Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

VonUbin and Douglas star at P.A.l. By Mike Vancil SANTA CLA RA , CA . SE PT. 13 Ka rl VonU bin a nd Phi l Douglas shared what ap peared to be a well -used Kawasak i KX500 to wi n four motos a nd take lo-< Q.) ~ o .... u o Geoff McCarthy took his Ducati to the 500cc Vintage class w in at Firebird Raceway, Dave Fiorelli rode a BSA Gold Star to second , check. By th e 14-mile point , So ler took third aw a y from Husk y-m ounted Dennis Ti p to , Aft er cl osing to th e ha ck wheel of R .U T .S. 125cc rider Gene Elzen berge r at the 20-m ile mark. So lee too k o ver second a t 25 miles. Elzen berger held o n for th ir d whi le OR A racer T ip ton to ok fifth a t th e checke red flag . Resu lts 125: 1. Guy Kibbe (Ex); 2. D. We ston (Nov); 3. J . Van (Ex). 250: 1. Ke nny Parry IExl; 2. O. Conner (A m); 3 . R. M oor e (Nov) . OPEN: 1. Lark in Wright lEx); 2. J ohn Rudder (Ex l; 3. B. Harris IExI. 125 BEG: 1. Gene Elzen berger; 2. J . Webster. 250 BEG: 1. Dennis Tipton; 2. R. Drexler ; 3. G. Gard . OPEN: 1. George Penn ington; 2. Jeff Solee; 3 . T. A iles. High-point winners crowned By Gay Shut e CHICO, CA, SEPT. 14 Bill Rogers was cro wned th e C ycl el and Speedwa y 250cc Handi cap high-point cha m p io n today; Rogers won with 98 po ints , but was threatened in the fin a l sta nd ings by Jo ey Gresham, who sco red 71 points. Dennis H ill er was th e hi gh -point trophy wi n ne r in the Open Ha ndi ca p class with 62 points. bea ting Gilbert Smit h w ho had 53 points. Travis Shu te earned the 80cc h ig hpo in t award wit h 33 poi nts w hile Low ell Mou ra l J r. sco red 21 pointsro ta ke second . Vintage racers Triumph at Firebird By Mike Ross C HAN D LER, AZ , S EPT . 15 The o pen ing round o f th e Vintage Triple Crown sa w a record number o f pre-1972 m otorcycles turn OUt to race th e first 38 . part o f a three-ra ce ser ies for vintage bikes a t Firebird Racewa y. Race o ne o f th e T r ip le C rown wa s won by Fred Eiker in th e 50 lcc to O pen class w ith a co me-fro m -beh ind cha rge d u ring th e l O-lap spr int. Eike r's Norton wa s eig h th into th e firs t turn o n the 12-turn Firebird co urse, but qui ckl y m ov ed up to cha lle nge th e beautifull y prepared '69 750cc Triumph Trident o f C ra ig Ski n ner. Sk in ner held o ff Eike r until la p seven. wh en ign iti on p roblem s slowed th e T ride n t. T h ird pl ace J ohn SCOIl,o n a 750 Trium ph tw in . turned u p th e w ick to reel in and pass Skinner's a iling T r ide nt a nd th en m ov ed be h ind Eik er to pressure h is Norton until th e checkered flag . Eiker went o n to take a nother firs t in a hea ted Bar tle of the Twi ns race lat e r tha t a fte rnoon . Skin ner sa id, " I raced m y low co mpress ion motor to da y, bu t a t Will ow Sp ri ngs (the th ird race of the T r ip le Crown ). I'l l ha ve my h igh compress ion 850 motor ready." The 0-50l cc Class saw Star Cycle 's Mi ck Frew jump to a n ea r ly lead on his 250cc TD-2 Yamaha . Frew was n ever seriousl y cha llenged , a lt hough the st rong - runn ing D uca ti ·150 o f Geoff i\IcClflhy p ut h im in reach of Frew during th e closing laps . McCa r th y went o n to win the tro ph y