Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

CIl ::;; ~ ~ « a: al -c >- -c a: >- Z Z w J: >al (.0 CIl 0 ..... 00 0 ~ ...... J: 0. ~ (.0 c-r ..c u .... ro ~ Broc Glover (4), David Bailey (6) and Ricky Ryan (20) fightforthetop spot at the start of the single 12-lap main. Bailey fell moments later, giving Glover the lead. Johnson is hidden behind Bailey. The Da ytona Su pe rcross is u ni q ue in tha t 40 rider s sta rt the ma in event, in stead o f th e usual 21. A two- wa ve sta rt is uti lized to ge t a ll ri ders o ff safel y. A crowd of 40,000 turned out for. a fine a fternoon of competitive raci ng. Heats Ri ckJohnson's Daytona Supercross w in is his fourth of the series. He now leads second-place David Bailey by 23 points. AliA Nippondenso Supercross Series: Round 7 Johnson tops Daytona Supercross By Tom Mueller DAYTONA BEACH, FL. MAR. 8 Team Honda 's Rick Johnson was unstoppable once again in the 15th Annual Daytona Supercross by Honda a t Dayton a International Speedway. The win was J o h n son 's fourth i n se ve n supercro ss events so far this season. Second in th e main even t was H onda 's David Bailey, who Q I ~j got off to a poor sta rt, th en ch a rg ed a ll the wa y to the runn er-up slot. Third ov erall went to Yamaha 's Bro c Gl ov er, who led in the ea r ly goi n g, th en fell ba ck to h is eventual fini sh ing po sition. The Gary Bailey-designed co urse was a ltered from p revious la yo uts, a nd n o w offered more rough terrai n than eve r before. " I' ve added a n ew ro ugh straight right in front of the grands ta nds ," said Bail ey befor e the race:"wH s'hould 'i'1mUV w~J;,<'dt~ ~,; icn ing racing where the fa ns can see it best . O ff th e start, the rider s will head right to wa rds the stands; the fans will h a ve a ll th e action right in front o f them ." A new wateri ng system was adde d to the speed way's infiel d a rea (w he re the su percross is lai d o u t) so th at each sectio n of the track co u ld be water ed separate ly. The whoop sec tions were lon ger a n d ro ugher th an ever before, mak in g for racing wh er e a ny lin e co u ld be th e right o ne. P u rse m oney is also a factor at Da ytona . T op riders were looking for a p iece of the 560 .000 pa y-off, the biggest purse. offered on th e circ u it in I 19 6; q l' n l~ 'if , ~ ~ ' ~" ja e.m u] s r i Honda 's M ick y D ym o nd got in th e g ro o ve ea rly in th e fir st h eat a nd showed the wa y to H o nda-mounted Dav id H a nd . Yamaha p il o t Steve Burdette and Suzuk i's George H olland sta rted last a fte r a first-tu rn tangl e. By la p tw o Dym ond was tai led by Yamaha rider Bill y Frank, H and, H onda su pport ri de r Larry Brooks, a nd Husqvarna factory rider Andy Stacy. Bro o ks u sed th e nex t lap to work a ro u nd H a nd for third. The rugged terrain was ta ki ng its to ll , ca u sing H and to fade. O n the mov e wa s Kawa sa ki rider Alan King a nd Honda p ilo t J eff Hick s. Kin g worked into th e second spot by the fifth a n d fina l lap, a nd H icks made it to fourth. Dym o nd led a ll the wa y to th e finish , fo llowed by Ki ng , Broo ks, and Hick s. Due to th e la rge sta rt i ng field at Daytona, seven r ide rs tra ns ferred from ea ch h eat; Yamaha rider Billy Frank was fif th , H olla nd ca me a ll the way th rough the field for six t h, a nd Stacy was seventh. " Five la p s just isn 't enough to p roject how I 'll do in the main ," sa id D ymond. " I lo ve runnin g up front , bu t I'm still building m