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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126974
Kork Ballington (9 9) , John Kocinski (80) and Alan Carter (hidden) do battle early in the 250cc GP class; Kocinski won after a race-long duel with Ballington while Carter ended up fifth with a sour motor. Defending 250cc National Champion Don Greene inheri t ed th ird when Rich Oliver crashed on t he f inal lap. AMA/Castrol 250cc Grand Prix Series: Round 6 Kocinski wins his·third in a row at Laguna By Paul Carruthers Photos by Flyin' Past Photos' Mike &. Dennis Scully MONTEREY , CA, JULY 12 Youth and enthusiasm top p ed old age and guile in the 250cc class a t Laguna Seca . Raceway as 19-year-old Team Nordica Roberts rider John Kocinski beat Team 14 Macl.ean's 36-year-old, four- ' time Wo rld Champion Kork I Ballington. win came after a . Kocinski's race-long duel with th e more experien ced Ballington. The battle ended wh en the cagey veteran made a mistake that many thought would mor e likel y co me from th e lessexper ienced Kocinski. Going into the famed corkscrew for the final tim e, Ballington had put himself in position for the win after passing Kocinski. The South African nativ e, how ever , overshot th e en trance to the tight, combination left/right-hander and ended up in the dirt, allowing Kocinski to cruise through with the win. Ballington regrouped to finish seco nd with defending Nationa l Champion Don Greene taking third. Kocinski's Nordica Roberts teammate Calvin Rayborn III finished fourth with Team MacLean's Alan Carter ro unding out the top five. " I ran a bit wide; a hell of a bit wide," Ba ll ingto n said after the mishap. "I was out in the sand. I outbraked myself. I got into the lead and I didn't want him coming through so I p ushed it a little harder. The back wheel came off th e grou nd and I had to ge t it bac k down ." I Kocinski thanked tutor Roberts for . helping him win his third 250cc GP class of the year and his third in a row . The win puts the 19-year-old in a nearly uncatchable posi tion for the National Championship. "Kenny's helped a lot," he said. "I've learned more in the last seven months than I have in 15 years. I was worried about Kork because he has so much experience; he can get you in situations, especially in - traffi c, where he can put distance on you . It (the Yamaha) was kind of lazy out of four and going up the hill , but I had the best tires , Dunlop." I n Friday's practice session Kocinski used a new 17-inch Dunlop radial on th e front of his TZ250. The tire was brought over by Englishman Peter Ingley and it was the sam e o ne th at Bubba Shobert and Wayn e Rainey used in the Superbike event. Kocinski used the new tire to turn a I:09.9 lap in a Friday practice session. "It steers real light and it 's got real. good trac tion," he said of the new ure. Ballington crashed exiting the corkscrew during practice on Friday. "I guess you can say that Kork screwed up in the corkscrew," he said la ter. " I was trying a new 17-inch Michelin radial on the front and the left side of the tire was warm , but the right side was still cold." } The first 250cc heat race saw the Shoei/ Kushitan iiDun lop/E RG/ Castro ll RK Chain/Kal-Gardsponsored Greene grabbing the easy holesh o t over Renfrow, Kocinski, and Carter. Kocinski got by Renfro w in a bold move in the cor kscrew , according to Carter, who wa tched from behind. " No one ever says anything when they do it," Carter said. "If that would have been me he (Renfrow) would have come over bitching." At the end of one lap the order read: Greene, Kocinski, Carter, Renfrow, James Stephens and Doug Brauneck. Carter got by Kocinski as the two started to make a move toward Greene, while Renfrow started to fade. Carter got by Greene going into turn seven on the fin al go-around to tak e the win. Kocinski held on to third with Renfrow fourth and Brauneck fifth. Doug T oland squeezed Ron Wood 's 500cc, fourstroke, single into 10th pla ce. " I didn 't want him showing th ose guys his lin es," Kenny Rob erts said after Kocin ski 's thi rd pla ce finish. "He's got to beat the sam e guys in the main event. H e was on old tires:" Kocinski said he was a little nervous performing for the first time this season in front of h is team manager and tutor Roberts. ''I'll be okay tomorrow," he said. " I got m y butt kicked today. I just didn't use my head." The drama for the second heat started on the warm -up lap as Ro taxmounted Danny Coe tossed it away on the warm-up lap in turn eight, Garry Griffith had his Yamaha in front of th e Shoei/Dunlop/Red Line Oi I/Tsubaki /Fox /E RC /N GK sponsored Honda RS250 of Rich . O liver with Ballingto n and Rayborn in tow. The order. stayed until la p three of the five-lap heat when Ballington shot by Oliver up the hi ll and under the bridge. Rayborn losttrack of the leaders on the same lap when he got sideways out of turn eight. Ballington held on for the win over Oliver, Rayborn. Griffith, Dan Chivington and Eric Kondo. Carter's heat one win was over a second faster tha n Ba ll ing to n ' s, giving the Englishman the po le position for the final. " If I do it tomorrow, I' ll be