Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

lJIwaon Cleft). though not totally 8t home on e motocrou-type blke.,.n a solid third. WIse (right) w.. smooth and In controlalmoet an day. ment on lap six, Graham tried to move. In an attempt to outbrake Kidd into the slow paved left there. however, Graham apparently locked the rear wheel and killed his motor, which threw him against the haybales. He tried to restart the bike right away, but it balked, letting Kidd and four other riders go by. With Graham worrying him no longer, Kidd took the win easily followed by Lawson's teammate Wayne Rainey, Boody, EltIund and Honda-mounted Scott Pearson. Defending Superbikers Champ Wise led from the drop of the green in the motocross heat with Pro Circuit Husky rider Jeff Jennings, Graham Noyce, Maico's Carlos Serrano and Dallas Baker/ATI( Yamaha rider Mike Baker dropping into place behind. Noyce powered his way past Jennings on lap three and set out after teammate Wise who appeared to be running away. However, he caught up to the Texan in the final half of the race and went into the lead on the last lap in the dirt. Wise fell trying to repass the Briton and settled for second, revealing later that he'd been riding with a power-robbing broken pipe for much of the race. Yamaha's 500cc Grand Prix motocross contender Hakan Carlqvist rode from near the back of the pack into third at the finish aboard his works bike. Jennings, who had been running third, experienced an engine seizure on the last lap, coasted around the half-mile turn with a dead engine, then flipped the cbolr.e on and bumped it to life, nursing it the remaining distance to the finish with Serrano the only other rider to get by, relegatlhg him to fifth. Main Lawson got the holeshot in the main . event with Noyce and Kidd trailing. Wise got a good start from the second row and was in the lead pack moving up on the return road. With one lap down, it was Lawson, Noyce and Wise in front. Rainey, Kidd, Aldana and Carlqvist flashed past the stands next. Wise passed Noyce on the pavement the next time around, Lawson in the dirt on the third circuit. After that, it was no contest as Wise was unpressed. "Cliff White and Paul Turner did a fantastic job," Wise declared after the race. "They /tot the tires working good, we.had the pipe, everything was perfect in the end. . "In the heat race, we had problems. I was glad the pipe broke in the heat race because if it would have broke in the main, I wouldn't have won." Noyce slipped past Lawson on the third lap but couldn't seem to shake the road racer. "I think I had a little bit, maybe 10% more on the dirt, and, like, he had 10% more on the road. braking." said Noyce. "He got me every time going down the hill (into a downhill right-hand hairpin) 'cause he knew when to leave it - the braking - to the last. "Steve got a good seven seconds on me. To pull it back on this type of circuit is hard to do, but I was hoping something might happen, not that he hurts himself, but that he might slip off or something. I think if it had been 20 laps, I might have been in there with a chance because he was tiring a little bit and I was catchin/t him. I got down to three seconds at the end or something. But he rode a good race. "I enjoyed it anyway, that's the main thing." Lawson agreed. "I could outbrake him 'cause I had a little better brakes (the front disc on the Kawasakis were the giant numbers off their road race bike), but in the dirt, I lost quite a bit to him 'cause I'm so out of shape compared to those guys. It W'\5 rough, but I had a good time; it was fun. I've got the fl u and that really kind of knocked it out of me. By the fifth lap. I was just hanging on. " Rainey, who won his dirt track heat but fell and DNF on the first lap of the main last year. said, "1 was just happy to get fourth." He complained of shifting problems but no one passed him during the main. Kidd and Carlqvist hung close to him during the initial going, but Rainey left them to fight between themselves while he hung onto fourth. The Kidd/Carlqvist matchup was another good one to watch with the din traclr.er on a stock-looking YZ keeping the grand prix works motocrosser at bay, at least until the last lap. "I just messed up going into what they call the half-mile turn," said Kidd. "He went low and I went high and it was a race to the jump and he beat me to it. From there, it was follow the leader back around." Car1qvist apparently was watching Kidd in that particular tum for a few laps and planning his move there before he could make it stick. "He (Kidd) went so fast into the half-mile turn and go outside and I'd go the inside line," said tbe Swede. "I tried to pass h;' • there three, four times, and I pa..ded him in the end on the last lap. If I passed him a little bit earlie.r, 1 think I could have got up to the Kawasaki guy (Rainey)." Pearson, Eklund, Boody and Bettencourt rounded out the top 10. According to Wise, "This year, the braking was the most important part of the race; you had to reaUy brake hard so I concentrated really hard on gelling my braking techniques down and getting the lines where I wanted to brake. That's one of the most important things I worked on through the two days (of practice). "I just wanted to play it cool and make sure I didn't crash, make sure nothing went wrong and just try to be safe; that's what I wanted to do, that's what I did so I just thank the Lord!" Wise did acknowledge feeling pressure as the defending champ, though. "I've been the fastest all week long and it's really tough on me. puts a lot of pressure on me because I have been the fastest and I guess I'm the guy to shoot for. I really had to be watching it. Mter I broke out in third or fourth. I said, 'Okay, settle down.' Then I was ready togo." • Results MAIN: 1. S _ Wile (Han); 2. GrIIhIIm Noyce (Hanl; 3. Eddie L.owson llCowl; 4. W.."... Roiney (1Cow1; 5. HoUn Carlqyiot (Varni; 6. Mill. Kidd CVarnI; 7. Scan " - - lVarnI; 8. S _ E1dund lMeol; 9. Ted 800dy CHant. 10. John Ilenencourt CHan); 11. Roll Bilend CHuIl; 12. Richerd _ CMeiI. CMeI); 13. Cartoo SemIna BEL-RAV CHALLENGE CUP TEAMS: 1. T.... ......... 15_ _• John - . Mickey Feyl38; _. r.... _lCertoo Serrono. Rich SchlIchter. SleW EIdundl46; 3. T.... e- _ ...-lMIU BoIt_, Dewo-.MbKiddl49;4.T.... C1ub W _ lHeIten e.tqviIt, Jock Teytor. Kenny Cerwl 55; 5. T.... ~ UeII Jemingo, Biiond. 8nK:e PenheIIl eo. 7

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