Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

h_ -~ NORTHERPi'oATniiEaoh;nO'onda",u"h O ...Northem ~;fom;.North.m N~''''' ...onWuhl.....-hlohoU.. ' """kc.n ~ ~ r,...-.4 who ca n stay with Winkie, as he led theearI yportion of 80ccExpertbut took seco nd over H ayes a n d Mikie Macedo (who wa s not happy with fourth after hi s H ouston TT win ). Stev e Ra ym ond to- th e Junior ok portion of th e o ther Mini races with ' · DIOn CI ar dv im ch ar ge o f t h e No vrce y bit. Crai g J ohnson pa ssed on the Mini ranks a nd won hi s fir st 250cc Novice ou tin g, o ver J im Ph ill ip s. Danny McDonnell was th e best of th e 250cc Juniors, dogged for th e m ost part by Scott Nail a nd hi s S K Bul taco . L a rry S taggs woun d u p t hiir d im front o f Troy Graham who led ear ly on th e Kevin Hu g ill borrow ed Yamaha. Alex J orgen sen sa id adIOS to th e 250cc Expert tro ops, leading th e distance on th e J orgy 's Can-Am with Donny H oward and Chris Carr doing th eir sh ow beh ind. Donny a n d Chris put on a grea t di spl ay of racin g , hooking u p sideways slides off the co rners th at got the crowd excited . Mark Key took fourth-place money over rookie Expert Bill Sco tt a nd ' H o n da teamster Dann y Moor e. Dav e Rosa returned to th e scene for seventh o n th e Dan's Plumbing special wi th Aa ro n Hill, Bruce J ohnson and Dav e Walden ro u ndin g ou t the point paying p osit ion s. . Bre nt Da vis h e ld o ff Ran d y H ol ycross on th e West Bay Cycle BSA C or 500cc Nov ice h onors wh il e J oh n Lamont di verted th e Bulta co/Ma ico of Scott Nail in th e Jun ior portion . A . id to h is lot of a ttention was pa l to h i Astroa p peari ng machine with a 490 en gine t h a t wor ks. In th e Open Expert bash , it was Dave Boyles a ll th e way but w ith lots o f great ch allen ges from Chris Ca rr. T he 14-year -old 10-time National · · Champ had showe d so me bnlhance in a n earlie r hea t race and pecked a wa y at Boyes th roughtou t th e disranee but co u ldn 't ge t by despi te tryin g hi s best on th e 400cc Can -Am tw o-stroke th at wa s th e o n ly rin gdin g. Mark Key h eld o ff Bill y Scott for" third whil e Kevin Hugill go t a c h a n ce to ride o ne o f h i s o w n mach ines for fifth over Danny Moore, Aaron Hill an d Bill McDonnell. Resu lts 1ooEX:1.Wi,*ieFreitas(Yamk2.KelleyFischer(Yamt. 80-100 NOV/JR: 1. Steve Raymond (Yam); 2. D80EX: 1. W ian Clardy (Yam). inkieFraitas(Yam); 2.Stephen May. field (Kaw); 3. Ronnie Hayes (Yam). 250N (Yam). OV:1.Craig Johnson(Ya m);2.JimPhillips 250 JR: 1. D annyMcDonnell (Hon); 2.Scott N ail (Bult, 3. Larry Staggs (Kaw). 250EX 1. Alex Jorgensen (C-A); 2. Don Howard : (Yam); 3. Chris C arr(C-A). 5OOJR: 1. John Lamont(Yam);2.5cottNail(Mai). cr~~(~~~: 1. Brent D avis (Ya m); 2. R andy Holy500E : l. D X avidB oyles(Hon); 2.Chris C arr(C-A); 3. Mark Key (Yam). Word, Blagg blast Grants Pass indoor ST By Clay Light GRANTS PASS , O R, FEB . 20 Frank Word, ridi ng for Yamaha Sport Center, and Ro bb ie Blagg each look two classes on the second night of a double-header weekend at J osephin e Coun ty Fa irgro u nds sh ort track. Word top ped th e 250cc A an d Yo u th Money m ains. Heat races and semis took the better part of the even in g, but when com p leted, th e final s were p osted a nd th e mains were rea dy to tak e pl ace. The track was ro ugh as usu a l, a nd most seem to en joy it , es pecia lly th e motocrossers, who were not as stro ng in force as t.h,ey ,wen~ ·I ".s.t ni~ltt at th e . Expo center in Medford , whe re eight o f II i n th e 1? 