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/126612
~ W;~t;~i;;ii;;;". ~:e~.~7°: 1. Phil Laison IHon); 2, M.rk Gam· m VET JR : 1. Danny Lenahan (Yam), VET INT: 1, Denn is Warner (yam); 2. Ned Joy IM.:gi'SR: 1.0, Moore , c-r 00 O'l ·Peterson, Dymond, - and Zitterkopl top season OelR opener < IRVINE, CA. AP R. 8 , • .-4 l-o 0. By Steven Crosby Rain postponed :opening of Orange County International Ra ceway; but spectators saw the largest turnout ever for the tight stad iu m-style tra ck . The p its were jam med by ove r 270 riders. ca us ing lat e arr iving sp ecta tors to leave th ei r ca rs on th e ro ad an d walk in. Du e to th e trem endous tu rn ou t the races were shorte r th an n ormal . but th e turnou t managed to ca use th e sched ule to run aft er m idn igh t. ' By th e time th e fir st Pro mot o got underwa y, the grands tands had sta ndin g room on ly, an d th e fans were lined a lo ng th e fen ces. In th e I25cc Pros, a n ewcomer to th e Pro ranks wi th a very fami lia r na me, T ra cy Meeks, took th e hol eshot on hi s facto ry su pport Ka wa saki . Randy Ski nner wa s second after on e lap with Todd Peterson th ird . Pet erson shot by S kin ner on th e next la p and set out a fte r Meeks, who had open ed u p a trem endou s lead o n ly tWO laps int o th e rnoro . With two laps rem aining, Peterson h ad cu t Meek 's lead down to six seco nds. Wh en the wh ite fla g ca me o u t, th e di fference was th ree seco nds . - Wh ile Meeks was ge tti ng around lapped riders, Peterson was cu u ing down h is lead. In to the fina l coup le o f turn s, Peterson W'dS on ly a seco nd behi nd, b u t no one th ou ght he co u ld ca tch Meeks, Going into the fina l turn, Meeks went inside, beh ind so me slo wer riders. w hi le Peterson took hi s Yamaha lO the fa r o u tside and pointed it a t th e fini sh lin e wi th the throttle wide open. At th e fin ish , Pet erson cl ipped Meeks by in ch es wh ile his bike [lew o ff th e edge o f th e tra ck, In th e seco n d mo to , Peterson gra bbed th e hol esh ot a nd was gon e whil e Meeks started in dead la st, A wi n for Peterson seemed a fo regone co ncl usio n . Meeks fo ught hi s wa y to third by the en d of the first la p . H e wa s second a nd clos in g in on Peterson a lap lat er. Three laps int o the race th e Kawasak i was righ t on the Yam una 's rea r wh eel. It look ed like a mi rror im age of th e firs t m ota . On the fo urth lap , goin g over th e mud h ole. th e two bikes were even . Co mi n~ o u t o f th e hai rp in turn , Meek s put a whee l in front , bu t over th e nex t two j u m ps Peterson was back on top. T hey were tog eth er th rough the stu tterbu m psa nd around th e n ext turn . Meeks tried to pressu r(' Peterson in th e n ext turn , wh ich had foot-deep mud in it , a nd slid o u t and down . By th e time T racy was up, he ,wa s far bt'hind but still in seco nd . T he sta rt of 250cc Pro s saw a pi leup in th e tricky first lUrn wh ich left John Gret'nway's boot in so meone else's wh eel and Todd Peterson 's bik e kn ocked out of th e race. W hi le th ev sepa ra ted , Rick Rod~ers took th;' lead with Crai g Ca ble second and G r e~ Zill erko pf th ird . ,Zill er ko p f moved to secon d o n th e nex t lap a nd moved lO ch a ll en ~e Rodgers. But , in traff ic with the In termedi at es, Zill erkopf went down . Meanwhil e, Mickey 34 _ r. C.." Dymo~d m ov ed hi s Wh eel sm ith Mai co Up 10 third. T he next lap he went by Ca ble, a nd two laps later h e slipped by Rodgers in traffic, The top two remained th at way