Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Ricky Graham flew to hi. third-streight National win. but it wa. Randy GOA (inset) jumping for joy with hi. second champion.hip. AHA Grand National Championship! Camel Pro Series: Final Round Pontiac TT win to Grah,.m, title to Goss By Jack Mangus & Gary Van Voorhis Photos by Bttrt Shepard & Van V~orhis PONTIAC, MI, OCT. 22 "I did what I had to do," said Pontiac TT winner Ricky Graham, "but Randy (Goss) did what he had to do and he's the champ." Graham, the defending Grand National Champion, entered the event needing a win, while Goss needed to earn but a single point - if Graham did win - 6 LO clinch his second Camel Pro Series title. Graham wasted no time in establishing himself as the favorite LO win the evem as he posted fast time and then went on to win the first heat, the fastest of the four run. "Hey, I'm going for it," said Graham, "I have LO." Goss, who was the 1980 Grand National Champion, also established himself as being in line LO "easily" earn the one,-poim he would need if Graham won. Goss was the fourth fastest qualifier and transferred to the National final in a heat race that had the crowd of 16,333 dirt track fans screaming. Go.ss took command of that race but fell and dropped back to last. He recovered and was apparemly racing for a finishing spot that would transfer him to a semi, when Lady Luck smiled on him and the second, third and fourth place riders collided and Goss finished third LO transfer directly to the final. "My heart stopped in the heat race when I got sideways coming off the oval's fourth turn, hit a rut and then high-sided. I knew if I finished nimh or higher I would have another chance but I didn't want LO have LO ride a semi where, again. anything could happen," said Goss after the heat. Goss rode a steady race in the 25lap main event and finished sixth. He finished the season with 297 points, eight in front of Graham. Both Goss and Graham rode 500cc Rotax-powered bikes as did third place finisher Scou Parker. Runnerup honors wem LO Honda's Mickey Fay and when he was asked how it felt to be sandwiched by two HarleyDavidsons in winner's circle, he said, "Harleys? Well all right, I guess you can call them anything you want." Harley had the Ron Wood produced single-eylinder four-stroke dirt trackers homologated as HarleyDavidsons just two weeks prior LO the PontiacTT. OthercompetiLOrs using Austrian-built Rotax engines in differem chassis set-ups emered them under the Can-Am and Rotax names. Time trials Practice took on a Supercross flavor as the track was I ined with ruts and the fast "oval" portion corners developed berms. Things were a bit beuer for time trials and Graham posted the fastest lap at27.653 seconds. Second fastest, at 27.871, was Team Harley-Davidson 's Parker with Maicomoumed Ron YamamoLO a surprisingly quick third fastest. YamamoLO's 27.908-second qualifying lap was turned in late in the time trial session and it dropped Goss to fourth fastest at 28.074. Rounding out the tOP 10 fastest qualifiers were Steve Eklund, rookie Expert Doug Chandler, Jay Springsteen, Ted Boody, Terry Poovey and Bubba Shobert. Over 60 riders LOok qualifying taps and the cut-off spot, 48th, went to Horace Skiles at 30.180 seconds. Parker summed up the feelings of his Harley teammates and other riders who brought both XR750s and single-cylinder 500cc and 600cc bik:es to the Silverdome: "I tried my XR and I tried the 500. They both worked good but I thought about those 25 laps in the final and chose the lighter 500." < Goss said, "At first the 500 fl;1t strange but after !1;oing back LO th.~ XR, the 500 felt all right and I knew It would be the one LOrideon this track. Beating the track will be the LOughest thing tonight. The track will be everyone's biggest enemy. The holes and ruts are bad and it's scary. Like in the heat race I could get T-boned and npt win the title, but one way to look a!ht is if I get T-boned here I'll lose. the title where if I got T-boned on a mit,e track I wouldn't be walking for a.while." Heats Washington's Breu Barkman ~ed the first heat off the line and the Ci of many racing get-ofCs of the night occurred when the pack funnekd imo the infield in what would tie turn two of an oval track. Former Grand National Champion Ste e Eklund and Honda's Terry Poovey hit thedirtLOgether as the field roared through the next turn, a right hander, ovenhe largest jump, around another tight right hand turn, over a small jump and then around a left hand turn that put them back on the oval at what would normally be the middle of the back straight. Ricky Graham had the lead at the

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