Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Gallo gathers Gran Prix HS gold By Ro be rt Lisey CANAL F ULTON , OH, DE C. 15 Frank Gallo and his Wetzelspon sor ed Hu sqvarn a 510 thumped th e co mpeti tio n in Sunda y's rou n d of th e a n n ual G ran Prix Ra ceway Fall Hare Scrambles Series. G allo worked hi s wa y from a fourth ro w sta rt to victory. The race was starte d by clas ses with th e 125cc division ride rs lea ving fir st. T odd Streit a nd Jim Lowers h eld th e fir st two spots for a lap until Jim Kalla cker a n d AI C h up pa passed th em. A lap la ter , Gallo bulled h is way in to the lead a nd was never h eaded fro m th ere o n. Kallacker a nd Chu ppa stayed close 10 Gallo bu t as th e ru ts got deeper, G allo got stronger and th e overa ll win wa s his. Th e fight betw een Kall acker a n d Chuppa for th e 250cc class win went right down 10 th e fin ish . Kall acker buri ed hi s Mathias/Hi-Point Husky right up to the seat o n th e third la p , but h e ca me back with a vengeance to take th e class lead back from Chuppa and hi s Wetzel- sponsored Hu sky a t th e midway mark o f the race. Ch u p pa got pa st Kall acker one m ore tim e, but at th e fini sh it was Kall acker across the lin e firs t for the class win. Res ults OVERALL : Frank Gallo (Hus ). JR. MINI: t. Eric Penick (Yam); 2. Brad Quear (Kaw): 3. Ben Fralby (Kaw). SR. MIN I: 1. Bill Penick (Yam ); 2. Joe Maret ic h (Yam); 3. Phil Gauthier (Yam ). L/W NOV : 1.·Kevin Sunde (Hon); 2. John Rodd y (Hon ); 3. Diane Copley (Su z). H/W NOV : 1. Tom Coffee (Kaw) ; 2. Joe Rist (Yam); 3. Joe Hawis (Hus). 125cc: t , J im Lower (Suzl; 2 . Todd Streit (Kaw); 3 . Nick Zanella (Hon). 200cc: 1. Royce Klein (Hon); 2. Rick Horvat (Hon); 3 . Ron Roberts (Yam). 250c<:; I .Jim Kaliacker (Hus ); 2. AI Chuppa (Hus ); ;I. Fred Horva t (Han). OPEN : 'l . Jeff Souasera (Yam ); 2. Vern Pacholke (Han ); 3. Jerry Burgy (Kaw). SR. I: 1. John Gallagher (Hon); 2. Robin Miller (Yam); 3. Bill Lower (Suz). SR. II: 1. Don Daff ron (Kaw); 2. John Buka (Kaw); 3 . Jim Dessoffy (KTM) . Rodriquez wins first-ever Vet National Championship By Terry Whytal PERRIS, CA, DEC. 14 Riding a booming ATK560 four-stroke. Randy Rodriq uez came from behind in both mOlDS lD win th e inaugura l running o f th e SMX-sanctioned White Bros. Vet Nati onal Champi onship. Twenty-three o f Am eri ca 's top O ver30 Pro rider s co m pe ted in th e Vet Pro class th at featured a $1000 purse, while nearl y 100 Over- 30, Over-40 and O ver-50 Amateurs co m pe ted for a no ther $1000 in prizes donated by White Bros., Malcolm Smith and Bel-R ay. Clear skies a n d temperatures in th e 70s made for id eal tr ack cond iti ons for riders a nd specta to rs alike a nd th e Perris track was carefull y prepped for th e event with several new ch ica nes, rockers a nd sma ll doubles added to keep the act io n close and exciting . H ead lin ing the event was th e Vet Pro race wi th three-time National Champion Gary J on es the prerace favori te in a field tha t included Rod riquez, Kenn y Zahrt, Jim Hoover, Jon Miller, Tom White, T om Webb, Alan O lson, Dale Lewis a nd many o the rs. T rue 10 expecta tio ns , J ones p ow ered to the lead as th e ga te d ropped o n th e first rnot o , J ones' lead wa s shortlived, how ever , as h e fell in a tight Open w inner Dale Baumes lead s Tim Voorhees at SDR scrambles. lef t-hander, a nd Yam a h a -m ounted H oo ver moved 10 th e front. J ones remou nted down field as Zah rt pus hed h is H onda into