Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

. - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - --'-- - - - - - - , 0:: r W G ::E ...J ~ ~ "" 10 ~ o o :r I0.. l.r) 00 m ..- ~ 0 C(') ... Q.) ..0 0 ,.j u o 0 Tom Lamson finished thi r d overall in the 1 2 5cc Junior division one cl ass. CMC/Skoal Bandit Amateur Lady Liberty Trans-Cal Series: Round 5 Belcher jamsat Madera . By Kit Palmer MADE RA . CA. OCT. 13 Kawasaki rider Doug Belcher might not have won both 250cc Intermediate (d ivisio n one ) motos, but a 2-1 combination was more than enough to capture the overall at the first su percross rou nd of th e Continen tal Mot osport Cl ub! Skoa l Bandit Lad y Li berty T rans-Cal Ser ies today ins ide 22 th e Ma dera County Fairgro unds. Fro m nea rb y Fresno , Ca li fornia, Bel cher ov ercame a firs t-mota cras h to fini sh second. a nd led wire-to -wire in th e seco nd to nab the class win, whi le a not her Ka wa sa ki pilot, Brad Toms salvaged a second with a 1-5 ta lly. In th e first m ot a , Ka wa sak i-m o u n ted Tony Strangio blasted into the lead but Belch er was hot on h is tracks. Belch er blew by Strangio during th e second lap , a nd a few seconds later , Strangio did a major-league loop out through a section o f w hoops tha t put h i m a lap down a nd mi n us a rear fender. Toms in h erited second when St ra ngio crashed, w hile Ala n Carlson (Ya m) and J im Ryd er (H a n) m o ved into thi rd a nd fourt h . T wo la p s later , Ryd er p u lle d off the track 10 readj ust h is rea r bra ke and lost a nu m ber of positions. Mea n while, Belc her was out in front en joying a h uge lea d, bu t two laps from th e finis h, h e overs ho t a berm a fter a do u ble jump and fell o ver. By th e time h e recovered. Toms a nd Carlso n had squeaked by. A lap later , Belcher o vertook Carlso n a nd th en set afte r T oms. On th e w h ite flag lap. Belcher was in ches behind Carlson; wi th two tu rns to go . Belch er p ull ed a lo ngside Carlson in a turn b u t gassed it a li llie 100 m uc h and a lmos t lo w-sid ed to the ground. H e lost enough time 10 give Toms th e . win . Third went 10 Carlson fo llowed by Jack Azerido (H a n) , Ti m Wh itl o ck (Han ) a nd Ro n Urma n (Ya m). T he second moto was a ll Belc her's . H e to ok th e lead r ight off the sta rt ing ga te a nd never loo ked back. Stra ngio fo ll ow ed in second bu t was hounded by Wh itl ock. In fourth was Toms . Wi th Belcher way out i n fro nt. Str angio succu m bed to Wh itl ock 's challenge a nd dropped to thi rd. H onda rid er T y Davis swept both mo tos in divisio n two but had some cha l lengesat o ng the 'Wa'y; In 'th e firsf mo ta, Ya m a ha rider Ken n y Maddux maintai ned the earl y lead while Da vis was back in fourth. Davis labored into second af ter passing J ohn Carcia (H a n) and Mike Reh m (Ya m) by la p three. Da vis spent another lap in p ursu it of Maddu x and finally passed him over th e w hoop s. From th en on, Da vis cru ised to ta ke th e win. M oro two was m uch easi er for Da vis des p ite Madd ux taking th e h oleshot. Less tha n a la p la ter, Da vis was out in fro nt a nd pu lling away. Honda rider Jeff Reynol ds, who crashed o u t o f co n tent io n in the fir st mota, was on the gas a nd passed Maddux for seco nd halfway thro ugh