Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ l-t V ..0 S v :> o Z , Buddy Antunez gets sideways while chasing Butch Smith in the second 80cc Expert moto. Antunez took the lead on the last lap and won . Tommy Watts (24) leads Gordon Ward (45) and Billy Frank in the first 500cc moto. Watts took the overall w in and the class title. Larry Brooks (281 and M ike Kiedrowski battle in the second 250cc Pro moto. Kiedrowski eventually passed Brooks to win the moto and o,verall. CMCjDodge Truck Trans-Cal Series: Final round Watts wins, wraps up title at 'Carlsbad By Nate Rauba Photos by Jimmie O'Dell and Rauba CARLSBAD, CA, OCT. 18 " I was' where I n eeded to be to win the series," said Tommy Watts following his victory in the second 500cc Pro mota today at Carlsbad. Watts was more than where he 8 needed to be as he took the overall victory and wrapped . 500 h up t.e T rans- Ca I Senes cc Pro ti tle. Wa tts made the statement in reference to hi's position behind race leader Billy Frank in th~ second moto, Frank had won the first rnoto by passing Watts in the last turn on the final la p and had just passed Watts in the second moto when his engine seized. Watts took over and led the rest of the race 10 secure the overall win and the title. Ray Somma was second overall and Mike Larson claimed third. Larson fini shed the series seco nd in points. Mike Kiedrowski battled with Larry Brooks in the 250cc Pro class and emerged the winner after his victory in the second rnoto. Bill y Frank was third overall after finishing third behind Brooks and Kiedrowski in both motos. Willie Surratt wrapped up the series title in th e 250cc class with conservative 8-7 finishes , and Ty Davis moved into the runner-up position with 5-6 rides which gave him fifth overall behind Shaun . Kalas. Jon Nelson was second going into the final round. but finished third in the series after a crash at the start of the second mota put him way back in the field. Bader Manneh was the only consisten t rider in the 125cc Pro class and took the overall win with a 2I score. Paul Winn was second overall after 1-7 rides, and Chris Young claimed third overall. Man y of the top riders in the 125cc class were taken out of the first rnoto when a rock emerged in a deep rut in one of the turns and derailed several chains, including Manneh's. Davis needed only 10 finish the mota 10 wrap up the title, but for a while it was uncertain if he would make it across th e finish line. The rock claimed Davis ' chain, and the thrown chain punched a hole in th e cases. Davis pushed his bike as close to the finish line as possible, then rode the short distance to complete the mota and was credited with 18th whi ch gave him the title. Manneh's consistency paid off as he moved ahead of Young for runner -up honors. In th e 80cc Expert class, Butch Smith a lmost put an end to Buddy Antunez' dominance of the division when he held Antunez off for most of the second mota. Antunez prevai led on the last lap, though, and . took the win to complete his sweep of the series. Rex Staten returned to action in the Vet Pro class and easi ly won the first mota, then came from behind to win the second round, too. Staten also finished fourth overall in the 500cc Pro class. Kawasaki-mounted Watts lucked out in the first 500cc Pro rnoto when a restart was called after he came off the line near last. On the restart Watts shot into the lead followed by Honda rider Doug O 'Donnell, Kawasaki-mounted Larson, Malcolm Smith /HT Racing/FMF/ PVK-sponsored Gordon Ward and Frank. Ward quickly passed Larson on the first lap, then Frank went by on lap two. Watts and Ward began to battle for the lead, with Frank a few bike lengths behind. About half' way through the 10-lap mota Watts had gained a few seconds on Ward, who was having vision problems due to malfunctioning roll-offs. Frank came up to challenge Ward and the two riders slowly closed th e gap on Watts. Larson was still fourth and several seconds back while Somma assumed the fift h spot. =J: • On la p six Frank fina lly found a way past Ward, then dogged Watts for another lap before squeezing into the lead at the bottom of a downhill. The top three riders stayed very close , for the next few lap s until Ward began to drop back slightly as they began the final circuit. Watts kept the pressure on Frank and took the lead as they climbed the long uphill. Frank stayed in Watts' tracks, though, and came back at the end, setting Watts up in the final turn and leaping across the finish line to take the win by a half bike length. Ward was third ahead of Larson and Somma. "On the last lap I hit a bump on the uphill and lost my drive," said . Frank. Then as the y went into the last turn, " He (Wa tts) went inside, I went outside and pinned it." Watts said, "I was trying to keep him from slipping under me; actually I was going too slow." The title was on his mind, and he added, "I may have tried to hold it on at the finish, bu t I have to make the bike last at least one more rnoto." "On the second lap my roll-offs broke," said Ward. " As the race went on it go t worse and worse, and m y ' goggles were so wasted I couldn't even see on the last la p. " At the start of the secon d moto Wat ts took the lead followed by Frank , Somma, Jon O rtn er and Larson. Fra n k hounded Watts for the first two laps, then found a way by and q ui ckly put a few bike lengths

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