wh ile Zitt erkopf worked hi s way back to third w ith John Spaw in fou rth. With two laps left, Spaw put hi s Honda in front of Ziu erkopf to cement the fin al positi ons. ' Craig Ca ble grabbed th e hol esh ot a gai n in the seco n d mota w ith Rodgers seco nd and John Greenwa y third . At the end o f th e first lap. Rodgers made a fin e move to get in side of Cable and cleanlv tak e th e lead . A lap lat er , Dymond went a ro u n d C abl e and se t o u t aft er Rodgers. The two d iced it out for four laps until Dymond found a passing lin e an d took the lead. Once the Maico moved in front, Dymond pulled a way stead ily until th e chec kere d flag, Rodgers wa s seco nd overa ll with Zitt erkopf th ird with a 4-5 tall y. Open Pro belonged to Zinerkopf a nd hi s Montcla ir Yamaha/Malcolm Sm ith-su pport ed rid e. Gl en Senecal took the early lead in the first mot o until Ziuerkopf ca u g ht h im o n la p two . Danny Kerr rod e hi s H onda to a steady second with Andy Ri cha rd th ird. In th e seco nd rn ot o Zitterkopf was gone a t the drop of th e gat e. Seneca l wa s seco nd w ith Kerr thi rd . Overall . Kerf's 2-3 ta llv secured th e seco nd place fin ish. . Results 60 BEG: 1. Bobby Vorba (Yam); 2, Bobby Oavid (Vam): 3, Joey Honescko (Yam), 60 NOV: 1, Jason Collier (Yam): 2. Bobby Dlug os (Vam), 601NT: 1. Matt Foster (Yam), 60 EX: 1, Bubba Erickson (Vam); 2, Shane Hunt (Vam), MINI BEG DIV 1: 1, Jason Collier (Suz); 2. Eddie Webb (Vam); 3. Scott Lloyd (Vam), M INI BEG DIV 2: 1, Shane Hunt (Suz); 2, Brad Braddock (Kaw); 3, Chris carr (Kaw), M INIBEGDIV3: 1, OrlandoOelfin(Yam): 2. Steve De2wart (Yam); 3, David Bedford (Yaml, MINI BEG DIV 4: 1. Lae Beaver (K. w ); 2, Mike Anlcliffe (Kawl; 3, Chad Smart (Suz). MINI NOV: 1, Craig canoy (Suz); 2, Wade Bone (Vam); 3, Arthur Huffer (Kaw). MINI INT: 1, Derek Nye (yam); 2. Mike Dodge (K.w); 3. Chad Barnes (Kaw), MINI EX: 1. Mike Healy (Han); 2. Mike Robert s (Vam); 3, Larry Schaffer (yam), 125 BEG DIV 1: 1. Steve Kurtiar (Han); 2, Robert Edwards (Han); 3, Jim La Guire (Yam), 125 BEG DIV 2: 1. Steve Ness (Suz); 2, Brlen Dolan (Suz); 3, Bill Hansen (Yam), 125 BEG DIV 3: 1, Rick Palladino (Vam); 2, Steve Potter (Kaw); 3, John Dell.rips (Suz), 125 BEG DIV 4 : 1. Scan Nelson (Suz); 2, Scan Clanerbuck (Yam); 3, Gilbert Gallo (Yam), 125 NOV DIV 1: 1, Bill Scon (Suz); 2. Tony Line· han (Yam); 3. Steve M issbrenner (Suz). 125 NOV DIV 2; 1, John Davis (Suz); 2, Jim Bacon (Hus); 3, Dave Crigler (SUZ) 125 INT: 1. STeve West (Kaw); 2, Curt Malin s IHon ); 3, Kurt Pfeiffer (Vam), 125 PRO: 1. Todd Peterson (V. m); 2. Tr.cy Meeks (Kaw); 3. Danny Bartholemew (Yam). 250 BEG DIV 1: 1. Greg Nash (Han ); 2, Kevin Baker ISuz); 3, Bob SIr. ssling (Hon), 250 BEG DIV 2: 1, Gary Denn is IV.m); 2. Ray Bowm.n (Vam); 3, Jo hn Gotheols ISuZ), 250 NOV: 1, Von wanace (K. w); 2, Dave Jon es (Vam); 3. Chris Shaw (Suz), 250 INT: 1, RobTron eIHon); 2. LarryGross(V.m); 3. Mark Howard (Yam). 250 PRO: 1, Mickey Dymond (Mai); 2. Rick Rodgers (Kaw); 3. Greg Zitterkopl (Vam). OPEN BEG: 1, Chet Cooper (Yam), OPEN NOV: 1. Chris Dovvell (Vam); 2. Jeff S.n· chez (Han); 3, Roger Kokas (Hus), OPEN INT: 1; Pete Rickertsen (Suz); 2. Mike Crull IV.ml; 3, Don Ambrose (Ma i). OPEN PRO: 1, Greg Zinerkopl (Vam); 2, Danny Kerr (Hon); 3. Glen Senecal (Y.m), VETS: 1. Gary Clark (Suz); 2, Bert Wehr (s uzl; 3, Jim Sm ith (KTM ), Howell grabs wild Pro go at Speedway 117 eMC night MX By Rod Eschenburg C HU LA VISTA, CA, AP R. 7 Honda-mounted Mark H owell ca me home a su rprise overa ll victor tonight a