Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Bob Hannah wa. fourth in moto one, but cra.hed out of race two. (Above) Guy Cooper won the first 125cc moto and finished fourth ove...11. (Below) H0nd8'. Devid Bailey went 2-4 for third in the 260.. Danny Storbeck took hi.Vamaha VZ260 to fourth overall. happens, though I'm sure not planning on itl" "I have to learn to ride like that more often if I'm plannin~ to stay with Ricle," said O'Mara. "Rick seemed to be able to keep his momentum up in the sand much better than me. The best part was not having to worry· about the guy next to me; I trusted Rkk, and knew that he would not take me out." O'Mara's efforts at Southwick were good for second overall, and moved him to second in the 250cc class standings. Bailey posted third overall with his 2-4 finishes. point of running in froOl of other riders on the stan gate. It was to no avail because the gate dropped and Ryan shot into the lead with Whiting, Bowen, Kehoe, Carlo Coen and Dymond in tow. Cooper was runnign eighth. Bowen found a path around Whiting and closed on Ryan, then passed him near the mid-race: Soon, Dymond was on Whiting, looking for a line to third. while Kehoe was maintaining fifth. Once Bowen was out in the open he powered to a large lead, never again challenged. "This was our day to get an overall win," said Bowen's tuner, Ron Heben. "We even brought a bollie of champagne when we came today. We were completel y optimistic about our chances at Southwick." Dymond got past Whiting, then took advantage of a tiring Ryan to claim an eventual second. Ryan held off Whiting for third, with Kehoe laking Gfth. Cooper finished sixth. "Oh man, was I tired!" said Bowen. "I was looking for that two lap board long before it came out. Right now, though, that doesn't matter. I just won my first National!" "I kept trying to tell myself how strong and powerful I am," said Dymond. "If you can make yourself believe stuff like that you can go fast even when you're worn out and tired." Ryan came up with second overall by virtue of his 2·lJ finishes. "I just plain wore out in the second mota," said Ryan. "I have a bad headache, and I'll be heading back to bed for a few days to try and shake this illness." 125cc National 12 o 'Mara jumped the pack and started moto two with another holeshot. Storbeck, Lechien, Johnson, Hawthorne and local favorite JoJo Keller ran in the 2-6 spots. Keller had won motos at Southwick during the 1980 and '82 Nationals, and had the crowd going crazy as he pushed for another top finish. A few laps into the race it was O'Mara and Johnson 1-2 with Stor-beck third. Lechien fourth and Keller fifth. Bailey was sixth with Hannah closing in seventh. Then Hannah unloaded on a fast straightaway. Hannah was working his Suzuki to the edge of control when he got sideways. He was pitched highside, and had to crawl to the side of the track. Hannah showed the fierce determination which made him a multi-time National Olampion - he got back on to ride, but collapsed again before restarting. He pacleed it in for the day after catching his breath, and suffered no serious injuries. Johnson worked on O'Mara, stay· ing within striking range lap after lap, making for some of the best racing of the day. Near the midpoint of the moto Johnson got by to lead. Storbeck held third, while Lechien got by Keller for fourth. JoJo got the crowd's approval as he pushed Lechien through some tight turns, and finally regained fourth. Then, a lap later, Keller was out of contention. "My Yamaha seized because I was pushing it so hard. I kept it running, and I guess I was lucky to finish the moto," said Keller. Johnson continued to cl ick off precise laps, expanding his lead to four seconds over O'Mara. Johnny was doing everything in his power to stay close; at times he was howling at lapped riders to move over. With Keller out of contention, Bailey bad the opportunity to move up on Leehien, and soon passed for fourth. Bailey went to work and closed the gap on Storbeclc, but Danny never relegated his position. He hung on to third