second, wit h Rodr iquez co m ing fro m fifth to tak e over th e num ber-th ree spot o n lap two. H oov er held o ff Zahrt for a co up le laps before Zahrt £l ew past on th e big ski-j u mp. Rodriquez clo sed rapidl y o n th e two-rider du el for th e lead a nd a t th e halfway po int th e three rid ers were battling wh eel -to wh ee!. Behind th e leaders a n eq ua lly furious battle over fourth spot betw een Mill er , Ol son a nd Yamaha PR ace Willie Am aradio raged, as p ositions wer e trad ed ba ck and fort h severa l times with less th an a seco nd separa ting fo urth th rough six th throughou t most o f th e rnot o. U p fro n t th e ac tio n hea ted up as the laps co u nted down. Rodriquez fin all y s li p ped p ast H o o ver a n d ca ugh t Zah rt in th e roc kers 10 move into th e lead. Zahrt charged ba ck in th e horses hoe but overcooked th e tu rn a nd took a sm a ll o ff-co urse exc ursion . Rodriquez cru ised on to th e win as Zahrt sett led for seco nd ahead o f H oover. J ones charged past th e fourth-place bailie aft er hi s firstlap cras h to pl a ce fourth with Amaradi o fifth . " I' ve had th e flu for about three weeks," noted Jones betw een rnotos, "and I just co u ld n ' t get back to the front aft er I fell. " T hat didn 't sto p th e form er factory star from grabbing the h o lesh ot again in rou nd two , but o nce aga in he took a tumbl e, allowing Zahrt and Rodriq uez to power pa st as h e remounted. Zahrt and Rodriq uez provided pl enty o f cro wd-p leas in g ac tio n with the overa ll win o n th e line. With ATK-crealOr Horst Leimer beaming from the sidelines, Rodri quez pushed his way to th e lead and h eld on 10 th e che ckers 10 take hi s first National title. Zahrt went home with runnerup honors as a determined Jones pl aced third for th e rnoto and claimed th ird overall with Hoover fourth , Mill er fifth and Ol son sixth and first Over-40. In Vet Intermediate actio n, Keith Ehl er s powered hi s Yamaha to a win in the biggest , toughest ra ce o f th e da y. Ehler s won both moros in style lea vin g seco nd pl ace 10 Honda rid er Mi cha el J ohnson , with Ri ck Gil pushing hi s Yam aha to third a hea d o f ATK-mounted Victor Triepke. Results VET PRO; 1. Randy Rodr iquez (ATK ); 2. Kenn y Zahrt (Han ); 3. Gary J ones (C-A ). VET EX: 1. Scan Freema n (Honl ; 2 . David Dew hurst (Han); 3. Donald Leib (Yam). OT EX: 1. Lars Larsson (Ha n): 2. Ron ald Rver (Yam); 3 . M ar vin Ol son (Yam). VET INT: 1. Keith Eh lers (Yam); 2. M ich ael John son (Hon l; 3. Rick Gill (Yam I. OT INT: 1. Geo rge Spear in g (Hus); 2 . Bob Beasley (Yam); 3 . Carlo s Ma rin (Han I. M STR INT; 1. Sk ip Skin ner (Yam): 2. Irwin Moon (Han ); 3 . Hal Grady (Han) . VET NOV : 1. Mark Barrett (KTM ): 2 . Oan Lewis (C-A); 3 . Bob M ilano (Husl . OT NOV: 1. Terr y Pran (Yam); 2. J er ry Young (Han); 3. Chuck Gilmore (Han). MSTR NOV; 1. Dea n Ray (Yam); 2 . Dic k Doyle (ATLI; 3. Bob Moore (Yam). Randy Rodriquez flies his ATK560 to the win in the inaug ural ru nning of the SMX-sanctioned White Bros. Vet National Championship. SDR Scrambles win to Gardner By Mag Blachek BINGH AMTO N , NY , DE C. 15 Bitter cold weather did not coo l Ra ndy Gardner 's winning s trea k in the Square Deal Riders M.C. Mud and Snow Scra m bles Series. Gardner co llected hi s fourth win in four sta rts as a firstyear Expen rid er. Gaining th e lead on th e first lap in th e Expert cla ss, Gardner pulled aw ay from event ua l seco nd pl ace fini sh er Ken Titus 10 ma intain a