t Continental Motosports Club's m otocross in th e 250cc Pro class. In th e first ,... c.." N mo to it looked lO be a ll J on Faure (H on) , until a seized engine d ropped h im to th e deck , a n event which co inc ide d with Wood y Carlson 's brill iant o u tside pass of Scott Meyer. This resulted in Woody going from third to the lead in a bo u t 30 ya rds ! Ca rlson was then home free with T om Browne a nd Meyer trailing with Howell wi ndi ng up fifth. ' Chris H arrold built up a big seco nd moto lead onl y to get reeled in in th e lat e laps by Browne and Carlson. Carlson had the overall with third, but in th e in field sweepe r everybody went down in a heap, and Howell ~ot th e win with a tie-breaker 5-1 fini sh over Carlson! The 125cc Pros saw a beautiful two-for-two effon by Terry Murra y (Suz ) a s h e notched h is first -ever 117 P ro victory o ver Honda-m ounted David H opwood. Hopwood battled it ou t with fellow Honda ride Jon Faure for a close second . The red hot class thi s yea r a t Speedway 117 a p pea rs to be the 250cc Intermediat e, with very h ard fou ght motos. T err in Keefer (Yam) ca m e up wi th a sq uea ker, come-from-behindvic to ry in th e seco n d moto ove r Brian Craw (Yam) . The race h ad a five-wa y tie-br eak er goin g for five laps! Resul t s 500 PRO: 1. Randy Norma n (Yam); 2. Kirk Girs som (Hon); 3: Steve Boiger (Han), 250 PRO: 1, Mark Howell (Han); 2, Woody c arrson (Yam); 3, Chris Harrold (Y.m). 125 PRO: 1, Terry Murray (Suz); 2. David Hopwood (Han); 3, Jon Faure (Han), 500 JR : 1. Mark McNulty IM.i); 2. Frank Thorneson (Hus); 3. Monte Lutz (Y.m), 250 INT: 1, Terrin Keefer IVam); 2, Brian Craw (V. m); 3, Doug Berg IVam), 125 INT: 1. Mike Fisher (Han); 2, Roger Haves (Suz); 3, Chris Shaw (Suz), 25DJR: 1, Rick Rom io(Yam); 2. Jim Butts (Suz); 3, Gilberta Leyva (Yam), 125JR: 1. M.rk King(Su z); 2. Ken H.rdy(V.m); 3, Mike Curto (Hon), M INIINT: 1. John ConneyISuz); 2. Lance Barnett (y.m). MINI JR : 1. Steve Furuya (Yam); 2, M.rio Arce (Kaw); 3, Tim Zaleski (Suz). Hopwood, Palmer, Honda split Barona 125s By Rod Eschenburg SAN DIEGO, CA, APR. 4 Whi le David Hopwood and Mitch Palm er spli t the featured l25cc Expert classes today at the California Mini Motorcycle C lub m ot cross a t Barona O aks Racewa y H onda was th e big win ner with five of th e top th ree p ositi ons in each class goi ng to th e red rai ders. It loo ked lik e Ho nda wou ld ta ke a ll six pl aces until H opwood pulled o ut of th e seco n d moto of the Modi fie ds w ith u ndiscl o sed prob lems , leavin g a wide ope n battl e betw een Palm er a nd Bill y Eva ns . Ho p wood . who go t off slo wly in each of hi s m otos, excep t th e o ne th at h e retired in , pa ral yed a 2-1 effort to viclOry in , the Stoc ks wi th Palmer sq uea king o ut a tie-break er secon d over Evans. Evans, who looked very good in winn in g th e first molO, slid ou t whil e leading in th e secon d a n d had 10 settle for third. In th e 125cc Intermediat es, first timer Mike Gilmartin (S uz) let hi s o ld No vice buddies kn ow th at th ey shou ldn' t feel sorry abou t ge tti ng beat so bad all year. H e beat th e In term ed iat es even worse! It was n o co ntes t in a ny of th e four motos as he j ust ran a way from everybody . La st yea r 's Novi ce p h enomenon , Ri ck Sch u len berg (Su z), look two har d· fough t secon ds, the on ly posi tion that \...as up for ~ra bs a fter th e first 100 yards o f eac h moto. ,... In th~ Nov icD as" mo ve u P from es, h th e Beginners, an out wort h" . too k a close win in