5c c class w er e motocro ssers. Young Ryan Huffman (H u ffma n Wright Logging Yam ) is turning on th e wi ck in bo th short track a nd MX this season. Hu ffman took both the 60cc A mam a n d t h e 80CC 'J urnor . ' mains tonight , beating Mike Santer and Jason Froebe in the 60cc division and Tater Goodbe an d Heath Hutch ins in th e 80cc class. California 's Donnie Ch urc h (Yam) led th e sta rt o f th e 80cc Expert ma in h a n d wa s o u t fro nt a II te wa y to t h e flag, besting Andy Dixon an d Paul Lew is. The line-u p for th e 100cc A m ain look ed sim ilar; Ch u rch got off well a n d was n ever to be cha lle nged . Second agai n we nt to Dixo n a nd th ird to Brian Shee ts. T he I 25cc A ma in was q u it e a bi t faster pa ced , wit h a C fiel d o n the ull line. At th e drop of th e flag, Blagg b las ted o ff th e line and into turn one a head o f Devin Madi son an d Ted Perreard (SUI ). Blagg, an ex -m ini fla sh , is th e o ne to beat in th e area a nd , like Wo rd , is racki ng u p a fantasti cwin streak in so u the rn Oregon. Blagg bagged th e w in over Perrea rd wh ile Madison held to ug h to hold back the pack for a third . Th e racesa Iwaysge t more exci mg iti as th e bigger di splacem ent mach ines roll to th e sta rti ng aea. The 250cc A ma in was a n interes ting race. AMA Pro Frank Word III (Yam) isa lwaysa cro wd p lease r w ith hi s cla ssy, gu tsy riding sty le th at mat ch es no one th a t . ' I h a ve w rt n esse d 10 t h e 0 rego nWashington a reas . Word h ad th e pole positio n a n d wa s out to run th e pack to th e ground. H e shot off th e line with th e grea test of ease a n d led ove r Rob ert Horba n a n d Bob by Klurn . Word had the race to himself as th e dicing we nt o n betw een H o rb an a nd Klum. H orban (who a lso is a wild man ) held o ff Klum to ta ke seco nd . The Open A main saw Horba n co me o ff th e line like a roc ket. T he crowd th en .won de red if the lead er wo ul d buc kle u nder pressure. T he " flying Word brothers" were on h is ta il; it was J u n ior P ro R ich Word (R &B Ra cing SUI) wh o pressu red th e most. Horban h eld th e steady line and ende d up cross ing th e line fir st to e wi ta ke t h e wm over so u t h er n 0 regon fli ers Ri ch an d Frank Word. .T h e seco nd to last ra ce on th e program wa s th e Youth Mon ey main , wh ich is a n Open cl ass for non -AMA Pr o riders o n 80 to 200cc ma chinery. Last night a t Medford, th ere wa ss also a full 10-rider field Cor th e class an d proved to be so me good actio n. Blagg (Ya m) led Donnie Church (Yam), wh o wa s o n a 100cc bike, and T ed Perreard (SUI). Blagg wa s very determined to take home the money for fir st aft er fini shing third la st night in a battle between Dave Nordin and myself. Blagg put th e pack behind him a nd took th e win C ollow ed by Church a nd Perreard wh o wa s thi rd . T he track , dubbed th e " Man ure Nation al s," due to sh aring th e faci li ties with hor ses and ca tt le, mak es for so me slic k raci n g co nd itions, a nd was ready to greet th e Pr os fo r the Pro Mo ney main. These are th e gu ys that reall y go at it toot h a n d na il for th e bi g m on ey. Last nigh t's winner took ho me some big time loot (Ca m p bell) , and tonight' s winner (Word ) was sure to do the sa m e. Frank Word skated h is Yamaha p ower ed sled to the lead and wa ltzed away . Ho rb an a n d Rich p layed ca tch u p all n ight . The win co u ld have go ne to a nyone of t,l).eJi ll<\I .U~. pj,l ~ GrAAJ<,.)'vp, 9 g' tough o ver H orban a nd R ich Word who rode a fin e race to finish th ird. Results PRO MONEY: 1. Frank Word III (Yam); 2. Robert Horban (Yam); 3. Rich Word (Suz). (S ~z';:~ ~;a~k~~::;tll~~~~). (Yam); 2. R Word ich YOUTH MONEY; 1. Robbie Balgg (Yaml; 2. Den nie Chu rch (Yam); 3. Ted Perreard (Suz). 