Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Southern Californla·Arlzona-SOuthern Nevada· Southern Californla.Arlzona.southern Nevada. Southern Callfornla.Arizona. Western hotline o ~ Eddie Lawson (21) leads Jeff Springman at Corona. White was hounded by past Min i cham p Steve Sch mi tz. Schmitz, a lso Yama ha-mou nte d, fought off th e field for a su perb pa ir o f seconds a nd took home second p lace 1001. Rob Rollins, th e lone Ma ico in th e top three, fo ugh t th rough two hot a nd d usty mot os for hi s 4-3 ta ll y, ci nchi ng third pl ace money for the day . Results 60 NOV : 1. Rudy Antun ez (Vem): 2. J immy Button (Ye mt, 3. Joe l Tokersk y (Yam). 60 INT: 1. Shawn Betas (Yam). 60 EX: t . Shawn Kalos (S uz); 2. Denny lamb (Ya ml; 3. Sho ne Hunt (Yam). 80 8EG DIV 1: 1. 8 r ia n Felix (Yam ): 2. Pete Paterson (Yam ); 3. Ch ris Burgess (S uzl. 80 BEG DIV 2: 1. Scott Murphy (Yam ): 2. Blazem Bamb ino lapin IKaw); 3 . Robert Makimoto (Yam ). 80 NOV : 1. Tom Hol t(Kawl: 2. Joe Hopk in s (Kawl: 3. Cun Trimbla (Yam ). 80 INT: 1. Jim Wardell (Vam); 2. Jell Barbacoy; (Yam ); 3. John Gers ;es (Kaw) . 80 EX: 1. larry Brooks (Yam); 2. M ike Robens (Yam) . 100 BEG: 1. Paul D'Amico (Suz). 1 25 BEG D IV 1: 1. Da le Hook er (yam l; 2. M ike M8gal1.~io (Yam ); 3. M ike Chaput (Yam). 125 BEG DIV 2: i . Bill Weathem ill (Suz); 2. Greg Arnone (Han); 3 . Shawn McGufrin (Hon). 125 NOV DI 1: t , Chr is Boledes (Yam); 2. Eric Nallga'" (Suzl; 3 . Jim Domay lSuz) . 125 NOV DIV 2: r . Don Kokinda (Yaml : 2. Todd Carmody (Yaml : 3. B.J. Lehn (Suz). 125 INT: 1. Jim Boyd (yaml; 2. Don Kudrave (Yam); 3 . Alan Lippie (Suz l. 125 PRO: 1. Bob Kline (Honl: 2. Andy Nel inger (S uzl: 3. Pat O'Neel (Suz). 250 BEG: 1. Dean Kesse l (Yaml : 2. Rick Perez (Hon); 3. Henk Wesserman (Yam ). 250 NOV : 1. Kun Prat her (5 uzl: 2. M ike vcencte (Yam ); 3. Marc Cumm ins (Hon ). 250 INT: 1. Doug Russe ll (Va m): 2. Eric Silgerio (Hon) : 3. Randy Owe ns (S uz). 250 PRO: 1. Darre l Francis (Yam l: 2. Andy Segales (S u z); 3 . ZOli Meszaros (Su zl. OPEN BEG: 1. Garret Pangelley (Yam): 2. Ed Black (Yam): 3. M icha el Banorsky (Yam ). OPEN NOV : 1. Bob Burle igh (Hon ): 2 . Jeff Wiedeman (Yam ); 3 . Eug ene Bora 'a (Suz). OPEN INT: 1. Greg A tk inson (Vaml; 2. Dan Baker (Hont, 3. Randy Schwelellberg (Yam). OPEN PRO: 1. MarkWhi18(yam); 2. Steve SChmitz (Yamt, 3. Rob Rollins (M ai). CRC VET J R: 1. Kent Shepard lSuzl; 2. Jess Rut ; 3 . George Lazben y (Suz l. VET INT: 1. Ned Joy (M ai): 2. Richard Lyons: 3. Ron Ryer (y am). VET EX; t . Dan Moore; 2. Bob creete: 3. Gary W illison. Schulz, Whelchel, Kehoe take AME Dunes MX By Laura Richard 46 VAL ENCIA, CA, FE B. 14 T he Am erican Motocros s En terprises h osted a nother of their S u n day races at Indi a n Dunes o n w h a t proved to be o ne o f the b e st Internation al tracks ever. As the gate dro p ped . signaling the start of th e Open Pro race, it wa s Int ern a t io n al Yama ha / BG O ilsponso red Ma rk White tak in g th e hol eshot a nd th e lead with Kern Spo rt Cycle Mai m-mounted Da rin Ol iver dro pping into th e seco nd p lace spot with th ird go in g LO H onda su p port rider T om Web b. Wh ite was a ble to pull qui te a lead for himself o n th e rest of the pack as Simi Cycle rider Bob Schulz wa s wo rki ng hi s way through th e pack after a bad sta rt . H e was a ble to slip past Web b LO ta keover the third place spot, then p ut his sights on O liver who was holding down second place as the flag dropped for Whi te LO claim the first rno to win. Ro und two again saw Whi te pulling th e lead wi th Schulz on his tail. Sch u lz dogged Wh ite until th e halfway sign we nt up, th en put th e pass on White LO ta ke the lead . Wh ite dr opped into second p lace with O liver and O 'Neal Distribut in g/Yamah amounted Steve Sch mi tz di cing it ou t for th e thi rd p lace spot. Sch mitz was a ble LO p u t the pass on Ol iver a nd tak e o ver third pl ace, but, wi th o ne lap to go , Baker sfi el d Yam ah a sponsored G reg Torge rso n put th e p ass o n Sch m itz. T he ove ra ll for th e day went to Sch u lz with seco nd goi ng to Wh ite and third bein g fill ed by Torgerson. One of th e biggest events of the da y was th e 250cc Pr o class, as over 27 riders lined up LO wai t for th e sta rt o f th e firs t ro u nd. As the gate fell, Ka lGard -sponsored Suzuki rider Russ Wagem an j u m pe d in to th e lea d followed by Yamah a support rider Erik Keh oe in second wi th thi rd being fill ed by Honda ri der Larry Bak er. By th e second lap you co ul d tell th ere was go ing to be a battle for first p lace as Wageman sta rted to pull away fro m th e res t of the p ack with Keh oe right o n h is heels. Keh oe was a ble to pass Wagem an to ta ke over th e lead. Co mi ng up strong were An swer P roduct s Yamaha -mounted J ohn Wh elch el and Suzuki of Venturasponso red Brand J ohnson . Wh elrh el was a ble to ra p rur.. rh e seco nd pl ace spot wh il e J ohnson had to settl e lo r th ird. Rou nd two saw Bak er tak e the h ol esh ot a nd th e lea d foll owed by H on da -m o un ted Mike Shoemaker and Kehoe. Sho ema ker and Ba ker were able LO hold th e pace in front of charging Keh oe. Shoema ker was ab le to p ut the pass on Ba ker LO ta ke over the lead , whi le in the pa ck Wh elchel was co mi ng up LO ta ke ove r th e second p lace spot. As th e fla g dropped [or th e seco n d mot o, Shoemaker had th e w in with Wh elchel taking second and Kehoe th ird. The overa ll for th e day went LO Wh elchel with a 2-2 fin ish with second goi ng to Keh oe with a 1-3 a n d Sh oemaker third with a 7-1 finish for th e day. Keh oe was abl e to co rne back in th e 125cc Pr o race to take back-to-hack win s for th e day. R ound o ne sa w Si mi C ycl e Yamaha-m ounted J im Si mons jump ing into th e lead foll ow ed by Inter national Yamaha- sponsored Doug Gentry and Keh oe. Keh oe was abl e to pass G entry and Simon to ta ke over th e lead . Kehoe put h is Yam aha into a ni ce lead, wh ile in th e pa ck Sim ons wa s trying LO hold o ff Suzuki rider Rodney Brand and Kal-Gard Suzu kim ounted Russ Wagem an. Brand was finall y able to ta ke over seco nd pl ace while Wageman slipped into third, dropping Simons to fourth. Round two saw Gentry taking th e h ol esh ot a n d th e lead with seco nd held do wn by Keh oe a nd th ird going LO Yamaha rider Randy Co m ma ns. Keh oe took over the lead with Gentry in seco nd wh ile Yamaha support rider C lay Hoen sh ell dropped in to th e th ird p lace spot. Kehoe took th e overa ll for the day wi th secon d goi ng to H oen sh ell , wh o ca m e all th e wa y from Oklah om a Ci ty LO rid e with us , a nd third p lace was filled by Bran d . Results 500 PRO: 1. Bob SCh ul z (Vam l; 2. Ma rk W hite (Yam); 3. Gr eg Torge rso n (Yam). 500 JR 1. Dan 8ake r (Hon ); 2. Steve lucia (ya m); 3. M ark Selba ch (Yaml . VET J R: 1. Kent Shepard (Suz); 2. Richard Orole n (Hus ). 500 INT: t . Rock y Hash (Vaml; 2. Shawn lane (Ma i): 3. Greg A tk inson (Yam). VET EX: 1. l ee Johnson (Yam ); 2. Bob Dunham (Yaml; 3. Milt Muller (M ail. 250 PRO: 1. Joh n Whelc hel (Vam): 2. Erik Keh oe (Yam); 3. M ik e Shoema ker (Hon) . 250 BEG: 1. Brad Halfon (Yam l: 2. Rick Per ez (Honl; 3 . Hank W eseman (Yam l. 12 5 PRO: t . Erik Kehoe (Yam ): 2. Clay Hoen shell (Va ml; 3. Rodney Brand lS uzl. 125 INT: 1. Robert Felix (Yam); 2 . Tom Stou t IYam) ; 3 . Richie James (SUl). 125 JR : t . Kelly Virchow (Vam): 2. B.T. Lehn (Suzl ; 3. Chris St . Ma rie (Yam ). 125 BEG: 1. Guy Aruone (Hon) : 2 . Denny Purcell IHonl: 3. Steve Fabbr i (Suzl . 83 INT: 1. Kyle lewis (Kaw); 2. Lance Johnson (S uzl: 3. Shawn Trittler (Yam ). 82 JR : t , CurtTrimble(Yam): 2 . Brad Toms (Kawl; 3. Bamb ino Tapia (Kaw ). 83 BEG: t , Roben Mak imoto (Vaml ; 2. Roben Hopk in s (Suzl : 3. Ed Mercado (Yam l. 61 EX: 1. Danny Lamb (Yam ): 2. Steven Kotajarvi (Yaml . 