Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

.:::s:._ _ \ I - " -_ _ _____l ~ Curtis Cannon (1) gets a good jump at Corona's flat track. two o f the three top spots in the Mini Pro scramble. In the firs t moto, Lance Jo h nso n (Ka wasa ki of Ventura) go t th e holeshot, followed by Bobby Moor e (Yam ) and Larry Brook s (R&D Suzu ki ). A co u p le of turns into th e race, Moore passed J ohnson, reach ed up 10 gr ab a tea r-o rr a nd goo fed it, endoing. J ohnso n led [or two laps with Brooks o n hi s tail, th en Brooks pa ssed to ta ke first. Willie Surratt (Team Green ) got orr 10 a bad start and weeded his wa y up 10 second pl ace. Sco tt Brown (Team Green ) laid back a nd coasted in co m forta bly for third. In other action , Mo use McCoy (H o n ) endoe d an d DNF th e moto. In th e second rnoto, Surra tt got the holeshot, followed by Brooks an d Johnson. On th e third lap. Brooks went to pass Surra tt but hooked hi s wheel o n Surratt's ' back a nd threw himself spe ctac u la rly into th e air, inj uring his -wrist wh en h e landed h ard. Bro ok s wasn 't able to co n tin ue and Su rratt wen t o n to win, n o contest. J ohnson took seco nd and Bro wn , w ho agai n sat i;lck and wai ted, took thi rd . The overall win went 10 Su rratt. with Joh nson in the second spot and Bro wn ro unding o u t the top th ree. In the 125cc P ro class, Ro bert McLaugh lin (Kawasaki Center/Wein ert ) go t the ho lesh ot an d ra n away wi t h it w h il e Doug O 'D onnell (S uzu ki/Cycle Works ) a n d Bruce Maynor (H onda / Sim i Honda ) battled for second and third. In the second ro und, O'Donnell got the holeshot but Doug Gen try (Van Nu ys Yam aha) wo rked h is way up from back in the pack 10 pass. Maynor got a bad start an d finish ed fourth. The winn ing order was O'Donnell, Gentry an d Maynor. In 250cc Pro , Brand Johnson (Ven tura Kawasak i) got a second-place sta rt, bu t moved up to fir st. Willie Sim ons (Si mi Honda) won the second moto. J im Co ffey (Yam) took two seco nds an d won overall, Johnson second, and Eddi e Perry third . Results ·28 61 JR : 1. Damon Huffman(Kaw); 2. JesseJames (Kaw); 3. Bobby W ine (Yam). 61 INT: 1. Joel Tokarsky (Kaw ). 61 EX: 1. Steven Kotajarvi (Kaw) ; 2. Kayl e Johnson (Kaw). B3 BEG: 1. Gary Hard (Han); 2. J immy W alt man (Suz); 3. J oey Moore (Kaw). B3JR: 1. Ronn ie Densford (Han); 2. Robert Forest (Suz); 3. Sean Bla nchard (Yam). B3 INT: 1. Chris Cole (Suz); 2. M ike Kiedrows ki (Kaw); 3. A la n Pierce (Kaw) . B3 EX: 1. Lance Johnson (Kawl. 83 PRO: 1. W illiam Surratt (Kaw ); 2. Lance Jol"ln son (kaw); 3. Scott Brown IKaw). 125 BEG DIV 1: 1. M ilan ChytI l ISuzl; 2. Ron Meyer (YamI; 3. Glenn Gordy IKawl. 125 BEG DIV 2: 1. Der reck Bernard (Vam); 2. Gary Wr ight (Suz); 3. Allen Stewart ISuzl. 125 JR DIV 1: 1. Jeff Sills (Suzl: 2. Les GallHonl: 3 . A lan Pierce (Hon), 125 JR DIV 2: 1. M ickey Elsberry ISuzl : 2. Troy Pryor (Suzl: 3. Larry Henry (Han). 125 1N 1. Glenn ea.e (Hon ); 2. Tony Toste ISuzl: T: 3. J im Coll ier (Kaw) , 12 5 PRO: 1. Doug O'Donnell (Su zl; 2. Doug Gentr y (Vam); 3. Bruce Maynor (HanI. 25D BEG: 1. M ichaa l Kennedy (Honl: 2. s teve Nelson (S uz); 3. Steve Yosh im ot o (Yam). 