Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Donnie Hansen holeshots the first 250cc Pro meto, Bob Hannah (2H). Larry Wosick (5) and Broc Glover (6). Winner Rick Johnson (47) is mid-pack. CMC/Preston Petty Golden State Series: Round six Lackey, O'Mara cruise; Johnson • surprises By Terry Whytal CARLSBAD, CA , FEB . 7 Overcast skies and a few .scattered rain drops did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the 4000 spectators who turned out to watch America's top riders battle for points in the Continental Mote-sport Club/Preston Petty Golden State Series race held this week on the famed Carlsbad grand prix course. 16 Suzuki's Brad Lackey handed the 500cc Pro class another defeat as he opened commanding leads in each moto and cruised to another overall win. Hi Point-sponsored Phil Larson chased Lackey in each moto, but his Honda's rear shock developed problems in the second moto, and Larson took a couple of trips to the turf and finished downfield. Johnny O'Mara controlled the 125cc class on his production based CR Honda. Both motos followed a similar pattern with O'Mara jumping to a big lead almost from the opening lap while Yamaha's Ron Lechien and Honda teamster Danny ' Chandler battled for the runner-up spot. Yamaha rider Rick "Snickers Kid " Johnson suprised everyone by passing Broc Glover, Jim Gibson , Bob Hannah and Donnie Hansen to take the first 250cc moto win. Johnson backed it up with a fourth in the second round to take the overall win despite problems. "My bike was stuck in third gear for half the motol" explained Johnson later. Suzuki's dynamic duo , Bruce Bunch and Rick Hemme, continued to dominate the 80cc Expert class, Bunch taking the overall win with two substantial moto wins ahead of Hemme and Kawasaki riders Will ie Surratt and Paul Denis. The Norton-powered sidehack of John Palfreyman and Thom Lund took the three-wheel race win despite being caught in a first-turn pileup in moto one. Picking up second overall was the Whitney/McDowell Yamaha ."team while Perry Mellilo and Ralph Whitney rode to an exciting secondplace finish in moto two to earn th ird overall honors. The 12 sidehack teams entered in the race made this the biggest, most exciting sidehack race yet run at a CMC event. Wheelsmith Maico rider Alan Olson grabbed both Vet Masters holeshots then held off charges by Husky rider Buzz Presser and Maico-mounted Jim O'Neal to finish in the number one . position. O'Neal's determined , comefrom-behind riding netted him second overall while Presser picked up third. 500cc Pro Larson blasted to the first rnoto holeshot, but Lackey locked onto the Honda rider's rear tire . and halfway through the opening lap Lackey powered past. At the completion of lap one, the order was Lackey, Larson, Honda's Chuck Sun, Steve Banning on a Honda and Maico rider Jerome Heiberger. Lackey began pulling away from Larson almost immediately while former CMC GSS number one Steve Rhyan moved his Honda up through the pack. Sun bailed off and detuned himself. "We were trying some new stuff, and it just didn't work ," commented Sun later. With a 20-second lead on Larson, Lackey just cruised to the finish . Rhyan pressured Larson for the runner·up spot until his rear tire went flat , and he faded to eighth. Heiberger picked up third ahead of charging Yamaha rider Eric McKenna while Maico rider Randy Lash rounded out the top five. Larson timed the gate perfectly at th e start of moto two and knifed through the first tum with the pack behind. Rhyan nailed down second place on the start, but Lackey was back in 10th. On lap two, Lackey moved up to pressure then pass Rhyan, and one lap later Lackey took over the lead. Larson fell soon after Lackey went by. " I just signed with Honda to ride the 500cc Nationals, and 1 wanted to do good ," noted a disappointed Larson after the race. Heiberger and McKenna , Wheelsmith Maico rider Kevin Davis battled for second place as the moto neared the final laps . Davis finally settled the argument with McKenna taking third. McKenna finished second overall behind Lackey, followed by Heiberger, Davis , Larson and Rhyan. 125cc Pro O'Mara ran away with both 125cc motos. Behind him a fierce battle raged for the top five positions. Lechein was able to move into second place early in moto one with Yamaha rider Doug Dubach running third, Suzuki-mounted Fritz Schlegel fourth and Chandler trapped in mid-pack. Chandler duked past Schlegel on lap five and worked his way past Dubach on the uphill the next lap. Chandler pulled out all the stops and began to reel in Lechien, but time ran out and Magoo had to settle for third. Schlegel slipped past Dubach for fourth, Dubach held fifth at the checkers, and Honda rider Ron Turner grabbed sixth. With O'Mara again out front in race two , Lechien and Chandler sandwiched Suzuki rider Russ Wageman in the early laps with Dubach fifth. Wageman faded off the

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