for 500cc bikes. while Frew got th e gold in th e 250cc class. A few seco nds behind i\IcCarth v's Ducar i, Dennis Zimmer 's Br id gest one 350, r idde n b y H en rv Tecza of Nevada Ya m aha . wa s at wa~ with Dav e F iorelli 's BSA G ol d Sta r. Fiorell i h ad the adva ntage o n lap o ne. but Tecza m o to red by o n th e seco n d lap . Fiorell i pressed ha rd a n d go t back arou nd T ecza on la p six. a nd th e Beeler h eld firs t until the checkered flag. Tecza received firs t pl a ce honors in the :l50cc class and Fi orelli landed second in the 500cc class. Fiorelli 's '55 BSA, o wned by Di ck Newby o f Ora nge Co u n ty. has been ra ced regul a rl y since 1978 . Les Johnson . riding his B-50 BSA . to ok a third p la ce tro p h y in th e 500cc cl ass. The P ho en ix Road Race Organi zari on 's (P R R O) first d a ytime ra ce since the beginning of summer also included a full card of spring ra ces for modern bi kes. C rai g Martin was th e class art of the day by turni ng the quickes t la p of th e meet on his Kin gman Cycle-sponsored Yama ha 1"2750. Ma rt in took trophies in Superstreet B. Stock P rod uctio n C a nd Form u la One.' H a rd-ch arg ing Mike Will ia m s a lso had a good da y by finis hi ng first in Stock P ro d uction C, Form u la T wo a nd a ho tlv-con res tcd seco nd beh ind Henry Tecla's FJ-600 in Supers treet C. Results STK A : 1. Greg Dean; 2. Richard Kah n (Kawl. STK B: 1. Joe S helton (Yam ); 2 . Bill Fen nessy IYam). STK C: 1. M ike W ill iam s IKa w) : 2 . Craig M art in IYam ); 3. M ike Ross (Yam l. STK 0 ; 1. Rick Will iams (Yam ); 2. Norm Bendum (Yam ); 3. Bruce Vickerman. SPST A : 1. Kelly Byrd; 2. Rich ar d Koh n (Kawl; 3 . Arnold Seem (Su z). SPST 8 : 1. Craig M art in (Yam); 2. Fra nk W esl ey. SPST C: 1. Hen ry t ecae (Vam ); 2. Mike Williams (Kaw ); 3 . J oh n Stephen s (Kaw l. SPST 0 : 1. Scon W illock (Ya m); 2. Tom Dah l (Yam I. VINT 0 ·500: 1. Geoff M cCarthy IDucl; 2. Dave Fior elli (BSA) ; 3. Lesli e J ohn son (BSA ). VtNT 0 ·250 : 1. M ick Frew IYam ); 2. Jay Herman (Hon !. VtNT 0 · 3 50 : 1. Hen ry Tecza, VINT 501· 0 PEN: 1. Fred Eiker (Nor); 2. Jo hn Scon lT d ); 3. Craig Skinner (Tf i), BOTT: 1. Fred Eik er INo r); 2. Tom M oor e IDucl; 3 . Bruce Vic kerm an (Yam). F ~ 1: 1. Craig M art in (Yam); 2 . Kelly Byrd; 3 . J eff Udell (Kaw) . F-2 : 1. M ik e W illiams (Kaw ); 2. J oh n St ep hen s; 3 . Bob Smith. F-3 ; 1. M arcell o Del Giudic e; 2 . Tom Dah l (Yam); 3 . Scon W illock (Yam) . home top hono rs in the O pen J u n io r and Vetera n Master classes tonigh t a t the Police Act ivi ty Leag ue trac k. T he victory for Vo n U bi n was hi s firs t a t the Sa nta C la ra Iaci lit v this vear, a nd he ba tt led nea rl y every in~h of the wa y wi th Arnie Fry (Ya m) 10 accomplis h it. Fry a nd Von Ubin sh a red th e track with a hord e o f Open . Novice riders. and by th e th ird la p o f each six -lap mota. th ey we re la p p ing the back mar kers . T he ch ief co m pe titor for Dou gl a s was Mik e La ne in m oto o ne unt il La ne tired a nd th e cha lle nger becam e Jerry Caton (Cee t/ Moto -X Fox/ Hon ). On the rea r w heels o f Cat on in eac h m ota ca m e Ri ck So uza (Han) . T he norma l r ide fo r Dougl as