Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ 00 0') ..... ~ 0. < England's Roger Burnett (9) leads Randy Renfrow (15) and Jimmy Adamo. Renfrow and Adamo finished no better than -seventh. m ixin g it u p with G rant an d Bu r nett for 11th. By lap six. G a rdn er wa s up to thi rd a nd closi ng o n Mamo la whom he passed lat er th at la p as th e Ameri can strugg led w ith a n unsu itable tir e cho ice o n a nearl y dry track . G ardn er seemed un likely to ca tch H aslam in th e short tim e ava ila ble. but la p p in g more th an a second a lap faster tha n hi s teammat e. G ardner made u p the di fferen ce by leaps a n d bounds. tak in g Ma m ol a with h im . On th e very last lap G ardner was in H asla m 's slipstrea m . a nd by making a huge effor t he cha llenged fo r th e lead a t th e very last co rner. H aslam sh u t th e door on him. but switchi ng h is li ne effo rt less ly a t a lmost fu ll lean . G ardner div ed in sid e o n th e wa y o u t. got the p ow er on ea rlier a nd drove hard o u t of th e turn for the line. heading hi s teammat e for the first time 10 yards from th e lin e to w in a th rilling race by a wh eel. Mamol a was on ly a length beh ind in third. " I thought I'd go t it." sai d a phil oso p hi ca l Haslam . " bu t Wa yn e. j ust ca m e fro m now here. I sh ifte d once more tha n he d id goi ng for th e line and that blew it. probably. H e deserved to win. " Further down the field more exci ting ra cing was taking pl ace with McE lnea o u tbra kin g Marsh all into th e ch ica ne tw o laps from th e en d to ta ke fifth. a nd Ren fro w win ning hi s o wn private battle with Sc h lachter for sixth . After th em . Parr ish and Lingham had lonel y rid es. but beh ind, c Do ug Bra un e k was earn ing th e chee rs of the crowd as he repea ted ly fou ght it out with Grant a n d Roger Burn ell on th eir factory bikes going into th e ch icane. I n th e en d. he made th e point often en o ug h to get by th em both . but a t 173-121 halfwa y through th e six-race series . the V. S . team had a mo u ntain to climb. Race 4 (Sunday) With th e track now dry. a repea t of Sat urday's thri lls looked in prospect. but as th e riders ca me out on th e grid for th e fourth leg th e hea vens opened a nd th e Donington circu it was soon a was h . H a vin g a n tici pat ed the rain. Baldw in was the o n ly rider to appear on th e grid a t th e appo int ed ti me. th e o thers hav in g to hastil y do n ra in su its and fit fu ll ra in tires. T he sta rt was delayed 20 min u tes, bu t it was st ill ra ining as th e tea ms gri~ided for the d u llest race in the series. 16 Mamola took the lead from Baldwi n a t th e firs t co rn er and stayed in front to th e en d . Bal dw in was seco nd u nti l half-distan ce when h is throt tle sta rted sticking and he slowed . to be ca ugh t first by McEl nea . exp loiting th e good handl in g of th e Skoa l H eron Suzu ki ro th e full . a nd the stea dy Roger Marshall. Gardner and H asla m never fig ur ed , wh ile tea m ma te Burn ell was sixt h whe n he stopped on lap two to fix a brok en gearsh ift lever, rejoi n ing a t th e back a fter six la ps. L ingham was expected to shi ne agai n in th e wet . a nd so he did at firs t. cha lle ngi ng McElnea fo r thi rd until he slid oH in th e wet a t Co ppice o n la p five. adding a few more to hi s collection o f bruises. T ho ug h th e bike caught fire briefly it was n ot badl y damaged - the scree n was n' t even cracked - and mecha nic Mi ke La wso n had it fixed for th e fol lowing da y. Adamo fin ished a strong sevent h. th is tim e on the right tires. a n d tha n ks to th is and other strong performances fu rt her do wn th e field . th e V .S . team had their best res u lt o f th e series. sp li ting the points 51-5 1 wi th th e Bri ts. Nevert heless. th e series ended its second da y with the Bri tish team headed for victo ry with a co m ma nding 224 to 172 lead . Race 5 (Monday) The track was a lmos t dry for th e fi rst o f th e two legs ru n on th e fin al day. H aslam led from the sta rt pursued by Bal d w i n . Marsh all . Mam ol a , G ardner. McElnea an d Adamo. On lap two . Adamo cha llenged McElnea a t th e Old H a irp in , but co m ing o nto the main straigh t th e motor su dde n ly died a nd Ada mo pushed the bik e to th e p i ts with