250 A: 1. Frank Word III (Yam); 2. RobertHorban (Yam); 3, Bob Klum (Yam). 200A; 1. Geoff McCamon; 2. Dennis Murphey; 3. Robert Scoville . 125 A: 1. Robbie B (Yam); 2. Ted Perreard lagg (Suz); 3. D evinM adison (Yam). , (Y~~ ~, : ~.; u~~~~ ~au~lh (Yaml; 2.Andy D ixon 80JR: 1. Ryan Huffman (Yam); 2. Tater Goodbe (Yam); 3. 1. Ryan Huffman (Yam); 2. M 60 A: Heath Hutch ins (Yaml . ike Santer (Ya m); 3. Jason Froebe (Suz). Wick wins first Idaho indoor ST By Marty Gregory CALDWELL, ID , FE B. 17 T he O wyh ee Motorcycl e Club staged Idaho 's first indoor short track race here to the cheers of several h undred fans an d o ver Iive dozen gri n n ing racers . T h e event ca m e off without a hitch , was free from any i njuri es, an d was so m uch fun it' ll no doubt beco m e a regu la r fea tu re o n the cl ub's racin g calen da r. OMC P resi dent Ed H all a nd his people n egotiat ed use of a recen tlyco n str ucted indoor horse ar en a wit h the Ca ldwell Fai r Boa rd . Club o ffi. I h d hi b . for ci cia s a n ot m g ut praise or city a n d co un ty a u thor ities fo r their . nce j . itit assis ta nce m prep anng th e faCI I y for steeds of m or e th an one horsepower. Park in g, no ise levels , ven tilation, crowd co n trol, th e PA system a.nd just about everyt hing else wo rked fm e. T he tra ck wa s short. (Yo u were . b ' d "I " ex p ecti n g may e In oor o ng tra ck?) Advertised as an eigh t m ile, the ova l m igh t have been a te n th mi le. One q uick blip of the thrott le seemed su fficie nt for m ost bikes to ge t to th e next co rner. And the n, in the Open Expert class. th ere was Nat e Gross o n a 750 Ya ma ha TT bike. Na te wits ba rely afford half ab lip. Th e tra ck surface was co mposed of sa nd and sa wd ust. There was n ' t much d ust to speak o f as it had been well wa ter ed beforeh and. H ow ever , th e so ft su rface tended to form berms, n ot . . Just grooves. I n fac t, a k n o bby lir e might wo rk better than a C lass C wee nie. Na te Gross suggested some clay be ad ded Cor future even ts. T he short, short tra ck and (in th e Open classes) big motors mad e for so me rea l balls-out exc iteme n t. Bik es ran ged from screaming two-stroke short trackers to TT500 Yamahas to Nat e's 750. T he warm set-u p seeme d to be four- st rok e Honda si n g les, wh !ch finished 1-2-3 in th e Expert mam. Th e OMC's number one p late holder, Lew Alter , Jr., surprised no on e by dominating th e Open Expert ma in. Alt er is also very quick on a TT co urse or a n MX track. Lew just ,fla t gasses it! T he specta tors' favorite was th e Pee Wee class wh ich sa w five kids ages 3-6 (boy s and girl) co mpeting o n j unior min is with or withou t train ing wheels. All kids in th is race go t tro p hi es. Anothe r fine race was seen in th e Mini Beginner cl ass with Ma rk Tapp (Ho n) relinq uis hi ng hi s ea rly lea d to hard-charging Brian H al e (Kaw). Tapp is the so n of famous (?) ba ker Eldo n T app, a nd Hale is th e offsp rin g o f in famo us desert racer (J ack ra bbi t 100) p romot er Ra y H al e. Desert racer Ron Dillon ca lle d th e a c.t~o~ : ' ~ i.14 1: ': .~ i ll_o_n.'