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LagUI1II winner Hendy abmolli ...... Eddie a..w.on (21) and Mike Baldwin In the early stages of the exching first leg. Mamo" went 1-2 for the win. AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series: Round 22 -Mamola the master before big Laguna Seca audience By Dele Brown Photos by Petrick Beher end Devid Edwerds MONTEREY, CA, JULY 17 While "King Kenny" Roberts was clearly the favorite of the weekend's 70,000-plus crowd at the Champion Spark Plug 200, it was HB Suzuki's Randy Mamolawho took home the overall win with a 1-2 tally in the two lOO-kilometer legs of the Laguna Seca race. Mamola topped Yamaha's 8 Eddie Lawson in a spirited battle in the fint heat, then rode to an easy second behind Roberts in the (inal boUL Both Yamaha riders brokechain adjusters in the races they did not (inish. Honda's top domestic gun, Mike Baldwin, rode courageously to conquer the pain (rom recent wrist injuries and placed third each time out. And while privateers provide some o( the most energetic battling on the U.S. road race scene, Yamaha TZ750 pilots Miles Baldwin and Nicky Richichi came to an agreement between the two rci<:ft" allcl'lUcllidli paJkd I over on the last lap of the day to let Miles Baldwin past him and thus keep the points lead he brought into Laguna. The largest crowd in Laguna Seca history spent three days watching the action, with GP runners Roberts, Mamola and Lawson obviously the (astest riders on the track. A new (ormat was instituted for this event, with a timed qualifying session to select the (astest 25 riders (or the (eature evenL The remainder o( the 45rider (ield raced in a 10-lap consolation.race with its own added $11000 purse. Injury-producing crashes took two potential contenders out before the race began. Kawasaki's Wes Cooley, in his first race since he broke his arm .at LoudoD lastmonth;l felt in Thurs- day practice and re-broke the arm. Cooley was taken to the hospital, where the arm was pinned and he was released by the weekend. Honda's Steve Wise, also making his first appearance since he was injured, fell in tum nine during timed qualifying and struck the Armco barrier. At first it was feared that Wise had re-injured the ribs he had broken previously, but it turned out to be a bad case of contusions and Wise was listed in stable condition on Monday, july 18. Quelifying Despite raising somequestions publicly about the suitability of the punched-out OW69 square-four used at Daytona (or a short course like this 1.9-mile circuit, Roberts nonetheless cut a record lap of 1:07.0911 at an average 101.187 mph. Teammate Lawson was second at 1:07.597, and Mamola (1:08.120), Mike Baldwin (1:08.940) and Miles Baldwin (I :09.940) rounded out the front row o( the grid. Firat leg The story of the start o( the first n-Iap 5eKJDeDt was whO got ofi the line smartly (Mamola and Baldwin) and who didn't get 0(( at all (Roberts). The Yamahas had larger rear sprockets filled to lower their gearing, and according to Yamaha's Kel Carruthers, when Roberts dumped the clutch, the power broke the chain adjuster, allowed the rear wheel to move forward and derailed the chain. So Roberts was out of the first leg after only a few feeL Out on the track, the order was Mamola, Baldwin, Honda Support rider Fred Merkel, Lawson and jimmy Filice; the lauer making a rare appearance on his TZ500. The top three maintained for two laps, then Lawson made his move to third and passed Baldwin for second in turn three of the following lap. Behind them were Baldwin, Richichi, Filice and a tight pack of David Aldana on Baldwin's back-up RS500, Yamaha rider Gregg Smn, four-stroke Kawasaki pilot'Harry K1inzmann and Yamaha rider Rusty Sharp. Lawson moved up quickly on Mamola by lap five, and spent the next 10 laps harrassing the Suzuki star at every opportunity. The two pulled away from Baldwin, and despite the wrist injuries, Baldwin pulled well away from the rest o( the pack himself. At the one-third marker, the order behind the top three was comprised o( Miles Baldwin, Richichi, Filice, Aldana, Yamaha rider Doug Brauneck and Smn. By this time the leaders were into lapped traffic, and in an unrelated incident, K1inzmann crashed in tum six. He was taken to the hospital, but was later released and returned to the uack. On lap 15, Lawson used the power of the Yamaha to make a pass on Mamola as they sueaked by the start! finish line. Lawson led it for three laps as they made their way through the traffic, but then Mamola got back out front. The crowd that covered the hillsides was getting its charity-bound money's worth as Mamola and Lawson continued to stay nose to tail, Jworking up-a 17~ mariPn'()n