Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Keith Bowen led the main until a rock jammed between the counterahatt sprocket.and engine case on his Yamaha. two laps from the finish. sure learned iliat." johnson pulled a big lead o(f the line in heat four but fell and started last. Lechien took over duties up front followed by Ward, Honda rider Rodney Smith and Suzuki privateer Alan King. On lap three, Lechien fell and Ward took the lead, but Lecbien cleared the tabletop to regain the lead a half lap later. On the last lap it was Lechien leading Ward, then a gap to a Smithljohnson battle. Rick rode at his best to come all the way through the pack. Ward forced Lechien to a rough inside line, but Lechien held to win. Ward was second, and johnson displaced Smith for third. Honda rider jeff Hicks, Stanton and Hondamounted Mark Murphy made the transfers. "I hit a telephone pole (buried in the track) and went over the bars, but I had such a big lead I could have called home," joked Lechien. Walker holeshot the first semi but fell, and Honda rider Arnaud Bernard took over followed by King and Honda rider Willie Simons. King took over for good on lap two. Si1T!ons and Kawasaki rider Mike Fisher moved lip into the 2-3 positions. Bernard, Yamaha-mounted Billy Frank and Honda-mounted Michael Moore finished in a tight cluster for 4-5-6. "I twisted my knee and didn't know if I could make it," said King. "I guess we'll have to start using the hay bales for traction in the main." Honda-mounted Guy Cooper went all the way in semi two. Dean Matson kept his Honda in second the entire race. After Matson, there was a 25second gap to Honda-mounted jim Kapitan, Honda rider Ray Sommo, Terry Fowler on a Kawasaki and Sirois. "It's pretty amazing; I fell twice and still won that thing," said Cooper. "The track is changing and getting worse every lap." Due to the program's late start, The Last Chance Qualifier was eliminated. Forty riders gridded on two rows for the 10 lap main event. Ryan got off with the lead at the start of the main. Lechien and johnson tangled and went down. "I got my head caught in between Ron's rear wheel and fender, and it tore my visor off," said johnson. "Irwas hard to'see, but I guess the only thing that really got hurt was my ego." Ward also had problems. He pulled off to the side of the tabletop and coasted off the track before restarting a lap down. Ryan made some·mistakes in the fast stuff, letting Smith and Bowen into the 1-2 slots. Holland got past Ryan on the front straight for third, and then Ryan repassed for the spot. The pair had picked up the pace, and by lap three were past Smith and Bowen for the 1-2 places. Holland had trouble and fell back to sixth on lap four. Ryan had a gap on Smith and Bowen, while Stanton and Brooks settled into the 4-5 places. Bowen went on the move and shot into second by lap five. Smith and Stanton were running 3-4 in front of a Brooks/Hannah battle, when Brooks fell a.fter the finish line jump. On the next circuit Bowen rocketed past Ryan on the front straight to control the race. Brooks had regained third with Hannah fourth and Stanton fifth. Hannah tried to out-gun Brooks on the front striUght but almost lost it. . Hannah finally made the pass on Brooks stick, but. Hannah fell hard on a jump a half circuit later. He was shaken up but alright. On the next lap Ryan came around leading. Bowen was dejectedly walking to the pits, out of the race with mechanical trouble - a rock had jammed between the countershaft sprocket and engine case, locking up his Yamaha. Two laps later, Ryarr made history by becoming the first privateer to win a series Supercross race. He had a 12second lead over Stanton, with Hoiland third a few feet ahead of Frisz. Lechien, Glover, Warren and Pederson were 5-6-7-8, Smith held on for ninth, and johnson rounded out the • top 10. "I hurt my (left) knee pretty bad last week at the (Gainesville) National, and all I wanted to do was to come here and stay in the points," said Ryan. "Now, I've gbt it all, at the'" most important race of the year. If you want to win one, this is it! "I was riding on one leg the last four laps. I tried to step off my bike at the finish, and fell down because it hurt so bad." . For Stanton, second came as a surprise: '" didn't even know what place Despite riding with a painful knee injury. Rick Ryan became the firR privateer ever to win a championship Supercross event. I was in. This is only my fourth. Supercross, and I was trying to stay smooth and not to fall. This is just like Michigan riding back home - . rough and muddy." 125cc Two four-lap healS headed the 125cc program, with the top 20 ri'ders from each heat qualifying for the six-lap final. In heat one Kawasaki rider Rodney Barr took the holeshot, but got sideways down the front straight. Suzuki's Vince Devane and Yamahamounted Barry Carsten jockeyed for the lead, with Devane winning out at the checkered flag. Barr posted a spirited ride to come back for third. Yamaha rider Todd DeHoop, Suzuki's J(eith Turpin and Bruce Gates on a Honda claimed the 4-5-6 spots 'after working around Kawasaki rider Billy Whitley. Carroll Richardson also nipped Whitley for seventh near the' finish. "It's almost impossible to keep a pace." said Devane, who won with a three second lead. "Riders in front of me were making mistakes, so , went for it." Tichenor got stuffed off the start in heat two and started last. Yamaha rider Mike jones took the lead, followed by Robert McCollough on a Honda and Yamaha-mounted Ken Bollmeier. By lap two Bollmeier was in second, and Tichenor had mounted a tremendous charge to third. Bollmeier was closing on jones, but fell in the fast front straight. Tichenor moved up to second, and Bollmeier remounted for third. It was Jones, Tichenor and Bollmeier at the finish, with a half-lap gap to the rest of the field. "1£ you don't keep the gas on, you don't have the motor to pull out of those soupy holes,." said Jones. "This track is tough. I'd almost rather be watching this one instead of riding it," McCollough was left behind when he fell at the start of the main evem. Richardson and Turpin took off in the 1-2 positions, and Tichenor plugged into third down the front straight.' Tichenor got by TurPin and Richardson to lead on lap two, and then Turpin also made his move past Rich· ardson for second. Richardson jammed back into second down the front straight, but almost crashed and lost the spot back to Turpin. Near the halfway point Tichenor misjudged a line and fell to third behind Turpin and Richardson. Tichenor took second after probing Richardson on the next lap. Tichenor went back imo the lead one circuit later down the front straight, with his from.fender flapping wildly from the earlier fall. Tichenor bobbled 10 yards from the finish and nearly fell, but held on to win over Turpin. Spread out behind ~ere Richardson, Devane, Barr and Whitley. "The track was changing around underneath me, but' finally figured it out," said Tichenor. "A couple of times there was traf£ic and I couldn't see, but I just held it on." "I did the best I could, and just rode the course as fast as possible," said Turpin, "It was tough goingo~t there today, you Just had to gut It out." • Results 125 ANAL: 1. Ronnie rochenor (Suzl; 2. Keith Turpin (Suz); 3. Carroll Richardson (Kaw~ 4. Vince Devane (Suz); 5. Rodney Berr(kew); 6. Billy Whitley (Kaw); 7. Todd DeHoop (Yam); 8. Qui VaiAancoun (Han); 9. Mark Musselman fHon); 10. MiI

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