Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Nick Nichols slides his 125cc Kawasaki at Ascot Park; N ichols put together a 4-1 score to finish second behind Brad Fletcher. Hummel. Moffat and Arnold . T he pa ttern was thus established for the H ummel racing effort a nd wh en it was over the two brothers had four moto victories under their kidney belts. In th e seco nd moto of the 250cc Junior class George H ea re on his C R Honda got th e lead but fell. Sean got by a nd proceeded to p u t so me dista nc e on the pack led by Suzu ki ri der J ames Bar buscia. Mo ffa t wo rk ed throug-h th e pack on his KT M o f San Jose wat er -pu mper two stroke to be nipping on the wheel s of Bar bu scia as th ey crossed th e finish lin e. When it ca m e to Tyler 's turn o n the ra ce co ur se, he had as stiff competi tio n . as did o lder broth er Sea n . S tiffest o f tha t grou p was Mike McCloud o n a YZ Yamaha sponsored by Kenny Ro ber ts' Yamaha Cou ntry. T he sho rt d rag race to th e first corn er was wo n by Rob Bel skey (Ka w) who was follo wed by Ada m Fish er (Kaw). Once pa st th e difficult first co rner and o ver the first series o f peaked jumps, Tyler began h is movement to th e fo re. It seem ed for aw h ile McCl oud would tag a lo ng in hi s wak e bettering h is posit ion each tim e Ty le r would . Some ho w it d idn 't wo rk o u t for McCl oud but T yler kep t right o n pa ssin g until h e h ad th e lead. T hey fin ish ed wi th Tyler ge tti ng th e chec kers first, th en Bel skey, foll owed by Fish er a nd McCl oud . Mot o two was a photocopy o f the fini sh ing order bu t it was a ll m uc h easi er o n Ty ler who did n' t m es s around o n th e st a rt . Coa ches see a way of sugges ti ng im p rovem ents in starting techn iq ue th at a lso relieves th eir race tension ! Also on th e track, started in a n earlier wave, were th e very impressive 80cc Intermediate class riders. Stan Lundquist (Kaw) won both hi s motos by fai r margins over Do ug Delay (Kaw) and J erome Titus Sm ith (Yam ). The bottom lin e became clear; this ni ght no other racing famil y did as well as th e vic to ri ous Hummels . But records are made to be broken . Results 36 PEE WEE 50 : 1. Joseph Flores (Suz). PEE WEE 60 : 1. Elton Styding (Yam). 80 MINI NOV 9 ·11 : 1. Juslin Ownbey (Suz). BOMINI NOV 12 ·16: 1. Derick Martinez (Yam); 2 . Ricky Solano (Han); 3 . Jeff Rayenscraft (Kaw). BOMINI JR 12·16: 1. Tyler Hummel (Kaw) : 2. Rob Balskey (Kawl. BO MINIINT 12 ·16: 1. Stan Lundqu ist (Kawl. 125 NOV: 1. Kurt Chandler (Han); 2 . Steye Mira· gl ia (Han) ; 3. Mark Foley (Kaw) . 125 JR : r. Fenton McDaniel (Kaw); 2. Paul Midson (Han) . 125 INT; 1. Tim McClinlock (Kawl. 250 NOV DIV 1: 1. Denn is Tedde r (Yam); 2. Ron Andruss (Hon); 3 . Greg Valent i (Yam ). 250 NOV OIV 2: 1. Dave Malheson (Han); 2. Fred Oranje (Yam); 3. Tom Kaznowski (Han). 250 JR : 1. Sean Hummel (Kaw) ; 2 . A lan Moffal (KTM) ; 3. Bill Arnold (Yam ). 250 INT: 1. John Zender (Yam ). 