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/126757
Riding the water-cooled Honda big-bore works bike, Bailey scored his first
AMA SOOcc National win.
Bob Hannah notched his first 1984 victory, He rode hard, but was aided by
Ricky Johnson's mechanical troubles.
race through the first corner over
johnson, with jeff Hicks leading
King and Barnett.
Hannah held a slight lead for only
two laps, when johnson again
motored pa t and settled into a blistering pace. Hannah was up to the
task of staying with johnson for the
next three laps, but then began to fall
back slightly. Barnett and King were
again involved in a dogfight over
third, leading Hicks and Scott Burn·
worth.
On lap six, johnson finally broke
free of Hannah and appeared (eady
for another win. Later in the same
lap, johnson slowed in a whoop section and that allowed Hannah to
sneak past. King pushed his way past
Barnett, then both King and Barnett
easily pulled ahead'of johnson. With
obvious rear suspension maladies,
johnson rapidly dropped off the pace.
Riding in typical "Hurricane" style,
Hannah continued to set a winning
pace over King and Barnett, with
Liles and Canadian Ross Pederson
running fourth and fifth. Lechien
held sixth. With a lap left to go,
Hannah's lead over King read 35
seconds, with Barnett' maintaining
third another five seconds behind.
Hannah slowed in the last several
corners heading into the finish line
- his first win of the season assured
- and passed the checkered flag for
the victory over Ki ng, Barnett, Li res
and Pederson. johnson limped in for
20th.
Yamaha team manager Larry Griffis explained johnson's problem.
"The oil line that connects the reser·
voir to the shock body broke, allowing all of the oil and nitrogen to
escape," Griffis said... After that, there
was no damping left in the rear at all.
Ricky's taking it all very well - he
knows what he can do."
"I would have rather beat johnson
fair and square," Hannah said. "It
always feels good to win - any way I
can win I'll take it. I put on a good
by lap six Bailey had the Lead all to
himself. Glover kept dogging the
rear wheel of Eaton in the dice over
third, but was unable to get around.
Floridians Kenny Keylon and john
Reinholt followed for fifth and sixth.
Going into lap 10, Bailey enjoyed
an eight-second lead over Breker.
Glover, who had finally broken free
of Eaton, began to close the gap
slightly on Breker. Reinholt held
fifth over Keylon.
In the final laps, Bailey extended
his lead to nearly 30 seconds and
rolled across the finish line for the
win over Breker. Glover could not
make up the difference on Breker and
was forced to settle for third ahead of
Phil Larson, who had wedged himself ahead of Eaton in the dosing laps.
Between mOlOS, Bailey's tuner Cliff
White changed the rear shock suspensions were stressed to the maximum by temperatures in the low 80s
and the rough track.
The start of the final moto of the
day easily went to Bailey, with Breker
and Glover wheel-to-wheel behind.
Breker dropped to third before the
end of the first lap, leaving Glover in
a merry chase for leader Bailey.
Glover managed to tay within
three bikelengths through lap four,
but then Bailey pulled away aboard
his water-cooler.
By lap 10, Glover was looking at a
l5-second deficit, and leader Bailey
was not backing off the throttle.
Breker, in third and another 30 seconds
behind Bailey, had to contend with
pressure from Eaton.
Bailey held his position for thewin
by nearly 30 seconds over Glover,
with Breker finishing third over
Eaton and Mark Murphy. Reinholt
rolled in for sixth.
"My goal this week was to win my
first 500cc 'ational," Bailey said,
"and I feel really good about it. It was
pretty much a trouble-free day, but
I'm sure that Broc will be right in
there later in the season - he's not
push in the first moto, but I'm really
in no shape to stay with him. I was
determined not to let him getaway in
the second moto, but as it turned out
it was easier. It would've been a very
good race had he stayed in there."
King finished second overall behind
Hannah, a brilliant finish considering
the fact that he was on a production
Honda. "I had pretty good starts in
both motos, but as anyone will tell
you it's hard to reel in 20 seconds on
Bob Hannah. Barnett gave me some
trouble in the second moto, but he
stuck his front wheel in a berm on the
back section. That was all I needed to
get past him and I stayed there to the
finish.. "
500cc
David Bailey, in his first National
outing on a 500cc bike, had little
trouble adapting to the larger watercooled machine. "It weighs only 10
pounds more than the 250 I ride in
Supercross, but with all of that extra
power it feels much heavier. I'm hopingto get back.on the winning groove
today."
Kawasaki's Goat Breker, not completely recovered from bruised kidneys and broken ribs sustained in a
crash in the Atlanta Supercross a
week earlier, was also on a liquidcooled machine.
Broc Glover, the defending 500 c
National Champion, rode a mo tly
stock air-cooled Yamaha YZ490.
When the pack roared through the
loamy starting area, Breker got the
best drive and led Bailey, Hondamounted Eric EatOn and Glover
through the next several corners.
Breker, who admitted he was riding
with much pain, gave in to the pressure from Bailey two laps later when
Bailey pulled alongside on lap three
and made a clean pass for the lead.
Eaton and Glover were involved in
the battle for third, approximately 10
seconds off Bailey's pace.
Breker managed to stay within a
few bikelengths for a single lap, but
the type to lose many races or motos
in a row. I'm not going to get over·
confident over this - it's nice to win
but I have to keep things in perspecti ve. Breker was tough in the first
moto, but he's riding with injuries. I
know I could've going a lot faster
today, but I'm sure that Broc and
Breker might have gone faster had
things gone their way. I'm looking
forward to Daytona."
•
Results
1 25cc: 1. JettWard (Kaw) I - 1; 2. Johnny O'Mara
(Han) 2-2; 3. A.J. Whiting (Han) 3-3; 4. Mike Beier
(Yam) 4-6; 5. Rick Ryan (SU2) 9-4; 6. Mike Crane
(Kaw) 7-7; 7. Tom Rick (Kaw) 10-5: B. Guy Cooper
(Han) 6- 10; 9. DOU9 Dubach (Su21 5- 12; 10. Clay
Hoenshell (Suz) 11-8; 11. Chris Heisser (Hon); 817; 12. Danny Storbeck (Yam) 13- 13; 13. Karl Jar·
dan (Yam) 12- I 4; 14. Rodney Smith (Yam) DNF·9;
15. Carlo Coen (Han) 22-1 1; 16. Jeff Surwall(Yam)
I B- 15; 17. Steve Burdette (Yam) 15- 1B; 18.
Thomas Carson (Hon) 16-19; 19. Steve PatelYam)
14-DNF; 20. Mark McLaren (Yam) 20·16.
2S