has been a H o nd a C R . bu t h e rode th e Kawa sak i as if he had bee n ri ding it for se vera l seasons. In mo ta two. Ca to n grabbed th e ea rly lead but was overtake n by Douglas duri ng the second lap; Douglas held on for the win. In 125ccIntermediateacti on, Wade Cobern and his H o nd a won the o vera l!. In th e first m oto, Cobern (G o ose Bro th ers Ra ci ng ) could do no better than a secon d behind th e yo u ngest o f the Caton ra cers , Jeff Ca to n o n his RM Su zu ki . Cob ern and Caton ta ngled o nce o n th e sta rt a nd bumped a co up le o f times during th e m ot o, Nei ther went down nor o ff th e co u rse; it was just hard racing. In the second ' moto, Ca to n went do w n a t the sta rt a n d was o n ly a ble to ~e t as h igh as seco nd p lace beh ind Co bern when the ch eckers ca me o u t. Resu lts PEE WEE 50: 1. Danny Murphy (Hon ). PEE WEE 60: 1. Elton Steydi ng (Yam); 2. J ohn Fox IKaw). MINI NOV (9·11): 1. Brent Ug ie (Kaw). MINI JR 19-11): 1. Kenny Spence (Yam) . MINI NOV : 1. Robbie M yer IKaw l; 2. Ryan Hao le {Honl; 3. J ohn Peavler (Yam I. MINI JR (12 · 16) : 1. Adam Fish er (Yam); 2. M ike Hayd el (Hon); 3 . Stan Fi nney (Kaw) . M INI EX 112 -1 6): 1. Todd Hicks (Yam) . 125 NOV : 1. Dave Mi lazzo (Hon); 2. Joel We is (Kaw ); 3 . Steve Roger s (Kaw l. 125 JR : 1. Jeff Ch almers (Hen] . 125 INT; 1. Wa de Cobern (Ho n). 250 NOV: 1. M ark Olm st ead (Hon) ; 2. Glen n Decker (Ha n); 3 . Rog er Epper son (Yam) . 250 JR : 1. Geor ge Hear e (Ha n); 2. Jeff Rapett i (Hon). 250 INT: 1. M ike Tosc h i (Yam). OPEN NOV ; 1. Scon Bowman (Hon) ; 2 . M ike Os pr in g (Han); 3 . Paul Hankerson (Mai). OPEN J R: 1. Kar l VonUbin (Kaw) . OPEN PRO: 1. Tony Ric hards (Kaw) . VET SPTSMN: 1. Dan Nelson (S Ul). VET INT: 1. Harry Bellicini (Yam ). VET MSTR: 1. Ph il Doug la s IKaw) . OT SPTSMN: 1. M ik e Peav ler (Yam) . OT INT; 1. Geoffrey Fox (Hon). Trone tops competition at Ascot By Chris Boice GARDENA, CA, SE P T. 13 Honda rider Ro b Trone had a good night at Continental Mo tOSP0rlS Club's (CMC) Ascot motocross, defeating th e almost . unbeat abl e Ron Turn er (Ca g) in th e 250cc Pro cl ass. Turner go t th e ho leshot and led th e fir st m ot a , whi le Trone spent th e fir st three la p s o ver co m in g a p oor sta rt. By the fo u rt h lap, h e had ca ugh t a nd passed Da vi d Ca lhou n (Han) a nd Cra ig Wester ga ard (Ya m) to pull in behind T u rner. T he two riders crossed the fi n is h lin e se pa ra ted by just a few feet , but wi th Turner still in th e number o ne posi- tion . Westergaard was third a nd Kei th Williamson (Ya m) was fourth. T he secon d m or o sta rted like the firs t wi th T u rner shooting o u t into the lea d. T h is ti me, however , Trone got a good start a nd m ov ed in o n Turner's fender for th e first lap. On th e second lap, Trone litera ll y crew by T urner on the table j umps a nd soared into the lead. It was Turner 's tu rn to ride on Trone's b u m per, a n d th at h e di d for fo ur la p s. T ro ne di d n' t cr um ble u nder th e pressure a nd took th e checkered flag just inches in front o f T u rner. Trone's second moto victo ry gave h im the overa ll win with Turner taking second overa ll, Cal ho u n fin ish