Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

aw a y left Kawasaki 's Mark Ba rn ell o n th e gro u n d . " Hicks h it me a nd I went down - rea l ha rd ," said Barnetl. " I ca me ou t o f it wit h some bru ised ri bs." j o h nso n managed 10 pull o ut a second or two o ver O' Mara at li mes , bu t O ' Mara closed to with in a bi kelen gt h a t th e fi nish . j ohnson, however, held for th e win ove r O 'M ara , Hick s, Kell er a nd Ma rk McLaren. Barnell circu la ted the tra ck slo wly in the ea rly la ps, th en p ick ed 0 [[ severa l riders to fi n is h n inth. H e'd ha ve 10 qual ify for th e fin al s by ri d ing a semi. " It 's hot OUI th ere," said O 'M ara . " T here isn ' t a ny place o n th e tra ck wh ere yo u ca n cool down." L ech ien a nd Ward pulled clea r of th e pack in the last h eat , with Yamaha Support ride r jim H olley and G lover keepi ng close co m pa ny for third a nd fourth, respectively. Lechien managed 10 scoot away from Ward af ter a lap, while Gl over wa s pa st H oll ey a n d zeroing in o n Ward. Gl ov er pulled al ongside Wa rd th en sa iled pa st o ver a set of do ubl e jumps. G lover cu t Lechien 's lead down to abou t three seconds on the last la p , but it wa sn 't eno ug h ; Lech ien wo n ov er Gl ov er, Ward, Holl ey and Kaw asaki 's Billy Liles. Semis Dymond mad e a det ermined bid to make the fin als by jelling to th e lead in th e first o f two sem is - a lead which h e kept a ll th e wa y. Kell er took up third a head of Barnell, who seemed content with third (th e last transfer spot ) until lap five. H ead in g o ver a jump, Barnell nudg ed in side of an unsuspecting Kell er a nd jammed in to second, an d th e pair fin ish ed 2-3 ahead o f McLaren . " I was l uc kv 1 fi nished," said Dym ond. "A rock o r so met hi n g punch ed a hol e in the cra n kca se. 1 lo st all o f th e o il a nd my pa nts a nd bo ots wer e covered wi th oi l." S uzu ki's A.j . Wh it in g, L iles, Rya n a nd Gear Ra cew ea r's Scooter Stafford head ed th e sta rt of semi two , but Sta ffo rd was £l yin g. By th e end o f la p two, Sta ffo rd was pas t Rya n a nd Lil es , the n pressured Wh itin g . H alfwa y th rough la p three, Sta ffo rd was OUI from , a SpOI h e held to th e fi n ish . In th e clos ing laps , Whiting dropped 0 [[ th e pace a nd Lil es moved in 10 fin ish secon d, whil e Hollev grabbed th ird ove r Myerscough a fter th e p a ir ca me th rou gh th e pack . Whiting to ok fifth. Last Chance Qualifier Suzuki's Erik Keh oe was a t the head o f a tri o including teammat e Wh iting a nd Myerscough wh ich took 0[[ and left th e rest a t th e sta rt of th e Last Chance Qual ifi er . The three sta yed within a second of eac h other for th e fir st tw o laps, the n Keh oe managed to build up a short lead. Wh iting a n d Myerscough, h owever , stayed in tandem nearly a ll th e way in their quest for the last transfer to th e final s. Myerscough finall y succeeded in gelling aro u nd Whiting on th e la st lap, and it was winner Kehoe a nd Myer scough he aded for th e two 12lap main event mOlOS. Ryan and T eam T amm 's Andy Sta cy rounded out th e top five. Finals . H ead in g into Orlando, Lechien was the onl y rider with more than one Supercross win in th e 1985 series, and he was looking to boost h is total from two to three. Lechien's performance in th e first rnoto was supreme, as h e took 0 [[ with a clean holesh ot and wa s o n hi s way, while Ward, johnson, Glover , O 'M ara , Bowen a nd Hannah wer e locked in bailie beh ind. "I wa s just tr ying to ride sm ooth and set a good pace in th e ea rly laps," said Lechien. And i t was a p pare nt ly worki ng, si nce he ma naged to leave Ward , G lo ver a nd the rest behind, bu t not bv more tha n a few seconds. Ba iley, 'ho wever , found himself in the DNF co lu m n sh ortl y int o the fi rst lap. " T he re was a pile-up," said Bailey , " a n d 1 came out of it wit h the exha us t pipe broken a way from the cyli nder a nd the shifter jam me d through the cases. There wasn 't much 1 co u ld do. I keep telli n g myself things ha ve to get better .. ." By la p three, Ward, Glover a n d johnson h ad eac h tak en a spill , a n d the order behi nd lea der Lech ien wa s O 'M a ra , Bo wen, H anna h and j ohnson , wi t h W a rd a nd Gl o ver keep ing compa ny for sixth a nd seventh. O 'M a ra , Bowen, H an na h an d j ohnson staye d in a tight pack , ru n n ing a few seco nds a head of Wa rd for th e next th ree laps. H ead in g into lap seve n, Lechien had a few seconds of breathi ng room over O ' Mara, bu t th e ba ttle for seco nd wa s sti ll raging : Bow en, joh nso n an d H ann ah wer e ri ght o n O ' Mara's h eel s. Ward and Gl over were as they were - six th and sevent h - a h ea d of Barnell, Kin g a nd Sta ffo rd , Bowen 's co ns ta n t hammering o f O'Mara fin all y paid 0[[ on lap 10 h e got a beuer drive o ver a set o f doubl e j u mps a nd sa iled past O 'M ara to put a dead lock o n second. Littl e cha nged in th e fin al two circui ts a n d L ech ien cru ised in fo r th e win - by three seco nds - o ver Bowen , O 'M ara , j ohnson , H annah , Ward , G lover, Kin g , Barnell an d Stafford . " I tr iedto ride as co ns is tent ly as possibl e," said winner Lech ien , "a nd it wo r ked o ut,': T he stan o f mor o tw o , h o wever , was not qui te as simple for Lech ien, since G lover came 0 [[ the line with him and kept th e pressure on through th e first la p . Bo wen immed ia tely took up second a head o f j o h n son , Bu rn wo rt h, O 'M a ra , H annah and Ba iley. Wh ile Lechien managed to keep h is front spot thro ugh th e first la p , G lover was still li ke a shadow , running onl y inches behind. And by th e start of lap two , G lover was out fro nt and pulling away , while Lech ien was dropped back to a secure second , clea r o f th e third pl ace ba il ie between Bo wen , joh nson an d O 'M ara . Bo wen , however, was in ching close r and closer (0 Lcch ien . " Broc got arou nd me , a nd 1dec ided to let h im stay th ere in the ea rly la ps," sa id Lech ien . " T he way peop le were fall in g down , any thi ng cou ld 've ha p pened ," G lover led th roug h lap six, th en took a n exc ursion th rough the hay ba les. In th e str uggle to ge t h is bi ke back o nto the tra ck , Gl over los t h is precious two -second lead and Lechien jam me d pa st . By th e time Glover finally got back under way, bo th Bowen · a nd j ohnson had go ne by, and Glov er was knocked to fo u rth . O 'Mara held fifth a head o f H annah a nd Ward, Lechien motored a way from Bowen to th e tune o f tw o to three seco nds in laps eig h t through II , but Bow en began to close th e gap in th e fin al two laps, carrying teammate j ohnson with him. Gl o ver took a no ther sp ill a nd dropp ed ba ck 10 fifth beh ind Hannah, Lechien 's win ca me bv two seco nds over Bowen a nd johnson . whil e H annah h eld for fourth a he ad o f G lover. O 'Mara , Ward , Burnworth , King a nd Bai ley rounded o u t th e top 10. Lechien gave tuner Chris Haines a big hug as th e tw o met in winner' s circle. " I wa s th inking a bo u t th e champ ionsh i p th e wh ol e ti m e," sa id Lechien. " When Bro c go t by me, 1 rea ll y di d n ' t wa nt to ge t ne xt to h im . . A lot o f th e g uys th ink 1 try to run th em 0[[ th e track in the stan, a nd 1 o Keith Bowen has come on strong during his last two supercross outings. f inishing both at second overall , He is currently eighth in points. didn 't want Bro c to try to run into me a n d tak e me o u t. 1 kind o f let him go a nd he we nt down o n h is own , " After th at , I co u ld see Bowen ge ttin g pretty close. 1 had to gra b a hold o f m yself a n d pulled awa y a bit , T his is g rea t - two win s a nd a second h ere in three yea rs!" " I took a fall toward the end," said Bowen . " I wa s ge lli ng real tir ed - th e tr ack was o ne of th e roughest I' ve see n . When my mecha n ic ( R o n H e ben ) gave m e th e halfwa y sig nal. I though t i t shou ld 've bee n lat er in th e race , I ca n feel myse lf ge lli ng stronger a nd stronger eac h week - maybe I ca n p u ll off th at first w in in Dall as," " I was trying to p ush my tea m ma te ( Bo we n) to ward Lech ien, " said johnson , " so h e wo uld' ve been the ov era ll winn er - but I guess I didn't push him hard eno ug h ." " I managed to get two or three seco nds o n Lech ien. " sa id Glo ver, " bu t th at m ish ap in th e wh oops cos t me - th at 's life in the fast lan e, T h e p oint rac e is gelli ng a nd clo ser - I ca n 't keep gi ving up poi n ts." For Barnell , the track wa s a to ug h o ne. " My short legs weren't the hot se t-up with all of th e whoops," sa id Ba rn ett. " I was ge ll ing pounded o u t there." 