Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Series involv.em~n.t, the,cp.m!?af)y \1~s paid out $1,040,000 in point fund money. The point fund for 1984 will again total $175,000. Only one rider, Gary Scott, has collected money in each of the years of sponsorship. Scott has padded his bank account with $102,350 while newly crowned Camel Pro Series Champion Randy Goss has taken home $102,900 since 1977. Jay Springsteen heads the money winners with $138,000. . Harley-Davidson won the AlldA/ Camel Pro Series Manufacturer Point Standings over Honda by a score of 474-392. Yamaha (171). Can-Am (114). Kawasaki (88), Suzuki (57). Ducati (14). Triumph (8) and Rotax (4) rounded out the standings. Points are awarded for the highest finishing positions of eech brand in each National. Harley-Davidson held an "evening of celebration and recognition" in Milwaukee October 29 to honor Dick O'Brien, on the occasion of his retirement as head of the racing department, and newly crowned AMA Grand National Champion Randy ·Goss.· O'Brien, who took over as ri!cing boss on June 10, 1957, received a new Harley-Davidson to ride around the North Carolina countryside of his new home at Lake Norman. He also received a leather jacket from the Camel Pro Series folks and an end table made from XR750 engine parts put together by Carroll Resweber. Clyde Denzer, who worked with O'Brien for 25 seasons, has taken over as head of H-D's racing team. (Above) Raymond Roche, who teamed with Dominique Sarron and Guy Bertin to win the recent 24 Hours of Bol d'Or on an B60cc water-cooled Honda V-4, glides the machine throug~ ~ne of the tur.ns on the Fre,!ch track. They ran with the leading Kawasaki 10 the early gomg, but were five laps down with three hours to go. However. the Kawasaki blew an engine and the Honda was home free. (Below) David Aldana on the radical ELF entry with center-hub steering. Aldana and teammate Didier de Radrigues ran fourth for a long time but broke a gearbox during the night. Photos by Patrick Behar. IN MEMORIAM: Charlie Goodban. a top Senior in AMA District 37 desert racing, passed away Thursday morning, October 27. Goodban had been turning in fine performances through much of the year, but extensive canc~r was diagnosed when he underwent X-rays after a fall. A member of the Desert Motorcycle Club, Goodban is survived by his wife Betty and their children. Memorial services were held on October 31, but cards and letters may be sent to the family at 10439 Nava St., Bellflower, CA 90706. Godspeed. Charlie... 2 1982 250cc World Motocross Champion Danny laPorte will be down under this weekend. riding in the November 5 stadium motocross at Brisbane, Australia. laPorte replaces previously signed Hakan Carlqvist. who will be riding the Superbikers race in San Diego on November 6. In Australia. laPorte will be joined by former 500cc World Champ Graham Noyce. R.J. Reynolds' involvement with AMA Grand National Championship racing will begin its II th year with the 1984 season. To date, through their Winston Pro and Camel Pro Team Hammer (Suz) won the Sunday. October 30. Summit Point (West Virginia) Six-Hour. the penultimate round of the WERA National Championship Endurance Road Race Series. The win put Team Hammer in the points lead of the series. Team Ontario (Hon) held the points leed going into the event but dropped from the race when Randy Renfrowwes involved in a crash with a rider he was lapping in the race's third hour. Team Hammer will take an 1,8-point lead into the series' final round at Road Atlanta on Saturday, November 12. Team Quester {Suz) finished second in the Summit Point event. Mike Melton (Hus) was the overall winner of the Sunday, October 30 Delaware State National Championship Enduro in Bear, Delaware. Melton lost a total of 20 points over the 123-mile run, topping John Martin (C-A) and Kevin Hines (Hus). Both lost 22 points. Mark Hyde (Hus) and Rick Scharphorn (Hus) rounded out the top five, overall. The event was the final round in the AMA National Championship Series. Melton, who had already clinched the title at the Black Coal National Enduro in Indiana on September II, finished out the season with a total of 285 points. Martin was second with 227, while Terry Cunningham, the defending National Champion, finished third with 182 points. The folks running the Miller High life Supercross in San Diego on November 5 tell us that there is a date to be won with Miss Miller. Laurette Kite. The aforementioned folks say that for details on how to win the date. which includes a chauffer-driven limousine and dinner at the Chez Orleans restaurant, listen to radio station XTRA, also known as 91 X, in the San Diego area. Brad Lackey now has a captive audi- e~c;~ for h~s. JTI9\0Cf0\S .tr~nirK v~deos, Last weekend, Brad s WIfe Lon gave birth to their first son. Congratulations Brad and Lori! Late entries: The Superbikers race at Carlsbad Raceway on November 6 may have three more entries by the time you read this. Kawasaki wants an entry for motocrosser Kent Howerton, Honda is reportedly building a bike for AMA Camel Pro Series Rookie of the Year Doug Chandler. and promoter Gavin Trippe is trying to arrange a ride for Superbike Series Champ Wayne Rainey. If all three ride. that win bring the number of riders up to 10 in each heat. If such were the cllS8'." Trippe said that he would have th. top four in each heat transfer directly' to the main event, along with the top three in the semi, for a total of 1 5 riders. Prize monlJY would be raised accordingly. seid Trippe. Northern California flat track staf Chris Carr broadened his horizons a bit last weekend when he took tfie California Superbike School advanced rider course at Laguna Seca, Carr took the course "to learn something new and put something different on my resume." Apparently he learned well, as he clocked a one-minute, 25second lap time on one ofthe school's GPz550s, one of the fastest of the day and not too far off the trad record in the 600cc class. Road recer Wes CoollJY was the on-treck instructor at the Superbike School and between sessions mentioned that his plans for next year are still up in the air. Wrth Kawasaki's withdrawal from road recing and Honda's team alreaet; set for next year. the pickings are pretty slim. Wes did say he will be talking with the Yoshimura team about riding one of their Suzukibased racers, and that if he can't .find a stateside ride, he is thinking about endurance recing in EuroRll! Following the rain-out of the National Motorcycle Racing Association's U.S, Motorcycle Nationals rain date, a decision has been reached on how to settle those class championships still up for grabs. A new date of Novembet 6 has been established to run only the undecided classes aL Atco Dragway in New Jersey, TlTe classes in question are Pro Stock. Super Modified, Super Eliminat~ Super Gas and Stock. Our test of the Husqvama 510TX four-stroke elsewhere in this issue was done with a 1983 model. "We didn't receive as many fourstrokes in the first shipment as we thought we would," said Husqvarna Marketing Vice President.. Mark Blackwell. "and as a result; we're completly sold out, although a few might be IlJft in dealerships. Blackwell went on to say that the 1984 bikes, with minor changes, will "arrive with a limited shipment around Christmas. We will have 11 very good supply of them arriving, in the early spring." Blackwell al ~ said that the prices of the 19 models would be 3-5% higher tha the 1983s. U Pace Management has called a pre. conference for Saturday. Novembei 5, in San Diego, California, to an.., nounce "the 1984 Supercross schedule and the plans for the organizationwhich will manage U.S, Supercross." We're told by a reliable source that Pace will pay the AMA a six-figure sum of money for the rights to Supercross; that sum reportedly $120,000,

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