the rn ot o . Ka w'asak i rider J im Perry a lso snuck by Madd ux on the last la p . H onda -m ou nted Brad Tow nse nd cap tured th e overall in the l25cc Beg in ner class (d ivisio n o ne) a fter tra di ng 1-2 scores with Ya m aha-arm ed Ronn ie Lee. In the fi rs t m ot o , Mik e Wh eeler (Han ) nai led the ho lesh o t, then na iled a havba le when he wen t too wid e in th e firs t tu rn . This maneuver put h i m near'the rear o f the pack a nd gave Lee the lea d. In second was Townsend, followed by SCOll Esma y (H a n ). Vin ce Cole (Han ) a nd Mike Menn ic ( Ka w ). Three laps la ter, Cole reeled in a n d passed Esmay for th ird th en found h imself a bo u t five seco nds behind T ownsend. On th e last la p , Townse nd h it a bad sec tio ns of b u mps th rough a n ess turn. swa p ped a nd crashed . H e recovere d in time to m aintain seco nd, but lost th e cha nce 10 p ass Lee. At th e sa me time. Col e fell down in a turn a n d d ropped 10 10th . Lee crossed th e checkers in first foll owed by Town send, C ary McCl ell and (Ka w ), Wheeler a nd Esmav. H o lesh ot a rt ist Wh eeler o nce aga in bl asted into th e lead a t th e sta rt o f th e seco nd m oto bu t T own send a nd McCl ell and took o ver the first a nd second p laces by the end o f th e lap. L ee had a fo urth -place start bu t had co n trol of second halfwa y through the moro, The top five riders were fa irl y spread apart fo r th e rest o f the ra ce a n d tl1ere iwa s t1opaossing made! Townsend took th e win and o vera ll . followed by Lee, Wheeler , McC lell and and Doug Money (Ka w). Bria n E nse lv (H o n) clearly dom ina ted bo th 80cc Beg inner (d ivisio n one) motos, cla imi ng th e overa ll. Ense ly led from sta rt to fini sh in both motos b u t was carefu l n ot to m ake a nv mista kes in th e first , si nce Kawasaki r ide r Mall H a rri son wa s a lways in the h u nt. En sel v never bo b bled even when nego tiating lapped tra ffic and won th e m ot o . Harrison fini sh ed second a h ead o f Rusty Rust (Ya m ) and Kenn v Madd en, Moto two was a wire-to-wire romp by Ensely, but th e ba ttl e over second was intense. R ust, Ha rr ison and Kevin J ones ( Ha n) wer e involved in th e duel that lasted th rougho u t th e mota. On th e fina l lap , Rust crashed in a turn le tti ng Ha rr ison a n d J ones by. J on es fou nd a way arou nd H arrison taking co ntro l of seco nd . A t th e finish i t wa s Ens el y, J ones. Harrison a nd Rust . It was pretty much a tw o -ri der show in the O ld T imers Ju n ior class between H onda rider Bill New m an a nd Yamaha-mounted Terry Pratt. In th e firs t moto, o n th e sa me ga te as th e Vet Juniors. Prall took a mid pack sta rt but was a head of Newma n a nd OT Jun ior Roger Men ke t Kaw) . P ra ll was o n th e gas, pulli ng a wa y from Newman and wo rking hi s wa y up to second o vera ll. With three la p s to go , th ough , P rall was hed o u t in a m udd y turn , letti ng Newma n a nd Menke by in th e 'p roc ess. Pra ll managed to repass Men ke but co u ld n' t make a dent aga inst Newman's lead. Newman to ok th e win, followed by Prall a nd Menke. The seco nd m o to feat ured a o ne o n-o ne duel between P ra ll a nd Ne wman . After th e first lap. P rall led Newman by a few feet ; as the ra ce progressed, P ra ll co u ld