Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Randy Roose (68W) goes inside Marty Zirbel (20) en route to v ictory in the Junior main at the Saturday night short track; Zirbel was sixth. Peter Hook (77) leads Randy Triplett in the Expert main. Sturgis (Continued f rom pag e 30) 32 on e, but two sponsors step fo rward . Stro h's Brewe ry kicked in S5000 for th e ra ce purses and Witte Beverage, of Ra p id City. th e area distributor for St roh 's, sent along their ow n S2000 con tribu tio n. In addition, Witte and Stroh's promoted the races with ad vertising in loca l media and provided ban ners and posters to area businesses. It was a first-class show by Stroh 's and Witte. It has already paid off for th e Cl assi c. Seeing th e ex pos u re Stroh 's spo nsor sh ip got them , (track announcers rout inely reminded spectators of a " Stro h 's break either to get rid of one, or buy another." ) Budweiser has picked up the ta b fo r printing thousands of bumper stickers promoting next year's event! Finallv, the format of the race s changed to Pro-A m and two Region a l sanctions. This made the weekend even ts attractive for ride rs wh o had to travel long d istances. Starti ng with Frida y nigh t's short tra ck , a racer had fo u r o pportunities to mak e money in less th an 48 hours. J u st as importa nt fo r th e rider on the way up were th e points o ffered by th e Saturday n ight Regiona l short track and the Su nday h alf -mile Regi onal. Not o n ly were entries up , but so was th e ove ra ll quality of th e field . T rue, no bi g names showed. (Sturg is ' race dat es hav e con flic ted with th e AMA Camel Pro Seri es for so me tim e ). But th e racing wa s closer , with few break a wa ys by th e lead er s to uncontested easy wins. As enco uraging as a qual ity field is to a p romot er, it 's even bett er to h ave a pack ed h ouse. The two tend to go hand-in-hand, b u t m an y a p romot er ha s swea ted th e ticket co unt so he co u ld mak e th e purse for th e racers - ~ . ~ . ~ un loading th eir bik es in th e p its. (Co me to thin k o f it , thi s isn 't quite tru e, either. Racers with experience learn to keep a n eye on th e promoter if th e ho use looks poor. " Well . fellas, the stands were kinda em p ty tonight. so, I don ' t have, etc. " ) T he grandstands a t Saturday night 's Region al short tra ck were packed wi th spectators and th ey witnessed th e closest and most controversia l races of the week end. They a lso witnessed a surprisinglyp ro fessio nal organization at work. With a ll due respect to the vo lunteers •who mak e th e races possib le, past race even ts have not a lways been m od els of organiza tio na l efficie ncy . Not so th is year. The weeke nd races were marked by excelle nt organization. H eat races, sem is, a nd mai ns clicked off th e clock with a heretoforeu nknow n p recision. T he volunteers o f th e j ack pine Gy psies M.C. and th e Bla ck H ills Mo to r C las sic deserve p ra ise for th eir enthusiasm a nd professio na lism. And now to the races: . Ca nadian Martin Lavoie rode away from h is fell ow racers to win th e Western Regi o na l H alf -Mile Champions hip a t th e Sturgis fairgrounds. H arley-Davidso n -m ou n ted Lavoie took a n ea rly lead over Ja y Bea ch of Ra p id City and simply