Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Herndon handles Boyd Raceway STopener "f-j fa ~ By M . O rr BOYD . T X. AP R . 6 Bill H erndo n wo n both the Open P ro a nd Trop hy Dash events in th e open ing race o f th e season today a t Mike Kidd's Former Grand National Champion Dick Mann piloted his Matchless to overall victory at the CVRG's vintage motocross at Sand Hill Ranch. M 1 NT: 1. Chance M att hew s (Han); 2. Brand on NII Farm er (Vam); 3. Clay Lepchenske (Vam). M INI SR: 1. Jeff Emig (Kaw ); 2. Scott y Matthews (Hon); 3. Jo n Garn er (Kaw) . 10 5 : 1. J eff Emig (Kaw ); 2. Scottv Matthews (Hon); 3. Trey Ow en s (Kaw ). BEG: 1. Tommy Holder (Kaw) ; 2. Doug Johnson (Vam); 3 . Leland Long (Vam). OV ER 30 : 1. J im Thom as (Vam); 2. Bill Denton (KTM ); 3. Tony Greenwood (Han ). 125 NOV: 1. Jaso n Ja rrett (Kaw); 2 . Scot tFink en staedt (Kaw) ; 3. J eff M cCauley (Yam). l 25 INT: 1. Tommy Newman IKa w) ; 2. Ke nny Castor (Han); 3 . Ste ve Forkner (Suz). 125 EX: 1. Clay Hoen sh ell (Su,); 2. Pau l Stine (Kaw ); 3 . Rodger M cBr ide (Kaw ). 250 NOV: 1. David Stout (Han); 2 . Jeff M cCa uley (Vam); 3. Dane Hill ary (Han ). 250 INT: 1. M ike S m it h (5u z); 2. Ker ry Thom as (Suz); 3 . M ike Ables (Su,). 500 NOV: 1. Scott Roper (KTM ); 2 . Steve Caru so (Yam); 3 . M arv in M ussyal (Mai). 500 INT: 1. Nate Br itt (Vam); 2. John Davi s (Kaw); 3 . Brett Port er (M -S). 500 EX: 1. Clay Hoenshe ll (Su,); 2. J im Thomas (Vam ); 3 . Paul Stine (Suz). Mann masters CVRG vintage MX By Michael Green BRENTWOO D, CA. AP R. 14 Di ck " Bugsy" Mann, p romoter of th e Cal ifornia Vintage Racin g G roup's (CVRG) Vintage MX, too k bo th Expert class 30 an d overa ll finishi ng ·h on ors with wins in bo th mot o s. T he novel even t a t Sa nd H ill Ranch saw Mann win on an agi ng 500cc Mat chless. but th ere were severa l o ther mach in es o f lo n g- ago o n th e track. in cl ud in g BSAs. CZs. CCM s, R ickmans and Velocettes. One o f th e mor e " mo dern" bikes was th e S uzuk i TM o f Ern ie Cabral. who finis hed fourth overal l. Twent y rider s arri ved early Sun day morning for wha t wa s to be a very la id back da y of racin g vintage din bi kes wit h th e Ca lifornia Vintage Racing G rou p.T heCVRG rul es a llow a ny moto rcycle mod el up to. and in cluding 1974. Un der th e rules. a max imum of seven inches o f travel u p fro nt a nd fou r inches in th e rea r is a mu st. un less docu mented speci fica tion ex ists that shows mor e tha n th a t of th e class limi t. Mach in es and rider class ifica tio ns both var ied. mix in g Experts a nd Amateu rs o n th e fro nt row o f the two- wa ve start a nd Novice riders fo llo wing o n the seco nd wave. T he noi se was unrea l when th e flag dropped fo r th e start of moto one. Bill McCli lllon . on a BSA B50MX and Jim McClinton . on a CCM. led into tu rn one with Man n 's Mat ch less n ot far beh ind. By turn three. Man n was o ff by hi mself to see how many rider he co uld lap . Fred Mork (CZ) a lmos t crashed into a berm on lap o ne . so mehow staye d on. but sta lled h is eng ine a nd lost valuable time o n the leaders. Wit hi n mom ents. th e seco nd wave