruised to easy second. T,he split in points wasn't much, yet enough to edge Tichenor into the champion's slol. Brown scored three seconds but I I ~.. J t tel I I' ~ t I ~ I ,.. .! J "') once again the mud slowed Scott to a 10th the last time out, leaving him third overall. Michigan's John Buono won tbe third moto in his division and be used those valua.ble points to tally fourth overall. ' A .2-2·2-5· planted' Pennsylvania's Tom 'Wickham on top of the 85cc Stock 12·14 heap.. Wins evaded' Wickham bUt steady riding was his winning factor . . Local rider Jeff Bowling came up:with a pair of wins but poor 'finishes after that kept him out of top standings. In one of the division motos Bowling went down in a rut, and Wickh"m and Donald Schmit of Minnesota went by.. A race was created when B.owling had to push back by to win, Utah's Snell Johnson ran 1·2 on his Team Green Kawasaki through his first two motos, but then befell problems. "I got stuck in the gate but got to second," said Johnson concerning his win. "Then Randy Oones) fell, and I passed him. He hit a tree trying to catch me, that's how he messed up his hand.'" Michigan's Frank Knight ran second overall with a 7·8·1·2. Jones was riding with a sore thumb on his throttle' hand but still set fast pace when the need arose. The Team Green rider from Maryland reaped the 85cc Modified 12·14 class for the third c~nsecutive year. In moto four Jones tumbled when he misjudged a line through a rutted tum, but even that mistake didn't keep him far off the pace; he placed 1·1·2·~. Johnson came back for second overall in this class and was tied in points with Jones going into the final race. Problems again befell' Johnson and he was rele· 1 ~~t~d c t~ l~~,~..... p~u~ble " ?ijsappo~~tI menu in the two classes left Johnson considering taking up basketball and sidelining his motocross· career. David Tambling of Michigan cut quick paths to earn third overall honors, taking a precious sixth in the final moto' when m,ud stopped many riders cold. ' Yamaha' Competition .Support's Ron Lechien made the long trip from California and blitzed to the front of the 100cc Schoolboy 12·15 class on- a YZIOO. Lechien,. 14, stands five feet, II ~ inches tall and looks to follow in Team Yamaha's Mike Bell's footsteps in the future, Lechien posted a 1·1·1·1. "Before the rain came the lines were strict, but after the rain fell some of the waterholes got bad," said Lechien. "In one spot it was about a foot wide and two feet deep! I lost my goggles early in the mud race and couldn't see a thing. The dip (on the far side of the course) was the worst. If you crashed down in there you were history." Ohio's Troy Graham pushed his Suzuki to second overall, gaining firsts in his first two division motos, but going 2·~ in the second set. West : Virginia's Davey Co()mbs tallied a 4·~· 12-6 for third overall. Though Coombs • never won, he was always up front , keeping the leaders honest. Michigan's ! Keith Bowen looked ready to latch , onto second overall with a 2·2·1 going into the final round, but a 24th place finish knocked him out of contention and dropped him to fourth overall. Bowen came back hard in the 125cc Schoolboy 12·15 class for overall. He took his Yamaha to 2-1-1-1 finishes and thwarted the efforts of Lechien in two of the three division motos in some close· dicing. In the other division ::t J 1 I • • C. I .. , . .} ,t. , .- • -:: • j Michigan's Eddie Warren was cutting a path no one else could fol1ow and came up with three firsts. '. With the final 125cc moto going off late in the program and in mud, it was anyone's guess as to who would take the' overal1. Warren took the 'holeshot but the mud

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