250 PRO: 1. Danny Boles (Yaml ; 2 . Tony Flor es (Suz); 3 . Shawn M cCo nn (Yam). OPEN NOV : 1. Wad e Hall (Han I; 2 . Arni e Fry (Yam I; 3 . Dave Mathesdon (Hon). OPEN JR : 1. Ric hard W il son (Han). OPEN INT: 1. Glenn Harr ison (Yam ). OPEN PRO: 1. Johnny Gardner (Han) . VET SPTSMN: 1. Tom Bencich (Suz). VET INT: 1. Bubba Taylor (Han ). VET MSTR : 1. M ike Lana (Han); 2. M ike Her nande z (Yam). Rutherford routs at Ascot By Chris Boice GA R DENA. CA, J ULY 5 T im Ru th erford (Kaw ) roosted hi s way to vic tory tonight a t Continental Motosport Cl ub (CMC) night motocross in th e I25cc Pro class; however, it was Ron Turn er (Ca g) who got th e hol esh ot in th e first rn oto . Ru th erford foll owed T u rner an d by the th ird lap h e had closed eno ugh gro un d to become a ser io us th reat. After one unsu ccessful a tte m p t to pa ss, Ruth erford had to dr op back and settle for a second place fini sh. Yamaha-mounted Chris Craft ran so lid ly in th ird for th e entire m ot o . Rutherford bo lted out of th e ga te a t the sta rt of th e seco nd mot o , but T u rn er was h o t after h im u nt il a clash with Gl enn Co m ma ns (Hon ) o n th e firs t lap left both rid ers on th e grou nd ove r th e crash wall jumps. Ch ris Craft was in second for half o f th e six lap sprint, but a slight bobbl e in a slic k turn let Turner ge t by a nd start closing in on R u th erford. Wit h the finish lin e in sight. Turner had closed to withi n a few feet of Rutherford . Bu t Rutherford a n d his Kawa sa ki held on th ro ugh the last two tu rns, took th e checkered flag a n d th e overall wi n . T urner finished seco n d and Ch ris Cra ft wa s third. T he sta rt of th e firs t I25cc Jun ior mo to saw o ne rider get such an aweso me h oleshot tha t h e was given a on e lap pe na lty for j u m p ing right ove r th e backward falling sta rt ing ga te before it fell. H e led th e race for th ree la ps, but was ove rtaken on th e fourth lap by the event ua l rnot o win ner Brad Fletch er (Yam ). Honda rider J erry Lemmons fo ugh t h is wa y up to fin ish second and Chris Connor (Yam) unanimously won th e dubi ous award for th e best save seen so far this season. Aft er av ert in g su re di sa st er , Co n nor became in vol ved in a three m an race for th ird pl ace. H is luck hel d one more time, a nd on th e las t "la p h e was a ble to cro ss th e line a head o f Nic k Ni chols (Kaw ) a nd J im Wa tkin s (Hon) for th ird . Flushed by his super performance in the first moto (and happy to be alive), Connor got th e holesh ot in th e seco nd moto . By th e en d o f th e first lap Nichols had ta ken over the lead a nd n o one got close enough to chal len ge him. Connor took th e checkered flag still in seco nd, wh ile th ird pl ace was bei ng passe d fro m Dave LeFa y (Hon ) to Wa tk in s and fi na lly to first m ot o wi n ner Fletcher. Fletch er took the overa ll with a 1-3. Nich o ls was seco nd with 4- 1 and Connor was third with a 3-2. Suzuki pil ot Brian Thompson ga ted first in the 250cc Beg in n er Div ision One firs t moto, D.B. McKin lev followed, but no t close enou gh to ma ke Thompson nervo us. T he rac e for third was co nt ested by Fra n k Sh iroma (Ya m ), Ro bert Fortier (Kaw) a n d J eff Del.avri e (H o n). Shiroma pulled ahead a n d ca me o ut on top a t th e flag. Thompson eas ily won a nd McKin lev was second. J im my Bartoli (H o n) ca me flyin g o u t of the ga le a t th e sta r t o f th e seco nd m oto , bu t Rob Cozod (Hon ) ga ve h im so me co m petition unt il he went down o n th e th ird lap. From so me whe re back in th e pa ck T hompso n ca me weavi ng h is wa y th ro u g h th e cro wd a nd let Bart oli kn o w that he wa s beh ind h im and waiti ng for a ny opport u nity to m ake a pas s. Mea nwhi