motored away , leavi ng Beach to contend wi th a charging John Wincewi cz from Junction Cit y. Oregon , aboard a Triumph . Wincewicz had the turn-one Brit ish bike enthusiasts on their feet for much of th e race, but h is bike, which had begun trailing blue smoke in the final laps of th e seco nd sem i, co n tin ued to fade. Ran dy Trip lett , fresh from a th irdp lace in Saturday nigh t's accidentm arred Reg ional short track main , passed Wi ncew icz in th e race 's fin a l laps to tak e a nother third place p urse and va luable rider points bac k to Bloom ington, Min nesot a. Most h ea ted and co nt ro versia l race o f th e week was thi s Reg ional short trac k ma in cla sh be twee n Mike Su ll ivan a n d Todd Gies ic k . Su ll iva n, Gi esick , Peter H ook a nd Randy Triplett were in a bl anket un til Gi esick a lleged ly wh acked Su llivan 's front wheel o u t tr yin g to cu t under him in turn four. Sullivan a nd G iesick went down. G iesick got up after a spe ll and was a llo wed to restart. Sullivan wa s tak en to a hosp ital a nd must h ave been released as we ca n find no reco rd of h im a t any o f th e local hosp ital s. An yway, some o f th e racers were very voca l abou t G iesick , who h as been a frequent winner at othe r Sturgis I r~ces_sj ~ c«: _h e races out of Bill ings, #_- Montana; they wanted him thrown out and accused h im of "rough rid ing." Some voices in th e crowd echoed th at opinion . Frankl y, it look ed like racing luck fro m where I stood a bo u t halfwa y betw een turn one a nd th e sta rt line. An ywa y, th e race restarts, G iesick is dead last. T wo laps into it th ere is a th ree-bike cras h in front o f him. H e snakes' through. Everyone ge ts up. With four la ps rema ini ng it gets underway aga i n. Some vo ices in th e crowd have shouted to end th e race a nd let everyo ne go ho me, " We 've seen enough ." The racing starts and H oo k wins, but Gi esick tangl es with Sunda y's winn er , Martin Lavoie, th ey go down a nd wh en th ey get up th ere are a few words betw een th em . Lav oi e later pro tests G iesick to th e refere e a n d files a co m p la in t. End o f even ing. It was T riplett 's best year a t th e Classic races. Last year Triplett finish ed o u t o f th e ru nning fo llowing a spectac u lar turn -one crash at the ha lfmile. Co ming into th e Region al Championship mai n. the rider to bea t appeared to be Gregory Wagenkn echt , who had wo n both his h ea t race and sem i a boa rd a Harlev. Bu t, a me diocre start all bu t sidelined Wagen knecht 's charges. He ran in a trio vying for third-through -fifth p lace, and a lat e-race crash between turns one and two finis hed off what h ad sta rted out as a promisi ng ride for th e Freeport , Ill in ois, racer. Wagenknech t had tra iled David Dur ell e to the chec kered flag in Sa tu rda y's ha lf-m ile Pro-Am event. Du rell e, by th e way, was h oping to repea t h is Regional wi n a t th e Sturgis half-mile and look ed to be in good shape followin g h is Saturday win. But th ings starte d to g o downhill a t Sa tu rday ni ght 's short tra ck eve n t a s th e best Durell e co u ld do wa s eigh th in th e ma in a fter two restarts brought o n by accide nts. Du rell e had finished seco nd in h is hea t, but j us t made the tran sfer cut to th e