Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

a: ~ w :::E .... « 0.. !:: "> e al rn 0 0 I- :I: l.!;) 0.. 00 O"l ...... (.0 c-r Q,) c ;::j ~ l Rick Johnson (1) and Jeff Ward spent much of the first 2 5 0cc moto this close, but it was Johnny O'Mara who won the moto. The start of both 500cc motos saw Broc Glover leading t he way. He went on to win bot h motos easily . AltA National Championship Motocross" Series: Round 6 Glover dusts 'em in Denver 250cc By Kit Palmer LAKEWOOD, CO. JUNE 16 When the going g ets tough, T ea m Yamaha's Broc G lover gets going . O ver 90 0 F temperatures; dry, hard-packed, so meti m es muddy and slick terrain; severe d u st, rain and archrival Team Honda's David Bailey couldn 't tame Glover and his production-based Yamaha YZ490 in Lakewood, 10 Colorado (a few miles south o f Den ver ) for th e Coors/Kawasaki-sponsored round of th e AMA National Cha m pio n MX Ser ies. well on dry, hard-packed track conditions , easily won both motos. " I liked the track and ever ything seemed 10 click," he said. Glover wasn't the only rider who had things click; Team Honda 's Ron Lechien once again dominated the 125cc class and, like Glover, easily won both motos, Lechien's main concern, Kawasaki' s Mark Barnett, had an off day, crashing in the first turn during the first moto, breaking his cl utch lever and placing fourth in th e second. Suzuki's Erik Kehoe put in two strong showings , finishing fourth and second for second overall, narrowly beating teammate George Holland. The points leader in the 250ccclass going into today 's race, Kawasaki's J eff Ward , had 10 work awfully hard for his 3-1 win. In the first moto, H onda's J ohnny O 'Mara, Yamaha's defending 250cc National Champion, Ri ck Johnson and Ward went tooth'n'-nail every lap with O'Mara nipping Johnson at the checkered flag. In the second round , Ward and Honda 's Bob " H urr icane" Hannah mixed it up, trading places for the lead man y times, but it was Ward in the winner's circle afterwards. Glover pl ainly o u t-ro de Bail ey in the first 500cc moto an d was domi nating thesecond when Bailey was slowed with a flat rear tire, which had to be cha nged during th e race. " I co uld n ' t have a sked for a bett er da y," sa id Gl over. "T he dust was a major problem , but everybody had 10 put up with it. " Glover , wh o usu all y does After a very dusty practice session, and after eliminating a section of the track that was determined 10 be dangerousl y dusty, the first 250cc moto left the line under hot and blue skies . Johnson .c1ea n ly stole the holeshot a t th e start and quickly jumped to a commanding lead. The stage was set after the second lap: Johnson, O'Mara an d Ward. Not far behind followed privateer Suzuki rider Brian Myersco u g h, fa ctor y Kawasaki 's Goat Breker, Yamaha-mounted Jim Holley and Hannah. It looked as though J ohnson would run away and hide, whi le O 'Mara and Ward would dic e o ver second, but during the third lap, J ohnson made a big mistake - he went wa y too wide in a n o ff-ca m ber turn, letting O 'Mara and Ward sneak up on him. From then on, the three leaders, who were pulling away from Myerscough, stayed within inches of each other. As the race went on, O 'Mara seriously pressured Johnson in every turn; then , nine laps into the race , O'Mara ducked inside the leader and claimed the top spot. However, Johnson stayed close. Meanwhile, Myerscough had a very comfortable advantage over Hannah, who'd earlier stuffed-it by Breker. Up front, the battle for the lead raged on. With two laps to go , Ward realized he didn 't have a chance at the win and decided to let O'Mara and Johnson go for it at the finish, by dropping off th e pa ce, saving energy for round two. A few turns 10 go, Johnson pulled alongside O'Mara, but the " O'Sh ow" slammed the door shut. On the last turn , Johnson again pulled up next to the leader, maybe gaining a wheel-length, but O'Mara had the better drive coming out of the turn and up the long straight to the checkers. Ward cruised in to finish third a long wa ys ahead of Myerscough, who still had a commanding lead over Hannah . Yamaha rider Scooter Stafford finishing sixth. By the time the second moto started, clouds had gathered and rain started pouring just as the gate dropped. This particular downpour lasted about 15 minutes and made some sections of the track very slick. This time it was Ward with the holeshot, but O 'Mara, Hannah and Myerscough were right on his tail. As Ward started pulling away , Hannah started dogging O'Mara, who was eventually passed two laps la ter. The crowd screa med with p leasure; Hannah was obviously pumped. He immediately reeled-in Ward, passed him , but was repassed a turn later. Hannah didn't give up. On the next lap, Hannah passed Ward again on a downhill and made it stick. With O 'M ara in a safe third, Myers-

• Cover