le, McKinl ey had been bu s- . ily worki ng h is way u p fro m a bad sta rt. On th e last lap he passed Lofty H u tch in s (H on) , wh o had been ru nn in g in th ird p lace from th e start o f th e moto, a nd forced him back to fin ish fourth . Barto li won th e m ot o , a nd forced him back 10 finis h fourth. Ba rtoli wo n th e m oto, but because he had a DN F in th e first m oto , it was Thompson who too k th e overa ll wi th a 1-2. McKin ley was seco nd overa ll with a 2-3, a nd Fo rt ier was thi rd wi th a 4-7. Results 50 : 1. Armando Overland (Su z). 80 BEG: 1. Lyle Thompson (Yam ); 2. Danny ronl eyn (Yam); 3 . Fred laVall ey (Kaw) . 8OJR: 1. Rusty Some rs (Kaw) ; 2. Mike Cox (Kaw); 3. Chad Siumskie (Kaw) . 80 INT: 1. Robert Shipman (Suz); 2. Kevin Bus sey (Kaw) ; 3 . Randy Moody (Han). 125 BEG DIV 1: 1. Brian Siumskie (Han); 2. Br ian Thompson (Kaw); 3. Karl Fernandez (Kaw) . 125 BEG DIV 2 : 1. Mall Blevins (Kaw); 2. St eve Vercher (Kaw) ; 3 . Cedric Lipscomb (Yam). 125 JR : 1. Brad Flet cher (Yam); 2. Nick Nichols (Kaw); 3. Chr is Connor (Yam). 125 INT: 1. J im m y Lewis (Kaw); 2 . Gary Sailors (Kaw); 3. Jason Neuman (Kaw) . 125 PRO: 1. Tim RUlherford (Kaw); 2. Ron Turner (Cag); 3. Chr is Craft (Yam). 250 BEG DIV 1; 1. Brian Thompson (Suz); 2 . D.B. McKinley (Suz); 3 . Robert Fortier (Kaw). 250 BEG DIV 2 : 1. Kelly Myers (Han): 2. John Jackson (Kaw); 3. Chr is Chapman (Han) . 250 JR : 1. Michael Malson (Suz); 2. Tray is Sla ke (Han); 3 . Maneo Cosenlino (M -S). 250 INT: 1. Steve We st (Yam); 2 . Kenny Maddux (yam); 3. Gary Goforth (Han ). 250 PRO: 1. Todd Pelerson (Han ); 2 . John Posca (Yam ); 3 . Don Calhoun (Han). 500 BEG: 1. Ran Bucc Ieri (Yam); 2. Pau l Ikeda (Yam ); 3. J immy Bartoli (Han). 500 JR: 1. Jeff Brag ia (Han); 2. Robert Johnson (Han); 3. Brad Sloan (Yam). 500 INT: 1. Roger Gua rd (Han ); 2 . J ason Cool beugh (Cag); 3 . Ma rc Peters (Kaw). 500 PRO: 1. Todd Petersen (Han): 2. M ik e Mc Millen (Han ); 3 . Shawn Tracy (Han ). VET JR : 1. Robert Johnson (Han ); 2 . Rich Hansen (C·A); 3 . Robert Fort ier (Kaw) . OT JR : 1. Bill Kug ler (Han); 2 . J im Periman (Han ). OT MASTER: 1. M ike McMillen (Han). Walker shines in Oak Hill debut By Scott Sc haefer HENDERSON, TX, JUNE 23 "Age and experience will beat youth and skill, " quipped vetera n racer George Wallace prior to Sunday's races at th e newly resurfaced O ak Hill Raceway. Wi th o ne notable exce p tio n, hi s comments were very true a fter a ra ce da y pl agued with many minor crashes a nd a co upl e of seri ous o nes . T he excep tio n wa s 21-yea r- old Danny Walker , who came " to chase Yamaha money." He left many peopl e im p ressed with hi s aggr essi ve rid- ing style th at n etted him firsts in B Superbike and Product ion. and seco nds in C Superbike and A Production. a ll on Yamahas. Walker , who usuall v rides in Mountain Roadracing Associa tio n events , is sponsored by Yamaha Motorsports of Lo veland , Cycl e Part s West, MP C, MG Engineering, Bel mon t Print ing , and Crazy AI's AUIO Body. The D Superbike race featured handl ebar banging between Brian Floo res a n d J ami e J ames. Th e two sta yed with in two o r three bikelengths of eac h other th roughout th e battle with Floores send in g smo ke signals from his dra gging kn ee in front of th e ' gr andstand tu rn . Ja mes p u lled o u t a tigh t win wit h cl ub p resident Ro y