250 JR: 1. Jos ie We lten (Suzl; 2. Tony Seibe rt (Han); 3. Bruce W indsor ISuzl. 250 INT: 1. Da.e Moore (Vam); 2. Ron Econ om u (Yam); 3. Mike Watson (Yam). 250 PRO: 1. Jim Coffey (y am); 2. Brandy Johnson (Kaw); 3. Eddie Perry (Yam). VET EX: 1. Randy Lew is (Hus); 2. Bob Dun ham (Yam); 3. Lee Joh nso n (Yam). VETINT: 1. Robert Fortier (Ma i); 2. Ron Cole (Mai); 3. Kent Shepa rd (Yam). VET J R: 1. Dave Kri bell(Hon): 2. Gilbert Zauaca (Suz); 3. Wa lter Hard (Han). 500 J R: 1. Robert Forti er (M ai); 2. Bolly Throck· morton (M ai); 3. Bren t Smith (Suz). 500 INT: 1. Randy Knox (Yam ). 500 PRO: 1. BobSchulz (KTM ); 2. Greg Torgerson (Yam). Legends prove true at Sunwest MX By Dert Jerke P ERRIS, CA, MAR. 27 Two legen ds from th e '60s and a thi rd in the making. all com- • peted in the Sen ior a nd Vets classes a t th e o pening ro u nd of th e Su n west Series a t Perris Racewav. O n the sta rting li ne was J eff Smi th, Wor ld Mo tocross Cha m p in 1964-65, n ow PR man [or Bo mbardier, as tride o ne o f Can-Am 's new 500cc monsters. Nex t' to h im sa t Californ ia's prem ier flat tra cker in th e '60s,Chuck (Feets) Mi ne rt, Then o ne row back in th e Am at eu r line was Mike Good win , th e man who introd uced us a ll to sta diu m motocross. Minert, aft er tryin g unsu ccessfull y to convi nce the sta rter that " us old fell as shou ld be given a h ead sta rt, " pulled a IO-yard hol eshot that would ha ve made Bob Hannah proud. He h eld the lead for one lap u ntil Su n wes t Cycles' dyn a m ic duo , Da n Ayers and Bill Dobbs, went to the fron t a nd th e win s in th e 250cc and 500cc Vet class. Smith, wh o go t sand wiche d a t th e start, came around in 11th, bu t showed the crowd tha t th e big shoul de rs he developed from wres tling those BSAs around a n MX track 20 years ago were still strong enough to hand le the rocket thrust of the Can-Am. By th e fifth la p he was reading the was h label on Minerr's jersey and got by short ly a fter to ta ke thi rd overa ll a nd th e Senior win over Feets. For the Women 's race. 21 lovelv ladies showed up o n th e lin e. Prior to th eir race, if yo u stro lled th rough th e pi ts. yo u woul d have th ought the clo thi ng manufact ur ers sent mod els o u t to d ispla y th eir new lin es. but th ese gal s were here 10 ra ce an d a lot o f the m were very fast. ;-.;ot jus t fast [or a woman. bUI Iaassst period . Kar en Leiringe r, Distr ict 37' s n u m ber o ne ladv, sho wed wh v a's sh e hel d th e lead [o'r th e firs t two la ps wit h so me b li ste ring ridi n g. H o wever. wh ere Lei ringer 's rea r render sto p ped . ~l erced es G onza lez's fro nt rend er bega n . In her ch arge 10 get th e lead, Gonzal ez pulled a sky shot o ff th e in fie ld j u mp th at scared th e cro ws off thei r telephone lin es. By th e th ird lap sh e roosted by [or th e lead and the wi n . Roxie Klatt , j us t back [rom du ty with Uncle Sa m , fin ished a stro ng third over Char leen Ho and Nat alie Stuebner. Results MIN I EX: 1. Ge ne Baldwi n; 2 . Fra nk ie Br undage. M INI AM : 1. Ron Wes t; 2. Mi ke Wi ese . MINI NOV: 1. Jaff Capt; 2. Mike Sando.al. M INI BEG: , ..Randy Persl ey; 2. Wendy Berg. 500 EX: i . Mike Baker; 2. Gordo n W ard. 500 AM: 1. Bob Petritz; 2. Pete Vetrano. .500 NOV : r. M ike Dondel; 2. All en Knowles; 3 . Mike Neff. FOUR STROKE EX: 1. Randy Norman. FOUR STROKE NOV: 1. Greg Benbow : 2. Gary W iteck; 3 . Fred Paxto n . WOMEN EX: 1. M ercedes Gon zalez; 2. Karen Leitin ger: 3. Roxi e K1 . 