ed th ird in th e m ot a , but becau se o f a DNF in the first m ot o , he s u rren dered third overa ll to Williamso n. Da vid Ben ed etti was fir st o u t o f th e gate at th e sta rt of the fir st di visi on o f 125cc J un io rs . Cagiva rid ers Fabri zio Azzali n a n d Cosentino Matteo were a lso quick o ff the lin e. By the second la p , Ma tteo had gotte n by both Azzalin a nd Bened etti a nd had o pe ned up a co mforta ble lead. Azzalin a nd Ben ed etti swa pped secon d p la ce back a n d fort h. but wh en th e race was o ver, Ben ed ett i was the o ne wh o crossed the line in th e second slo t beh ind Matteo. Azzali n was third a nd Lonni e Pasch al (Suz) ra n fourth from start 10 finis h . Bened ett i jumped to the fro nt of th e pack of screaming l 25s 10 beg in th e second ro und: For three la p s, he had a commanding lead u nti l Ma tteo ca u g h t fir e and started a cha rge . On the fourth la p , h e was closing grou nd fast, and by th e last lap, he had his wheel just millim eters from Benedet ti 's rear ti re. Bened etti won the moto a nd th e o vera ll with Matteo taking second overa ll. Paschal finished th e moto in third a nd ea rned third overall . H onda rider Chris Chapma n led th e en tire fir st m oto of 250ccJuniors. For th e fir st tw o laps. h e was o u t in front a ll bv himself , but then th e o th er front runners all beg an to cl ose in . By th e whi te-flag lap , it was a good Iour-rnan ra ce for fir st a m o ng Chapman. Consentino Matteo (M-S). Mik e Pa lumbo (Hon) ' a nd Jimmy Barto li (Hon). Chapman best ed his ch all engers. a nd th ey filed across th e line in tha t o rde r excep t for Rex Smith (Han) , who ca me u p to pass Bartoli a nd finish fourth . The second mota was agai n a fier ce four-man ra ce for fir st. This tim e Ba rtoli was in the lead with Chapman , H o nda rid er Da ve Nea lo n a nd Pa lumbo a ll in lOW. On th e fourth' lap, Nealon wo r ked h is way past C hapma n a nd into second. On th e last la p , Nea lo n set Bartol i u p a nd m ade a pass o n the inside of the right ba nder before the rockers. T ha t lef t Ba rt oli a nd C hapma n to fig h t it o ut to th e fin is h lin e - a n d eve n beyond th e finish line. Aft er bumpin g severa l times in the S turns j ust before th e fin ish line, Bartoli got th e ad va ntage a n d to ok seco nd with Chapman begrudgingly taking th ird. C hap m a n had th e la st laug h , ho wever , as h e to ok the o vera ll with his 1-3. Bartoli was second overa ll a n d Palumbo wa s third. Perhaps th e best race o f th e night was th e 500cc Intermedi ate co ntest. Tim H arris (M-S) got. th e holeshot a n d led th e pack until the S turns before th e TT jump when Greg Bender (Han) sho t up from third to first. Larry G ross (Ya m) tai led Bender al l five la p s, wh il e H arris fell off th e pace a n d faded back . Bender, feel in g th e pressure o f G ro ss beh ind him , hit short o n th e double jumps a nd got o u t o f shape. H e lost a litt le tim e but sti ll beat G ro ss 10 th e checke red flag . T he secon d m o to hol esh ot was ta ke n by G ro ss, a nd a lt hough Bender came cl ose h e was n ever a ble to pull

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