Thoma fi n ish in g third. Most o f th e Experts in th is. th e RZ350 class, h ave now mod ified their bik es a nd thus left th e Prod uction class to the NovIces. T he A S u pe r bi ke combi ned was one of th e closest races of th e da y. J eff Ber glund rocketed to th e lead o n hi s Ka tana a hea d of Dann y Walker, Bob Retoff, and Meri l Moen . Walk er m ade severa l a tte m p ts 10 p ass on th e th ird lap a nd wa s reward ed with a n offroa d excursion in th e tigh t righ thand turn five. He ma naged to keep hi s FZ750 uprigh t a nd was soo n back in th e h unt. He sa lvaged a nin th pl ace fin ish. Mean wh ile. Berglund was determ ined to keep Moe n o n h is Ninj a a nd Reto ff o n h is GS IIOO, behi nd him. O n th e fifth la p , Retoff got a w hee l in front severa l times, only to ha ve th e doo r slammed sh u t. Berglund 's d rea m ride ended the next lap wh en h e lost th e front end in turn four. The am bu la nce ca me o u t a n d the rac e was sco red from th e p revious la p . So Ber gl und , wh o wa s o n ly sha ken up by th e crash , co llected hi s first CR RC victory. The Formula One race was up for gra bs wh en it fi nally sta rted a t 6:15. Retoff and Moen had to be th e fa vorites, bu t th e crowd was roo ti ng for an u nderdog George Wallace. He had wo n a ll three Fo rmu la cl asses the la st time th e cl u b race d a t H enderson in Ma y 1984. a ll o n a j-rnod el TZ250. T oday, ar med wi th a new N-model T Z h e h ad o n ly recei ved Friday night , h e h oped to repeat hi s performance. Recoverin g from a poor start in Formul a T wo. he had managed a fourth a n d eas ily won th e Formula Three. As th e bikes th u nde red a way from th e line, he was ru n ni n g in about sevent h p lace. As Retoff and Moen pulled a way fro m the pack , Doug Carmichael and Don McLean sq ueezed th eir No vice rid es in front of many Experts, even tua lly fini shing th ird a nd fourth overall , first a nd seco nd in class. Wal la ce started threadin g through tra ffic an d it appeared he might wind up close to th e leaders. H is ride ca me to a n en d on th e last la p when h e went down in tu rn four. Un h urt, he came arou nd th e track toIin ish 15th overall , fourt h Exp en. In th e Novice classes, Pat T ha rp co ntin ued h is strea k wi th firsts in Fo rmula T wo, B Su pe rbi ke, and B Production, a nd a third in A Super- bike. Doug Carmichael, Sander Avant, an d J eff Cra wford a lso led th eir classes wi th two firsts a p iece. Result s F·2 NOV : I . Pat Tharp (yam); 2 . Mike McAdams (Hon); 3. Wesley W inchester (Hon) . F·2 EX: 1. Matt Maschmann (Yam); 2. Rick Terrick {Yam}; 3. Vernon Davis (Yam). A PROD NOV : 1. Don McLaan (Kaw): 2. Rick Del gado (Yam); 3. Eric Lange (Han). A PROD EX: 1. Meril Moen (Kaw); 2. Danny Wa lker (Yam) : 3. Man Maschmann (Yam). SUPERBIKE NOV : 1. Mike Cook (Yam); 2 . Sand er Ayant (Yam); 3. Jeff Crawford (Yam). SUPERBIKE EX: 1. JamieJames (Yam): 2. Br ia n Floores (Yam); 3. Roy Thoma (Yam). B PROD NOV : 1. Pat Tharp (Yam); 2. M ike Ryan (Kaw); 3 . Rick Delgado (Yam). B PROD EX: 1. Danny Wa lker (Yam ); 2. Ma n Maschmann (Yam); 3 . Jamie James (yam). E PROD NOV : 1. S ander Aya m (Han); 2. Robert Sm ith (Honl; 3. Joel Rodgers (Kaw) . E PROD EX: 1. Harold. Pete rs (Kaw) ; 2 . Howard Dav ies (Su z). . •••• _ •• _ ~ __ • •• _ o o

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