lead that withstood a lat e race crash. In the Senior/Super Senior class, Chuck G ardner grabbed th e lead o n th e first lap but Russ Baldwin chose a bett er lin e through a muddy secti on o f th e cou rse a n d p assed Gardner o n th e seco nd lap. Baldwin went o n to tak e th e win in the Seni or cl ass wh ile G ardner topped the Super Senior division . . Steve Deem ie ran away with th e win in th e 250cc class. Durin g th e 30 m inutes of ra cing Deemie put in one m ore lap than th e o the r riders in th e 250cc class. Results l00cc: 1. Cun Blewett (Kaw); 2. Steve Congdon (Yam); 3 . Joel Nabinger (Kaw). 200cc: 1. Brett Ruhf (Hon); 2. Dave Sherwood (Su z); 3 . Glen Davis (Yam ). 25Occ : 1. Steve Oeemie (Hon); 2. Ch ip Vonk in (Yam); 3 . Jeff Congdon (Han) . OPEN : 1. Dale Baumes (Hon); 2 . Tim Voorhees (M-S); 3 . Joe Arcesi (Han) . SR: 1. Russ Baldw i n (Kawl; 2. Bruce Miller (Kawl; 3. Charles Chapman (Yam ). SUPER SR: 1. Chuck Ga rdner (Yam ); 2 . Joe Arcesi (Hon) ; 3 . Glenn Corby (Bul) . EX?: 1. Randy Gard ner (Hon) ; 2. Ke n Tit us (H us); 3 . Bren Ble w ett (Kawl. Hooper beats Pros at Sand Hill MX By Lee Denlinger BR EN TWOOD, CA, DEC, 15 Suzu ki-mo u n ted George Hoppe r ( D H C ycl es-Mod esto / Ma lcolm Smith ) took th e overa ll win in the I25/250cc Open m ixed-Pro class toda y at Sa nd H ill. H o p per follo wed Suzuki rider Kenn ie Klein (Jorgys Moto rcycle-Stock to n j a nd Honda -mounted Bill Jamieso n o ut o f th e ga tes in th e first moto . It lo ok ed li ke thi s wo u ld be the 1-2-3 line-up for the race until H opper h it th e dow n hi ll double jum ps o ff Godzilla Hill, £l ying pa st J am ieson in lap two a nd Klein in la p th ree. As H opper wa s enjoying h is a irborn e exc u rsio ns, Ca liforn ia new co mer Dennis O str iern (Tea m US Racing/Palo Alt o Yam aha ) was zipping h is wa y th rough th e ranks. Sta rt ing from sevent h pl ace, Ostriem worked his way th rough th e mixed Pro pack 10 place seco nd overall behind Hopper in (he first m oro. Klein gr abbed th e holesh ot in the second moto, a n d maintained th e lead for one lap until he wa s vanquish ed by H opper o n th e downhill d ouble jumps. Klein se ttled in to second place for th e n ext seven laps, but was jolted into third p lace wh en O stri ern p ow ered hi s 125cc Yamaha pa st him in the la st lap. Th e 2-2 wins ga ve Ostriem seco nd overall behind Hopper 's overall first p lace in th e Pro class. Ri ch Forbes raced hi s Kawa sak i 10 a n im p ressi ve win in th e 125cc Beginners class. Forbes took th e holeshot in both mot os, a nd led th e pack 10 th e ch eckers. While Forbes was ru nning hi s race, th e o the r rid ers were jock eying for position. In th e first rnot o, Kyle Brown (Ka w) chased Forbes aro und th e tra ck for three laps, an d th en cras hed, lettin g Suzuki rid er Lee T hom pson have the second place spot. Thompson co u ld n' t hold o n, a nd in th e foll owing lap h e was pa ssed by Hondam ounted Bob Ziel. In th e fin al lap, Thompson slip ped 10 founh pl ace wh en he wa s passed by Blaine Kissinger (Kaw ). In the second rnoto , th e. ra ce for second and third d eveloped a m ong Kyle Brown , Mark Womble (S uz), a nd Thompson. This tim e Brow n held o n to second pl a ce for two laps before h e cras hed , letting Thompson figh t it o u t with Wo mb le a n d Honda rid er Bob Ziel. On the fina l la p , leader Forbes had a 13-seco nd lead , followed by T hompson a nd Ziel. T he 19

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