Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

..... The Smit h /Ashcraft t e a m were" leading before t he ir b ike seized , rea lly terrible, said J o h nson . " It drained yo u." T he H on da line/ American Honda(Pro Honda Oi l/Grand Sport Tiresponsored team made a run at making up the one -ho u r defi ci t but ca m e up 18 m inut es short a t th e fi nish . T hey th an ked the Hilltoppers l\1.c. fo r pit ting th em . Ku rt Pfeiffer is really on a ro ll. He has wo n a t least h is class in the last three big o ff-road races - the Las Vegas 400 (overa ll), th e Grea t Mojave 250 (class) a nd n ow th e Baja 500 . ~' We were runnin g good bu t Smi th /Ashcraft were really run n ing good " said P feiffer. " It didn 't look like a nyone co u ld bea t th em if they d idn 't break but th ey d id. We had o ur p rob lem s, to o. but th e bi ke ran so good a nd Sco t (H a rden j did a grea t job .t'Harden was o n th e beach between EI Chi nero a nd Sa n Feli pe when the car b clamp brok e a nd blew th e car b o u t o f the intake m anifo ld ! " I stu ffed it back in a nd tri ed to baby it into th e pi ts but it ca me o u t again ," said Harden , " I used a tie wrap around the manifold a nd it held into San Feli pe -where we replaced th e cl am p . It was a reall y swee t win fo r us. I last won overa ll seven yea rs ago! Harden turns 29-years-o ld next week. The team o f Smi th /Ashcraft was especia lly di sappo in ted, Ashcraft reportedl y had over a 20 minu te lead o n H arden /Pfeiffer wh en th e bi g Husk y o verhea ted. " I tri ed to re-start it and co uldn' t so I walked back a m ile to the H onda pi t and was there before the next bik e carn e th rough " said a dejected Ash craft. " I don 't kno w what happn ed but we los t th e coola nt somehow. It was brutall y ho t, but th at 's racin g. " Both Smi th a nd Ashcraft left to race Su nday in 0 -37 co mpeti tion. There were o nly two starters in Class 30 (ride rs over 30 years o ld ) a nd the team o f Nei l Ma n ninen (no co -r id er listed ) fini shed first on a 500XC Husky. Baja vetera n Ron Bisho p tea med with G a ry No la n for seco nd p lace in Class 38 on a H usky beating another vetera n team of G ene a nd Sam Dem psey (H a n). T h ere we re m ore t h a n n orm a l cha rges o f co urse CUll ing th a n usua l. Accep ted " no rm" in Baja is choosing a bc ue r trai l th roug h acany o n o r was h . but not C Ulling sectio n o ff. R um ors o f a very big shortcut spread th rough th e p its and charges o f chea ting were leveled by u nhapp y co n testan ts, but no form al protsts were filed. . • Results CLASS 20 (125cel: 1. Joey Lanel James Tucker (Han); 2. Steven Buckley/BobJoh nson (Han); 3. Soon A ndersonl J ulia n Guerra (Yam); 4 . Sergio Vegal Yam ko Quesada (Hon). ClASS 21 (25Oce): 1. Duane Su mmer I Joh n Rudder leag) ; 2. Oscar Espinoza J r.Nito Espin oza (Han); 3. Francisco Gonzalez/ Art uro Vazqu ez (Han); 4 . Humbe-t o Cama ch o/ Ma nu el M urill a (Hon); 5. David Callaw ay / John Holm es (Kaw ). CLAS S' 22 (OPEN): 1. Kurt Pfeiff er I Scot Harden (Husl; 2. Neil Woolridg e/ Roland Geig er (Kaw) ; 3 . Randy M ora les/Derrick Paiement (Hon) CLASS 30 (OVER 38 ): 1. Casey Fol ks Jr .lMa. Sw itzer (Hus); 2. Gary Nolen /Ron Bishop (Hust 3. Gen e Dempsey /Sam Dempsey (Han); 4 . Dennis Gr issom / Ron Phillip s (Hus); 5. Peter Boumanis/ Richard Roma s (Yam). 14TH ANNUAL Spark THE BELL SUPERBIKE CLASSIC ON SATURDAY The VERY best motorcycle road racing in the United States, on the track which the riders consider the closest they can get'to a European circuit w ithout the travel. And we re a so na bly expect to b ring America's best riders home fro m Europe to compete, as we've done in the past. This we eken d of racing has become the summer's fun happening ! It is a weekend not on ly to see, but to experience. Plan your vacation to ur now and ride some of Californ ia 's spectacu la r coasta l canyons o n you r w a yl We have a better racing schedule for yoo this year. The second annual Bell Superbike Oassic will feature Saturday's racing and qualifying, which will indude Battle of the Twins, divided into two groups. A vintage exhibition will also highlight Sofurday's activity. The Champion Spark Plug 200 will continue as a pair of 100 kilometer heats, with the Vetter High Mileage Contest Finals as the contrasting break. The papular Forrnula-2 final is scheduled as the Iead-ofF main event on Sunday. TIckets will be available at BASS, TIcketron, TIcketMaster, Laguna Seca 's regular ootlets. Pa rticipating Yamaha dealers will have Laguna Tour '85 tickets. Questions/Information: The Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) office is open weekdays from 9 c .m, to 5 p .m. Call us at (408) 373-1811. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Address ,....- -l -I City Mail to : SCRAMP P. O. Box SCRAMP Monterey, CA 93940 Charge My Visa/M a ste rCar d # - - - - - -- - - - - - -------i -I Expiratio n Oate' 5igna lure -'- --I Nate : W e Accept Visa or Maste rCa rd O nly. Child re n unde r 6 years of age free w ith parent . Nissan is the Official Car and Truck of Laguna Seca Raceway. 13

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