th e Modifieds, a nd a " grow up" from th e Minis, Paul Masek, co m bined a 2-3 effor t 10 take th e Stocks in a wild affai r. Team Green rider Scott Brown came back from a horrifying endo in th e first lap of the lOSs to score a two-for-two Expert victory over fellow "Greenie" Steve St ewart. Yamaha-mounted Cory Falter sq uea ked o u t a close on e over Stewa rt in th e 105s, with Brown coming back in th e second mota for a win, which lifted him back to third . While the Experts were a little low in numbers, the Intermediates certainly made up for it . The Stocks went to anoth er " Tea m Green" member, Frankie Brundage, in a dominating two-far-two sweep. In the Modifieds, Yamaha rider Jimmy Moon took th e overall with a 2-2 go over 5-1 finishing Michael Craig. First moto winner Mike Young suffered a very hard crash off th e gate in th e secon d moto. Mike Allen once agai n ripped his fellow Novices four-far-four in his ma rch towards the Intermediate ran ks. Inthe9-11 Novices.Iast year's junior Cycle Ch amp, Danny Hembree (Yam). o nce again ra n away with his pee r group. Hembree was running up with the top six 12-16 Novices from a delayed start in each moto! Results MINICVCLE STK EX: 1. Scott Brown (K.w); 2, Steve Stewart (Kawl; 3. Cory F.lter (Yam), MO D EX: 1. Scott Brown (Kaw); 2. Steve Stewart (K.wl, ' 105 MINI : 1. Cory Falter (Yam); 2. Steve Stewart (Kawl; 3. Scott Brown (Kawl . STK INT 112-16) : 1. Frank Brundage (Kaw); 2, Jimmy Moon (Yam); 3, Mike Voung (Yam). MOD INT (12 ·16): 1. Jimmy Moo n (Yam); 2, Mich.el Craig (Y.m); 3, Terry McClure (Yam), . STK NOV (12-16) : 1, Mike Allen (Suz); 2. P.ul Cortez (Yam); 3. Anthony Gorin (SUlI. MOO NOV(12-16): 1. M ike Allen(Suzt, 2. Anthony Gorin (Suz); 3, Anthony DeBen_ tt i (Kaw). STK NOV (9-11 I: 1, Danny Hembree (Yam); 2. Chris Neal (Yam): 3, Jason Frieze (Yam). MOD NOV (9·11 ): 1, D. nny Hembree (yam ); 2. Chr is Neal (Yam); 3 . Scon Hainsworth (Yam). BEG: 1, Danny Dillard (Y.m); 2. B.rney Davis (Vam); 3, David Utley. MOTORCVCLE STK 125 EX: 1. David Hopwood (Hon); 2. Mitch P.lmer (Hon); 3, Billy Ev.ns (Han), MOD 125 EX: 1. M itch Palmer (Han); 2. Billy Ev.ns (Han); 3, Bobby Vrhe/ (Yam), STK 125 NT: 1. Mike Gilm artin (Suz); 2. Rick Schulenberg (Suz); 3, Bobby Voorhees IKaw) , MOD 125 NT: 1. Mike Gilmartin ISuz); 2, Rick Schu lenbarg (Suz); 3, Bobby Rose (Yam), STK 125 NOV: 1. Paul Masek (Vam); 1. R.y acee son (SUz); 3, Larry Nickols (Suz). MOD 125 NOV: 1. Dan Southworth; 2, Bobby Ashburn er ISuz); 3. Larry Nickols ISuz), 125 BEG: I. David Krock (Han ); 2. Ken Hardy (Yam); 3. Brian Infeli se (Yam) . JUNIOR CVCLE STK (9-11 ): 1. Danny Hembree , STK 10-8): 1. Sean Thornton (y.m); 2, Denn is Dahl in (Vam); 3, Justin Rich (Yam), MOD 10-8): 1. Sean Thornton (Yam); 2. Denn is Dahl in (Yam); 3 . Justin Rich (Yam) ~ PEEWEE STK: 1, Er ic Hawes (Yam); 2. Eric Staf ford (Y.m): 3, Sammy Veil. (y.m), PEE 'M:E MOD : 1. Justin Rich (y.m); 2. Eric Hewes (y.m); 3. Eric Stafford (Yam). Yet another lor Yetto at DeAnza MX By Kit Palmer . SUNNYMEAD , CA, APR. 4 Dale's Modern C ycles' Randy Yetto (Yam ) took command of th e 125cc Pro class , capturing th e victory in each moto today a t DeAnza Cycle Park. Yett o had 10 fi ~ht sti ff co m pe titio n fro m Ri verside Su zu ki's Rick Stolt a nd Donnie Sigrist (Suz). Wh en th e ~a te dropped for th e sta n o f th e first m olO, quick clutch wo rk by Sigris t rocketed him into th e lead foll owed by Yello , Je ff Prieur (Yam ) a nd Stolt. With in th e fir st lap, SlOlt had fo und a way past Prieur. T he "

