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/126597
.. ..... ~ •• ~ CN 00 0') ~ eo >- 1-0 ~ ;:j 1-0 ..0 Q,) ~ Brad Lackey (abovel continued to win in the 500cc Pro class as did John O'Mara (right. 9X) in the 1255. High flying Danny Chandler picked up second 125. Phil Larson (belowl gave Lackey fits in the 500s but settled for third. La ckey and Schlag sha red the second moto drag race lead to th e first . tum with Lackey edgi ng ahead wh ile Yam a ha rider Neal Snarr mo ved into th ird followed by Hooper and Da vis. Larson fell in traffic and remounted nea r last place to b ring a d esperate dash toward th e front- runners . Lackey, look ing fast a nd sm oot h, soon outdista nced th e field , his Sim ons invert ed forks appearing to smo ot h th e rough Huron track as well as th e factory Hondas' super tri ck Showa front ends. Da vis moved int o second as Schlag and Snarr faded , and Yamaha riderJim Holley dueled with Hicks and Suzuki-mounted Clint Hardick for third . Larson worked his way to fourth in the final laps but needed to pass both Hicks and Davis to take the overall win . Larson dropped Hicks to fourth with one lap remaining and charged after Davis in a near replay of Lackey's first moto. Like Lackey, Larson came up JUSt short as Davis held on to second and Lackey rode away with the big money. Hicks picked up fourth overall and Hardick finished fifth . 250cc Pro Yamaha teamsters Bob Hannah and Scott Burnworth blasted to the first moto lead with the entire Honda team, Jim Gibson, Darrell Shultz, Larry Wosick and Donnie Hansen close behind. Gibson took second awa y from Burnworth briefly before slipping off the pace with an unknown problem. Shultz charged past Burnworth on lap five but then bobbled and d ropped to fifth . With Hannah holding a razor thin one second lead on Burnwort h , Hansen m oved up to m ake a run at the newest Yam a ha rider. Hansen slipped past on the next la p a nd closed on H a nnah . One bike len gt h separated the lead duo for the seco nd hal f of the m ot o b ut Hannah kep t control unt il th e last lap , whe n his front end wash ed ou t up on la nd ing from a tricky jump and he nearly fell. H a nsen grabbed th e lead and th e win as Hannah crossed t he line second and Wosick fini shed th ird. Shultz DNF with a sha tt ered wheel and Gibson faded to fifth as Yamaha rider Rick Johnson berserked to fourth in the closing laps. Burnworth was sixth at the ch eckers. Hansen knifed through tum one in the lead of th e second moto with Hannah a tight second, Shultz th ird and Burnworth fourth . Hansen , Hannah and Shultz immediately began to pull away from the field as Burnworth battled with Gibson for the number four slot. Hannah pushed past Hansen at the finish line on lap four and nearly bailed doing it, feet off the pegs and out of shape in classic Hannah style. Hansen returned the favor a half lap later. "H e so tough ," noted Hansen later about Hannah. "I've learned I can't let him get away. I alwa ys try to get ahead of him so I won't slip back and lose my drive." Shultz nearly passed Hannah in mid-air where Hannah bobbled in the first moto so Hannah berserked past Hansen while shutting th e do or on Shultz . Hansen he ld th e throttle on a bit -longer going off th e next jump a nd rega ined th e lead as th e crowd went wild . With on ly a few la ps remaining, Sh ultz went wild , passed bot h H a nna h and Hansen and powe red int o a three second lead at the checkered flag . Gibson nearly caught Hannah on the final la p with an asto u ndi ng charge tha t had him ga ini ng two seconds a lap on the front trio after ge tti ng past Burnworth . Hansen ea rne d the overall victo ry ahead of H annah while Gibson took third . Johnson placed fourth and Wosick rounded out the top five ahead of Burnworth and Honda rider J im Tarantino. 125cc PrO OCC/Yamaha rider Mike Beier grabbed the first moto holeshot but bailed off on the first lap and Danny Chandler pushed his production Honda int o the lead ahead of Yamaha -mounted Troy Blake, Suzuki ride rs Ch ris Swank and Rick Ryan , and Johnny O 'Mara. O 'Mara luckily moved in to second while Kawasaki teamster Jeff Ward charged from mid -pack to th ird. Chandler was definitely on th e gas , even tri ple jumping the stadium whoop s, but O'Mara closed the gap and soon p ressured for the lead. Chandler waved O 'Mara past at the ha lfway mark. "My suspension was bottoming so hard I just couldn't hold him off," ex lained Chandler later. Chandler stayed close th roughout th e re m aini ng laps to fini sh second whil e Ward pla ced thi rd ahead of a ch a rgi ng Ch ris He isser on a Suzuki and Yamaha rider Erik Kehoe. O 'M ara was never headed in rou nd two. After getting the holeshot he opene d a five second lea d on Chandler and cru ised to his eighth straight moto win in the GSS. Chandler fin ished secon d ahead of Yamaha rider Ron Lec hie n , whose l!l -!l score put him int o seventh overa ll. Ward wen t home with th e thi rd place share of the pu rse money while Kehoe and Heisser battled for fourth wit h Heisser get ting the nod . • Results 500 PRO: 1. Brad Lackoy (Suzl: 2. Kevin Oavis IMail; 3. Phil Larson (Hon); 4. Joff Hicks (Yam); 5. Clint Hardick (Suz); 6. Jerome Heiberger IMail; 7. J im Holloy (Yam); B. Eric McKanna IYaml; 9. Don Griowa (Husl; 10. Kirk Spancer IYaml. 250 PRO: 1. Donnie Honsen IHon); 2. Bob Honnah (Yam); 3. Jim Gibson (Honl; 4. Rick Johnson (Vaml; 5. Larry W osick IHon); 6. Scoll Burnwort h (Yam); 7. Jim Tarantino IHon); 8. Ross Pedersen ISuzl; 9. Juan Benavidez (Yam); 10. Tom BenolkinlKawl. 125 PRO: 1. Johnny O'Mara IHon); 2. Danny Chandler IHon); 3. Joff Ward (Kawl; 4. Chris Hoisser ISull; 5. Erik Kehoe IVam); 6. Rick Ryan ISuz); 7. Ron Lochien (Yam); 8. Kenny Kaylon (Hon); 9. J im Anderson (Yaml: 10. RonTurner (Hon). VET MASTER: 1. Fritz Grot IYam); 2. Alan Olson (Mai); 3. Jim O'Neal (Mail. OT MASTER: 1. Ji m Saitone (Hon); 2. Jim Holmes (Mai); 3. Richard Schilling (M an, VET INT: 1. Mike Middleton (Hon!; 2. Ed Smith IMail; 3. Leon Price (Yam). VET JR: 1. Gary Nunes (Suz); 2. Bob Rivenbark (Yaml; 3. Neal Nieman IMail. OT JR: 1. Ken Yam (Misi); 2. Jerry Horton (Mai); 3. George Lazenby(Hon). OT INT: 1. Willis Pritchett (Yam); 2. Fred Parsen IHus); 3. Jerry Auvinen ISuz). SIDECAR: 1. Ralph Whitney/Perry Melillo INor); 2. Tom Whitney/Scott Whitney IH-D); 3. Tom RidyardiKris Wilcox (Yaml. MINI EX: 1. Bruca Bunch ISuzl; 2. Paul Danis IKaw); 3. Rick Hamme ISuz). 9