Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Jeff Matiasevich (48) was top money w inner in t he 12 5 cc Ultracross. Streamers on hi s helmet were used to identify him as t op qualifier. Kawasaki-mounted Mike Kiedrow ski was the Ultracross ma in eve nt w in ner. f in ish ing ahead of Matiasevich and Larry,Ward . 250cc Main 8 Twent y-on e rid ers lin ed th e backward-falling starting ga te for th e start of th e main event. Dubach surp rised eve ryone wi th a ki ller hol esh ot but ca me out o f the first turn too wide, clip ped a hay bale, th en was ru n into by a no ther rider and drop ped to the bac k of the pack. Dubach regrouped and mounted a stro ng cha rge back up through the field and even rua l ly finish ed ninth. After Dubach went down, J ohnson charged in to th e lead follow ed b y Ward, H oll and, Dymond , Gl over, Brooks, R yan , Ho ll ey, Lechi en , . Manl ey and Leisk . ' Dym ond quickly displ aced H oIland for thi rd and th e battle for th e lead began. For th e nex t two laps, Johnson , Ward a nd Dymond were inches apa rt , whi le pulling away from the rest of th e pack. H eading in to th e fourth lap , Wa rd wa s putting the pressureon J ohnson a nd loo king for room 10 pass. ' Ward even tua lly saw a n ope n ing in a tigh t left-hand turn a nd dove to the inside, gett ing a wh eel len gth o n J ohnson. J ohnson tri ed to retalia te by sq ua ring off th e turn, but Ward was p rep ar ed for it a nd blocked J ohnson com ing o u t of th e turn. Ward had th e rhythm and set a smooth pa ce as he started pulling away. H ot o n J ohnson ' s heel s wa s Dymond. But Dymond's chances for winning came to an end wh en he tri ed to cu t ins ide of J ohnson and Ward in a fast right sweeper a nd washed out, se n d ing th e 125 cc National Ch ampion to the ground. " I just tri ed to go underneath them, but the bike slid out," said Dymond. J oh nso n was chased by Ward in the main . Ward caught and passed RJ on t he t hird lap. but 10 laps later. Johnson returned the favor. " Luckily I didn 't lose (sta ll) th e motor an d I was able to ge t up q uickly eno ug h to keep third." Dymond pi cked up in third with a few seco nds to spare on Gl over. By the fifth lap, th e top seven rid ers were Ward, J ohnson, Dym ond, G lo ver" Holla nd, Kehoe and Lechien. Back in eig hth was Leis k, foll ow ed by Dubach , O 'M ara, H oll ey, Stanton , Fran k, Ka los, Watts and Vohland. Near th e halfwa y point, a p p ro ximately 10 minutes in to the race , the top ru n ne rs were fairly sp rea d o u t, the n J ohnson beg an ga ini ng o n Wa rd . Known for hi s a bility to pass slower r ide rs qui ckl y, John son im med iat el y found himself withi n stri king di stance of Ward by th e 13th lap. J ohnson was ted no time' sett ing up Ward. T he H onda rider dove in side of Ward a nd squeak ed into the lead , and mom ents la ter Ward went down over a double. ' '' I wen ti n to neutral a nd hit real hard com ing off th e jump," said Ward . War d injured a fin ger on his left hand in the 'crash . " It 's the finger I keep on th e cl utch (lever ) a nd it bent u nder wh en I hit. " All of a sudden J ohnson found himsel f with a seven -second lead over Ward, but Dymond was preparing to pass Ward, which he did five la ps fro m th e fin ish , making th e top eig h t J ohnso n, Dym ond, War d, Gl over , Keh oe, Lechi en , Leisk a nd H oll and. As the ra ce drew to a cl os e, Dym ond wa s g a i n i ng a lmos t a second a lap on J ohnson. . " I noti ced he was slowing down ," said Dym ond. " I just kept m y pa ce up a nd was feeling pr ett y stro ng, even though I was getting a little tir ed. I was gaining on him (J ohnson); he was showboa ting, but I d id n't have nearl y enoug h tim e to ca tch hi m. " As they crosse d the finish line, J ohnson held abo u t a five-second lead on Dym ond, who had a sa fe distan ce o n Ward. A little ways back followed G lover, then ca me Kehoe, Lechien, Leisk, Holland, Dubach , Stan ton, O 'M ar a and Vohland. " I' m happy," said Johnson aft erwards. " At fir st I was riding a little slo p py, but I kn ew I co uld cat ch J eff because I reall y didn 't think he was go ing th at fast. Once I go t th e 1e.ad, it was a relief being out th ere by myse lf." "La p pe rs really got in m y wa y," said Ward" while ho lding a ba g o f ice on hi s injured hand. "In th e. stu tter bumps, he (Jo h nso n) took th e bottom lin e a nd go t me th ere, then I cras hed and bent m y finger. It really hurts now , but it didn 't bother me too much o u t there." " I feel prett y good," said Dymond, " b u t I'm tired o f the sam e guys a lways up front. I'm sick of it. So I'm glad I was able to be up there." Kehoe, wh o finished fifth and spent mu ch of th e mot o d icing wi th former teamm ate Holl and, said, " Ge orge and I went a t it for about 10 laps. H e was kind of ho ld ing me up., In o ne turn , we tan gl ed handleb. ars a nd George went down. Then I go t o u t o f shape a nd go t knocked off m y bike; I had to ru n alongside of it a nd used u p 50% o f m y ene rgy and I slo wed." 125cc Ultracross I The 125cc format was com pletely different th an th e 250s. Earlier in the da y, two -lap tim ed quali fiers were run , and th e top finishe rs transfered to th e two heat races to be run at ni gh t. The rid ers who transfered to th e heat races were divided into two/ grou ps based o n odd - and even placed fini sh ing order; th e oddnumbered placed finish ers rod e the first h eat ra ce, a n d th e evennumbered riders rode the second heat race. In the 10-ro w, two- rider-per li ne start, the first six rows were inv erted, .or flopped , putting th e fastest qualifi ers in th e middle o f the pack. Pa ssing points were a wa rded to any rider wh o improved hi s position from th e start (one poin t for each improved position, two points in the main). L For th e main event, starting positions were determ in ed on how riders' placed in th e two heat races. Mati- j asevich a nd Cano y were th e two hea t' race winners, but in the main, th e first eig h t row s were inverted, putting both Matiasevich a nd .Ca noy back in the eig h th row .' . Wh en th e rubber bands sna p ped for the start of the main, front-row starte r Jimmy Gaddis took the lead a fter th e firs t turnIol lowed by Stacey Co ok a n d Kawa saki rider Mike Kiedrowski. By the second lap, Kiedrowski moved into seco nd and fou nd t ha t Gaddis had developed a somewha t com forta ble lead, while Matiasevich )

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