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/126602
Donnie Hansen leads ~ick Johnson here. Hansen went 3-2 for the overall w in. as well as topping the 250cc Pro point standings for the entire series. teamster johnny O ' Mara , who had wrapped up the 125cc Pro series champions hip at Carlsbad. O ' Ma ra opened up big leads in each motoand cruised th e rough Madera co urse almost effortlessly. Da n ny Chandler and Ron T urner p laced'second and third for the day giving Honda a clean sweep in front of an estimated 3000 spectators. Husky rider Bu zz P resser unofficially took the Vet Masters title by one point after Maico riders Alan O lson and jim O ' Neal each fell while leading the second moto, Presser's 3I score gave him the overall win and enough points to edge O lso n from the championship. Suzu ki rider Bruce Bu nch took to p honors in.80cc ac tion. Bu nch fended off chal lenges from teammate Rick Hemme and Yamaha rider Dan n y Storbe-k ,." rre to winning both . . . senes title. mnl, h , f ,," " I I . oJ pJiot ~john P. tifr,-' ::' ' cn ger Thorn' l fJ urs in swee ping L und .... the two-wheels-plus-one class a head of the tea m o f Ra lp h Whitney, Perry Melillo a nd Norton Wasp. Uuane McDowell and Pete Whitney rode their Yamaha-powered hack to third place. 500cc Pro Larson nailed down the first moto holeshot. Tim Worth pushed his ,Il, Honda 480 into the number two slot as the pack rounded the first turn , and Lackey slipped into third. O n lap two, Wheelsmith Maico rider Micky Dym ond moved into fourth with Larry H ooper and jerome Heiberger occupying the next two positions on their Alpha On e Maicos . Worth began to fade , and Lackey moved into second. The next lap, Lackey held it on going over the double jumps and passed Larson in midair. Larson dove back under Lackey in the next corner, but Lackey had the good line set up for the following tum, and he quickl y regained the front position. Larson kept the p ressure on for a few laps before Lackey's blazing pace carried him to a big lead. Hieberger and Yamaha Pr o Support rider Eric McKenna continued their series long battle over third place with Hei berger gelling the n od. Worth finished fifth . Lackey led the pack going into turn one at th e start of the .secon d moto, overshot the turn by 20 yards, left th e gas on as he swe pt around the outside and regained the lead by the first jump. Yamaha rider Greg Zitterkopf settled in on Lackey 's rear fender as Larson bumped Worth to fourth place followed by Maico riders Eric Eaton and Kevin Davis. Larson put the moves on Zillerkopf on lap fplJT"but,!.,ackey never let the Honda rider get close enough to challenge and slowly opened a 50second p lus lead by the checkers. Larson held on to finish second for the rnoto and seco nd overall. Third-place money went to Heiberger after another classic duel with Eaton, Zitterkopf and McKenna. McKenna picked up fourth, and Zitterkopf went home with the fifth -place purse money. 125cc Pro O 'Mara has gated well all series, and the first 125cc moto was no exception. O'Mara led through the first turn with Turner and Ch;II" :]' • in tow . Halfway around th e fi" r ;;11-' of the 1.5-mile track, Chan dler !" , . serked past Turner and dove u n d.O'Mara to gra b the lead. O'Mara got the power to the ground on the front straight and regained the lead on lap two. Chandler's fro nt brake cable came adrift , and he dropped back as Turner moved into second ahead of Yamaha riders Ro n Lechien and Erik Kehoe. O 'Mara continued to pad the lead throughout the race and took the checkers securely in first. T urner held off a ch argin g Kehoe to finish second as Lechien droppe d to 18th with unknown problems . Chandler pi cked up fourth , and Suzuki rider Rick Ryan worked his way up to fifth. Lech ien led the charge through turn o ne at the stalt of rnoro two . but • - Ryan made a surprising move that carried him into the lead on the first la p . Ro b b Manning pushed his Honda into third place ahead of O 'Mara, Yamaha rider johnner Kight and Turner. Lap two saw O'Mara pass Manning, then Lechien and finall y Rya n. As O'Mara pulled away with the win, Ryan and Lechien passed and repassed each other in a battle for second that was finally settled when Chandler charged up to finish in the runner-up position. Ryan took the checkers in . ;r