Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

• Eric Hallled) around the PIR MX course for the 125cc' P~o win. Hal, Cropper score at PIR night MX By Brian Barnes PORTLAND , OR, APR. 8 Un der sunny skies and with 195 riders in attendance, Portland International Raceway ' got underwa y wi th its second -' -. race o f this year's h igh point MX series. . . Eric Hall(LO PlYamhill Yam /Yam support) and Jeff Cropper (O' Neall · G resha m Suz) were the big wi n ners in the 125 and 250cc Pro cIasses. Rick Burgett was the o n ly Open Pro rider a nd rode wit h the Interm ediat es. H e 'won bot h mot os handil y. rid ing for Yamaha Eas t and Country Yam ah a. Burgett will be sticki ng near hom e th is year contesti ng th e hu ge Ya maha . .Perpetual Go ld Cu p series. . T he fir st moto of I25cc Pro wasn 't really too thrilling as Hall gra bbed hi s usual hol esh ot a nd never lo ok ed back , holdin g a firm lead over Yam hill Yamaha rid ers Denny: Fennel . .' .a nd Doug Lan ge. Hall took ihew in . · with lot s o f roo m to spare with Fen ' nel, Lange, Yamaha' rider Dave He" tinga and Suzuki-mounted Ron Van 'dehev following him in . . , T he seco nd mOIO was m uch more exciti ng, at leas t for two laps.wh en DG /Kawa sak i su p port rid er T im Michlitsch and Hall holeshot side by side'. Michli tsch finall y took th e lead aft er a gr eat di ce for half a lap. H all , Fennel, H euinga a nd Lange followed on th e second lap: howe ver. Mi tchIitsch found himself on th e gr ound after a nasty crash ' and pulled o ff. Hall th en crui sed to anot her easy win · with Fennel. Heuinga , Laange and Van cou ver Yamaha rider Jim R . Anderson rounding ou t the top five, The 250cc Pro mot os loo ked 10 be much more exci ting with a former National Champion named Rick Burgett on the line. The first rnoto saw .. Jeff· Cropper holeshot and lead the entire race. Michlitsch recovered quick: 'Iy from spi ll s on his 125and hounded Cropper the entire rac e, trying every, thing 10 get by, but Cropper would not let th e Kawasaki rider by. Burgett .' had 10 mov e up from behind about 10 other riders, but by the last lap had. managed to work his wayio third place with Rowdy Blasdell and Dave' Hettinga taking fourth and fifth . The second moto saw Michlitsch · holeshot with Cropper glued to his rear fender. Cropper got by on th e second lap and again rode flawl essly to another win . Michl itsch took second. Suzuki -rider Randy Chris- 40 . man rode an excellent race for third, holding off Burgett for six laps onthe very tight track. Burgett took fourth and Blasd ell n abbed fifth . In th e lOOcc Intermediate motos, Ri ck Celorie (Garner's Yam ) a n d Darrin Currier (Vanco uver Yam ) rod e neck an d neck both races with Curri er sq uea king o u t both wins. The races were very exciti ng with Ce lorie tryin g every move in th e book to get by. With no Iuck, he settled for runnerup in both rnot os. Results , PP: 1. Jill Hart al oo (Ho nl ; 2. Doreen Kishpe ugh (Vem); 3. Laur i Bulton (Yom). WEE PEE WEE: 1. Chris ca te (Yom). PEEWEE JR : 1. Ched Kishpeugh; 2. SI eve M eye r • (Ya m); 3. Kenny Bulton (Vam) . . PEE WEE EX: 1. Britt Woodring (Vam); 2. Denny Kishpeugh (Vam); 3. Rich ie Abrams (Yam ). MIN I JR: , . M ike Wi lliams (Yam); 2 . Grant Furre, (Yam); 3. Randa l Klett ke (Han). M INI INT: 1. Dell Sm ith (Yam t 2 . Dav;n Tester (Yam); 3 . Corey Evans (Vam). 100 JR : 1. M ik e Crowell (Yam): 2. Creig Clark (yem); 3, Merk Jai me (y em). 100 INT: t . Dar rin Currier (Yam); 2. Rick Calorie (Yem). . " 12 5 JR DIV 1: 1. Mi ke Baumgardner 15uz); 2. Glenn Hunter (Su z); 3. Kerry Ovall (Han) . , 125 JR DIV 2: 1. Bret Schucker (Suz): 2 .. Ford Tannock (Suz); 3. Eric Winters (Yam). 1251NT: 1. Mike KlettkelSuzl; 2. M ik e Heuskins (Han); 3. Dan Zimmerman (Suzl. , • . 125 PRO: 1. Eric Hell IVam l; 2. Denny Fennell (Yam); 3. David Hettinga (Yam). 250 JR DIV 1: 1. Delane J orda n (V e m~ 2. Scott Russell ts uz); 3 . J im Mc lmosh (Vami. 250 JR DIV 2 : 1. Mark Bell (Ha n); 2.. Monte Bloemke (Hon); 3. Ter ry Lee (Yom). . 250 INT: 1. John Woodley (S uz); 2. Rick W yld er (Kaw l; 3 . Jer ry Ebert (Kawl. . 