and proved he has what it takes to run with ltre best. "It's a new experience to run with guys you could never stay with before," said Storbeclc. "I worked hard on thinking about the tracie, and not about David being only a few feet behind me." At the finish Johnson and O'Mara had left everyone behind, finishing 15 seconds ahead of third place Storbeck. Bailey was fourth, a bit off the pace of earlier laps, with fifth going to Lechien. Ward and Liles were sixth and seventh. "I got tired, the humidity did it," said Johnson. "You're out there getting blasted in the face with sand for lJO minutes, and it gelS hard to see. In the first mota I squeezed past Johnny pretty easily, but this time he made me work for my win. Four years ago I had the 250cc NatiooaJ title wrapped up and I threw it away at the last race. This year things are going so well that I can afford a mistake if it Kawasaki rider Rick Ryan, who is sponsored by GP road racer Randy Mamola, took the holeshot as the first 125cc maLO got underway. Jeff Leisk, Guy Cooper and Eddie Hicks followed. Micky Dymond and Bowen were buried in the pack, fighting their way up into the field. On lap three Cooper moved past Leisk for second, and wasted little time moving up to challenge for the lead. His opportunity came when Ryan fell in a right hand tUTl~' Honda-supported Cooper went out front with Leisk second. and Ryan resumed the race in third. Cooper immediately expanded his lead, leaving Ryan .to defend second.: "Bowen was showing his speed, and locked into third. Yamaha's Hicks and Suzuki's Erik Kehoe were 4-5. Dymond and Suzuki's George Hoiland clipped each other and fell on a bacle hill section, but both riders remounted and kept coming on strong. Holland led Dymond for a few laps after the crash, but Dymond eventually moved past for sixth. Cooper was unstoppable. The Oklahoma rider won the mota-with a lo-second lead on Ryan. Ryan edged Bowen for serodn by a bikelength. Dymond finished fourth, Hicks fifth, and Kehoe beat his teammate, A.J. Whiting, for sixth. "I put everything I had into that moto, because I wanted to know I could put a winning race together," said Cooper, who travels the National MX circuit with his wife. "You can go so much faster if you stand, but I didn't have the strength to stand the entire mota." "I've been in bed the last four days, because my bronchitis acted up again. I'm so tired, but I knew I could hang on for second," said Ryan. Willie Surratt tried to delay the stan of moto two, due to mechanical problems with his bike, even to the Results 2IiO: 1. RicIl ~ lHon' 1·1; 2. Johnny 0 ....... (Hon' 3-2; 3. Devid a.tley lHonI 2-4; 4. Denny 5 _ '8-3; 5. Ron lAchien tK8w/ 1-5; I. UleetK8w/5-7;7. Jim ~ev '7-1; I. MMt MUl1IhY 1-1(', 9. Mic:lIer ~ tK8w/10-12; 10. 11-13, 11.8Gb .......... lSuzl4-33: 12. JeIf_IHon, 12-14; 13. JelfW8nltK8w/ DNF-t; 14. Eric e-. '22-2lI; 15. DennIs HewI".".tK8w/14-15; US. Bily Fran< '27·1'; 17.M... )UI-ll; 18.1_ _ _ tK8w/15-11; 19. 5 _ I u _ 13-11; DNF-18. 125: 1. Kel1h a 3-1; 2. lK-t 2-3; 3. MicIly ~. (Han) 4-2; 4. Guy e-lHon) 1-6; 5. A.J. Whitl", (Suzl7-4; 8. Erik ~ 15...,1-5; 7. George Holl8nd (suzl8-1'; 8. Bum_ 10-10; 5-22; 10. Doug 11. Jell Leiek (Hon) DNF· 7; 12. Ronnie lK-t 18-13; 13. Cerlo Coen lKewI 21·1; 14. Billy Whilley 12·18; 15. Keilh TUfl)in (Hon,1-28; 18. ReySommo lB·14; 17. LenyB_lHon,,1·29; 18.Kun McMillen (Hon' 22·12; 19. Joe W_ngton (Hon) T_Vohlend(Kewl 13-27. 14-11; POINT STANDINGS 125: 1. KelIh a-.(I22t 2. mE)MicIlyDymoncll Erik Kehw (120t 4. G_ee Hallend (l04t 5. A.J. WhitlngCMt8.melDougDulwc:h/Guye-f88t B. T _ Vohl.nd 183); 9. mEl LMry Br_/llicIl ""'n(53'. 250: 1. lIicIl Johneon (150); 2. Johnny O·Mer. (11Bt 3. DevidB.iley(1141;4. Jell W.-d (121; 5. Jim Holley (84); 8. Broc G _ (781; 7. Merit MUflIhy (70); 8. Denny ~ (88t I. lIun lAc..... (821; 10. Jell (55'. lillY ev.... ev...., lAoF._ev....' .... ev.... ev.... _ev.... 20. SCoII-"'ev....' ev-,. ev...., _""'n ev.m' I. Eddie D_=::a; HicIlsev....' SCoII ev...., ev.m' 20. HicIls

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