6lINT: 1. Kayle Johnson (Yam ); 2. Mark McDonald (Yam ); 3 . Joe Brown III (Vaml. 61 JR 1. Shawn Bates (Vam); 2. Tony Sul ek (Ya m.; 3. Br ian Payne (Yam ). PEE WEE: 1. Dan Cha mbe rs (Suz l. 250JR: 1. Thomas MacFar li n {Yam .; 2. Lee Johnson (Yam); 3. Marc Cunnin s (Hon ~ Hale, Fife, Carlson take Ensenada Mex-o-cross By EI Coyote ENSENADA, MEX , FEB. 14 The new and challenging El Coyote Loco motocross track in Ensenada is now being recognized by some of the best and most enthusiastic racers . In the Open Pro race, Woody Carlson pulled the holeshot with ScottMeyer pressuring behind . Meyer lost momentum, giving Carlson a fair and free lead for first place in the first moto. Carlson wasted no time in the secon d moto getting the lead . followed closely again by Meyer and Larry Fife. Fife ga ve a good performan ce, keeping the rest of the group a good distance beh ind. The second moto was a repeat of the first , with Meyer chasing Woody, unable to take the lead and Fife holding third . In the 125cc Experts, the battle was on between the Hale brothers and Fife . The lead was exchanged several times between the three, with Vito Hale holding on for first , followed by his brother Oscar and Larry coming in for third. The second moto was a repeat, again the top three exchanged places often, but this tim e Oscar Hale emerged victorious. T he 250cc Nov ice race was very ac tive wi th a lot of wipe-outs on the doubl e-jumps a nd th e whoops; Gil bert Leyu a of T ijuana sta lle d hi s bike a m ere 300 feet from th e fin ish lin e, a llowing Bob Landry o f San Diego to tak e th e chec kered. In the second rnoto Leyua held on for first with Bob Landy getting first place overall. Results 80 JR: 1. Rick Cruz (Hon); 2. Alben Cruz IHonl; 3. Ramon Dominguez (Yam), 125 NOV: 1. Abram Vuelles ISuz); 2. Hector Selazar ISuz); 3. Antonio Gayut IHon). 125 EX: 1. Oscar Hale IVaml; 2. Vito Hale ISuzl; 3. larry Fde (Vaml. 250 NOV: 1. Bob landry (Suzl; 2. Alejandro Martinez IHon); 3. Jose Dominguez (Yaml. 250 EX; 1. Larry Fila (Yam); 2. Sergio Goldsmith IHonl; 3. Jande Maninez IHonl. OPEN PRO: 1. Woody Carlson (Yam); 2. Seen Meyer (Vaml; 3.l.arry Fde (Yam). Lawson cleans house at Corona FT By Elaine Jones Photo by Dan Mahony CORONA , CA, FEB. 15 Eddie Lawson came to Corona Raceway to do some serious flat track practicing and brought two awesome Kawasakis with him. Lawson set the track record on the half mile in 1978 with a 22.17 , and the record still stands. Tonight he rode three money classes and won all three with style. In the Open Money "IT, Lawson broke on top with Chris Cannon second and Pete Hames third. Hames chased Cannon for two laps before he was able to put Cannon to second. He dogged Lawson for the remaining eight laps but never found a hole in the Superbiker's armor . Hames settled for second, and Jeff Johnson slipped by Cannon at the last moment to collect third. The 250cc Money half mile wasn 't so easy for Lawson as he had to deal with Jeff Springman. Springman got an excellent start that put him in the lead with Lawson in hot pursuit and Roger Thompson in third. Lawson rod e double with Springman for five laps before he put a dramatic move on Springman on the front straight and sqeaked by to take over the lead. Now it was Springman's turn to chase, and he gave it a heck of a try but could do no better than second. Little Roger Thompson held off five other riders for third . Lawson was riding a win streak and wasn't about to slack off with the Open Money half mile. When the flag fell Lawson was right where he wanted to be - out in front . Jeff Johnson and Pete Hames were in the two . three spots with Chris Cannon and Danny Perkins rounding out th e top five. Perkins had run awa y with the heat race so everyone was waiting to see what he would do in th e ma in . He had moved by ~nnon by the third lap and by the fifth nad disposed of Hames. Johnsori didn't prove to be so easy, but on th e eighth lap Perkins had put his big Harley int o second and had two laps to catch Lawson.

• Cover