_~ a l} age.d..a_ fo u rt h in 250cc Expert an d (p res u ma bly)co llected enough money to cover th e 10 m iles h e had to dr ive to race . Dill on did pass up the o bligato ry ki ssing o f trophy girls (co lor him faithfull ) which left severa l OMC o fficia ls bi ckerin g as to wh ose turn it . wa s to •• sta n d m " for t h e re I uctant racer. Sh ort tra ck sta r of th e '70s La rry Mered ith (now a Maico dealer in Caldwell ) don ned hi s leath ers once agai n an d showed u p to do ba ttl e. Meredith dem onstra ted that he hadn 't Ios t 100 muc h ta enr With a seco n d tal en t wi pal ce in 250cc Ex pert. Meredith, by the way , didn 't mess a ro u nd a bou t layin g th e li p s to the trophy lady! Severa l racers trav eled hundreds of m iles to compete. Arnie Wick (Hon ) ca m e clea r from flood-h assled north Idah o to ride and mad e expen ses wit h a win in th e 250cc Expert eve n t. A total o f 69 entra nts showed up C this ina ugura l short tra ck. The or 100%payback Cor Experts, along wit h nice bi g trophies, made it worth their whi le. It certai nly looks like we' ll be seeing more o f in door short track in Idaho. Now , if we co u ld j ust get an eveni n g set up wi th the peop le wh o run the hockey ri nk in Boise for so me ice raci ng! Results PEEWEE: 1. DustyStringer (Suzl; 2. AndyPok· rney (Suzl; 3. R obby Aldrich (Suz). MICROMINI: 1. BanJordan(Suz);2.JoeW innett (Suz); 3. B Finke (Yam). ill MINI BEG; 1. Brian Hale (Kaw); 2. Mark Tapp (H 3. Jason Brumpton (Suz). an); MINI EX: Ashley(H ockland (Yam); 3. T 1. Cory Barton (Yam); 2. Ron L oby an). 125BEG: 1. RichThurston (Han); 2.John Goodman (Han);1. Darrell Murphy(Hus). 2. Pete Keller 125 EX; 3. Dick Rockrohr (H ont, (Han); 3 . RayMusselman (Yam). ickStone Aullano (B250BEG: 1. Tony (C2), (Suz]; 2. Tony Ashley SA); 3. R 250 EX; 1. Arnie Wick (Hon); 2. Larry Meredith (Mai ); 3. R H ick enson (Yam). OPEN 8EG: 1. John Jurkuvich (Han); 2. Roger Reed (Mai); 3. R Slack(yam). oger OPEN EX; 1. L Alters. Jr. (H 2. Rodney ew an); Reynolds (H 3, Jerry MOOfe (Hon). an); Heying howls at Massacre MX By Wr etctted Racer STEAD, NV FE B. 14 T he West ern Stales Racing Association , promoters of the classic Virginia City Grand Prix, broke the ice of a long co ld Neva da wi nter by p utt ing o n th eir St. Valen ti ne's Day Massacre m ot o cr o ss. Exp ert J a y H eyin g brought ou t hi s Mai co Alpha 1490 to begin th e '82 season right by mopping up o n both Open Expert motos for fir st overa ll brass. Located just north o f Ren o , near th e si te of th eir world-famous air ra ces, in the high j un iper a t 6000' altitude, th e tra ck is almost a s pretty as Mammoth 's . As this was the first race of the 1982 northern Nevada AMA District 36 seaso n , ever ybody brought o ut th eir new m echines. U n for tu na tely, 1982 a lso brought record rain a nd snow which sa tura ted th e co urse. Early m orning practice took place in kn ee-deep a bras ive pea so up tha t immediat el y took six m onths ' wear o ut o f th ose shiny n ew scoots. T he or trac k did dry en ough C super tra ctio n for the racing. First O pen Ex pert mot o , H eyin g got th e ho lesh ot an d just motored a way 10 a h umou ngous lead. For th e sp ectators the act io n was ta king place ba ck in th e pack. Ti m Dyer (Ya m ) started in seco nd and Steve See (KT M) started in thi rd but fell , drop pin g way back. H e reco vered to m ake a tr em end ous dri ve on h is 495cc monster-bike to finish the moto fifth. " .' , " ."

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