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(Above) Gary Jones roosts his XR500 towards second in the Open class
and first in the 500cc class. (Above right) Open winner Dave Gerig leads
Mike Baker on the TT section of the course. (Right) Bill Jewell flew his
Mota-Meister Can-Am to second 50Occ. fourth Open. (Below) Don
Griewe (5x) leads the Open pack over Jones (J1). Gerig (3) and Baker.
Gerig, Jones win CMC
Saddleback Thumpat~on
By Kenneth Stein
IRVINE, CA, MAY 29
David Gerig and Gary Jones aboard White
Brothers-modified thumpers took the lion's
share of the cash at the Continental Motosports Club's fifth annual Four-stroke Cham16
pionships. Gerig collected his
bucks with a win in the prestigious Open class with its guar-
anteed purse, while Jones chose
to do it the hard way with a second in
the Open class and a win in the 500cc
class.
In marked contrast to years past,
when the fastest bikes were heavily
modified one-off specials, Gerig won
on a Yamaha TT600 that differed
from stock with only a pipe, fork
springs and a rear shock.
Jones campaigned an 'S!! XR500
Honda that was slightly more modified as it sported an RM465 front end
and a different swingarm and modified stock shock.
Relatively stock TT600s, XR500s
and !!50s, Can-Am Sonics and KTM
504s were the order of the day as technology advances four-strokes from
the showroom to competitive levels .
Jones flew out of the first corner of
the 500cc rnoto, followed closely by
Vince McMahon (KTM) and Randy
Norman (C-A). McMahon caught
Jones in the third lap for the lead, but
faded in the sixth, as first Jones, then
Norman slid by.
One lap later, a young woman who
was photographing the race chose an
unfortunate time to run across the
track, and was hit by Norman as he
flew over the hill. Her injuries were
apparently not serious enough to
require hospitalization.
By the time Norman resumed the
race, he had lost nearly a lap on the
leaders. He rejoined the chase for a
few laps, but shaken by the accident,
dropped out in the 10th .
McMahon, still fading, was caught
by Bill Jewell (C-A) in the eighth lap,
and called it a day in the 12th. Jones
finished the race unchallenged, with .
"Mr. Bill" a distant second.
The second moto featured another
Jones holeshot, wth Jewell and Nor- \
man in tow. Unhampered by further
moving obstacles, Norman slid by
Jewell on the hard, dusty track on the
sixth lap. Jones, however, was long
gone, so Norman had to settle for
second, ahead of Jewell, who took
second overall.
The Open Pro class saw the addition of five riders to the 500cc class .