n ' t sha ke Newman . At the midwa y point, P ra ll ta ng led wi th a no th er rider in a turn a nd a lmost cras hed, but he hel d th e th rot tle o n and stayed on two wh eel s. Four tu rns fro m th e checkered flag , Newman pu lled alongside P ra ll i n a strai g h t and made th e pass, but Newman fell d own in the fo ll o win g turn gi vi n g the lead bac k to Prall . P ra ll took th e win and o vera ll follo wed by Newman a nd Menke. • Lechien (Con tin ued from p age 3) th e y were wit h h im (L ec h ie n) ," H onda Racing Manager C a ry Mathers told Cycle N ews. "He told m e that h e th ought so mebody from H onda J a pan wou ld hav e to go there a nd ba il h im o u t, a nd he was o f th e opin io n th at if H ond a agreed 10 turn him arou nd a nd p u t h im o n a pl ane. th ey'd gi ve h im back hi s passport a nd le t hi m go. We tal ked a bo u t ha ving h im race a nd we agreed that we didn 't wa nt hi m 10 race. " I know the people at HRC (Hond a Raci ng Corporation ) hand led it. th e m a nager of HRC went to th e airport, a nd a ny agreements we re made betwee n the c u sto m s peop le, HR C a nd Ronnie," Ma th ers sa id . W hen as ked o n O ctober 14 if H onda would term in ate Lechien ins tead o f le tt ing h is 1985 co ntract ru n o ut . Math ers said," l t's about a week- anda -ha lf process th e way o ur co ntracts are wr itt en , a nd we a re in th e pr ocess of doi ng that. He 's been n oti fied of th at th ro ugh Dick (Lech ien) ." Asked if th e trou ble in J a pan would affect Le ch ieri's re la tionship wit h Ka wa sa ki, Ka wasa ki P u bl ic Rela tions Manager Mel Moore said. " We rea lly d on' t know . Apparently he is o kay to en te r th e co untry in th e futu re, but if he was to be ban ned from J a pan he cou ldn 't make an y pu bl ic a p peara nces . cou ld n 't ra ce, co u ld n' t do a ny testing . so that wou ld seriously impair h is va lu e to Ka wasa ki. But he apparently had less th a n a n ou nce, wh ich they' consider a pe rsona l co nsumpti o n qua ntity, and they'll let him back in the co u nt ry. I wo ul d sav a t this poin t tha t no , II wo n't affec t' hi s relationship with Kawasa ki Mo tors Corp." Dick Lech ien , Ron 's fa ther. tol d Cv cle N ews" Ronni e had less tha n a n o u nce of pot in his su itcase. He go t ca ugh t goi ng th roug h c ustoms a nd was fin ed SIOO a nd th en re leased . T hat's it. H on da d ecided not to let him ride th e race so he re tu rn ed (to the U .S.). The wh ole thing is em barrass ing to me and th e wh ole fa mi ly, a n d Ronn ie is pretty u pset a bo u t th e w hole th ing. H e was to ld by so me peop le th at it (th e marij ua na) would help him th roug h je t lag . "I've talked to Ro y T urner (Kawa Res ults sa ki 's team m a nager) a nd he d idn 't 60 0-8: 1. Jonatha n Paul s IKa w ); 2. J am ie Reves (Kaw); 3 . Dav id Och oa (Kaw ), th in k it was a n yth in g signi fica n t. In 60 9 ·1 1: 1. J e sseJames (Kaw); 2. Rya n Huffman fact. he tri ed 10 get h im a r ide for th e (Kaw) ; 3. Damon Huffman (Kaw). 80 BEG: 1. Brian Ensely (Han ); 2. Matt Har rison su pe rcr oss on a Kawasa ki. Kawasaki (Kaw) ; 3. Rusty Rust (Yam ). isn 't happ y abou t th e w hole thing ' BO JR 12 -16; 1. Jeff Grefton (Yam); 2. Lou ie Ramo (Yam ); 3. Cole Gr ess (Kawl. a n d it co uld jeopard ize so me thi ng, BO JR 12 -16 ; 1. Br ian Walter (Yam); 2. M ark bu t Ronn ie isn ' t employed by KawaEasley (Han ); 3. Duane Benner (Han). 