8tt WOMEN NOV: 1. We ndy Berg; 2. Bonny Colli ns; 3. Roxa nne Ray. . 250 EX: 1. Mike Baker; 2. Bria n Manley; 3. Craig Adams . 250 AM : 1. Ken Campbell; 2. Luc De Ley; 3. Charles We rt z. 250 NOV: 1. Bryan Cathey: 2. Allen Knowles; 3. Chris Pe nn ingto n. 200 EX: 1. Randy Vett o; 2. M ike Sixbery: 3. Chris Lance. 200 AM : 1. Jason Pr ate r; 2. Frankie Br undag e; 3. Cra ig Lee. 200 NOV DIV I: 1. J oseph Crouch ; 2. Jim Ger· ma n; 3 . Steve Burdene. 200 NOV DIV It: 1. M ark Van scourt; 2. Jim Shamb lin; 3. M an Milne. 500 VET EX: 1. Bill Dobbs; 2. Nick Costello; 3. J ohn Perry. , . 250 VET EX: 1. Dan A yers: 2. M ike Baa l; 3. Sam Groce. 200 VET EX: 1. Phil Nyla nd; 2. J eff Larsen; 3. Gary Meyers. 500 VET AM : 1. Rick Sowma . 250 VET AM : 1. Mike Goodwin . 500 VET NOV: 1. Bob Lambert; 2. Ervin Rolfe . 250 VET NOV: 1. Fred Collins; 2. Larry Berg. 250 SR AM : 1. Bill Harr is. 500 SR AM : 1. Dave At kinson. 250 SR NOV: 1. Norm Neville. 500 SR NOV: 1. Gordon W ard. Thompson takes Corona 250s; Hames, Johnson share Open By Elaine Jones Photo by Dan Mahony CO RO NA , CA, MAR . 26 The Pros were out in for ce a t th e Corona Raceway, Sa turday n igh t, still hyped up from Ascot and loaded for bear. In the 250cc Mo ney IT it was Mike Kirby who got th e jum p on the field with C urtis Ca n non second an d J eff Springm an th ird . Roger Tho mpson a nd Randy Bird ma de up th e rest of the fiel d. It took Thom pson a nd his KRW/ Mike Mockbee-tuned Kawasa ki two la ps to take Springma n an d it started T hompson on h is way . T wo more laps wen t down before Thorn pso n found a chi n k in Ca n non's armor and mo ved himself to seco nd. Kir by o n his Fontan a Racin glTony Den iustu ned Yamaha proved to be no easy tas k and time was ru n n in g out. Thompson took a cha nce on the white- flag lap a nd came u p with all the marbl es as he took the checkered flag [or the win . Kirby was second and Bird on his T R-sponsored Yamaha wa s in for third. In th e 250cc Monev half m ile it was Kirbv aga in wit h the quick reflexes o ff the lin e, foll owed by T hom pso n, Bird a nd Ca n non. T hev held th ose posit ions unr il rhe seven th lap wh en Thom pson pu lled o u t a ll th e stops. went [or the lead a nd ca me up wi th it. ma ki ng Kirb y and Bird bridesm aid s [or the second time . .