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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126619
Goa t Breke r got the first 500cc mota holeshot over Kent Howerton (31. Darrell Sh ultz (2 01. Da nny Chandler (3 41. Gary Pustelak (351and others. AMA 2501500cc National Championship MX Series: Rounds 7/3 Hansen, Shultz wrangle rough Road Atlanta By Tom Mueller Photos by Dan McCauley and Mueller BRASELTON, GA, J UNE 6 Honda teammates Donnie Hansen and Darrell Shultz got as tough as the track did and took overall in the 250 and 500cc classes, respectively, in the Honda Road Atlanta National MX rounds. For Hansen it was a 1-1 sweep on the rutted red clay co u rse, and Shultz used a 2-1 tally for his 14 win after first moto winner Danny Chandler bailed off in moto two . Second overall in the 250cc class o nce again fell 10 Honda 's David Bailey, who scored 3-3. Honda's Chuck Sun was second overall in the 500cc ranks with a 6-2 performance. . Yamaha 's Rick Johnson still controls th e 250cc class by 20 points over Hansen with one round remaining. Johnson charged from 37th 10 fourth in moto one, then placed II th in rnoto two after his shock spring broke and he had to ride a hardtail. It was a disastrous day for Suzuki's Kent Howerton , the 500cc points leader going into th e race. Howerton placed third in moto on e, then crashed on the high section of the co urse in moto two, fracturing the tibia (sma ller bone) in his lower left leg. Shultz now holds th e 500cc po ints lead over Sun, 125 to 109. Road Atlanta's hillside red clay course took th e utmost talent to ride at race speed . Rain , then sun preceded the event, leaving the course tacky and dust-free throughout practice. During the first set of rnotos the track began to develop rock -hard ruts through most turn s, leaving riders no option but 10 "thread the needle" and hope that their machines stayed in the rut they had chosen. Bailey, G lover, Shultz and Su n all took soil samples during the day 's racing. The Super Sports promoted event ran smoo thly under the direction of AMA referee Freddie Ephrem and crew. Sunny skies , temperatures in th e 80's and relatively low humidity made for fin e conditions, but a light turnout of an estimated 4,000 person s a ttended. 250cc National " I'm not that keen on the start (sweeper left , then uphill ), but I should be able to pass," said Johnson as he readied himself for rnoto one, He got to test his prediction. As the pack headed for the h igh section of the course Johnson was left behind after a crash. He remounted in 37th while G lover, Hansen and Honda's Kenny Keylon shared the lead. By la p three of the 40 minute plus two laps rnoto Glover and Hansen were leaving the competition beh ind, and Kawasaki Team Green 's Billy Liles had worked to third. Liles, now looking at home on a works Kawasaki, powered past Keylon and started to close on Hansen. Bailey also moved past Keylon for fourth while Suzuki 's Warren Reid, LOP's Jim Tarantino, Honda's Steve Martin and Yamaha's Scott Burnworth filled in the 6-7-8 po sitions. A few laps later Hansen dropped int o a berm which was a little quicker than Glover's and took th e lead . Bai- ley rubbed side covers with Liles and grabbed third, but Liles stuck tight in fourth. On the next circuit Hansen, Glover and Bailey formed the lead cluster while Keylon, Li les and Reid were 4-5-6. Johnson was jammi ng through the field, in ninth at the halfway mark. As the race entered the closi ng laps, Hansen started to pull away , pu tting a q ui ck four seconds on Gl over . Bailey maintained third wh ile Li les clipped a lapped rider and ended up off the course, never falling but dragging a course banner along. Hansen crossed the line for a safe win, and Bailey used a smart line to pass Glover in the last tum of the final lap. The race wasn't over ; Bailey went over the bars 10 feet from the flag and Glover regained second. Bailey remounted for third, and Johnson ended hi s charge in fourth. Liles was fifth after repelling Reid's last lap probes. Keylon was sixth after passing Reid in the final turns, while eighth went to Burnworth, who was off the leader's pace . Glover holeshot moto two with Liles and Hansen behind. By la p two it was Glover and H ansen once again showing their superiority in first and second. Liles and Johnson were into a battle for third, Burn worth was alone in fifth, and Suzuki's Clint Hardick and Martin fou gh t for sixth . H ansen started using high lines on the back section and took the lead, but Johnson came by through a downhill and used a double pass to take over. Johnson and Ha nsen started to pull away , Johnson 's " prod uction " bike matching motors with Hansen 's works RC. Glover stayed ahead of Liles, who was pacing Burnworth and Reid. This time it was Reid who was on the move, soon to fourth and closing on Glover. By the midway point