Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

• I '1Ir'f,.f~ ~~ , fll I ,; -'iI II ".t"ern Callfornl•.ArI.on.....t ..ern Ne••da· Western hotline In the 125cc Intermediate class Mark Horton (Yam) of Y_O.C. Racing won a fierce battle over Suzukimounted Kim Douglass. Douglass in the lirst mota, managed to put PJ'CllllUl'C on Hortob throughout the moto but the Yamaha rider never let up, taking the win just ahead of Douglass. Third place went to Mark Milam {Yam). The second moto was a replica of the first moto as Horton captured the win while Douglass finished a close second. Again consistent riding by Milam placed him third. Jimmy Palmer (Yam) styled to victory in the 125ee Novice c~ by trading wUIs with iUlother Yamaha ride, Clay Langhurst. Palmer's 2-1 combination gavc him fJI'St overall while Langhurst's 1-2 score was good for ~ond. Third place went to Kevin . Montgomery (Suz) with a 3-3 tally. - -~ Results A mudhoIe . . . . Ita d. cUIng CRe motoer... compedtlon at Indlen 58 practice, the infamous Mike "666" Six.bcry took the lead and aced Craig Adams for this win. During practice the finish chicane had been omitted to protect haybales and to keep things running smoothly. Unfortunately, many riders did not listen to Marty Fisher's instructions given at .the beginning of the race over the bullhorn. On the first lap, many riders became confused and went through ribbons and around barricades trying to follow the practice course instead of g0ing through the chicane which is a necessity for finish line number takers. Yanish officials reacted quickly and rebuilt the chicane into the practice couac and the confusion had mellowed out by the third lap. Rick Rodgers had the lead for those first two laps then went out for unknown 1'C3IOIIS. Sixbcty took the lead with G~ Fountain, Craig Adams and Btyan Sta. tham battling for second. Fountain went out and at the finish there was a tremendous effort bctwccn Sixbcry, Adams and Statham who finished in that order and that close. The second race of the day was the 200cc race and as usual, this was the race for·spectators. The Premier :Yamaha/Roy's Boys Ra· Race Team, cons&ing of Kent and Scott Pfeiffer, who captured SCORE's Class 21 Baja 1000 win and Kun Pfeiffer and Mike "BiDy" Goodwin who took Class 20 honors, were in the lead during the first lap. Kent went out, Kurt went down and Scott and BiUy wnc passed by Mark Heth and Kevin Case, who moved out front and began a side-by-side battle that lasted the entire hour. Scott dropped bad and began to battle with brotl1cr Kurt and the two top Amateurs, John Esposito and Ritch Suitor. Rob Hall and Rob Miller joined Billy and began a t:remendous battle for third. Meanwhile, Hcth and Case developed an astounding lead while maintaining their side-by-side battle at amazing speed. Donnie Morrison had a rotten start but soon worked his way up to the fun before going out with mechanical .problems. Esposito ran out of gas, leaving the first Amateur spot to Suitor who finished that last lap with a broken wrist. At the finish it was Heth, Case, Hall, Goodwin, MiDer, Tim Sinclair, Scott Pfeiffer, Kurt Pfeiffer and Ritch Suitor. Top Novice rider was Rusty Loyd. DG's Todd Campbell ran away with the Mini race. Dave Trager, riding for Bellflower Yamaha, aced Dale's Modem Cycle rider Shannon Shamblin for second place but not easily. The Open race was monopolized by the lcgmdary Ogilvie, who rode the same eun.. Yamaha that he rode in the ISDE com· petition in Europe. The "Big 0" washed the bike, put a different pipe on it and brought it out to see how it would run. Like a rocket is how it ran. Ogilvie thanks Dale's Modem Cycle, Hallman, White Bros. and Dunlop for their aid and he is openly seeking support due to Yamaha's cutback for support riders for the 1982 season. Out of the 30 