ma in wi th a fifth p lace in h is sem i. Su nday, Durell e's cha nces for backto-hack half-mile victo ries appeared to be in good order as h e fin ish ed third in h is heat , a nd th ird in th e first semi . Bu t, Durelle found h im self stuck in tra ffic a t th e sta rt of th e main and was never in contentio n for th e Regional win , but di d finish in fi fth p lace. The Experts weren ' t th e on ly race rs battling for a slice of th e Reg io na l Ch ampionship purse-a nd-points p ie. T he J un io r class ripped off their la p s af ter the Ex pe rt race d ue to a swi tch in the progra m brought o n by an approachi ng rai n shower. The ligh tly-da mpened surface fit Ted T. Tay lor to a "T ." Taylor piloted hi s Harley single. actually a Rotax mo tor. to th e Jun ior Regional main ti tle with a win in th e main to b.ack up h is h eat race a nd semi vic to n es. Finish in g seco nd to T ay lor was Frank La ti me r of Cas pe r, Wyom in g , a frequent Sturgis co mpetitor, aboard a H onda 500 single. La timer's had been a day o f a lmos t-bu t-not-q u itegrabbing-the brass-ring . as h e fini sh ed second in both hi s heat and sem i races. R ounding o u t th e win , pl ac e and .how trio in th e Junior class was Mart y Zirbel a bo a rd a Triumph. Zirbel , from Oregon Cit y, Oregon . pi cked up 12points toward hi s Expert licen se with a two-and-one finish in h is h eat an d sem i, resp ect ivel y. A trio o f California riders dominated the Novice class half-mile ac tion wi th PJ Sa nc hez , aboard a WoodRot ax , at th e helm follow ed by Bob McD ow ell . o f Vall ey Springs, (Hon ) a nd Crai g H ow ard , Fresn o , also on a R o tax, .... -. _ . . . . . __ . . It wa s a fine ending for the Salinas rider , as Sanch ez had come off a poor showing a t Saturday night 's short tra ck wh ere he po sted thirds in his heat a n d sem i, and then finished dead la st in the Novi ce main because h is engi ne wo u ldn' t sta rt. Sturgis' own Corey Brink sco red a pop u la r Nov ice class win at Sa tu rday n ight 's short track races an d fin ished hi s weekend 's rid in g wi th a respecta ble eigh th overa ll in th e Reg ional race af ter two fif th p lace finishes in his h ea t a nd semi. Ra ndy Feldha us of H ow ar d , South Dako ta , wa s serio us ly injured in a mishap during Friday nigh t's 500cc Pro -Am short rack race. Feld haus su ffered a sha ttered kn ee, underwent surgery Saturday morning a t Northern H ill s Gen eral H ospi ta l in Dead wood. During th e surge ry a bone graft wa s performed and a tot a l of II scr ews , two plates a nd o ne pin wer e used to reconstruct Feld ha us' knee. Feld haus said Tu esday th e kn ee is in . a cast and h e migh t be released Sa tur da y. A fu nd to hel p Feld ha us defray th e cos t of hi s ex ten sive su rgery a nd therapy h as been set u p a nd co ntribu tions were co llected d uring Saturday ni ght's ra ces. Anyone wish ing to con tribute ma y co ntact Neil H ultm a n a t 605/34 72378. • Results AMATEUR Hill CUMB 86 -100: 1. Dav id Sm ith (Yam); 2. David Finn (Yam); 3. Jeremy King (Hoo). . 101 -125 : 1. Keith Ehnes (Hon) 9.B3 sec.; 2. Robert Kell er (Kaw) 19.19; 3. Terry VanMatteren (Suz) 73 ft. 126 ·200: 1. Mi ke Schultz (Yam) 97 ft. 201 -250: 1. Willie Rifer (Hon) 6.39 sec.; 2. Tracy Homandberg (Kaw) 7.19; 3 . Wayne VanMeneren (Kaw) 7.47 . 