Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Lucerne V....y - Red MounUIn - Plater City - San:hll&ht - Sidewinder Road - S.....tItIon MounbIIn - J _ - R'" Mountains - Lucerne V....y...,.. Red M~ Aerial view of Jack Johnson. Smith wins his third Virgin Run By Shirley Upp RED MOUNTAIN, CA, MAY 23 Dan Smith once again proved that the Master Links course was no match for him and his big Husky, and for the third : time in the annual Virgin Run, Smith took overall win with ease. After the bomb and coming out of the first canyon, it was Smith with the lead with Chuck Miller (Yam) second. Running third overall and -, first 250cc was BiIIMattox (Yam). All time great Bruce Ogilvie on his 250 ' Honda was breathing down Mattox's back tire. Another 250cc rider who is showing some real class as a desert ace was Ted Hunnicut, who was up with the leaders. Running first Open Amateur style was Jeff Bennington. ' Richard Jackson was out in front of. the hard charging Vets. AI Guzman was doing some fine riding and leading the 250ccSenior class. High flying Bobby Charters was in charge of the "C" bike class. The Novice and Beginner start didn 't last very long for some of our anxious chargers. A few yards past the banner truck, there were a few bad get-offs that took a few riders out of the race. Leading this hardy group of contenders was Open rider Ron Shuler, who would have his work cut out for him this whole first loop. Second and first 250cc was Ron Heatherington.Jr. trying to lose in on Shuler. First Beginner and third overall on a 25Occ, was Brett Shanner. Brett would go on from this point to have an outstanding ride. David Scheiden had his "C" bike to the "max" and leading his class. As the riders came into home check, it was Smith doing a terrific job. He had built up a minute's lead over Miller. Dan Ashcraft (Hus) was third but his ride wasn't to be: he had a bad get-off starting into the second loop which put him out of the race. Chns Crandall (KTM) had moved up to take fourth. Fifth was Ogilvie. now running first 250cc. Hunnicutt was second 250cc at sixth overall. Leading the hard charging Novices was Open rider Rodger McCabe. who had overtaken Shuler. The last time around the 35-mile loop. many riders got caught in a bottleneck about halfway around. Some angry riders felt that this kind of bottleneck, especially with the dust and heat of summer now on us, was very unnecessary. For Smith none of this mattered and now knowing the victory was Finally, there's asweepstakes with something worth winning. The Datsun/Suzuki Sweepstokes. It's your big chance to win a new Datsun 4x4 Longbed Pickup ora newSuzuki RM-125. Absolutely free. ' To enter, just visit your nearest Southem Califomia Suzuki or Datsun dealer and ask for a free three-part coupon. Part one enters you in the sweepstakes. Part two entitles you to$2 offthe price ofadmission to the Datsun U.S. Grand Prix ofMotocross onJune 20th. And the third part gives you $2 offthe price , ofany T-shirt you buy at the race that displays the official USGP logo. getting close. he just kept the front wheel up. the throttle on and took the checkered a very happy young man. Three years ago he had taken his first overall win in the Masters Links race. So making it three in a row brought a smile to his face and some good memories of a few years back. Smith wanted to thank his sponsor Kern Sports Cycle. Second was Miller, who said he had a pretty good race except for falling once. Third was hard riding Chris Crandall, who rode the last loop with a front flat tire. Fourth and first 250cc rider was once again Ogilvie. Fifth was Lee Scheffers, who said he had a terrible ride. " I made every mistake there was to make," Lee said. "I even broke my shock!" Sixth and second 250cc was Ted Hunnicutt and seventh was Mike Mulconery. Ei~hth was speedster Steve Webb ridmg out of Canoga Park Husky. Webb and Mulconery did some heavy dueling today. Ninth was another fast guy, Darrin Kelsey, who did some nice riding this race. Rounding out the top 10 was Dave Wasden. ' Eleventh was Ray Conway who had a good finish but not without his share of problems. Next in was first 250cc Amateur Mike Fitzgerald, who ate a lot of dust. He had to work his way up through riders the whole race. First C bike was Tom Elias with Bobby Charters taking second. Jeff Bennington took first in the Open Amateur class. Ron Suber kept it going today and after riding the last 10 miles on a flat tire, he took first lOIN US AT THE USGP INCAR15BAD Those who ride their motorcycles to the USGP will get free secured parking. Andeveryone will get to see the latest Suzuki street and dirt bikes that will be on display. . BETTER YEI..RJDE WITH US TO THE RACE Whyride solo? Take theSuzuki "Winning Ride" to Carlsbad and make the trip an adventure. Suzuki personnel are hosting a special group ride worth remembering (but don't wony ifyou Open Senior. Taking first in the 250cc Vet class today was Eddie Whiteside. First C bike Senior was Bob Torgenson. Taking top Open Vet Amateur was hard riding Jan Morrison. First Open Vet Expert was Darryl Ellis. First 250ccSenior Expert , was AI Guzman. with Dick Postman taking second. First C bike Amateur was Mark Stoner. In the Novice class, it was Shuler who took the victory, but not without an almost wire-to-wire battle with McCabe. Ron said he overtook Me. Cabe for the final time at the road crossing before the finish. Third was Heatherington, Jr., who took top 250cc honors. Fourth was Scheide, who rode his C bike to the limit. In the Beginner race, it was Brett Shanner on his 250cchaving another outstanding ride and taking overall honors today. Second was another 250cc rider, Bob Marshall, despite a get off before check one . Third and first .C bike was Mike Mc Grath, who hadn't raced in over two years. Founh was another C bike, Pendelton. Fifth was Joe Turnbaugh after getting lost for awhile went on to have a good ride. In the women's classes, it was Diane Holeman taking first overall. Second was Lori Farmer and these two had problems on a hill; each helping the other. First woman Amatuer was Cindy McCown and in the Novice class, it was Denise Engstrom taking the honors. Wendy Berg topped the Beginner class. These are unofficial results. don't ride a Suzuki...gj1 makes are welcome). Meet us at U.S. Suzuki's Headquarters in Brea, Califomia at 7AM, Sunday,June 20th. Everyone who rides along will geta free gift, and we'll have a drawing for other free prizes aswell. See your Los Angeles orOrange County Suzuki dealer for more details and directions. And don't forget to enter SUZUKII' hI& I 27

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