Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ \lTND ~ 00 00 ~ 1"""'"4 ~ -.::tt ~ ~ ~ ~ BY PAWl Wf41LfY Australian Kevin Magee (Yam) beat Eddie Lawson (Ya m) by half a second to win the Spanish round of the 500cc World Championship Road Race Series in J ara ma, Spain on April 24. Third p lace went to Wayne Gardner (Hon) with Christian Sarron (Yam ) and Niall .Mackenzie (Hon) rounding out the top five. Wayne Rainey (Yam) finished sixth; Kevin Schwantz (Suz) pulled out after 11 la ps wi th mechanical problems; and Mike Baldwin (Hon) crashed while 12th. Randy Mamola (Cag) did not ride in th e G~ and flew ho me the following day to see a doctor. Mam ola is still feeling the effects of a concussion suffered in a p ractice session crash at Laguna Seca o n April 8. In the , championship chase, Lawson leads Gardner, 52-49, with Mackenzie third at 39. In the 250cc GP at Jarama, Spaniard Sito Pons (Hon ) topped countryman Juan Garriga (Yam) by eight seconds w ith France's Jean-Pau l Ruggia (Yam) finishing third . Jacques Cornu (Hon) and Masahiro Sh imizu (Hon), ridi ng the Honda NSR250 on which Jimmy Filice won the U.S . round of the champio nsh ip at Laguna Seca, rounded out the top five. The f irst 125cc GP of the year went to Jorge Martinez (Der) with Julian Miralles (Hon) and Gastone Grassetti (Hon) rounding out the top three. In 80cc " GP action, Stefan Doerflinger (Kra) took the w in with defending World Champion Martinez (Der ) second and Alex Criville (Der) third. American John Kocinski did not go to Spain to compete in rounds three and four of the 250cc Wor ld Champ ionship. The Modesto, California, resident's next Gran d Prix is likely to be the Italian ro und at Imola on May 22. The Nashville Network's (TNN) Hidden Heroes TV show will feature Vance & Hines engine builder Byron Hines on its May 15th show. Check your local listings for air time of the 30-m inule program. American Rodney Smith (Suz) was the overall winner in round two of the World Championship 250cc MX Series in Ibiza, Spain, April 24. Californian Smith finished second behind Michele Fanton (Yam) in the first moto, and England's Jeremy Whatley (Suz), Germany's Roland Diepold (Hon ), Belgium's Peter Dirkx (Kaw) and Finland's Pekka Vehkonen (Cag) rounded out the top six. Holland's Jan Van den Berk (Yam ) topped the second moto ahead of Smith , Fanton, Diepold and Whatley. Whatley leads the series with 59 points, ahead of Van den Berk's 57, and Smith's 51. 2 England's Kurt Nicoll (Kaw) went 4 -1 to claim the overall victory at the second round of the World Championship 500cc MX Series in Payerne, Switzerland , April 24. Second place went to Brit Dave Thorpe (Hon) who went 1-4. Third overall went to Frenchman Jacky Vimond (Yam) with a 2-3 tally, while Holland's Kees Van der Ven (KTM) and Belgium's Erik Geboers (Hon) rounded out the top five. Thorpe leads the point standings with 73, followed by Nicoll (63), Belgian Dirk Geukens (Kaw) and Van der Ven (35). Ryan Young (Bet) claimed the overall victory in round three of the National Championship Observed Trials Series in San Ysidro, New Mexico, April 23. Second place went to Johnny Anderssoo (Hon), while third went to Mark Manniko (Fan). Rou nd three was held the day after in Canon City, Colorado, April 24, and it was Andersson capturing the . win over Young and Manniko. In World Championship Observed Trials competition, Frenchman Thierry Michaud (Fan) edged Spain's Jodi Tarres (Bet) by one point. 46-47. to win round four of the series in West Germany. April 24. Third place went to Spain 's Diego Bosis and fourth to England's Steve Saunders (Fan). The May 15 Murphy, Idaho, round of the AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Series has been ca nceled by the Bureau of Land Management due to dry conditions in the area. The delayed telecast of Eddie Lawson's victory in the April 10 U .S. Grand Pr ix road race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey , California, was seen by 2 ,932,800 American television v iewers, accord ing to Mark Gleckl of Mark Gleckl Productions in M ission Viejo, California . A spokesman for NBC Sports , wh ich taped the race and then televised it on April 17, said the U.S . GP had a 2 .8 rating for an eight-percent share of the total television audience. The Long Beach Grand Pr ix automobile race, which was broadcast live in the same time slot by ABC 's Wide World of Sports, reportedly had a 2 .2 rating and a six-percent share. "The motorcycle race did very well," an NBC official said. "Our sports department was very pleased to hear we beat the Long Beach Grand Prix." Gleckl, who directed the Laguna Seca telecast for NBC Sports, said, "I thought we'd get murdered by the Indy car race but the opposite was true. " Jim Holley (Yam) was the 250cc Ultracross winner in round four of the Mickey Thompson Championship Grand Prix Series held in Houston, Texas, April 23. South African Brett Redman (Kaw) finished second and Billy Whitley (Cag) was third. The April 23 600cc National TT at Ascot Park in Gardena. California , was ra ined out. Ascot offic ials said t hey may reschedule the race for late this year, but no rain date has been set. Also rained out was the third round of the AMA National Championship Enduro Series in Twain Harte, California, April 24. The U.S. Forest Rangers would not let the event take place because of the heavy rains and snow, according to AMA's Hugh Flemming. AB36, a mandatory helmet bill int rod uced in the California legislat ure last year by Assemblyman Richard Floyd (D -Gardena), will bypass the Senate Appropriations Committee and could be heard at any t ime by the fu ll senate, according to a committee spokesperson. A member of Floyd's staff said a floor vote on the measure has not been scheduled but probably will occur in "a week or two." The murders of race promoter Mickey Thompson and his wife Trudy were the work of hired killers, according to the Los Angeles (California) County Sheriff's Department. " It was a contract killi ng," said Lieutenant Ken Chausse, who is in charge of the investigation. The seven Sheriff's Depart ment detectives working on the case fu ll time believe the murders were contract killings because nothing was taken from the victims in spite of the fact that Trudy Thompson reportedly was carrying $2800 and wearing jewelry worth several thousand dollars, and Thompson was carrying at least $600 in cash. Chausse said investigators will explore the business relationship between Thompson and race promoter Mike Goodwin; the two promoters struggled for three years over control of the southern Ca lifornia m arket after a part ners hip between them bro ke up in 1985, leading to a string of lawsu its and countersuits. T hompson and h is wife were killed March 16 in the driveway of their southern California home. Authorities are still searching for two gunmen an d those who might have ordered a contract, A reward for information leading to the conviction of the killers has grown to $175,000. In a race report from the MX race at Columbia, Missouri's Finger Lakes State Park, which appeared in the April 20 edition of Cycle News, Mark Stahlman was inadvertently cred ited with a win and runner-up performance in the. Expert classes. Mike Stahlman should have been credited with the win in the 125cc Expert class and second in the 250cc Expert class. Brother Mark was the 125cc Intermediate winner. The Templin Highway riding area in Valencia, Ca lifornia, will close o n May I due to problems with tras h in the area, according to J oe Fasola. The Valley Ob served Trials Enthusiasts (VOTE) are organizing a cleanup of the area at 9 a.m. on May I in hopes of keeping the area open and will provide bags and a trash 'truck for volunteers who participate. Steve Morehead qualified 10th fastest at the April 16 Grand National Championship Sacramento Mile aboard a Staab Rac ing XR750 Harley-Davidson, not a Mert Lawwill XR750 as we reported last week. Morehead bo rrowed Bryan Villella's backup bike for time trials after his Laww ill Harley suffered mechanical ills during the second practice session, according to Villella's tuner, Dave Staab. Morehead finished fourth in his heat race aboard the Staab Rac ing Harley, but dropped out of the semi when he missed a shift and the bike's engine threw a valve. Staab Racing is more than p leased with first-year Expert Bryan Villella's ride at the Sacramento Mile. "We're very hap py with him and he's happy with the ride," said Dave Staab, who hand les the tu n i n g chores on Ville lla's Staab Racing X R750 Harley-Davidson. "We're going to go the whole nine yards with Bryan (during the 1988 season)." In 1987 Villella rode most of the season as a Junior, won the Junior National Championship, then claimed Rookie (Expert) of the Year honors when he earned' two Na tional points for a lSth place finish at the September Ascot H alf Mile. At the 1988 season opener in Sacramento, the talented you ngster set fast time, won his heat race an d finished 12th in the National. Steel City USA in Delmont, Pennsylvan ia, w ill host an AMA National Championship 125/ 500cc MX on July 17. The event will be round three of the Bel-Ray National Championship 500cc MX Series and round nine of the RK -Pro National Championship 1 25cc MX Series. The Steel City USA race will replace the canceled March 13 Anderson (South Carolina) 125/250 National. The June 5 San Antonio (Texas) race - originally scheduled as a 125/ 500cc National - has btlen designated a 125/250cc event. The additional race brings the 1988 National MX schedule to 12 1 25ec, six 250cc and six 500cc races. Craig Reml inger of AMA District 37's Viewfi nders Motorcycle Club has "regretfully " an nounced the cancellation of the club's Viewfi nd-: ers G P trophy presentation that was to be held at the LA. Polo Grounds in Los Angeles, California, April 29. Reml inger said trophies will be shipped to those who earned them, and the drawing for the Kawasaki KX500 will take place at the Shamrock GP at the Glen H elen O H V Park in San Bernardino, California, June 4. The newly formed Women's Motocross Association (WMXA) is holding the Discover Today's Women's MX at Perris (California) Raceway, June 4. The WMXA is inviting all female street and dirt bike riders to participate in the event, which will feature a raffle with procedes going to t he Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. For more information call 714/3591195, or 714/582-3482. Team Yamaha's Micky Dymo nd, who bro ke his hand just prior to the H angtown 125/25Occ MX National, March 27, says it's healing q uickl y. "It feels a lot better and I' ve started riding again. I've still been trai ni ng but it's been real boring hangi ng around the house with nothing to do for four weeks. I can't wait to start racing again. My first race should be Axton (Virginia, May 1)." Dymond also says he's been hanging out with heavy metal rock star Tommy Lee of Motley Crue. "We've been doi ng some riding together; he 's got a 1988 Honda CR250 ." Dymond was seen with Lee wandering around in the pits at the Hangtown National. "Fact ory 125cc Honda rider Guy Cooper will return to racing at the Axton MX National. Cooper suffered a broken right leg at the Belgium Supercross in December. "I 've been jamming , " said Cooper. " I got back on my bike April 1 , and I've been practicing real hard everyday in 85-degree weather. I'm ready to go." He rode the February 26 Gainesville (Florida) National, but the leg wasn't completely healed and Cooper rebroke the leg. He will wear a fiberglass cast on the leg for extra support and protection. Oklahoman Cooper finished third in the 125cc class last year. Multi-time National Motocross Champion Bob Hannah recently got the chance to sit in the cockpit of a U.S. Navy F-18 jet fighter p lane (Continued to page 53)

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