250 PRO: 1. JeH Cropper ISuz); 2. Tim M ich l,i sch . IKaw) : 3.·Rick Brugett (Ya ml. OPENJR : 1, M ikeHickman(Yeml; 2 . Dele Sah'een (Vam): Jemes NeH lKTM). . . OPEN INT: 1. Gregg lander (Ya m~ 2.· Ste ve McCell (Yem): 3. Merk Spoone r (Yom) . OPEN PRO: 1. Rick Burgett (Yem ~ OTH: 1. Rey Crewford (Han); 2 . Chuck Goodrich (Kew); 3 . J im Perks (Yam ). . _ OT JR : 1. Jerry Hieroche (Kaw) ; 2 . Richerd Ab ra ms (Yam). OT EX: 1. Larry Sause (Han): 2. Gary Bonds IKawt 3. Welter Droke (KTM) . 3: Henry hasty 'at reborn Jackrabbit H&H By Marty Gregory BR UNEAU. !D . AP R. 4 Steve H enry; aboard a CR480 Honda . was the first man home ' at th e ' resurrected J ack rabbit 100 hare and hound. The ra ce wa s held under threat ening, but coope ra tive. Idaho skit's on ..BLM land near Bruneau, a bo u t 60 miles so u th of Boise. II was a sent ime nta l reunion in the desert fo r the Elmore M /C Association wh ose 1973 j a rk -. rabbit event drew 369 entra n ts and was covered by Dirt Bik e magazine, Weather was a big "if' Ior the 1982 " ra bbit race." The late snows and cold weather which have plagued sou th wes tern Idaho for the past co upl e weeks took a break in Bruneau. though . a nd th e race si te was mor e or less comforta ble. T he od ds-on favorit e goi ng in was Ro n " Magic" Dillon (Yam ) o u t o f Dill on Cycle in Ca ldwell . Ron is dynami te on a short track, a helluva motocrosser, and 'even faster in the open desert. Dill on. however-didn ' t fare so well this weeken d. Ron enco u nte red a slo wer ma n o ver the to p of a whoop near the smokebo m b a n d in h is words. " d idn' t ha ve a chance." Dill on cras hed hard into the o ther rider an d sc\'erly injured hi s arm. The pa ramed ics claimed it was brok en wh en they exa m ined Ron Ioll o... ing : th e race. Ron . of co urse, claimed it wa sn 't . He did ; a fu-r all , ride the ent ire ra re- a fter 11ll' arri dcn t. Dillon suffered an other hard geto ff while trying III pla y ca tch-up at a bo u t 10 miles out. H e was well back co m ing in for th e end of th e first loop, and onl y h is skill and determ inat ion a llowed him 10 wind up with a sevent h overa ll fini sh . Meanwhile. up front , mot ocrossers Steve Henry a nd Dan Lees wer e run ni ng ha rd a n d fast on their CR480 Hondas. Henry is a recent grad ua te fro m the l25cc ra n ks a nd is sai d to u tilize the same ta ctics to rid e th e Open class bike...WFO a t a ll rim es! Steve is sponsored by Honda of Onta al rio, Honda of C dwell, H i-P o int a n d En d ura-Lube. He a lso wa nted to give credi t 10 Larry Meredith of LM Cycle for the suspensio n set up which made his bike wor k we ll in the desert. An Ida ho desert regular in the midst of the MX ho tshoes was the vene rable Dan Mu ller (Ma i) ...·h o berserked h is wa y 10 th ird overa ll. Muller is recoveri ng from a rece n t elbow dis loca tion . Best finish a mo ng th e sma ll-bores was recorded bv Mik e Kell v who gassed h is R MI 25 to a first in class a n d fourt h o vera ll, Mik e is a privateer a nd is lookin g for a sponsor. The j ackrabbi t 100 tu rned o ut 10 be 53 miles (two loop total ).. Idaho 's OR V pl anner Chuck Well s rod e hi s XR200 10 a win in the four-st rok e class bu t Said he wished th ere wa s ano ther lap or two. Alon g wi th Chuck a n d turnin g in good rid es were Dave Carey (Yam ) a nd that infa mous repro ba te J ohn n ie T hompson (Yam) . Another da ndv finis h was recorded by big Fred John ston wh o pil ot ed hi s custo m thu m per to a Sportsma n cla ss wi n a nd a 36th overa ll. . T he Elmore M / C Assn . deserves a lot of credi t for p utti ng o n a supe r race one tha t recorded 117 fin ishers ou t of 129 sta rters! G a ry T u ller. Bert Fox . Dave j eu, Brian Beautrow a nd Dal e Christen sen a ll wor ked 'their ery safe (a nd buns o ff to put o n a v fun !) race . Asid e from Dillon 's arm. th ere wa s a reported cla vicle inj ur y suffered by one racer. a nd that wa s abou t it . The most serious acc ident of the da y occ u rred "on -the way 10 the ra ce" wh en a hapless biker centerp u nched a cow down o n the h ighwa y. Results OVERALL: 1. Steve Henry (Han ); 2. Dan Lee. 3. Den Muller (Mai); 4 . Mike Kellv iSuz); 5. Howerd Pickett (Hon) ; 6 . Clint Stephan (Hon t 7. Ron Dillon (Yam); 8. Robert Nancolis (Yam); 9 . Eric Herphem IMei); 10. John Hunter IHus). ' . 