Experts, Craig Adams who ran second for fi~ of the ~ laps, went out and was replaced by Steve Glatts and "Wild BiD" Holmes. ~ttigrewpounds Pros at DeAnza MX By Kit Palmer SUNNYMEAD, CA, NOV. 29 What began as slimy, mudslinging conditions last week at DeAnza Cycle Park turned into a perfect, cool but sunny, dustfree day at the races. As the sun started. to peak through the disintegrating clouds the first moto of the combined 125 and 250cc Pro action got underway. Randy Yetto, on a I 25cc Yamaha, jumped into the lead ahead of a duo of 250cc riders, Danny Sanchez (C-A) and Dave Pettigrew (Suz). In founh was 125cc Yamaha rider Richard Hoffman, riding for Dale's Modem Cycle. Yetto quickly extended his lead letting the rest of the pad battle ~r second. The next . few laps Pettigrew kept heavy pressure on Sanchez, soon talting over the second place pOsition. Sanchez's problems continued when he had to contend with the hard charge of Hoffman. The Can-Am pilot mana~ to hold off Hoffman throughout most of the race but gave in when Hoffman out-brued Sanchez on the downhill to take over third. Yetto went on to take the easy win followed by Pettigrew, Hoffman and Sanchez. At the start of moto two it. was Pettigrew who jammed into the lead with Sanchez, Yetto and Hoffman in pursuit. Yetto's chances of taking first overall ended early when he suffered mechanical difficulties on the second lap, dropping him out of contention. Hoffman slipped past Sanchez in the early goings, then engaged in a oncon-one duel with Pettigrew. For the remaining II laps Hoffman tried to stuff it past Pettigrew but to no avail. Pettigrew took the win and overall followed by Hoffman, Sanchez and Yetto. PEE WEES: 1. MerIt Hoopingernor CIlj); 2. S.n Hunt IYoml; 3. Scolt Johnoan lHonI. PEE WEES: 1. S _ Hordooty IVoml; 2. Jeff Knox lSuzl. . JR CYCLES: 1. W.., Klein IVoml; 2. Chris Lowen IVoml; 3. J-.n ~ tsuzl. MINI BEG: 1. Alex _ CYom); 2. Jeff Dovid IVom); 3.1loby _ CKawl. MINI NOV: 1. Mike Fitzgerlllc:l (Yom); 2. Keith _IVoml;3. o.r.n~(Kawl. 125 BEG: 1. A,Jon Hurwit lSuzl; 2. Arthur Duor1o IVom); 3. Joy ThiI IVoml. 125 NOV: 1. Jimmy PoImorIYoml; 2. Cloy ~ IVoml; 3. Kevin Moo,_V lSuzl. 125 INT: 1. MerIt _ IVoml; 2. Kim Doug_ CSuzl;3. MerIt MiIomCYoml. 250 BEG: 1. Mo..-ico W~ lHonI; 2. S _ CIw_lHonl; 3. Don Smith. 250 NOV: 1. Dina Prownghi CHon); 2. MerIt Montgomery (Kawl; J. Scolt _IHon). OPEN BEG: 1. PolricI< Smith IVoml; 2. Bred Eli IVoml; J. MerltT_lKowl. OPEN NOV: 1. IVoml; 2. Dovid Wiloon; 3. Roger Koko'o CHonl. OPEN PRO: 1. o..e PotIigrew CSuzl; 2. Richerd Halfmen IVoml; 3.1londy Yeaa IVoml. VET JR: 1. Dennie llIMd IVoml; 2. .Me Connell tsuzl; 3. MIke Knox lHuIl. VET INT: 1. Dovid WiIoon IVoml; 2. _ d Burilly lHon). VET EX: 1. John Whi1IlIHUIl; 2. Ron Brehm IVom); J. Dennie Rooonbofv IYoml. Johnson jumps to CRCDunesMX win By Lee Taylor VALENCIA, CA, NOV. 29 Racers are family, and the Sunday after Thanksgiving. a large group of California Racing Club riders gathered at Indian Dunes for a special reason, beyond that of racing. A rame was put togetber by the California Racing Club through the generousity of many sponsors, the proceeds going to dcscrt racer Rich Tiebcn who was seriously injured in a race September 20. Among the sponsors who cared enough to be involved were several Yamaha dealers, J.T. Racing, Answer Products and the Sizzler Steakhouse. The list goes on and on, with o~r 80 prizes raBled off. In addition, a $1,000 purse was up for grabs, drawing many of the Southland's finest Pros. What lay in store for the racers, despite heavy grading by Indian Dunes, was an International Track with enough booby traps disguised as mud holes to waylay James Bond. Racers in every class developed into amphibians; if their bikes sank, at least they could swim out. One Novice rider started to sink in the