what turned o u t to be a broken cra n k. With no spare en gi ne. tha t wa s the end of the series for th e red an d si lver Ca g iva . Mamol a swe p t pas t Marsh all oh th at lap , soon fo llowed by McElnea . bu t th e rea l action was a t th e front. wh ere Bal dw in wa s reall y hustl in g H aslam , visibly cu ttin g back th e top speed superiori ty of th e factory NS Ho n da with so me in credi bly la te bra king and much faster cornerin g. H a ving lapped H aney on lap five. th e pa ir came do wn th e ch ica ne together. with Baldwin forc ing his way past, ru nn ing sl ight ly wide but recov er in g to stay a hea d on th e wa y out and lead over the line. Though the fac tory H onda rider tri ed everyth ing h e kn ew to reta ke th e lead in fro nt of h is ho me crowd and gain th e victory he so bad ly wanted . Baldwin was even mo re determined. H e stayed in front to earn a rich ly deserved victory - stra n gely enoug h. h is first ever in th e Match Races. " I reall y wanted to win tha t race, " sa id Ba ldwi n . " I wa s su re he was goi n g to come back a t me: but he didn 't . This is the o ld bi ke. a nd P h il ( McDo na ld ) filled i t w it h oversiz e brak es oH a n In tercep to r su pe r bike wh ich g ives me a lot of ex tra bra king power. I was a ble to ca ncel o u t hi s speed ad vantage by going extra deep in the corners . Th is reall y mak es it wo rt h co m ing, a nd al most mak es u p fo r m y hav ing on ly one da y's skii ng a ll last winter whil e I put m y own team togethe r for th e GPs: ' The race settled in to a n unch anged pa tter n behi nd th e two lead ers. wi th Ma mol a o n th e wrong tir es aga in a nd u nable to get o n term s. we ll ahea d of a similarly a fflicte d Ga rdn er. Lingham was riding in p ain with a n inj ured kn ee wh ich h e co u ld hardl y bend eno ugh to ge t o n the footrest , a n d toured at th e back - he sti ll a lmost la pped H aney, last aga in. Braun eck was ter rori zin g th e British factory riders as usu al . until h is TZ750 engi ne fin all y gave u p an d he parked it for th e wee ken d, but not before impress ing Briti sh specta tors with h is determinati on. Sc h lach te r a n d R en fro w traded p laces thro ugh out th e ra ce. with Sc h lach ter just taki ng seventh, whi le G ra nt rerured th e Suzu ki wit h suspe n sio n problem s on th e unsorted machin e. T he Briti sh led 278-2 13 go ing int o the fin al ro u nd. Race 6 (Monday) T he track was still da mp in p lace s 'as th e ride rs ca me o ut for th e fin al race: Brauneck wrrs mi ssin g with a blow n engi ne. a n d so was Ada mo. th o ugh th e latter 's effor ts to bo rrow a Du cat i 750TT-I from World Champion Tony Ruuer ca rne to nou ght when it was realized tha t R u tter had to ride th e bike in the Brit ish Formu la One champions hip rou nd wh ich was to ru n immedia tely a fter the concludi ng Ma tch R a ce leg. Lingha m decid ed to call i t a day as well . than ks to h is various injuries. a nd with Mick Grant re tiring the Suzu ki for more suspension adj us tme nts a fter six la ps. th at left o n ly I I bi kes in co ntention . H aslam wa s determ in ed to win a t least o ne race. a nd led fro m th e start. but Gardne r had o the r ideas. After dispos ing of McElnea . Ba ldw in a n d Mamol a in the first three lap s, G ardner p ut th e ham mer dow n and in spi te o f th e damp patches ca me withi n half a seco nd of Freddi e Sp encer 's o utrig h t la p record o n th e Honda NSR500 V-4 as he po wered h is NS500 V-3 af ter h is H onda Brit ain teamma te. On lap seven . Gardner sli p pe d past H a slam. co ntrolli ng th e race from th en o n to fini sh 1.5 seconds in front. Mamol a a lso ca ught H aslam , but had to wait until th e very last co rner before slipping th rough under-braking to tak e seco nd a t th e la st gasp . An otherwise un eventful race was en liven ed by Ren fro w's exce llen t ride to sevent h afte r ge ll ing th e better of Parrish . But th e wee kend belo nged to th e Brit s wi th th e fin al sco re a strong 336 points for th e British team to 254 for • th e V.S. Results RACE 1: 1. W ayn e Gardner (Honl; 2. Randy M am era (Ho n): 3 . Rob M cE l nea ,IS uz); 4 . Ron Has lam (Hon) ; 5 . M ike Baldwin ( H o n ~ 6 . Roger Marshall (Ho n); 7 . Richard Sch lac h ter (Han); 8 . St ev e Par ris h (Yam ); 9 . Roger Burnett (Han) ; 10 . Mi ck Grant (Su z); 11, Jimmy Adamo (Ca g ); 12. Jef f Haney (Hon); 13 _ Randy Re nf row (Han). RA CE 2 : 1. Mamola; 2 . Baldwi n; 3 . Gary Li ng ha m (Su z); 4 , Gardner ; 5 _Hasla m; 6 _M arsh all ; 7 , MeEtnea ; 8 . Grant; 9 . Parr ish ; 10 . Ad amo; 11. Bu rne tt; 12 . Ooug Brauneck (Yam); 13 . Schlach ter; 14 . Ren fr ow ; 15. Haney. RACE 3 : 1. Gardner; 2. Has la m; 3 . M amola; 4 . Baldwin ; 5. McElnea; 6 . M arsh all ; 7 . Ren f row; 8 . Schlac hter; 9 . Parr ish ; 10 . Lingham; 1 1. Brauneck ; 12 . Grant; 13 . Burnett ; 14. Ad amo; 16 . Haney . RACE 4 : 1. Mamola; 2. McElnea; 3 . Ma rshall; 4 . Baldwin ; 5 . Gardner; 6 . Hasl am ; 7. Ada m o; 8 . Par rish ; 9 . Brauneck; 10 . Renf row; 11 . Sch lac hter; 12 . Haney. RACE 5: 1. Baldwin; 2 . Has la m: 3. M a m ol a; 4 . Gardner; 5. McE l nea : 6 . M arshall: 7 . Sc hlac hter; 8 . Renf row; 9 . Par rish ; 10. Burne tt ; 1 1. Li ngham; 12 . Haney; 13. Gran t . RAC E 6: 1. Gardne r; 2 . M amola; 3 . Hasl am; 4 . M cE ln ea; 5 . Ba ldwi n; 6 . M arshall ; 7. Renfrow; 8 . Parish; 9 . Sch lac h ter; 10 . Burn ett 11 . Haney. Voices (Co ntinued f rom p age -l) perr ies. a stoc kholder in a large Los An gel es-based transporta tion co m pany. p ossess severa l credi t ca rds from Lo s Angeles-based banks and reta ilers. co nd uct busin ess da il y wi th Los An geles Coun ty co mpa n ies a nd I hav e done fu nd ra is ing work wi th the Bo y's Clu b. We believe we are fortu nate to enjoy th e a bu nda nce of success tha t we do a nd a la rge part of it is due to the varied opport u nities a vai lable in southern Californ ia. Ly n n and I work very hard . pay o ur ta xes a nd get a long wi th th e neigh bo rs a nd our comm uni ty. I'm so midd le o f th e road th a t I ha ven 't had a tra Hic tick et in 24 yea rs. I think we 're prett y good ci t ize n s. H ow ever. because o f a h obby th at m y family regula rl y enjoys, you (Cycle News, April 10) have called m y two so ns, m y w ife a nd I " Re negades" with " . .. wanton d isrega rd o f personal and propert y rights . . ." Well, sir. it is yo u who have wan ton di sreg ard for per sonal rights. I am in su lted a nd resent your na me ca ll in g. You have n o ri ght in term in g m y fa mil y as a " m otorcycle ga ng" sim p ly because one of ou r favo rite past-times is dirt bik e ridi ng. You a re o bvious ly un in formed a nd ha ve made sta tements with prejud ice and ignora nce as a base. You owe us an apo logy! I' m faced with a double-edge sword . On o ne side. I'm ecs tatic that I don' t live in a dis tr ict so p rejudica lly su pervised bv vou , On the o the r side. I dearly \~' i~h I did li ve in your d istrict so I cou ld do so me thi ng to eliminate you r u n fortu nate actions based on ignorance tha t is so evident. Mi llions of ci tizens enjoy th is sport a nd mi llions of dollars a re spent o n it in your cou nty . So me ver y major mo torcycle ma nufacturers a re locat ed in Los Angeles Cou nty wit h th ousands o f employees pa yin g ta xes a nd yo ur sa lary (it's a sha me, bu t a rele' va n t comment, that o ne has to appeal the fi na ncia l aspects). O pen yo ur eyes, remove your ea r p lu gs a nd maybe next tim e yo u won 't ha ve to tak e yo ur foot o u t o f yo u r mouth. Pl ea se be assu red th at I will tak e every opport u n ity to co n vey yo ur a tt itud e to a ll m y friends a n d bu sin ess associates - m an y o f w hom a lso enjoy th e outdoors o n vehicles wit h less th an fo ur w heels. LARRY V. CECH IN Hunt in g ton Beach , CA R icky Graham I a m very co nce rned abou t R icky G raham 's recent crashes . " R ocket R icky" is still num ber o ne and co u ld be number o ne next year as well . but H o nda will most lik el y drop him in 1986 just like th ey d ro p ped Doug Cha nd ler. I su re do hope Graham recovers qu ickl y o r else next yea r h e will be riding o n tea m G oss-Chandler . R O G ER SEDARAT San Anton io. T X Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Inc. .Letters for publication must be typed and double-spaced; short. concise letters stand a better chance of being published; due to the volume of mail no letters can be returned or acknowledged. Send letters to Voices. P.O , Box 498. Long Beach. CA 90801 .

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