1 25cc Pro-Am Mich igander Eddie Warren was the class ac t o f ihe fir st o f two six-la p heats: he left th e p ack short ly into th e fir st lap an d set o u t in a ra ce of hi s o wn. G eorgi an Mark Crozier had a hold o n secon d in th e ea r ly laps, but Su zuk i Suppon rider Mike Healey bl a sted pas t o n la p five, Warren won o ver H eal ey by in im p ressive 15 seco n ds, whi le third went to Croz ier o ver T aylor Marcell. An swer -sponsored j eff Gl ass co p pe d fifth ove r T eam Green 's M ik e j ones. Warren's father a nd tuner, Ed , wa s kept plent y bu sy in th e time before th e fin al mo to by ins ta ll ing a new cylin der o n th e Kaw asaki. Tea m G reen 's Rodney Barr sai led o ff with th e lead in th e fin al heat , with Georgian Keith Turpin a nd Larry Bro oks in tow . Barr looked to · be a sure bet for th e win until lap four, when he landed ha rd off a dou ble jump. Bro oks, past Turpin and i nto seco nd, sna tche d the lead a nd ran away to the win . Barr got back under co nt ro l to tak e seco nd a t the fin ish over Turpi n arid Yamaha rider Mike Bia s, "I've bee n having tro u b le wi th th e suspension a ll n ig ht ," said Barr. " I' m ho ping for a good sta rt in the ma in." Warren and Broo ks .headed the pa ck o n th e start of the 10-la p ma in even t, but Wa rren was a ble to soon break free of Brooks a nd was agai n o n h is wav . Crozier hel d third over H ea ley a nd Turpin, wh ile Barr was o n th e move in six th . On lap fou r, Wa rr en was enjoying a th ree- to fo ur-secon d lead over Brooks when disaster struck : a slower rider crashed at the end of a whoop section j ust as Warr en moved in for the pass. Warren managed to stay u pright, bu t spen t severa l seconds backi ng hi s bi ke away fro m the ha y bayes he had become lodged in . Brook s mo tored past in the confusion, as did Crozier , a nd Wa rr en got ba ck in the ch ase thi rd . "Someon e ra n out in th e track as the guy fell a nd waved their a r m s at me, " said Warr en . " I got stopped dea d." Brooks styled to th e win, wh ile Warren pass ed Crozi er o n lap five a nd h eld th e spot to th e finish . Barr had th e most impressiv e ride, finishing a close third. H eal ey ca me in for fo urth a head o f Crozier and T u rp in. " I wen t back to the sta nda rd H onda C R I25 suspe nsion a fte r experi me ntinga lot," said Brooks, "a nd it worked o u t fin e. It feels good to win o ne ." " It was st u p id th e way I los t th e lead," said Warren , " bu t I'll ha ve 10 wa it until next wee k in Dallas to tr y for a nother win," Warren carries a huge point lead over Barr into Dallas, 125 points to 89. • Results 25Occ: t . Ron Lech ien (Hon) 1-1 : 2. Keith Bowen (Yom l 2-2; 3 . Rick Johnson (Yom) 4 -3 : 4 . Johnny O'Mara (Hon ) 3 -6 ; 5 . Bob Honnah (Hon ) 5 ·4; 6. Broc Glover (Yam) 7 -5 ; 7 . Jeff Ward (Kaw) 6-7 : B. A lon King (KowI 8·9; 9 . Billy Li les (Kaw)1 ' -'3: 10. SCOll Burnworth (Suz) 17-8; 1 1. J im Holley (Yam) 13-12; 12. G08t Breker (Kaw) 15 ·11 ; 13 . Brian My ers cough (Suzl 12 -15; 14 . Mark Barn ell (Kawl 9 ·18; 15. David Ba iley (Hon ) 20 -1 0: 16 . Erik Kehoe (Suz) 14-16; 17 . Scooler Slafford(Yom) 10-20; 18. JoJo Keller (Hon) 16 -17; 19 . Micky Dymond (Hus)19 -19. 125cc PRO-A M : r . Lorry Brooks (Han ); 2. Eddie Warren (Kaw); 3. Rodney Barr (Kaw ); 4 . M ike Heelev (Suz); 5. Mark Crozier (Hon ); 6. Keith Turpin (Han); 7 . J eff Gloss (Honl; 8. Brell Salander (Kaw); 9 . M ike J ones (Kaw); 10 . John Greaves (Kawl; 1 1. Rodney Phillips IVam); 12 . Chr is Taylor IVom) ; 13 . Doug O'Donn ell (Kaw) ; 14 . Robert Anzalone (Kaw ); 15 . M ike Bias (Yam); 16 . Lance Newsome (Hon ); 17 . Alan A ndr.ou (Kow ); 18 . Kyle Tallent Su z); 19 . Toy lor Marcell (Kaw) . POINT STAND INGS 25OCc 1. J eff W ord 1174); 2. Broc GloverI173); 3. : Ron Lochien (16 91 4 . Johnn y O' Moro (160); 5. Rick ; Johnson (1 58); 6. Mo rk Barnell (14 1); 7 . Scott Bu rnwort h (1301; 8 . Keith Bowen (124); 9 . Bob Hannah (96): 10. Oovid Boiley (95 ). 125cc: 1. Eddie Warren (125); 2. Rodne y Barr fB9 ): 3 . Mark Crozier (79) ; 4 . Keith Turpin (6 1): 5 . Denn is Daft (4 1): 6 . Jeff Glo.s (39); 7 . Carroll Richardson (31 ); B. M ike Jones (29); 9. BillyWhilley ' 1 1 10. Fred Andrews ( 19). 22 ; 7

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