mud and when his handlebars began to disappear he tried to walk away from his bike only to find both legs stuck, unable to budge. When the rest of his class unceremoniously splashed on by, some friends came to his aid, and freeing flJ'5t one leg then the other, he maoe it to dry ground. The flJ'5t time out of the gate, Eric MacCracken, riding for Malcolm Smith, took control and held Johnson to second and Whelchel to third. Johnson and Whelchel soon made their move past MacCracken and into their own private race, leaving MacCraden washed out in one 'Of the mudholcs. The Johnson- Whelchel duel was heavy with wheel-to-wheel action vcr every inch of the COIU'lC. Whelchel fmaUy made his m0ge and matched the lead only to fmd himself forced to bow out with an engine gODesouih. Johnson, bad in control, commanded a superb lead and left a "do-or-die" duel for second between Kolbe entry Juan Benavidez and Erin Buskirk, aboard a Sunshine Yamaha . mount. Benavidez was really winding it out and c106ing fast on Johnson, threatening to take control. When the finish line loomed into sight, Johnson led the way, his first of a spectacular pair of wins for the class. Benavidez cruised his Can-Am home in second and following for third was Buskirk. When the machincs came to life for their second encounter, Whelchel was ready and waiting. Johnson led the .way up the stan hill with Whelchel breathing fire down his jersey and dying every conceivable line to get around. Benavidez was keeping an even pace in third, waiting for a chance to catch Whelchel and Johnson. Whelchel was pounding on Johnson's back door, absolutely relemless. Absolutely one of the finest 250cc Pro races went down bctwccn Riclt Johnson and John Whelchel, both riding for Yamaha Motor Corporation, Johnson on the '82 model and Whelchel at the controls of the '81 machine. It was a rough round for Benavidez who dropped his. machine in the mud but remounted, taking on a heavy field of racers in his fight bad up into third. Benavidez had Rob Tolinson and Buskirk to clear, and neither one would give an inch. Both Johnson and Whelchel found themselves slo~ by lapped traffic, and at one point had lapped all the 250cc Pros as well as the Open Pros who were sharing the track. When the checkered flag signalled a welcomed end to the moto, Johnson led the way. triumphant with the winner's share of the gold. Whelchel crossed over in second but was held to an eighth overall because of his first moto DNF. Benavidez n~r ga~ up and came home to second place glory with a 2-3 ride. Third-place share of the gold for the day went home with Buskirk with a 5-4 ride. Results llONOV:l ....... e-lVom). 80 INT: 1. MorIc McDanokI IV"': 2. - . . - " lluone I:leAr.- IVoml; 3. AIon _ I V _ eo EX: 1. 8uIlbe EricIcoon IV . 80 BEG: 1. Dole _lVomI; 2. Tony _ nc-t 3. Bred T_IKM. 80 HOV: 1. Trov Wolty CSuzl: 2. Kenny e - IVoml; 3.~T_IVom). 80 NT: 1. _ McCo¥ tHonI: 2. _ T_ IVom): 3. Guy Gillin IY.... 80 EX: 1.lMry'_IV . 100 BEG: 1 . _ L - . IV . 100 NOV: 1. "Ilocing" Devenport lSuzI. 125 BEG: 1. Jon _ IV"'; 2. John COl< IVom); 3. Mjjce Hotrioon IYom). 125 NOV: 1. Kenny Guvett CYoml; 2. More Condon lSuzl; 3. llIMd CoucIl CSuzI. 1251NT: 1. 8nInt Smith CSuzl; 2. Oan Kudro.. ISuzl; 3. Jim Cobhom (Suzl. 125 PRO: 1. Mlko _ ILHYI; 2. Gory Bowmen (Suzl; 3. R.... WogemonlSuzl. 250 BEG: 1. Cor' Reed, .If. ISuz): 2. Tim Kilgore (Yoml; 3. Bred He"on CYom). . 250 NOV, 1. Eric Riepe ISuzl; 2. L. Johnton (Yaml; J. Ted Cordia ISuz). 250 INT: 1. Richerd JoO:lg IYom); 2. Rondy e-ns (Suzl; J. David Thoyer lHonl. 250 PRO: 1. Rick .Johr-. lYom); 2. J..., _ (coAl; 3. Erin Buokirk (Yom). OPEN BEG: 1. Scolt NaIind CM8il. OPEN NOV: 1. John Herd (Mol): 2. Jim Corter IVom); 3. Gerrie Turcotte IYom). Contin1U!d to page 62)

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