Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

" rl-o Q.) ..c S Q.) ;;> o Z (Above) The final ran this close: Howerton (14) ~ook the win over Johnson (17) and Glover (3). (Below) Howerton and Miss Nissan. (Above) Broc Glover and Rick Johnson dice for the win in their heat. (Below) Hakan Carlqvist was top international rider in sixth. Su~rbikers VI Howerton surprise Supelbikerswinner By Rex Reese CARLSBAD, CA, OCT. 28 Kent Howerton was the upset winner of the sixth running of the ABC television network/ Nissan-sponsored Superbikers. It came as Howerton's second Superbikers win; the first was in 1979. It's probably the last major win by the factory Kawasaki rider before he goes into semi-retirement next year, _ 6 and according to Howerton, taking home the victory "was a dream come true." It must be so, because nobody was expecting the 30-year-old motocross veteran to pull off the win; the odds were favoring last year's Superbikers winner and current 500cc World Road Racing Champion Eddie Lawson. Both Broc Glover and Ricky Johnson were considered to be top runners; they were backed by a massive show orrorce by Yamaha. 1982 Superbikers champ Danny "Magoo" Chandler was able to stay on both wheels long enough to present himsel£ as a possif .I 't I-:J :>, 1 \ I l,. '2 II I' I; bility in the final standings. But, as it turned out, Johnson, Glover and Chandler finished behind Howerton after a hard-fought duel in the 10-Iap final. This year's edition of the Superbikers was memorable by the fact that Team Honda and Team HarleyDavidson were absent from the proceedings. Team Honda's absence was due to the fact that their riders were competing at the rain-delayed Springfield Mile as well as the CMC TransCal Series, and that budget cuts made it impossible for them to be in three places at once. So Chandler was competing on a Pro Circuit-sponsored 1985 CR500, instead. On the other hand, the most horsepowerpresent was being produced by Team Yamaha, who was backing five riders on 1985 YZ490s. Besides Glover, Johnson and Lawson, Team Marlboro-Roberts' Wayne Rainey and former 500cc World Motocross Champion Hakan Carlqvist were on the squad. It was obvious that' Yamaha was serious about winning. At the other end of the pits was Team Kawasaki, with only Jeff Ward and Howerton. Compared to the Yamaha pits, the Kawasaki pit area was quiet as mechanics tended to the 1985 production KX500s which were being used for the occasion. Ward, still pumped after winning the I25cc National MX crown, looked good in practice and felt that he had a shot at winning. Howerton also looked competitive as he and Chandler diced around earlier in the day. Danny LaPorte was riding a privateer Yamaha YZ490 for Dallas Baker. This was LaPorte's first race in the U.S. since 1983. Because of various sponsorships, the 1982 250cc world champ is committed to racing in Europe in 1985. LaPorte didn't do well here; in fact, of the international riders, Carlqvist was the best finisher with a sixth in 'the final. Heats The Superbikers is divided into five events: three heats - one each for motocross, dirt track and road racers - then a semi and the final. The top three from each of the heats transfer directly to the main, while the rest fight it out in the semi. Only three riders make it out of the semi, which provides a total of 12 for the final. Ward holeshot the start of the motocross heat, followed by Glover and Johnson, and by the end of the first lap the Kawasaki rider was beginning to feel the heat from those in back of him. Glover roosted by Ward in the dirt t,I ).,1. lJ'~ ~.II.'I"[, track/motocross section of the course to lead lap two, while Ward held off Chandler and Johnson; Carlqvist was fifth. By the third lap of the six-lap heat, Chandler got by Ward, who was also,displaced by Johnson. Chandler began working on Glover, but when they came around to the dirt section, Chandler slid out, losing a transfer spot to the final. In the closing two laps, Johnson was right on Glover's rear fender and the two factory Yamaha riders began dueling corner to corner on the pavement, then into the dirt where most of the passing had been done. Johnson got by Glover to win the heat by a couple of bikelengths. Ward was a distant third, followed by Chandler, Carlqvist, Howerton, LaPorte and Gary Jones. Alex Jorgensen, Mickey Fay and Billy Hemdon - all mounted on Ron Wood-built ROlaxes - led the way in the dirt trackers' heal. Kelly Moran, on a Honda, was considerably off the pace after having a firstlap encounter with a haybale. Chris Carr (W-R), Mike Baker (Yam) and Dan Bennett (Han) were towards the back of the pack. The order remained unchanged for the next couple of laps, but then Baker began working his way up through traffic and started pressing J orgy for the lead. Baker was right behind the leader on the pavement part of the course, but when it came time to move into the lead, Baker took advantage of tbe marginal traction conditions in the dirt segment to pass Jorgensen. From there, Baker had the upper hand on his competition to win his heal. Jorgensen was two or three bikelengths back for second, followed by Fay, Carr, Herndon, Foreman, Bennett and Moran. .~JJ))J 1"'1 JI. .',.Jj.l ~ .. '

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