was ru shing away from the start ing line. wi th Butch Cochran 's 650cc Ch en ney-Triurnph gett ing the hol eshot. It wasn 't lon g befor e Cochran was cu tt in g th ro ug h traffi c o f th e first wave in hot pursuit o f Mann . But Man n was rid in g in g rea t form. a nd had his Ma tch less going wideopen. Mo to two was some wha t the same as moto one , excep t th e sea t on Ma nn's bi ke ca me lose in turn o ne o n lap o ne. O nce Ma nn got th e sea t back in place, he was back on th e gas. T he McClinto n broth ers were o nce aga in run n ing a wa y wit h the sho w. bu t Mann wa s closing in. J ohn Ra ndo lp h (Bu l) wasn 't far behi nd ; he h ad been movin g up th rou g h th e pack steadi ly. Soon th e lead ers ca rne up on traffic and Coc hra n stil l led with E.T. Stair (BSA) and Da ve McClou d (CZ) ba ttl in g for seco n d . On ce t he lead mach in es ca ugh t Den ise McCoy (on a 125 Richman-Zundapp)and Cha rles Regro to (mo u nt ed o n a well -us ed Veloceue). Mann mad e h is move. The o ld ma ster sho t righ t by everyo ne to take th e overa ll lead o nce again . th en poured it on. As Mann ra n aw ay wi th th e lead . th e foll owing order cha nged aro und a few mor e times . McClin ton sudden ly fo u nd hi mself bei ng passed by Mork for fifth positi on. wh ile Randol ph dro pped back to fo urt h . In the Novi ce rac e. Cochra n had an easy victo ry. mainly because he o ut horsepo wered everybody else. Jerry Mead ow s, wh o fini sh ed seco nd in th e first moro , dropped back to fourth a fter bein g pa ssed by Sta ir an d McClou d. Ph il Anderson. wh o finis hed eig h th Novice. sai d , " It was 20 years ago I la st raced aga ins t Dick. H e beat me then . and he beat me aga in tod ay." Results EX & AM OVERALL : 1. Di ck M an n (M at ); 2. Bill M cClin ton (BSA ); 3. Jim M cClinton (CCM); 4 . Ern ie Cabr al {Su,}; 5. Fred M ar k (CZ); 6 . Jo hn Rand olph (Bul). NOV OVERALL: 1. Butc h Cochra n ITr i); 2. Jerry Meadows (BSA); 3. Dave M cCloud (CZ); 4 . Jo hn McC oy IH us); 5 . E.T. Stair (BSA ); 6 . James Den t (CZ); 7 . Ke ll y M oss ITr i); B. Ph il And er son (BSA); 9 . Charles Reg rato IVel ); 10 . Den ise McCo y (Ric). Boyd Raceway. T he H onda -mounted rider came o u t on top ahead of T erry Poo vey (H-D) a nd Sa m my Sweet (H D). wh o fin ished seco nd and third. res pectively. Bu t Poovey cam e back to claim first overa ll in the Open P ro TT main. wi th C ha rlie Orr (H o n) seco nd a nd Sweet thi rd . T he 80cc Sen ior clas s waged a hot co ntes t as Cla yton Hu ll grabbed th e lead in th e short track main . ahead o f Scott Will ia ms and Bill Ri ch ar ds. J r. R ich a rds went to th e inside in tu rn four to ta ke seco nd fro m Wi lliams o n th e first la p . then pressured H ull for the lead . H u ll hun g o n. ta king the flag j ust inches ahead of R ichards. Williams hel d off T im Ka y for th ir d. T h e first 250cc Ama teur sho rt track heat went to T race Pol so n. ahead o f Ala n Pow ers a nd Troy R evert; T odd Ha as led the seco n d h eat for a wireto-wi re win ove r Randy Prince. H aa s got the holesho t in the main event a head o£ Pow ers. P rin ce a nd P ol son . and