y co n fide nce at su percross racing ." Yamaha' s Jim H oll ey cha rged to the ins ide o ff th e start o f heat tw o a nd took th e lead. Ka wasaki rid er R ick R ya n a n d Ya maha ri de r Alle y Serna r fu n neled in to th e two-three sp o ts. Kawasaki ride rs Mi ckey Kessler a nd Bill y Liles cl osed th e gap o n Semar by lap tw o. Both m o ved past Semar a n d into third a nd fourth. A few turns later Kessler bobbled , o pen ing the door for L il es, Semar a nd H ondam ounted Cana d ia n Arna ud Bernard. Holl ey h eld a cus h io n o n R yan a n d wo n he at two . T he tw o had a ha lf-l a p lead on third-place L i les, a n d behind Li les ca me Semar a nd Bernard. Bernard a lmost lost it in th e h a yba les do wn th e last straigh t, bu t mai ntained for fifth . Kessler a nd Dave H oll is (Ya m ) filled th e h eat's fin al tra nsfer spots. " I wanted th is o ne for me and Ya maha ," sai d H olley. " I knew I was ta!4 /1!~ i\Ft.I.aPfe wit h tha t m o yc; lp,tpe inside off the start, bu t I knew th at's wha t it wo u ld tak e to ge t the lead." Eric H all ran h is H onda to the limits around the outside to lead heat th ree . Broc Glover p ut himself wi thin striking ra nge during th e first lap, then flew by H all on th e fro nt straigh t. G lo ver had a huge lead by la p tw o , setti ng th e pa ce for Ca na d ia n Yamaha r id er R oss Pederso n , Yamaha ' s Keith Bo wen a n d Suzuki 's' Mik e H ea ley. Bo wen got by P ed er son o n lap four, the n broke free o f Pederso n a nd Hea ley by th e fini sh. H onda 's J ohnny O 'M a ra , H onda-mounted Canadian Doug H oover a n d H onda-mounted Guy Cooper capped off th e tra ns fer positio ns. " I had th e flow toda y a nd fou nd the groove." said Glo ver. " I think I'll be a ble to p ut it togethe r for 12 laps in th e final. I ca me into th is race wit h a broken wr ist last year, a n d i t ro bbed m e of a good finish. This time I need to perform." H eat four was co ntrolled by Ri ck J o hn so n from sta rt to fini sh . Yamaha rid er JoJ o Kell er and Kawasa ki's J eff Ward were running tw o-three, bu t Da vid Bailey mo ved p ast the pair to second o n th e ro ugh fro nt straig h t during lap o ne. J ohnson a nd Ba il ey pulled away from the p ack with Ward a n d Kell er in th ird a n d fourth . H onda rider Br ian Manley, Su zu ki's A.J . Whiting a n d Yamaha 's Dann y Sto rbeck were in a clust e r runnin g fi ft h -s i x t h seventh. J ohnson got a bit o u t of shape o n the.ba ck stra ig h t during la p fo u r, bu t acce lera ted a n d m aintai ned th e lead. Bai ley was a close seco nd, a nd Storbeck had m oved past Manley a nd Whiting for fifth . J ohnson flew far a n d long of f the fini sh line j u m p wi th Ba il ey less th an three seconds be h in d . Wa rd h ad been closing th e gap bu t n ever set up to pass, a n d fin ishe d th ir d . Kell er , Storbec k, W hi ti n g a nd Manley made th e last direc t transfer slots to th e main even t. " I clea red tha t bi g doubl e jump (nea r th e finish line) o n th e last la p , a n d that kept m e a head of Da vid," said J ohnson. " T here was a lo t o f traffic o ut th ere to co ntend with , a n d - I co u ld n' t aff ord a ny mistakes." Semis Suzu ki ri de r J eff Frisz led the first semi until th e final lap, when Yamaha-mou nted Mike Beier fo u nd the way arou nd to win. Steve Burdette a n d H onda -mounted Kurt McMillen fi~ ~9 r;11 [ \~l,.~ , ¥lH9~P~1 tPA ~RP. rl l

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