( T h e first meet ing of the Open Monev bovs was in the T"T and it was Ca n non th ai gOI h is Ya maha o ff first with Pete Ham es on th e Doughert y Ca n- Am second a nd Fonta na Ra in g' s j eff J ohnson thi rd . T wo lap ' in to th e race. Hames roo k over th e lead a nd never loo ked back. Ca n no n a nd Joh nso n ba n led th e rest o f th e way [or second wit h Ca n no n gell ing th e nod . Roger T hom pso n, ~l ike H al e and Darren Hulbert ro unded o u t th e field . T he Open Mon ey half m ile sa w H am es 0 [£ o n top with J ohnson second and Thompson third. Johnso n sta rt ed putt ing th e pressure on im med ia tely but it was not until the six th lap th at he was a ble to put hi s big Harl ey in th e lead . Eddi e Sa n Roman , wh o has been reall y gelling with th e program hi s last few o u tin gs, was fifth o ff th e lin e but slowl y an d su re ly sta rted working hi s way through tra££ic a n d round himself in th e third slo t o n the sixth lap. Hames ca me righting ba ck. but seemed to lack the ponies to sta y with Johnson 's Harley and had to settle [or second. San Rom a n held off a ha rdchargi ng Roger Thompson to pick up third. T he Open Expert haH mi le had a three-way battle for first between Dean Bro o ks, Darren Hulbert and John Barr ickl ow. Bro oks got off on top bu t it was short-Lived, when Hu lbert blas ted into the lead on the second lap. Brooks then had Barr icklo w to contend with and he was able 10 hold h im off for rive laps before Barr icklow round the hole he was looking [or and went on by. With two laps to go , Barr icklow was ab le 10 hold on to seco nd. Ba rr icklow added the 250cc Amateu r/ Expert wins to hi s ni gh t's work. to pping Ro n Bell and Do n Driggs in the IT and Bell in the haH mile. J am es Steer was another double winner, besting Don Meiner and Bo b Graves in th e Open Am at eur IT and Graves and McCann in th e half mile. Matt Stoutenberg wa s the big Mini winner, taking the IT over Lyle Dove and Timmv Walton and beating Stan Sweaney and Walton in the half mile. Results TT MINI : 1. Matt Stoutenberg (Vaml; 2. Lyle Dove (Vaml; 3. Timmy Wal ton (Vam). 250 NOV: 1. M ichael Hart (Han! ; 2. Denn is Vall (Bul); 3. Brian Runyan (Vaml. 250 AM /EX: 1. John Barr icklow (Vam): 2. Ron Bell (Yam): 3. Don Drigvs (C·A). OPEN NOV: 1. Randy Doug las (C· A!; 2. J im Kesler (Yam); 3. Richard Schroeder (Yam). NSOTHG: 1. Da. id New (BSA); 2. Stan Sweaney (Yam); 3 . Bob Huntsmen (Kaw). OPEN AM : 1. Jame. Steet (Yam); 2. Don M ein er (Y a m~ 3. Bob Graves (Vaml . OPEN EX: 1. Shawn Leipold (Vam); 2. John Bar ricklow (Yam); 3. Bob Huntsmen (Yam) . 250 MON EY: 1. Roger Thom pso n (Yam); 2. M ike Kirby (Ya m~ 3. Randy Bird (y am). OPEN MONE V: 1. Pete Hames ( C-A~ 2. Chrks Cannon (Yam ~ 3. Jeff Johnson (Han). HALF M ILE MINI : 1. Ma n Stoutenberg (Yam); 2. Stan Sw.a~ ney (Yam ); 3. Timm v Walton (Vam). 250 NOV: 1, Don Ambrose (Yam); 2. Rust y Gaita (Yam); 3 . Br ian Run yan (Yam ). 250 AM /EX: 1. Joh n Barr icklow (Vam); 2. Ron Bell (Vam); 3. Jeff Runya n (Yam). OPEN NOV: 1. J im Kesler (Yaml; 2. Michaal Hart (Yam); 3. Kan King (Yam). NSOTHG : 1. Bob Hu ntsmen (Kaw); 2. Stan Sweaney (Yam). OPEN AM : 1. Ja mes Stee t (Vaml; 2. Bob Gra.es (y am!; 3. Pat McCa nn (Yam). OPEN EX: 1. Darr en Hulbert (Vam); 2. Jo hn Bar · rick low (Yam); 3. Dean Brooks (H· D). 250 MON EY: 1. Roger Tho mpson IKaw): 2. M ike Kirby (yam); 3. Randy Bird (Yam). OPEN MO NEY: 1. Jeff Joh nson (H-D!; 2. Pete Hames (C-A); 3 . Eddie San Roma n (C o .• .A)

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