251 -372: 1. WayneVanMetteren(Hon)7 .21 sec. 373 -500: 1. Keit h Ehnes (Hon) 5.24 sec.; 2_Mod Ricard (Yam) 5.37; 3. Kevin Tilson (Yam) 5.77. 501 -750: 1. Kevin TIlson (H-D) 6.03 sec.; 2. James McQuaner (Yam ) 7 .39; 3. Phil Rief (Yam ) B.66 . OPEN; 1. Tim Cleveringa (Yem) 5.59 see.: 2. Robert Keller (Yam) 5.75; 3. Gordon King (Yam) 5.9B. THURSDAY NIGHT SHORT TRACK MINI BIKE; 1. Tom Kosola(Yam); 2. M ike Dodson (Yam); 3 . Jamie Vo llm er (y am). 125 : 1. Jeff Sutter (Yam); 2. Pat Schieffer (Honl; 3. Greg Bakker (Hon). 250 : 1. Mark Key (Yam); 2. Tim Haight (Hon); 3. Randy Feldhaus (Kaw). 500 : 1. Mark Key (H-D); 2. Robert Damron (Yam); 3. Randy Triplett (Rtx). 750: 1. Mertin Lavoie (H-D); 2. Kelly Larkin (H-D); 3. Todd Kiesick (BSA). FRIDAY PRO-AM SHORTTRACK MINI: 1. William Hoh (Hon); 2. Dan Feldhau s (Yam); 3 . J am ie Vollm er (ya m). 125 : 1. J eff Suuer (Yam); 2. Dan Feldhau s (Yam); 3. Gregg Bakker (Hon). 250 : 1. Mark Key (Yam); 2. Robert Jon es (Kaw); 3. Rob Damron (Yam). 500: 1. David Durell e (Hon); 2. Don W ilson (Rtx); 3. Key (H-D). 750: 1. Todd Giesick (Yam); 2. Merk Muth (H-O); 3. Lawrenc e O 'Connor (H-O). SATURDAY PRO SHORT TRACK REGIONAL NOV: 1. Corey Brink (Rtx); 2. Robert Damron (Rtx); 3. Scon Scherb (Hon); 4. Bob McDowell (Hon); 5. Dante Oambruoso (Hon); 6. Timothy Haight (Hon); 7. Sean Hart (Hon); 8. William Farley (BSA); 9. Craig Howard (Rtx); 10. P.J. Sanchez (Rtx). JR : 1. Randy Roose (H-D); 2. Robert Morgan (HD); 3. M icha el Reid (Atx); 4 . Donn ie Harre ll (Hont 5. Jeff Dietz (C-A); 6. Me.,in Zirbel (Yam); 7. Gino Brie nzi (Rtx); 8 . Dean James (C4A); 9. Jo hn Taylo r (Rtxt 10. Rick Albee (Hon). EX: 1. Peter Hook (Rtx); 2. Royal Anderson (C-A); 3. Randy Tri pl eU(Rtx); 4. Mark Kay (H-D); 5. Kell y Lar kin (Hon); 6. Don W il son (Rtx); 7 . Ron Adams (Hon); 8. David Durelle (Hon); 9. Arne y Wick (Hon); 10. Martin Lavoie (Hon); 11. Todd Giesick (BSA); 12. M ike Su ll ivan (Hont . SATURDAY'S HALF MILE PRO-AM 750 : 1. David Dure lle (H-D); 2. Gregory Wagen knecht (H-D ); 3 . John W incewicz(Tri); 4 . Todd Gies - ick (BSAI; 5. Royal Anderson (H-D). 500: 1. Randy Roose (H-D); 2. M ichael Reid (Rtx ); 3. Craig Howard (Rtx); 4. A.J . Eschwig (Hon); 5. Adam Sebedra (Hon). 250: 1. Robert Jones (Kaw); 2. Wagenknecht (Hon); 3. Timothy Height (Hon); 4. Anderson (Hon); 5. Eric Satterthwaite (Hon) . 125 ; 1. Jeff Sutter (Yam); 2. Gregg Bakker (Hon); 3. Dan Feldhaus (Yam). SUNDAY HALF-MILE REGIONAL NOV: 1. P.J. Sanchez (Rtx); 2. Bob McDowell (Honl; 3 . Craig Howard (Rtx); 4 . Dante Oambruoso (Hon); 5. Dennis Bernel(C-A); 6. Scou5cherb(Hon); 7. James Kesler (Rtx); B. Corey Brink (Rtx); 9. Tony Harrell (Hon); 10. John Looney (Hon). JR : 1. Ted Taylor (H-D); 2. Frank Latimer (Hon); 3. Manin Zirbel (Tri ); 4 . A .J . Eschwig (Hon) ; 5. Darin Balderston (Hon) ; 6 . Donnie Harrell (Hon); 7 . Jeff Dietz (C 4A I; B. Robbi e Blagg (Hon): 9. Lawrence O'Connor (H- O); 10. Eric Sanenhwaite. EX: 1. Mart in Lavoie (H-D); 2. Jay Beech (H-D); 3. Randy Tr iplett (Rtx); 4 . John Wincewicz (Tri); 5 . David norene (H-D); 6. Mont e Hill (H-D); 7. Don Wilson (Rtx); B. Tim Hampton (H-D); 9. Arkib Ark in (H-D); 10. Todd Giesick (BSA); 11. GregoryWagen• knecht (H-D).

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