Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

"The Love Boat" or drive south for some racing. Sixof them took a drive, and two of them - Steve Martin and Steve Crawford - won main events at round 13 of the Central Valley Speedway Club's Visalia venue. In Handicap racing, Martin (wild and crazy perhaps; but not the comedian) went three for three to take home the trophy, becoming the twelfth different winner on the track where variety is king. OU the 20, Martin held off Randy Griffith to win his heat, then did it again in his semi. The main was almost an upset as young jason Chism held off everyone for four laps before finally fading to fourth as the pressure from the north got too heavy. Martin won it, followed by Greg Martz and Crawford. Local hot guy "Rocket Rod" Sullivan, not quite dialed into his new bike, didn't even make either main. The Scratch main was all about gating - Crawford got it, the others didn't. john Volk was second, followed by Mark Dragony, making it 1-2-3 in both mains for the northern riders. OHMVRC Chairman Mike Bishop honors Honda's Ed Glynn (top, right, and Darryl Bassani (bottom, left) for their support of OHV programs. Results SCRATCH MAIN: 1. Steve Crawford; 2. John Volk; 3. Mark Drogony; 4. Randy Griffith. HANDICAP MAIN: 1. Steve Martin; 2. Grog Martz; 3. Steve Crawford; 4. Jason Chism; 5. Randy Griffith; 6. Rocky Robinson. sec DIV: 1. Robert Fairchild; 2. Brian Ash; 3. John Koch; 4. Mark Obradovich; 6. Derek Johnson; 6. Terry Hardin. MATCH RACe: Griffith del. Martin. Faria,: Martin hot at Auburn By Jann Houston AUBURN, CA, AUGUST 3 The "other Faria" from the North, David Faria Jr., did the family name proud with a win in the Scratch Main event here at Auburn. Leaving the gate from the outside slot, Faria went wide on turn two and left himself in third place as Bart Bast look the lead from the pole. Duane Yarrow was second. It appeared to be an "also ran" situation. Faria, more determined and riding the outside still in the first lap, overtook the entire field. He managed to hold it, sometimes only by i,nches, to the triumphant finish. Yarrow was second, Mike Delacy third, and Bast took what was left. Mark Zeissler, winner of two NorCal Handicap mains in recent weeks, looked well on his way to another for the first four laps of this one. Steve Martin, a pressure threat for the entire event, moved under Zeissler style in turn four heading for the white flag, taking the lead as Zeissler slid into the pit gate, and retired one lap early. Tom Ferris moved into second, and Delacy was third. Charley Haines made Bryan Henrikson work for his win in the Division Two main, while john Proto ran away with the honors in Third Division action. Bobby Hedden outrode Scott Brandt in the junior Division to resume his winning ways. Brant was second and Tommy Hedden third. • Results HANDICAP MAIN: 1. Steve Martin; 2. Tom Ferris; 3. Mike Delacy; 4. Pat Linn; 5. Mark Zeissler; 6. Greg Martz. SCRATCH MAIN: 1. David Faria Jr.; 2. Duane Yarrow; 3. Mike Delacy; 4. Bart 8ast. SEC Otv: 1. Bryan Henrikson; 2. Charlie Haines; 3. Mike Solis; 4. Oirck Sauer; 5. Rory Rindle; 6. Da08 Perri. THIRD DIV: 1. John Proto; 2. Jeff Holmes; 3. Rod Ramirez; 4. Bill Thomas; 5. Ernie Morris; 6. Taz Harvey. JR DIV MAIN: 1. Bobby Hedden; 2, Scon Brant; 3. Tommv Hedden; 4. Coors Wright; 5. Craig Reed; 6. Ousti Schroeder, l } , I I. I ~ I J \ \ Commission approves $7 million tor OHV projects By Michael Bishop SAN DIEGO, CA, JULY 25-26 The ninth meeting of the California OffHighway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission in San Diego set many precedents in user-agency cooperation. In the past, county agencies and even local service districts could apply for - and receive - OHV grant money without user-group support. The result was often Taj Mahal-style restroom buildings, but very few actual OHV opportunities. With the creation of the OHMVRC, the decision to approve or disapprove OHV grants fell upon its seven-member commission, many of whom are avid off-road users. On july 25, the commission looked at over 43 applications for OHV grant monies, for a total of $10 million. Chaired by Ed Waldheim, the Grant Gq'TIJll~tl.ee,spel"ll_sevlll1 hours dec~d,- ing what was needed, with final say left up to the commission after itevaluated public testimony, committee and staff recommendations, and grant applications. \ Grants totalling $1.5 million were unanimously approved for the Bureau of Land Management. They were great projects, and there was no negative input. The largest grant will go towards the building of a new campground at the Imperial Sand Dunes, which is just south of the Gecko campgrounds - this is Green Sticker money well spent! Another grant will be for the printing of Desert Access Guides; a third is going towards the set-up of a staging area near Clear Q~ek. J( 11 The Forest Service made 23 grant requests - many of which asked for five years' worth of opration and maintenance money - which the Committee looked at very carefully. O&M funds have the potential to consume half of our Green Sticker money allotment every year; so, until we can formulatea policy to address this problem, O&M requests have been cut back to two years. By the way, there was incredible input from the public regarding the Forest Service's requests. Comment came from several organizations, including the California Four Wheel Drive Association, CORVA, and the AMA. All grants which received public support were approved; several which didn't were denied. All agencies concerned were put on notice that they must form User Advisory Groups and seek out support from clubs .and organizations which are familiar with the areas in question. One in particular was a $17,000 req uest to re-route a trail in the San Bernardino National Forest. The CFWDA said that the trail was fine as is and that the re-route would be pas.sable by twowheel drive vehicles, but not those with a Green Sticker. Therefore, except for funding some needed signs, the request was denied. Local grants were hard to resolve, but all feasibility studies to increase OHV opportunities were approved. A project in Lake Madera was denied due to many unresolved problems regarding nearby housing developments. On the other hand, expansion of Prairie City OHV Park in Sacramento was approved, along with O&M funding for one year. Likewise, DeAnza Cycle Park in Riverside County received a SI million development grant for trail construction, campgrounds, signs and a gate entry kiosk. Central Valley OHV users will be elated as well to know that expansion and acquisition for Frank Raines Park was approved pending the completion of a positive feasibility study. The main'r,ason the commission chose to meet at San Diego was to find a potential off-road park area close to an urban concentration of OHV users. We looked at Otay Mesa, which has a thousand acres and a lot of local support. It will have a southern boundary at the Mexican border and will skirt a proposed international raceway. The commission voted to support the project. In other business, the Commission honored Vic Wilson for his dedication in serving the off-road public. Also recognized were American Honda's Ed Glynn for his company's outstanding support and equipment loans for safety programs, and Darryl Bassani of Bassani Manufacturing for his technical assistance with noise abatement requirementsand also for fine-tuning vehides for volunteers. One of our biggest problems is to come up with an access plan for Pismo Beach. San Luis Obispo County has recommended a northern access route, so the staff has prepared a creative plan in which we would trade with SLOC Parks and Recreation for land we need, giving up vegetated and closed land that we can't use anyway.~ This move would increase the net rideable area by 430 acres, and we would also acquire land to the north of Pier Avenue for parking and entrance to the park. This plan has been approved and there will be a progress report after our Pismo Beach meeting on September 27 and 29. At Pismo we will approve the policy we need to operate at top efficiency. As you can see, we are working hard to give you the most value for yourGreen Sticker dollar. • Michael Bishop is Chairman of the California OHMVRC ... EditqT:; r,_ 35

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