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/126783
(Above) Rich Oliver tries to get around Mike Harth (88); (below) Dale Franklin (48) couldn't get past Santiago Londono. Roberto Pietri tried extra-short pipes on his VF750F Interceptor Superbike; finished second overall behind Fred Merkel. end I started tasting blood." "This shows that sometimes twoleg races can work," said Pietri. "The AMA girls and the referee did a great job and we ran ahead of schedule. It's good for the spectators because they gel to see two starts, and I'm very happy with the results." Results 1. Fred Merkel (Hon) 1-1; 2. Roberto Pietri (Hon) 2-3; .3. Sem McOoneld (Han) 5-2; 4. Rich Oliver (Kew) 4-4; 5. Mike Herth (Han) 6-5; 6. Keith Pinksteff (Su.) S-6; 7. Jeff Heney (Han) 7-S; S. Randy Skiver (Hon)9~7; 9. Rueben McMurter (Han) 3-16; 10. Charles Wllev (Su.) 10-1 0; 11. Terry Hampton (Han) 12-9; 12. Kevin Monahan (Kaw) 11-11; 13. Dale Zlock ISu.) 13-12; 14. Mark Hislop (Su.) 1413; 15. Sruce Lind (Han) 16-15; IS. Claude Hislop (Su.) ONF-14; 17. Kerry Sryant (Kaw) IS-IS; IS. Den Zlock (Su.117·17; 19. John Sredy (Kaw) lS19; 20. John Williams (Hon) ONS. POINT STANDINGS: 1. Fred Merkel 136; 2. Sam McDonald 104; 3. Ru.ben McMurter 77; 4. Roberto Pietri 66; 5. John Bettencourt 53; 6. Rich Oliver 52; 7. Dale Ouarterley 51; S. RickV Orlando 42; 9. Mike Harth 27; 10. Glenn Barry 22. Labrosse dominates Formula Two By John Ulrich PORTLAND, OR, AUG. 12 Canadian Alan Labrosse dominated Formula 2 at Portland International Raceway - a racetrack he'd never competed on before this event - by winning the heat race, starting from the pole position and crossing the finish line far in front of the rest of the small field that showed up for this Pro-Am event. But although the grid lacked sheer numbers - only 19 riders entered the race, and only 16 started the final- it did not lack talent. Pocono winner Sam McDonald was there on the American Honda RS250R; so was Don Greene, who finished second at Pocono on his self-tuned Champ' ion/Castrol/Arai/KaI-GardiFox Yamaha to take the F-2 points lead; so was third·at-Pocono John Williams on his Rotax-powered Can-Am, former points leader Chris Steward on his Yamaha, local favorite Dale Franklin on his Yamaha, and Dave Busby on a Rotax-engined Kobas. The hard part for most riders seemed to be getting through all the practice sessions intact and making the grid. Williams was among the fastest in practice on Saturday, but his bike seized. He rebuilt it Saturday night with parts borrowed from Busby, and the bike seized again in the last practice Sunday. This time it stuck at the end of the gigantic Portland straightaway, throwing Williams over the high side and leaving him with a concussion - when he awoke he thought he was at Sears Point, was told he was in Portland, and decided not to ride. McDonald crashed the RS250R at speed late in Saturday practice, whacking one el bow and a knee hard. He was in lip-biting pain the rest of the weekend, and said the fingers on one hand never .stopped tingling. Immediately after the crash he was carried to an ambulance by Roberto Pietri; but McDonald elected not to see a doctor before the final race. McDonald's crash was made easier by the fact that he had a spare RS250 his mechanic (and brother) Phil McDonald had prepped for emergencies. But McDonald still faced two heat races (F-2 and Superbike) and three main events (a F-2 and a two-leg Superbike final) on Sunday. Worse, the cramped seating position of the RS250R made his elbow hurt worse than it did when he rode his Superbike. Labrosse slid out in the last practice on Sunday, doing no damage to him· self and little to his Yamaha but coming away from the incident a little leary of turn three, a tricky lefthander. Franklin would crash in the same spot later, in the heat race, and not let it reduce his final-event charges into a corner a bi t. Busby didn't crash before the race, Chris Steward heads off the track after unsuccessfully trying to lap Michel Pellerin on the outside of turn three. He saved it. Alan Labrosse was the fastest man in F-2 all weekend. Roberto Pietri carries Sam McDonald to the ambulance. but had problems getting his Kobas jetted despite the help of Bob Work, the man behind Steve Baker's 1977 F-750WorldChampionship. As Busby tells it, he can't get the pilot jets he needs to make his bike pull hard off the corners - it is too rich - although it makes serious power on the straights. He tried to compensate with main jets, ran out of experimental time in practice, and guessed at jets before the heat race. Meanwhile, Santiago Londono had hooked up with Greene in practice. Both reported that their HH-cylinder-equipped Yamahas were running well, and the way Londono stayed firmly attached io Greene in practice made many observers believe the young Columbian sponsored by a chocolate company - Muss - would be a factor in the race. That showed in the heat race. Busby won the start on his Kobas, ahead of Franklin and Labrosse. By the second lap of the five-lap heat Labrosse was past Busby and Londono was right behind Franklin. Franklin crashed on the third lap; Londono stayed in third place behind Labrosse and Busby and held off Steward and Greene and McDonald to the finish. McDonald had worked his way up from 11th gingerly; brother Phil had tried to talk him out of even riding, but McDonald decided to go for championship points. So Phil encouraged him to take it easy in the heat race, aim for a second-row start, save his energy for the F-2 final and the Superbike races. Busby's bike was noticeable slower (Continued to page 54) 11