Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

r-----------,"Ii':',,::;;;:;;ill!iiO:ll!iii;r-~__.::iIr--------- :I: .... ~ Vl c:: W o a c:: ~ a .... a :I: c.. ..... CN Scott Gray (57) on his way to a win in the 600cc Stock Production race at Sears Point; Gray beat out Rick Uukkonen and Mike Johnson. 40 seconds with each lap. After the second lap, Oliver had establ ished a dominating lead, but Stephens some how managed to keep Oliver in sig h t even though he was gi ving up 7S0cc. Stephens, however , was unable to put a cha rge together that would put him with in striking range. Greene rem ained in third, but Woo followed closely. Ieaving th e national cham pion with n o marg in for error. Fu rt her back th e bailie for fifth was hot betwee n J eppson , Costa and Mon to ya . Eac h was ridin g different mach inery a nd each ha d adva nt ages a t different parts o f the tra ck , bu t wh en they ca me around for th e first la p , th ey wer e nearl y th ree a breas t. O n th e n ex t la p Co sta wa s in th e lead and J eppson was close beh ind while Mo nt oya followed a t a distance. At the hal fwa y po int, Stephen s, in seco n d , slowed no ticea bly and th en pulled o ff a fter o ne lap wh en hi s gas tank stra p broke. This left Green e in seco nd with Woo close beh ind an d loo king [or passing room in almost every co rn er. O n the nex t lap, just wh en Woo was about to ma ke hi s move , he sudden ly pulled off as he crosse d th e sta rt fini sh . Woo, who wa s sti ll n u rsing injuries fro m a cras h a t th e Laguna Seca Nationa l, qu ietly par ked hi s bi ke a nd lim ped behi nd the cras h wa ll. He had run o u t o f ga s. No w the race between Jeppson an d Co sta wa s [or third an d there were n o q uarters g iven. Costa had th e edge do wn the stra ig h ts o n h is four-cyl in der, whi le J eppson was ga in ing in a ll o f th e fast co rners. Then , on the last lap in turn 10, J eppson mad e hi s move. H e p assed Co sta o n th e exi t a nd held hi s lead th rough turn I I and took third with Cos ta close behind a nd gai ni ng o n the straig h t. Wh en he pulled in, Cos ta had a n at front tir e. He sa id, " I co u ld n't keep th e bike u nder control in th e esses. I th ought it was me. " In th e -I50cc Modified Prod uctio n race ru n ea rlier in the dav, S teve Wickland managed to ge t his first and much deserved win in th at class. Wickland ha s cam paigned o n h is San ta Clara Cycle Sa lvage/EDC Osponsored Ho nda Hawk since he was a no vice. When he first started, he was losi ng to high ly mod ified 3S0cc and 400cc RDs bu t in th e last veal' he has had to [ace R Z350s. Each veal' brou ght h im closer to th e lead er: but he had never been a ble to p ut it a ll togeth er [or a win . Today a ll tha t cha nged . Wh en th e green £la g [ell , th e race star ted as usua l with th e low end grunt o f Wickl a nd 's [o u r-stro ke pu lling th e h o lesh o t o n the two-stro kes. In the first lap , Wick land was a ble to p u ll o ut a o n e-seco nd margin o n Blai n e Ida an d Bria n Hewell , both riding Yam a ha two -strok es sponsored by Pal o Alto Yam aha . Mea n wh ile, Ken Evans, wh o was maki ng h is firs t appearan ce on a bra nd n ew RZ350, sta rted well back in th e pack and was moving up through th e field . By the th ird la p Eva ns had cau gh t up to Ida a n d H ewett. He p assed H ewett on one lap an d th e nex t time ro u nd he