Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126596
Johnny O'Mara racked up his sixth consecutive 125cc Pro moto win at Sand Hill Ranch despite Mark Barnett's appearance for the f irst t ime "n the series. i CMC/Preston Petty Golden State Series: Round 3 Lackey, O Hannah, . 'Mara keep going at Sand Hill By Terry Whytal BRENTWOOD. CA,JAN. 17 Grand Prix star Brad Lackey piloted his factory Suzuki to a commanding 500cc Pro win in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 4000 spectators. 8 Lackey's win, his second of the series, was well received by the local fans who consider "Bad Brad" a hornetown favorite. Yamaha's Bob "Hurricane" Hannah continued to fight off an increasingly tough field of 250cc Pro challengers. Hannah's main competi tion again came from the Honda camp as Donnie Hansen battled for the lead in both motos and topped round one when a lapped rider inadvertently blocked Hannah two turns from the finish . Honda teamster Johnny O'Mara swept both motos of the 125cc Pro class despite the appearance of main rival Mark Barnett. After Barn ett crashed out of the second mota O 'Mara rolled to his sixth straight rnoto win in this year's Petty Golden State Series. A determined Fritz Graf powered his Yamaha to the Veteran Masters victory. Graf came from behind in " each moto to take the checkers with a strong lead over the battle for second place. J im O 'Nea l muscled his Maico to second overall honors ahead of Husky rider Buzz Presser, Yamaha -mo unted Steve Ferron and Maico ace Alan Olson. Suzuki rider Rick Hemme put to· gether a pair of runner·up finis hes to clinch the Mini Expert overall win '. Tony Flores topped the first moto but dropped to third in the next race and had to settle for second overall . Suzuki rider Bruce Bunch finished third. 500cc Pro Hi -Point Honda rider Phil Larson blasted to the lead at the start of the first clash with Yamaha rid er Kirk Spencer grabbing onto second ahead of Larry Hooper. Hooper kept his Maico on the gas and held onto third as the pack completed the first lap and Larson stretched his lead to five seconds over Spencer and Hooper. Yamaha-mounted Eric McKenna moved up to challenge for the number two spot as Lackey and Suzuki support rider Clint Hardick also joined the battle for second. As Larson set the pace out front, Lackey dispatched the trailing foursome and set off in pursuit. At the halfway point Lackey had closed the gap to about 20 seconds as KTM rider Joey Schlag berserked his way into third after a poor start. The front three positions held to the checkers with McKenna edging Hooper for fourth and Suzuki rider Ala n Kmg placing sixth. Lackey led from the gate as the second mo to thundered onto the challenging sa nd-track. Larson and Schl ag glued th emselves to Lackey's rear fender and the front th ree quickly pulled away fr om the field. Schlag passed La rson bu t ba iled off two laps later and Larson moved u p to pass