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THE NATIONAL PAPERS Kevin Schwantz Wins Willow Springs Superbike National By Roxy Rockwood T he flag waves o n the first National ha lf mile race o f the season at Asco t Park in G ardena on Ma y II . It will be the 34t h time the track has hosted a Nat ion al event o f this type, makin g it th e longest co nti n uo us running d irt track National in America. T he spotl igh t really sh in es, perhaps for th e first time, on a rider that h as never won the event even th ough he has rac ed itlO previous times. The rid er is Bu bba Shobert, th e sa me Bubba Shobert who has wo n every o ther Na tional din track race currently sanctioned in Cal ifornia a t Ascot (IT), San J ose (mile/shan track) and Sacramento (mile). In four of those previous attempts, Bubba not only d id not wi n the race, he a lso failed to q ualify for th e final. Last September, Sho bert finished a stro ng second beh ind winner SCOll Pearson, wh o ca me wit hi n a few feet of not even qualifying for th e fin al. In May o f 1984, Shobert was in a n och allen ge 10th pl ace wh en hi s gea rbox locked-up a fter th e co nt rove rsia l restart for three laps that fou nd SCally Parker beat in g Ricky G ra ham by a tire tread in the closest ha lf mi le ever recorded si nce th ey started keeping Na tio na l poi nts . But for Bubba the race h as a perso nal note. T he record books say he has never wo n a half mil e Nationa l - but he has. H e wo n the Hagerstown , Maryland fina l last year but it wa s tak en away lat er in th e season due to appea l a nd suspe nsion. It also cost him th e G rand Nati onal ti tle. So , if th e 23-year-old Camel Pro Ser ies points lead er bags the Ascot 20-lap fin al o n May II , he will indeed officially win hi s fir st half mile. Pearso n and Parker will both be ba ck as will J ay Springsteen a nd Rand y Goss, wh o have eac h won th e event four tim es. Bubba 's goa ls are ac tua lly twofo ld. A win wou ld a lso pl ace h is name alongsid e of on ly one o the r rider that has ever won th e IT and th e half mile in the same season . Alex " J or gy" J o rgensen, th e guy th at fell o ff leading Shobert OUI of th e last turn on th e last lap o f th e Ma rch IT. J orgy will al so be back , by the way . Ascot for years was own ed by Ca liforn ia-bred a nd trained racers. Bu t in th e last 14 ti mes o u t the locals ha ve onl y won three times. No Texas -based rid er h as ever wo n the race, but two transplanted Texans, Sammy Tanner and AI Gunter , together won a total of 'seven times - th at was years and years ago. At this point in time Shobert is th e lone T eam Honda factory rider. It should th erefore be not ed tha t in the 33 previous events no rider o n th e Honda brand has ever wo n th e fina l. Graham was clos e last year - but no cigars for seco nd. The half mi les were lon g not ed as th e so-call ed backbone of dirt track racing, th e type of tra ck wh ere all futu re cha mp io ns learn ed th e art o f turning left, but no lo nger. T he re are o n ly five on th e sched u le this year and Ascot has two o f th em - the first and th e last for 1985. Harl ey-David son fan s shou ld not e that th eir brand has won 13 straigh t tim es. for th e longest win strea k by brand still in the books for dirt track Nationa ls. • ;11(: E TC -)llli! : .. s trs)cJJf : .: : J ," FI,.. ~ 'f ... l J. c . ...... And An Arai Helmet Tops Off His Ride MICHELIN HI-SPORT NOW'IN STOCK 120 /70 100 /80 110 /80 110 /80 160 /60 130 /70 140 /70 160 /60 UNBEATABLE • !KliI7ESE~ V V V V V V V V 16 TF11 18 TF11 18 TF11 19 TF11 17 TG22 18 TG22 18 TG22 18 TG22 D.G.T. Approved Street Legal High Performance CALL NOW 800-628-4040 DEALER INQUIRIES INVI TED P . BOX B61 • W .O ILBRAHAM. MASSACHusms 01095 4 13 ·7 34-6211 - OutsKle Massachusetts 800-6 28 -4040 4;JZj»·" LEA THERS GLO VES The intens e demands of Speedway Radng put a d utch to the ultimate tes t A clutch has to wiltlstand the ful~ unleashing of power off the line and, aoooe a ll. never slip. It a lso can't g rab prematu rely lurching into the starting gate. Barnett d utehes took on the "Speedway Challenge" and thanks to Kelly Moran, 1M:lI1 the U.s. National Championship. \Xihelt1er your perlormance demands are for the street. off react or the traek.. Take on a Barnett dutch and win. Contact your dealer. or send 53. for an SO pag e catalog. KEUY MORAN 1984 u.s. NATIONAL 04AMPION ao , Box 2826 . Santa Fe Springs. CA 90670 (213) 94H284 THE All NEW '85 "STAR'S HAVE ARRIVEDI See Them At Your Lo cal M'Star Dealer ~g;;;t' DONNIE HANSEN ~'t.OO MOTOCROSS ACADEMY $ Learn professional rac ing techniques from 1982 250cc National and Supercross Champion Racing techniques incl ude: * Starts * Braking * Jumps * Cornering * Whoop-De-Doos * Block passing * Picking best lines and secondary lines * Also diet. and training programs for proper cond itioning One day Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. '55.00 Two -Day Acade my Private Lesso ns _ $\ 95 .00 Four-Day Academy ' 249 .00 '499.00 For more info rmation on classes and dat es call (805) 252-2445 20 74 1 Satinwood Dr. Saugus . CA 9 1350 740 E Sa n ta Maria St San'a Pa ula. CA 93060 (80SJ 52 5-3 364 . . r,;"· , ,; 1, , WI ~lJ] ... , , YAMAHA , ~mff ~·61ii!iii.~~~ ~ ' £iOill , , ,. t I ... . ' 0 ,. ) , II ::: I ~ t 35 n.