was in front of Ida , an d movi ng away [rom th e pa ir. Evans set h is sigh ts o n Wickl and wh o had m ana ged to gai n severa l seco n ds on him. In th e nex t co u ple o f laps th e positions remai ned th e sa me: Wickland, Eva ns, Ida and Hewett . Eva ns was ma k ing ground o n Wick land. But wh en th e whi te n ag carne o u t, Evans h ad n o cha nce to m ak e up th e d ista nce. Wickl and took th e wi n with Eva ns a di stant seco nd o n h is Sa nta Cl ara Cycle Salv age/ FO X/ Pran cing H o rse In c. RZ3S0. Ida ra n o u t o f gas on th e last la p . (R esu lts in Resu lt Section) Palmer extends win streak at DeAnza By Cathy Barbacovi SUNNYMEA D, CA. J ULY 28 J immy Pal mer is having one successful winn in g strea k. Just last week the Kaw asaki pilot captured both the 125 and 250cc Int erm ediat e class wins in th e Skoal Bandit West ern S tates C ham pionsh ips in Uta h , a nd today P almer o nce aga in took two cla ss win s duri ng th e Ca lifo rn ia Racing Club's Mo toc ro ss a t DeAnza Cycle Park. " Cisco Kid " T erry Szucs ko pl ayed th e cha llenger to Pa lmer in th e 125cc Intermed ia te class a nd took seco nd overa ll. In th e first mot a it wa s J eff Ca p t wh o a tte mpted to beat Pa lm er. Capt p urs ued Palm er bu t o n th e seco nd lap d ropped h is Cagiva o ver the double jumps. Szucs ho too k advantage of that fall a nd advanced to seco nd p lace to stay. Chuck Wh itmore becam e the th ird p lace finis her whi le Capt dro p ped clear back to eigh th. The seco nd m ot o p roved troublesome [or se ve r a I compe t i tors. Through the first turn Jim Ku nt z dropped his Suzuki and needed so me help getting off the track. Ascot star J aso n Neuman and another rider ta ngled over a j ump with Neuman ca tchi n g h is hand between th e o ther rid er's fram e a nd forks, A two man ra lly developed between Palmer an d Szucsko and th ey rema ined in tha t orde r. "The Kid " SCOll Murph y a nd Cap t took th ird a nd fourt h. T he re were three tro p hies a warded to Pa lm er, Szucs ko a nd Wh itmore, in tha t or de r. . T he 250cc Int erm ed ia te class was a lso to pped by Palmer, though he did n' t win bo th mo tos. Bru ce Ha rcrow led th e fin al ro und over Pa lm er , a lt hough th ere was no poss ible way th at H ar crow co u ld wi n th e overa ll since he DNF the openi ng rou nd. Pal mer's 1-2 ga ve hi m th e best ha nd for the o verall. Ruben Torres took second wi th a 2-3, and Cra ig Sosa chal ked up a 3--1 for third. Cagiva mou nted Ro b Sassen ended up in the win n er' s circle in the 125cc Novice class . Sassen didn ' t wi n ei ther moto, but a co nsis tent pair o l seco nds did the wi n ni ng trick. Larry Laye won th e first moto, wh ile Sassen chased him fro m second after working up from abou t n inth p lace. Sassen took the hol esh ot in th e fin al moto but was p assed righ t a way bv Albert Sanch ez whe n he los t traction on the fres h ly wa tered tr ack a nd fel l to th e ground. At th at p o int Steve Wambo ld t and Eric Bro wne passed Sassen but it wasn ' t long before Sassen regained seco nd place. Cr ai g Davis m oved u p to th ird wh ile San ch ez cont in ued to hold th e lead. Co nsistency p aid o ff for Sa ssen who had a 2-2 [or the ove ra ll, a nd a p air of thi rds earned Davis second. Results 60 0 -8 : 1. Shane Moralas (Kaw) ; 2. EJ. Wright (Kaw) ; 3. Chr is Wheeler (Kaw) . 60 NOV : 1. M ike Wr;ght (Vem); 2. David Cooke (Han). 