250 EX: 1. Howard Pickett (Han) : 2. Ron Dillon (yam); 3. larry Rebeich(Hon). . 250 BEG : 1. Curt Stephan (Hon); 2. Mick Teves (Hus ~ 3 . Hervey Kenworthy. 200 EX: 1. Den DavisiYam); 2. Deve Car y(Yam); . 3 . Johnnie Thompson (Yeml. SR: 1. Oerrell Langford (Suz t 2 . Oll ie Todd (Husl, OPEN EX: 1. Steve Henry (Hon); 2. Don Laes (Han); 3 . Den Muller (Me i). OPEN BEG : 1. Den Taylor (Kaw); 2 . Cart Ivey , (Vem); 3 . Steve Moore (Suz). 125 EX: 1. Mike Kelly iSuz ); 2. Robert Nencolos (Vam); 3. Randy Coner (Yom). 4 -STROKE : 1. Chuck Wells (Hon): 2. John Struthers (Kaw); 3. Bob Bailey (Han ). I H on~ SPTSMN: 1. Fred JohntSton. MINI: 1. John Bishop (Kaw); 2. Merk Hendrickson 3 . Mett Reddy (Yam ~ Oyler fired .up . t a Sparkplug Enduro By EIRae Morgenthaler. BELFAIR, WA, MAR . 28 NMA AA rider Gordon Oyler surprised no one by winning the 1982 Sparkplug Enduro with only a one point loss. The Sparkplug is Gordon 's event . ha ving won it in 1971and '78 and losing on a tiebreaker in 1974 a n d '79 ! . In addition to Oyler, age 41, it was a good day for inany 35-year and older riders - Tom Tucker, Ken Villines, Larry Bowlin, Harry Bechtel and Mike Gorman all finished in the top 10. Bechtel , out of competition for over a year due 10 serious knee surgery, had 10 be especially pleased with his eig h th overall finish . Held in the lowlands at the foot of t he Ol vmpi c Mountains, the Sparkplug is a unique event on the.. NMAcalendar. The Bremerton Cruisers a ttract a large number of Canadi an rid ers and run the event by their own rules. This year it was not an NMA point end uro. Alt h o ugh heav y ra ins occurred Saturday aftern oon and even in g, Sunda y morn in g was co ld but dr y. The ri ders had o ne heavy ha il storm to contend with, but mo st fin ished the da y fairl y dr y. T he first section o f 10.2 miles was ru n a t a n 18 mph a verage over new ATV tra ils wi th most riders a ble 10 zero chec k o ne. T he speed was ·then cha nged 10 15 mph with a bad uphill · an d a do wned log to get arou nd just o u t o f chec k one. Fo r so me riders on lat er num bers, th e uph ill proved 10 be a ha ng u p a nd . threw ihem . o rr .sched u le. T he lot.8-mile sectio n a lso · contained the " 1.9 mile trail ," a notoriously to ug h 'sectio n, wi th the remainder run mostl y on .tra il and primitive road through an old burn. T he th ird sectio n was paced at an 18 mph average, run mo stl y on AT V tra il and roa ds and conta ined the gas che ck and a 3. 1-mile reset. Section four. 10.7 mil es in length, was the Mi ssion Cree k sec ti o n co nta in ing Iumpy trai l a nd AT V tra il. . The fin al 7.3 miles was all run · withi n sp iuing di stance of th e start area a nd reall y kept the riders on th e ir to es, think in g th at at an y moment it wou ld all be ove r. It was in this sectio n that O yler dropped hi s o n ly poi nt . T ypi cally, the club cu t some new tra il which dr opped th e riders down a steep downhill in to a creek for one last surp rise an d th en on to th e fin ish . ·Lots of downed. slippery logs, fresh-cut tra il out through th e sa la l a n d less th an handl eb ar -width tra i l marked th e whole event. Tom T ompson used a programmabl e calculator with printer to score the event. The rider merel y turned in hi s score card, Tom ent ered the rider's time at each chec k, and th e calculator quickl y produced a "receipt" indicating point loss at each check and total point loss - fast and no chance for ' ma th errors. Since trophies ar e awarded to top 25 fini sh ers regardles of class, scores were promptly posted an d th e riders were on th eir wa y home unusually early. Results 1. Gordon OYler 111 2 . Tom Tuckar (3); 3 . Steve ; Smith (5); 4 . Ken Villines (5); 5. John Fuelner (6); 6 . Larry Bowlin (B); 7 . J im Welsh (10); B. H.rry Bechtel (10); 9 . Doug Reines (13) : 10. Mike Gormen (13) .

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