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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126647
check out some of his lines, but 1 just didn't seem to be able to do it. 1 felt out of place. 1 was glad to get away with a second and be healthy for next weekI" 500 International Magoo left little or no doubt as to who was fastest in the mud of timed practice. His fast time of2: 14.201 was nearl y three and a half seconds faster than second-fastest Carla. Honda's Graham Noyce was third fastest followed by Glover and Yamaha Support rider Warren Reid. Kent Howerton's factory Kawasaki 500 waterpumper left the pack in a vapor trail to the first tum, then traded the vapor trail for an anchor let down a little late. Chandler slipped by on the inside as the late-braking Howerton went wide. By the third turn, Carlqvist had the lead after Chandler coasted to a stop in the mechanic's corner and turned the fuel tap on before restarting. The perfectly timed miscue stopped him right in front of the mechanics, ABC's film crew, the annoucing stand and a goodly portion of the spectators present. Glover, Suzuki's Alan King, Brad Lackey, Honda's Andre Malherbeand Husqvama's Leif Persson trailed Carlqvist. Suzuki's Harry Everts and Noyce lingered in the first tum and Chandler was away third from last. Glover kept Carlqvist honest for a few laps, but the Swede had an eightsecond margin by the seventh lap and 15 seconds by the ninth lap. The only change in the top five was caused by a Malherbe miscue. A fall dropped him two places. Chandler, who had moved to an amazing 13th place by the end of the first lap, picked orr Husqvarna USA rider Andy Stacy and Howerton on the next lap and jumped to seventh place on the third lap. Chandler caught Lackey on the sixth circuit, but fell as the two went into "Rattlesnake Gulch." At the halfway flags, Carla held the lead firmly over Glover, King, Lackey, Chandler, Malherbe, Yamaha Support rider Tim Locey, Yamaha Japan pilot Jukka Sintonen, Noyce, Howerton and Scott Johnson. Lackey, Reid, Chandler and Noyce were engaged in a fairly close fourwaybattIe.Then Reid had the firstmishap of the day on his private Yamaha that would lead to his unofficial title of heartbreak rider of the day . He ran over a bent nail and was forced to drop out with a flat tire. He crossed the line for a finish. Chandler went by Lackey and moved in on King. The two battled and Chandler went outside and up the bank as they dropped onto Carlsbad Raceway's " Freeway" and flew by King in the air. At the 30-minute mark in the moto, when American Wrangler Series riders are just about finished, it appeared that the Americans were fading as the Europeans moved up. King, it turned out, was having shock problems, not conditioning problems. As the rnoto drew to a close, Carlqvist enjoyed a lead of more than 20 seconds over G lover and the amazing Chandler. Chandler had started poorly and taken two minor falls , yet he and Glover battled for the last lap with Magoo falling just shy at the line. King was fourth ahead of Lackey, Malherbe and Noyce. Noyce came from dead last to seventh. His charge for sixth, like Chandler's, fell just short at the finish. Howerton was eighth over Sintonen and Locey. Chandler was the unfortunate one to go too wide at the start of the second moto. Carla, Glover, King and Howerton were sweeping past on the inside when Chandler got strai htened u and ulled the tri er . He got his front wheel even with Howerton's rear wheel as Howerton was forced over by riders on the inside. Magoo's bike burrowed its throttle-side handlebar into the mud and Locey and another Yamaha and Honda fell on Chandler's downed machine. His bike was the last up. As it came from the mud, a bent exhaust pipe and a tweaked front brake hydraulic line were among the obviously damaged parts of the bike. Chandler tried a lap, but the brake line caught the wheel and caused him to crash. Meanwhile, back in front, Carlqvist led for one lap before Glover launched by on the downhill. " I was riding too tight," Glover would say of the race later, "I wasn 't riding like I had been riding in the Nationals. I tried a shock setting that Carla was - running and I felt good with it, but it turned out to be a little too soft. 1 went back to my good 01' National shock and dusted 'em. 1 rode a lot better the second rnoto.' Glover led from the second lap followed by Carlqvist, King, Howerton, Reid, Lackey and Sintonen. Reid passed Howerton on lap three, but other than that the top eigh t rernained static until lap eight when Howerton repassed Reid. King gassed it past Carlqvist on the " Freeway" downhill and stretched out a little margin. That left the order at the halfway £lags Glover, King, Carlqvist , Howerton , Reid and Lackey. Sintonen was behind Lackey , and he, Lackey and Malherbe were close enough to be a threat to each other. After the race.King commented on the last 10 minutes of the rnoto, "We keep blowing shocks. 1 don't know whether it 's because I'm so big and heavy or what. The last 10 minutes I was just hanging on," His problem was obvious to Carlqvist: " With about five laps remaining, I saw King missing lines, so 1 just waited," he said. Carlqvist went by King and the complexion of the race changed. Glover had the overall win sewed up a few laps before, but with Carla in second, the scores would be tied in points. The winner would be decided on elapsed time for the two motos. Broc tried to drive, but Carla had been too far ahead in the first moto, Carlqvist was second, King third and Howerton fourth. The rest of the top 10 read: Malherbe, Lackey, Noyc e, Sintonen, Everts and Thorpe. "It's a little bit upsetting to me," . said Glover after the race "·bu t (Top) Support winner Brian Myerscough slides through a start. (Above) Carlqvist was on the gas all day. (Below) World Champ Brad Lackey rode a production Yamaha to fifth.