60 INT: 1. Craig Decker (Kaw); 2. Bobby Morales (Kaw). 60 EX: 1. Jacob Swa in (Kaw). 60 STK BEG: 1. Raymond Hensley (Suz t. 2. John Fliger (Yam); 3 . J immy Williams (Yem). 80 STK NOV : 1. Jemie Morabito (Yem); 2. Ryen Add ison (Kew). 80 STK INT: 1. Bubbe Erickson (Kawt. 2. Wesley Klein (Kew ); 3. Guy Deckert (Kew) . 80 STK EX: 1. M ike W iese (Vem). 80 MOD NOV: 1. J amie Morebito (Yam). 80 MOD INT: 1. Bubbe Er ickso n (Kaw ); 2. Phil Lawrence (Yam t. 3. W esley Klein (Kaw ). MOD EX: 1. M ike Wi ese (y em ). 125 BEG: 1. Reed Frank (Kewt. 2. Charlie Flippe n (Hont. 3. Man Wi chen e (Suz). 125 NOV : 1. Rob Se..en (Cag); 2. Craig Dev;s (Kaw); 3. A lben Sanchez. 12 51NT: 1.J immy Palmer (Klwt. 2. Terry Szucsko (Kaw); 3. Ch uck W hit more (Suz). 125 PRO: 1. M ike Kell (Kaw l; 2. Chr is Taylor (Yamt. 3. Peu l Thede (Kaw) . 250 BEG: 1. Merk Sh uck (Han); 2. SIeve M ees (Suz); 3 . M ike Evi nghem (KIW). 250 NOV: 1. M ike Peler mo (Ho n); 2. Chr is Burgeson (Yam t. 3 . M ichae l Sle dma n (Yam). 2501NT: 1. J im m y Pelm er ( Kaw~ 2. Ruben Torres (Han); 3. Craig Sosa ( H o n ~ 250 PRO: 1. M ike Kell (Klw); 2. Ma n Tedder (Han); 3. Colin Ryan. 500 NOV : 1. Don Abde lla (M ei); 2. Doug Cave (Han); 3. George Garc ie (Yem). . 500 INT: 1. Ron Lawson (Han) ; 2. Dev id Halver · son (Klwt. 3 . Robert Temple (Yem). 500 PRO: 1. Tom my Comb s (Kaw ); 2. Ruben Fal· con (Yam t. 3. Don Paulson (Han ). VETJR : 1. Larry LaNierr e; 2. Fred Kelmick (KTM ): 3 . Howard Keeling (Yam). VET INT: 1. Robert Cooke (Han); 2. Kevin Sexton (Suz); 3. Greg Rogers (Han ). VET EX: 1. Ronn ie Gibson (Ceg); 2. A lan Ke nt (Yem). WOMEN : 1. Barbara Perry (Vam); 2. Lau re War· necke (Hen) ; 3. Den ise Thomas (Yam ). eo Munson, Davis steal show in Alaska By M .R . Edge KE NAI, AK, J U L Y 27-28 Sco t Davis ca me away with seven ou t o f eig h t moto wins a t the four th round of th e Alaska State Motocross Championship Series. Action Raceway in Ken a i, Alas ka wa s host to the sta te's top rid ers as th ey vied [or ch amp io ns hip tit les in th e five-ro und ser ies. Davis was clearly th e favorite to h is hometown crowd as he mot ored h is Anchorage Cycle Sa les' Yamaha to eas y wins in th e 500cc Expert class on bot h days. Davis' number o ne rival and 1984 Stat e 500cc Expe rt cha mpio n Jeff Roskell ey was inv o lved in a bad cras h durin g Sat urday 's pr act ice. Roskellev was not hu rt , but was too so re to race either day . T h is left Da vis un cha llenged in the big bor e cla ss. Erik Munso n an d h is Nort hern Power Sports' Suzu ki p ro vided a cha llenge fo r Dav is in th e 250cc Expe rt class. Sa tu rday 's mo tos rou nd Davis with good sta rts a n d o ut front wi th Munson in m id- pack , Both m ot os went th e same as Davis won eac h tim e wi th Munson wor king h is way up to seco n d . Mo to o ne o n Su nday was a repea t of Sat urday 's motos. Ho wever , by th e seco nd rnoto Mu nso n was getti ng tired of second place. Whil e Munson got a no th er o ne of his patented poor sta rts, Davis found h imself stuck in firth . Davis did work u p to first, but by then Mu nson was wi th in passing distance with two laps togo. Munson tr ied every thing to pass o n th e one line course a nd finally on the last lap bo th riders entered a fast co rner sidebv-s ide. The encounter left Munson ,-:ith firs t a nd Davis and his bike cart wheelin g off th e track. Amazingly, Davi s remounted and limped in to fini sh seco nd . Munson took th e overa ll beca use of hi s seco nd moto wi n. Mun son is kn own more as a 125cc rider, but bike p roblem s pl agued him a ll weekend. Suzuki Motorcycle and Marine-sponsored joe Good dominated th e 125cc Expert class by winning the overa ll on both days. Munson d id m a nage second on Sa turday but co u ld only co me up with a fou rth o n Sunday. Results SATURDAV 60 NOV: 1. Destry Scan (Kaw) ; 2. Jon Wi lliams (Kaw ); 3. Mark Trepp (Vam ). 