aga in showed th e field th e way to th e checkered flag. In Open P ro short tra ck ac tio n, Scott Scherb won ahead of Je ff Harder in the first heat . an d R usty Miskovski led Ja mes Huddlesto n toq ua li fy from hea t number two. H erndon was th e win ner o f heat three with seco nd go in g to Duan e Duv a ll. P oov ey took th e fou rth heat ahe ad o £Rusty G o u rley. wh ile Sweet q ua lified in front of Charli e O rr fro m th e fifth a nd fina l heat. _ Dodd Dyson made it look easy in the first semi, tak ing th e win a hea d of Ken n y To lbert . but J oh n G ladwill had to fig h t to hol d the lead in sem i number two . H e fin ish ed on ly in ches a hea d o f J effrey Shelton . who was the last rider to q ua lify. It took three tr ies in th e mai n even t to g t a start sin ce H ern do n was in a hurry to get going . H ern do n grabbed a qui ck lead on the fin al sta rt wi th Swe et. Gourley a nd M iskovski in tow . Sweet pressured for the entire race. but H ern don held h im off to tak e th e wi n .·Miskovs ki an d Gourley d iced for th ird , wi th Gou rley ta king over on th e next to last la p an d Orr got insid e Miskovski o n th e last lap for fourth p lace. Results SHORT TRACK TROPHV DAS H; 1. Bill Herdon (Hon ); 2. Terry Poovey (H· D); 3 . Sammy Sw eet (H- D). 50 : 1. Char les Fonten ot (Yam ); 2. Bill Thompson (Vam); 3 . Bill y Ken nedy (Yam) . 60 : 1. Charl es Fontenot (Kaw }; 2, Der ick Wh iten er (Kaw); 3 . Todd W ay (Kaw ). 80 8 : 1. Ma rk Burc h (Ho n); 2. Der ic k W h itener (Vam). 80 A : 1. Clavt cn Hull (Suz ); 2. Bill Richa rd s. J r . (Han); 3 . Scott Willia ms (Han). 12 5 : 1. Kevin Dubay (C-A ); 2. Clay Carro ll (Han ); 3 . M ike Hale (Vam). 250 : 1. Todd Haas (Han); 2. Alan Powers (Vam ); 3 . Randy Prince (Hon ). OPEN AM : 1. Fred Debr ick (Han); 2 . Steve M ill er (Hon); 3. A lan Power s (Yam ). OPEN PRO: 1. Bill Hern don (Han); 2. Sammy Sweet (H·D); 3. Rusty Gour ley (H-D ). -n 50 : 1. Cha rles Fonten ot {Yam}; 2. Bill Thomp son (Vam); 3 . Billy Kennedy (Yam ). 60 : 1. Bill Richard s Jr . (Han); 2. Clavton Hull (Su,); 3. Der ick W hiten er (Han). BO B: 1. Todd W ay (Suz); 2. Steve Wo rth (Suz); 3 . Chr is Worth (Suz). BO A : 1. Ctevtcn Hu IlISu,) ; 2. Bill Richa rds J r. (Hon); 3. Tim Kay (Kaw) . . 125: I .AndyEmbrey {Kaw ); 2. Ed M eyer (Su z); 3 . Ja ck Surber (Kawl. 25 0 A M ; 1. Bobb y Shaw (Suz); 2. M ike M oor e (Kaw); 3 . Kregg Bent ley (Han). OPEN AM : 1. Kevin Sw it zer (Hon); 2 . Kirk 'rver (Vam); 3. Steve Miller (Han ). OPEN PRO; 1. Terry Poovey (H- D); 2. Charl ie Off (Han); 3. Sammy Sw eet (H-D). OV ER 30: 1. Tom my W est; 2. Eddie Kauffman; 3. .Terry W ebb. • ~ . _ ~ . . . _ 0 · 250 BEG: 1. Jeff Cowley; 2. Dean Br igh t man . Schwantz wins Green Valley RR By Scott Schaefer NO RTH RICH LAND HI L LS. T X, AP R. 21 Fresh from a successfu l racing m onth in Ca li fornia, Kevi n Sch wa ntz re tu rned to his h ome club an d celebra ted by takin g five firsts and one th ird , at the CR RC's ina ugura l races a t Green Vall ey Racewa y. T he Yoshimura/ Su zuki Superbike p ilo t. ridi ng a GPz750 Superbik e sponsored by Klaus Speedwo rks o f H ou ston , took top honor