Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126656
Jeff Stanton (291 outdueled Don Schmit (61 for the overall win in the 1OOcc Amateur cia... Bader Manneh (111 took second in 125cc B Modified while Kit Vick topped the 125cc Stock cia... Ross Ohayer (121 head. to the 51cc (4·81 win as Billy Brown takes a spill. Gordon Bowden slipped through traffic to take his second Senior cia.. title. 16 Vick of Texas while Darling netted DNF the second with a twisted knee. tbird spot behind jeff Bowling. Late founh. Vick also contested the ModiAfter two motos, Georgia's Mitch in the moto, Bowling slowed with a fied division and posted a pair of Mashburn was the top favored rider mis-firing engine and Knight took thirds before he DNF the final. with six points. Phillip Page of North second to win the championship by In 250cc B Stock action, Suzuki Carolina and Smith were tied for one point over Stanton. Asked how it pilot jerry LeBlanc of Texas posted a second witb eight points. felt to lose by such a slim margin, Stanton replied, "It's OK, he's from third in the opening moto and held Early in the final moto, Masbburn the second moto lead with two laps moved up and settled into second Michigan too." Stanton came back in the 1000c remaining when he crashed in the behind Page, thinking his overall Amateur class and squared off with whoops and destroyed his throttle. was ~ure. Smith, however, had other Don Schmit of Maine in a winnerNorth Carolina's Ricky Orr had been ideas and charged back from a poor take-all final molO. Despite relentless chasing LeBlanc and took the win, stan. As the last lap nag was brought pressure Irom Schmit, Stanton held exhausted. David Green posted first out, Smith slipped past Mashburn the point and claimed the crown for and second place finishes but was and with the checkered less than 100 perhaps unjustly disqualified on a yards away, Smith let out the stops his Alpine Yamaha and Hi-Point sponsors. seemingly minor technicality after and took the win in what was nearly Barr's Competition/House of Yamthe final moto. The crown fell to Orr. a three-way photo finish. Smith aha-sponsored Ricky Darling was The opening 250cc B Modified earned the crown in a tie score with pumped to win both Stock and Modi· moto saw leaders Donnie Phelps and Mashburn. Mashburn was overcome fied divisions in 125cc Bracing. Kevin May tangle and crash on the with emotion and later said. "I didn't Darling came away with all three first lap. Phelps DNF bur came back know Smith was coming up so fast. for a pair of convincing wins in the wins in the Modified class, edging He got by before I could do anything Bader Manneh on the last lap of the final motos. about it." final. Manneh took the runner-up Coming into the final moto with Pee Wee Texan Ross Dhayer came trophy. In winner's circle, Darling five points each, Colorado's Tim Wahlback from a slow start on his Collin was joined by fellow Georgians Shan· berg and Ohio's Larry Barrett led the Edward Pee Wee Racers-prepared non Ivey, third, and Keith Brady, Yamaha and finished third in the title chase. Both, however, crashed at fifth. the start ofthefinal. Barrett DNF but opening 50cc moLO. Dhayer confiIn the Stock class, Darling took Wahlberg charged back to finish dently sped to wins in the remaining moto one ahead of Team Green's Kit eighth, only to see the championship moLOS and officially claimed the slip away by one point. Oklahoma's crown after passing an engine tearVick. Darling's second-moto charge was halted by a flat tire. "I've just Tracy Smith took the crown with a down with flying colors. switched from a four-ply tire lo a 1-5-6 tally. Bryan Smith of Team Ohio won Cransford's Kawasaki-sponsored both opening 60cc Stock moLOS with two-ply, because of the weight. I think that cost me the race," said mith was crowned again in the long leads. In the final, Smith fought Darling. Open B division. North Carolina's back from dead last to finish founh. • _The nu,mber one plate. }V.enL tP. _ Kc;n .~~f!e'y. ~Pfl_t.h~.rjrs! .mqLO_ !.>l}L. •• __ ~rptt!J. ~~~ ~I)'!f!lpion and jeff Dal was runner-up. Dally was again top contender in the 60cc Modified class but a broken chain in the opening moto held him ~o tenth overall. California's "Flying: Finn" Steven Kotajarvi took the crown aIter sharing moto wins with Hank Moree and Dally. Ridingoneofthr~ Yamahas in the 40-bike field, Damon Bradshaw ran frequently at the fronL but crashed out of contention i'n botb Stock and Modified classes. Kawasaki/jT/Super-Seer/KaJGard-sponsored Junior Jackson of Illinois won five of six motos in 850c (7 -II) action to take both Stock and. Modified class wins. Bryan Smith., backed up his 65cc Stock victory with a second overall in the 80cc Stock (7· II) class. jackson posted a perfect score in the Modified division after Florida's Chris Marlin fell from the lead on the last lap of the final. Yamaha rider Marlin earned second overall. Without a doubt, the Stock and Modified divisions of the 85cc (12-13) group provided the week's wildesr racing. Wheel-to-wheel battles involving up to four riders oftenlasted for the entire 20 minutes with freqent changes in the lead. Ronnie Tichenor, William Surratt, Kyle Lewis, Larry Ward, James Woolridge and Scott Brown, each claimed a molO win. California's Surratt was the only rider to win more than one moto. Going into the final Modified moLO, Brown, Woolridge and Suratt were tied for first with six points each,. Pi loting a lone Suzuki, Brown passed Tichenor in the early laps and led th way. Eventually, Woolridge chal-, lenged Brown's point position in a tense winner-take-all dice. With three laps remaining, Brown was riding on a flat tire and got sideways over the scoring jump, causing Woolridge an himself to crash. The crown was up for grabs and Tichenor took over the lead while Woolridge remounted in second. Surratt, however, had built momentum in his charge back from last place and with two laps remaining, Surratt passed Woolridge to finish second. and claim the title by one point ahead of the Tichenor/Woolridge tie fo second. Kawasaki/Knobby Shop Interna-· onal-sponsored Surrau was a top contender for a double class win, bur leading the second Stock moto, witl1; two laps'remaining, a flat tiredroppe.d him to II th for an eventual founh, overall. Yamaha/Scott/Hi-Point· sponsored Tichenor earned the title with his 3-2-2 score. In the 85cc Stock (14-15) division, Ray Sommo of New Jersey earned top honors after fellow Kawasaki rider Keith Turpin of Georgia was set back in a crash at the stan of the second moto. Turpin won the other two motos to net second overall. Turpin topped the Modified class by a comfortable margin over Honaa rider Mark Melton. In the Stock division, Melton was slowed in moto one with a burned-out clutch. Yamaha/H i-Point/Jones-sponsored Lisa Akin of Michigan defended her 1982 Women's division crown with wins in all three motos. Kawasaki's Kim Douglass came back from a bad second-mow stan and eventually edged Californian Mercedes Gonzales for the number two slot. Nonh Carolina's Gordon Bowden imd john Kone of Michigan finished first and second, respectively, in last year's AMA National. After Bowden won a third-moLO dice for the lead, Bowden and Kone agreed on the same status for J 983. "I'll be back next year," said the H&H/Coliseum Cycle/Trim-sponsored Irishman Bowden, "and it would be nice to try out one of those four-stroke Hu kys