80 NOV : 1. Billy Haley (Kaw ); 2. Gavin Washburn ( Kaw ~ 3 . Tyrone F;nch (Kaw). 80 EX: 1. And y Workman (Vem ); 2. Robb Butler (Yem); 3 . Chr ;s Stewerd (Vam). 125 NOV : 1. Vernon Johnson (Kaw); 2. Rick Kan tola (Kaw l; 3. Tim Bowers (Han). 125 INT: 1. Kelly Styl es (Kew); 2. Lanee Leneave (Klw); 3. Freneis Good (Kaw) . 125 EX: 1. Joe Good (Suz); 2. Erik Munson (Su z); 3 . Ralph Bla nehard (Yem ). 250 NOV : 1. Ron Sty les (Kaw); 2. Colby Hill (Suzl; 3. J, m Brown (Suz). 250 INT: 1. Greg Chanerto n ( Ke w~ 2. J ason M cDonald ( Hon ~ 3 . Ken Conde (KTM). 250 EX: 1. Scon Devi s (Vem t. 2. Erik M unson (Suzt. 3 . Kell y But ler (Yem). 500 NOV : 1. Scan M esser (Han) ; 2. Paul Hobbs (Vam t. 3. Tom Kamadhan (Hon). 500 EX: 1. Scan Davis (Vam); 2. Je ff MacDoneld (Yamt. 3. Br uce Stingley (KTM ). VET: 1. Jamie Linxw iler (Yam); 2 . Ron Soule (KTMt. 3. Steve Corlee (M ei). SUNDAV 60 NOV: 1. Dest ry Scon (Kew l; 2. Ph illip Raney (Yemt. 3. Jon W illi ams (Klw). 80 NOV : 1. Bill y Haley (Klw ); 2. Tyrone Finch (Klwt. 3. Gevi n We shb urn (Kaw) . 80 EX: 1. Andy Workman (Yem); 2. Robb But ler (Yem); 3. Vi cl or DeCamps (Kaw). 125 NOV: 1. Rick Kan tola (Kew); 2. Brya n Rambur (Kaw); 3. Ve rnon Johnson (Kaw) . 125 1NT 1. Francis Good(Kew); 2. Lanee Leeeave : (Kaw ); 3. Kelly Styles (Kaw) . 125 EX: 1. Joe Good (Su z); 2. Andy Work men (Yamt. 3. Ralph Bleneherd (Yam). 250 NOV: 1. J im Brown (Suz); 2. Vernon Johnson (Kew ); 3. Colby Hill (Suz). 250 INT: 1. Greg Chenerton (Kaw); 2. Joson McDonald (Han); 3. Larry Simmons (Han ). 250 EX: 1. Erik Munson (Suz); 2. Scan Dav;s (Vam); 3. Kelly Butler (Vam). 500 NOV: 1. SCOll Me ssler (Han); 2. LeRoy Metcalf (Kew); 3. Paul Hobbs (Vam). 500 EX: 1. SCOll Davis (Vam); 2. Jeff McDonald (Vam); 3. Bren t Bellin (Han) . VET: 1. Steve Corlee (Ma i); 2. Jamie Unxw iler (Yem): 3 . Ron Sou le (KTM). White, Smith fly at Firebird By M .D. Ross CHANDLER. AZ, J U LY 27 Bobb y White proved he knows his wa y aro u nd the Firebi rd MX track backw ards and forwa rds by wi nning both mo tos o f th e Sizzler Ser ies in th e Expert class . Wh it e powe red h is S u n nys lo pe Honda-sp onsored 250 to a decisive win in the first moto and was never cha lle nged . Although Kawasaki ace Brya n Brun er ( Ka wa sa k i Mo tor Corp.lOa kley/ Whi te Bros.lBell Road Kawa saki/ Lancer Lea thers) holeshot th e seco nd mot o a nd led th e fir st nine laps, Wh ite fin all y m anaged to snea k undern ea th in a Ia st right-hand turn and romped h ome to the ch eckered £lag an d h is second win of the even ing . J eff Sm ith, on hi s Dirt Un lim itedspo nsored Kawasak i KX 125, turn ed in a stella r performa nce by win ni ng bot h th e Stoc k Am at eu r a nd Modi fied Am a teur classes in sp ite of th e h ea vy co mpe tition in th ose classes. H o n da -m o u nt ed Blue Ro binette won both h is motos in the 250cc

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