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/126615
Early in the evening, fans had thought they woul d ge t to see Team Honda in all their glory with both Mike Kidd and e-r 00 0') (Top to bottom) Randy Gonleads Steve Morehead (4 2 ) and Ted Boody. Doug Chandler remained undefeated in Novice mains at Ascot. Derek Land grabs a quick peek at oncoming traffic in a Junior semi . Morehead squeaks last turn Ascot win over Goss By Maureen Lee Photos by Dan Mahony GA R DENA, CA, MAY 8 Steve Morehead showed the crowd and the field the fine art of flat tracking as he won the main event with a last-lap pass over Randy Goss in the last regular Ascot half mile for Scott Pearso n lining up for ti me tr ia ls. Pearson we nt on to ride the evening ou t, bu t Kidd, after trialing himself to third fastest time, didn' t come out again . Ted Bo od y was quickest a t 22.50. Boody ran off with the first heat, too, followed by Steve Oort, Scott Adams and Sal Hoffman. On the final two laps it was still Boody and O o rt with Hoffman and Danny Perkins , who'd done one of his comefrom -behind rides, drag racing for the finish line. It had been qui te a charge by Perkins, and by official decision he got third over H offm an . Ra ndy Goss got one of his fantastic starts in th e next heat, with Steve Morehead, Brad Hurst and Rod Su lliva n after h im . First lap, it was Goss and Morehead coming out of four and down the chute side by side. Goss eventually got the front spo t, but he couldn't get rid o f Morehead who was trying him hard , and the heat finished with those four being the transfers. The Expert semi was restarted when they got all shaggy on the line and left in a mob instead of a clean start. This time it was Scott Pearson on the factory Honda hauling off for turn one first , and oh boy, did he hang onto that first spot, all the way to th e end. The Trophy Dash was Boody and Goss, then Sal Hoffman and Steve Morehead replacing Kidd and Hurst. Hoffman went down in turn one and stayed down until the red flag came out, and he got his restart. Away they went again with Boody gaining the edge, but Goss was out on the outside and blasted away into the lead, never to lose it . He looked very happy receiving the Cycle News West trophy from charming Karen Carroll, the trophy girl of the evening. Now for that terrific main. Goss got the grip on the lead, tailed by Morehead and Boody going at it, then Sco tt Pearson and Steve Oort. Bood y was rea lly wo rking on Mo rehead for a while, a nd it was what the fans pay to see. Slowly, the three of them p ulled ahead of Pearson, th en ca me another group of Scott Adams, Steve H a ll and Da n n y Perkins who were havi ng a great time of it swapping positions around. Up front , though , was where the most eyes were glued. We had a feeling early on that Goss was in trouble when h e couldn't shake Morehead, in spite of the announcer who had Goss pegged for a while. Ra nd y is great at getting rid of persistent opposition on his rear wheel, but he couldn't get rid of Steve and obviously wished for another set of eyes in his head. Morehead was showing all how strategy works, and he's one of the most thinking riders on the circuit. H e'd probe to the left, then to the right so Goss was never too sure from where the attack was coming. Boody and Pearson were still going strong, too, as were the big group behind. Scott Adams had the lead of tha t gang, but he was to lose it at the end to Steve Ha ll. The white flag came out, and now was the tim e. Goss shot for the south tu rn , and there was Morehead setting h im up to take full ad vantage of coming out o f two ...i t wo rked, and Steve took over the lea d as they flew arou nd for the checkered flag. Wha t a finish! Morehead deserved all th e praise he go t, for Goss, to finish just behind i n a duel like that, sho ul d carry no rem orse, except perhaps in the fina ncial payoff. The Junior heats were hairy (what e1se?).- Lots -ol 'em and only . 'wo transfers out of each hea t. Pe te Hames won the first over Bobby G arrison. Rand y Green grabbed th e early lead of th e second hea t but los t it to Scott Poderg ois, but coming up through the pack a nd p assing a ll and su ndry was Barry Pelk ey on th at great little Can-Am. The flag fell with Podergois (H -D), Green (Hon) and Pelkey coming out of turn four three a breast, with Scott and Ra ndy becoming the two transfers. Another cliff-hanger in the last heat. Don Howard lost the lead a couple of times to Rob Ely, then up came Derek Land - by Bud Carroll - to land in third and fight with Ely for second. By the end, Don Howard was comforta bly out fro nt in what was the fastest heat, but the officials had to decide on th e line who pipped who for seco nd spot, and it went to Land over Ely ...it was awfully close! The semi caused heart fai lure in m an y. O pening lap, the pack was co ming through the north turn, someone bumped Steve Karsten and for lon g moments Karsten literally wrestled wi th his H a rley lik e a bu ll dogger on a steer unti l he go t tossed . off over the bars high , wi de and handsome and came down hard, but rolling. He and the Harley were burised a bit and retired for the evening, friends got their nerves under control, and the alternate, David Rosa, got a great start. It was Bud Carroll's race , though; he just got out front and put some space between himself and Ra ndy Green. Then came Rob Ely and Bill Mc Donnell with those two being very close at the finish flag . Pete Hames took the lead in the semi, but R a n d y Green and Bill McConnell went down coming out of turn two, and it was a restart. This time, Derek Land got off, bu t he was free and clear, and the race continued. Don Howard led , then Scott Podergois, Derek Land and Bud Carroll. Ha mes was right with them, bu t pulled in early with mechanical woes as had Tommy Wa lton in a hea t. Howard had no rea l challenger, a nd a lthough Poderg oi s wo rked up a bit, as did Derek Land, th ey d id n't get into the act ion they'd had in the heats. Dou g Chan dler j ust went from o utside of row o ne to the inside start of the Novice main, and that was i t. H e was flying. Dan Ben nett went out with engine woes, and the fig ht was on for third and second between Ro bert Land and Darren H ulbert. Joe Kn igh t h ad fourth, then came Jim Toews. Land and Knight had a terrific battle going, handlebar to han dlebar at times, but on the las t lap so mething happened coming out of two. Contact was made, and Ro bert Land dropped back abruptly, losing the drive he had and ending up fifth overall as the other chargers streamed by. Chandler had his well ridden win, then Hu lbert, Towes and Land. The ambulance moved for Land, who came around after the flag and flopped down on the edge of the track reporting a hurt leg, but we couldn 't confirm any real damage after the race. The best of the Novice heats had been the third and fastest when Dou g Cha nd le r an d J o e Kn i gh t h a d swapped th e lead back and forth a wh ile. Bet ween them th ey were th ree seconds faster th a n the seco nd quickest heat , and wit h th at , Chandler fin ish es th e Ascot season bea ten on ly once in th e h ea ts a nd u n beatable in th e main events. AMA Professional racing will retu rn to Ascot late in th e season , so for now yo u can keep yo urselves in shape an d lea rn th a t track surface by riding CMC on Thursday nights. See you _ tllerel · . •