80 JR 9 -11 : 1. Tyl er Hummel (Ka w) ; 2 . Josh saki . Not u nti l nex t month. I don 't Kuchta (Kawl; 3. Corey Roland (Kaw) . see a ny p roble m s. H onda is using 80 INT 9 -1 1; 1. Butch Smith (Suz); 2. Ryen Paul s thi s to fire h im afte r he a lready quit. (Han); 3. Damon Huffman (Yam). 80 INT 12 - 16 DIY 1: 1. Erick Hi lton (Yam); 2. Pat We wanted to lea ve H on da before h is We ide (Yam ) 3 . Tommy Clowers (Han). co ntract ended a ny way. " 80 INT 12 - 16 DIV 2; 1. Ph il Lawren ce (Yam); 2. Br ia n G ipson (Kaw); 3 . Sloan Cooper (Yam) . Des p ite specu lat io n th at Lechien 125 BEG DIY 1; 1. Brad Towns end (Hon); 2. wi ll n a y be a ble 10 return to J apan , Ronn ie Lee (Yamt; 3 . M ike W heeler (Han). 125 BEG DIV 2; 1. Jamia We lls (Hon); 2. J im Dick Lech ien doesn 't see tha t as being Connor (Han); 3. Anthony AQuino (Han) . a p roblem. " He won 't hav e a ny prob125 JR DIV 1; 1. Brandon Reyes ( Ka w ~ 2. Kevi n lems ge tti ng back 10 J apan ." McCrory (Yam ); 3 . Tom Lamson (Kaw ). 125 JR DIV 2: 1. Ken Arnold (Kaw) ; 2. Kevin Mrs. Ludwig o f th e Amer ica n Maret (Hon ); 3. Bill Gilbert (Yam). Embassy in T ok yo researched the 12 5 INT DIV 1; 1. Michael Ray Craig (Yam ); 2. Pau l W inn (Yam) ; 3 . Robby Gordan (Kawl. in cident for Cycle N ews and viewed 125 INT DIV 2 ; 1. Scott Brown (Hon); 2. Ty Davi s the in cident as being very serio us. (Hon l; 3. Ward Bassett (Kaw). 250 BEG ; 1. Ralph Davis (Hon); 2 . Matt Crawford " T he J apanese co ns u la te know s (Honl; 3. Larry Erisnor (Yam) . n othing of th e in cident. but the cus250 JR ; 1. Rob Sassen (Cagl; 2. Loren Barrett toms people are a wa re of the situ a (Suzl; 3. Aaron Gi nn (Hon) . 250 INT DIV 1: 1. Doug Belc h er (Ka w) ; 2. Brad tion ; th ey won 't. however. g ive out Toms (Kaw l; 3. Tim Whitlock (Honl. a ny information," Ludw ig sa id. " We 2 50 IN T DIV 2; 1. Ty Davis (Hon); 2 . Ke nny Maddux (Yam) ; 3. J im Perry (Kaw). (the Amer ican Emba ssy) were not 500 BEG : 1. Pau l Flo res (Ha n); 2. Baron Sumter invol ved because he (Lech ien) never (Yam) ; 3 . Chris Flack (Hon). 500 INT : 1. Ken Wolcon (Hon ); 2. A ar on Pipes as ked for help . It a p pea rs he was (Han); 3. Loren Poch ir owski (Han). never actua lly in the co u ntry; he was VET JR : 1. Bru ce Rut s (Yam) : 2. Reid Franke n ot ad m i tted into J apan . H e m ay not (Hon) : 3 . Gary Jaeh ne (Kaw). VET INT : 1. Rich W ill i ams (Kaw); 2. Bret Leaf hav e even had h is passport sta m ped . (HanI; 3. Bruce Winfree (Han). " I want to say.once aga in, th at thi s VET MASTER; 1. Ph i l Douglas (Hon); 2. Duane Hughes (Ho n); 3. Gary Wilson (Hon). is view ed ver y seriously in thi s counaT JR : 1. Terry Pran (Yam) ; 2. Bill New m an (Ha n ): tr y (Japa n) . H e will either not be 3 . Roger Menke (Kaw ). aT INT ; 1. Roland Thompson (Suz) ; 2. Rich Lakely a llowed ba ck in th e co u n try o r will be (KTM) ; 3. Ron Col e (M -S). very serio u sly sea rc hed at th e very OT MASTER; 1. Terry Davis (Ho n); 2. Hank w ds\B1 (Sui )." • • • • ,... . • . • '" _. - . - . - . least.'..· . . . . - . . .. '.. " • ~ . ,' .

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