Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126916
Marlboro-sponsored Glen Bell finished third via a 6-4-4-3 tally. American Willy Simons (S. above) grabbed the lead at the start of the third main and led for four laps before getting passed by Ellis (E). Simons wound up taking third in the moto; fifth overall. Australian factory Honda rider Craig Dack won two motos in the All Star main events but finished second overall to Ellis. 22 and Dale Briuon (Yamaha). A few turns later, Ellis stuffed his way by Ziuerkopf, despi te having a front flat tire, and set after Deakin, who he passed twO laps later after Deakin crashed. Ellis maintained this position for second at the finish. Ziuerkopf stayed close to Ellis and said, "Ellis was really Olll of control and almost fell four or five times ahead of me. But he held on and gOt second, so I guess that's all that mauers." For the remainder of the race, Dack held a commanding lead over Ellis, then Ziuerkopf, who was being hounded by Bell. At the finish it was Dack, Ellis, Ziuerkopf, Bell and Simons, who worked his way up from an eighth-place start. "I still have a gut ache from drinking the water, but I feel good," said Ziuerkop£. "Hopefully I should be abl-e LO give those guys a good work for their money in the end." "I felt a liule bit beuer," said imons. "I was over revving the bike LOO much. I started shifting more because of the sand. The starts are so im portant here; a good start makes all the difference in the world." Simons captured the holeshot at the start of moLO three ahead of Honda rider Brad Thompson, Britton, Ellis, Dack and Deakin. ZiuerkPpf came around the first lap four from the end. By the econd lap, Simons held a commanding lead and was slightly pulling away, while Ellis motored into third, seuing his sights on Britton. who had taken over second from Thompson. A lap later, Zitterkopf pulled off the track with bike problems and cruised back into the pits, while Ellis closed in on and passed Briuon for second. By this time, Simons' lead had noticeably diminished LO only a bikelength over Ellis. Heading into the fourth lap, Ellis had overtaken the lead, while Simons began feeling heavy pressure by Dack. A lap later, Dack had slipped by Simons making the top five Ellis, Dack, Simons, Briuon and Bell. Bell eventually worked to fourth, making the finishing order Ellis (five seconds), Dack, Simons, Bell and Briuon. Style was running sixth mostof the race before his bike started running foul. He dropped to the back of the pack by the finish. Style said the air filter on his Honda had'come off and sucked sand into the cylinder. "I thought for sure I would start pulling away from those guys," said Simons. "but I gOt the worst cramp I've e¥er had in my life. I was really hurting, 0 I had to back it down and let Ellis by. Then I started making mistakes and Dack pa ed me. So I thought I'd better stay where I was and JUSt finish." Zitterkopf said, "The bracket that holds the air fi Iter broke in one of the earlier races, and h sucked in enough sand LO where it wouldn't run anymore. I guess I was lucky that I did as well as I did in the first couple of races." DePillo had nothing but bad luck all day. After the first two sprint races where he had LO ride the '85 YZ, he finally got his '86 running after replacing the whole ignition system. DePillo had to trade his mechanic's infield pass for the ignition out of another rider's motorcycle. But after the first main moLO, the clutch on his Yamaha started LO slip and became worse and more worse to where the bike was no longer competitive. "The bike JUSt isn't working right, and I've been having all kinds of problems with it right from the start," said DePillo: "Right after we changed the ignition, the bike was working okay, but running around, changing parts, and having LO ride that '85 YZ in the first two races kind of threw me off rhythm and messed up my heada bil. If everything was going right, I'ld feel preuy good out there and I'd show those Aussies how LO ride American style." The fourth and final moLO featured a spectacular come-from-behind ride by Ellis and his KTM. With the overall on the line, Ellis crashed in the first turn after a jump and dropped far behind the pack. "I went off the jump," said Ellis, "and I tried to get a beuer position by jumping a bit farther, but I realized I was going to land on somebody. So I locked it up in the air, and when I landed, a guy from behind hit me and spun me right around and dropped me to the ground." With Dack leading and knowing he had to place second in the moto to take the overall, Ellis got on the gas and rode all-oul. At that point, Ruuico was second, followed by Simons, Britton and Deakin. All eyes were focused on Ellis, who soon caught up to the pack and began passing riders one-by-one umil he was fifth behind Dack, Ruttico, Simons and Bell. By the fifth lap, Bell mOLOred to the outside of Simons and Ruttico (or second, while, shortly after, Ellis slipped by Simons, then Ruuico, then Bell for the number two spot. Once into second, Ellis knew he had the overall locked up and stayed in second. Meanwhile, Style, who was running nimh, dropped out of the race with engine problems, while Simons lost the silencer LO his Honda. Simons maintained fifth for a few laps before crashing in a turn and finishingoutof the top 10. The moLO ended with Dad taking the win, followed by Ellis, Bell, Ruuico, New Zealand's Graeme Allan (Kawa aki). BritLOn and Peter MelLOn. "I knew what I had to do after the crash," said Ellis, "so I just went for it. It feels really good to win. This is my kind of track. I've got the spectaLOrs behind me; I'm much appreciated here and the people really help me out a lot. I feel really proud to be here, but I would give anything LO ride in America for one or two races in the 500cc Nationals. I'd like to go LO America and prove I could do it one more time. Maybe not win 'em, but I'd be two or three - right there with the Glovers, the Johnsons and the O'Maras." • Results 500 ALL 5TARS: 1. Jim Ellis (KTM); 2. Craig oack (Hon): 3. Glen Bell (Yam); 4. Michael Ruttico (Hon): 5. Willy Simons (Hon); 6. Greg Zitterkopf (Hon); 7. Graeme Allen (Kaw); B. Vaughn Style (Hon); 9. Peter Melton (Yam); 10. Dale Britton (Yam).