s in B Su per bike. Form u la I a nd 2. H e th en took a stock FJ60 0 from Crossroads Yamaha of Victoria to fir sts in C Producti on a nd C Superbi ke, an d a th ird in B Pro duct ion. After initial d uels in the open ing lap s wit h o th er riders , Sch wa n tz was ba sicall y un co ntested for hi s win s. Schwan tz said aft er the races. "T he track wa s a li ttl e int im idating in p la ces. bu t it will be good p rac tice for next week." referri ng to the AMA Pro- Am a t Will ow Spri ngs. Green Vall ey R a cewa y. whi ch hasn ' t been used by bik es in over 10 yea rs. proved to be a cha llenge to most riders . Complaints centered on the conc re te ba rriers that lin e some of turns. T he track surface seemed very slick bu t ga thered trac tio n over th e ho t day. Accid ents were held to a min imum th ough due mostl y to th e rid ers' extra ca ut io n . J ami e J am es. a seco nd-year racer from Lou isiana. took firsts in D P roduction an d Superbike o n h is RZ350. On hi s brand new FZ750. he won B P roduct ion . a nd took secon ds in A . P ro du ction , A S u pe r bi ke, an d B S uperbi ke. He also took a Ninj a 600 to second in C Superbike. In th e Novi ce ra n ks. Phillip Fish er too k firsts in C Su per bike, C Productio n . an d E S uperbi ke. Pat Williams. Gavi n Bo rha. Wh itney Fann in g. and Mik e McAda ms a ll had goo d days, p icking up severa l troph ies each. T h e Form u la I race prom ised to be one of th e show-downs of th e day. Schwan tz seemed to be the crowd favorite. bu t he wo u ld on ly be ri ding the Klaus G Pz750, after try ing out a Mote -Mart in framed big- bore Kawasa ki a nd p ro no u ncing it " too mu ch of a ha ndfu l." Bob Reto ff, last year 's class cha m p io n, wa s th ere on h is monster GS I IOO. Retoff 's bike had died o n th e lin e in A S u perbike, but he still man aged a n in th af ter thread in g th ro ugh most o f th e pack. Wa yne Even. Ri ck Tetrick. and a host of o thers were gridded near the front , all loo king for an upset. When th e flag dropped, Sch wantz scorched down th e dragstrip front stra ig h taway , but it ap pea red Reto ff's bigger bik e wou ld be enough to blast by Kevin . Reto ff did pass, an d the two traded th e lead a co u p le o f more times in th e ope n ing laps. Retoff had th e pow er o n the str a ig hts. but in the tight 90 0 corners o f G reen Valley. Sch wa ntz would slip a nd slide past hi m. a nd event ua lly Reto ff sett led for a close seco nd. Wayne Even wa s within sigh ting di stance o f th e front pai r and had an easy thi rd. Fourth through 10th places in th e race w ere even tighter with Ruben Loredo. J eff Berg lund. an d severa l top Novi ces dici ng back an d forth th ro ugh ou t the race. O verall , despite di ssension a bou t the track. th e day's raci ng turned out to be so me of th e cl osest the club has seen recentl y. T he tightness of the track tended to keep th e riders more closely spaced th an a t T exa s World Speedway. th e usua l ven ue . Spectators a lso have an excelle nt view here. an d the balmy wea ther brought a larger th an usual crowd.

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