Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

=,-'-,...-- - - - --- -----------'----- ----, u w z w a: ~ > a: a: :3 > ttl a b :z: 0.. Chuck Graves (12 0 ) took wins in four different classes and dominated AR RA action at Willow Springs. Results Andy Fenwick. shown here leading Carl Musat. won the A. Band 0 Production Expert classes at Grattan. by the midway point. Rogers did all he could to close the deficit, but to no avail, as Beyer took the win and overall victory ahead of Rogers' 32 po stings and Sweeten's 4-3. Roundin g out th e top five were Annen (25) and Foeckler (6-4). Beyer clawed his way to the head of th e pa ck in his first I25cc Pro moto and mu ch like in 250cc com petition , hi s closest com petition again ca me from Portland Honda-sponsored Rogers. Beyer held off Ro~ers ' ad van ces to net th e moto Win while T rever Portner took third at the com pletio n ahead of Sweeten and David Brown ing. . Rogers timed the gate perfectl y in th e second mota and ran away with th e 10-lap event. Sweeten held down second while Beyer came from way back to settle into third. But Beyer had his hands full with Sweeten and cat ching Rogers was not to be, giving th e Honda jockey hi s first win of the series at Albany. Rogers' seco nd moto win was good for th e overa ll followed by Beyer's 1-3, Sweeten (42), Portner (3-4) and Browning (55). Resu lts 25 0 PRO: 1. Gary Beyer (Kaw); 2. Darren Rogers ( Hon ~ 3. Denni s Sweeten (Kaw) ; 4. Rob A nnen (Kaw); 5. John Foeckler (Suz). 125 PRO: 1. Darren Rogers (Hon); 2. Gary Beyer (Kaw); 3. Den nis Sweeten (KawJ; 4. Trever Ponner (Yam); 5. David Browning (Yam). OPEN INT: 1. Frank McKuhn (Hon); 2. Mike Burk e (Hon); 3 . Doug MacDuffee (Hon). OPEN JR: 1. Don Boeespl lug (Hon~ 2. Joe Nelson (Hon); 3 .Jeff McKinley (Hon). 250 INT: 1. Rod Keller (Hon); 2. Terry Hamness (Kaw~ 3. Jim Sawtell (Hon t, 4 . Aaron Boehmer IHon ~ 5 . Jay Vice (Yam). 250 BEG: 1. Matt Barnhan (Kaw); 2. Tom Marlin (Hon~ 3 . Ron W illiams (Kaw~' 4. Rod Comstock (Kaw); 5. Corey Shepherd (KTM). 125 INT: 1. Dalton Jeremiah (Kaw) ; 2. Ernie Robens (Hon); 3. Joe Casey IHon ). 125 BEG: 1. Matt Gable (Hon ~ 2. Roman Ross (Kawt, 3 . Jeff Laa.., (Yamt, 4.Eddie Denhem (Kawt, 5. Trever Levitt (Hon). 105: 1. Danny Ulven (Kaw); 2. Ryan Huffman (Yam); 3 . Travis Berry (Yam). 80 BEG: 1. Ryan Hageman (Vam); 2. Mike Ulven (Kaw~ 3. Mel Stanerson (Hon ). 60: 1. er ic Burkinshaw (Kaw~; 2. Russ Postma (Kaw~ 3. Doug McKuhn (Kaw) . 30 -40 s : 1/ Ray Gamon (Hon ); 2. Mark Dickey (kaw); 3 . Mike Holbrook (Hon). 30-40 B: 1. Doug Tuller (kaw); 2. Rick Robens (Yamt, 3. DougWiley (Hon); 4. Fritz Manin (Cog); . 5. Jac k Coulter (Hon ). UTH: 1. Joe Casey (Hon); 2. Don Sch neider (Hon ); 3. J oe Knight (Vam). Fenwick flies at Grattan RR By Larry Lawrence GRATTAN, MI, APR. 24 Neenah , Wisconsin's Andy Fenwick rode hi s producti on Suzuki a nd Honda to th ree victories in WERA region al sprint raci ng ac tio n, mak in g a smooth transition from sma ll bikes to lar ger machines. Fenwick, who dominated the D Production and D Superbike races in this region for the past several seasons riding Yamaha RZ350s, won two of his races thi s weekend on a new Metzeler/Fox RacinglTsubaki/ Spectro / IRS /Human Race T eam -spon sored Suzuki GSXR750. Fen wick 's o ther victory came o n a three-year-old H onda 500 Intercep to r in D Production. Saturday's qualifier races proved to be surviva l of th e fittest wit h g ustdriven rains and tem peratures in th e mid-40s. Most rid ers elected to skip the heat races altogether. T he weather for Sunday's fin al s was sun ny, but ch illy. Fen wick rodeconserva tively at th e beginnin g o f' 't he A Producti on contes t, letting his Metzelers warmup while following early lead ers Ray Yoder and Carl Mu sat, With three laps remaining in th e race, Fenwick moved by Musat for second and then on the white flag lap drafted by ' Yoder to take the win. The B Production race was almos t a carbon copy of A Production. Fir st year expert Yoder again took th e early lead on his Midwest Action Cycle-sponsored Suzuki GSXR750 befor e being reeled in by the more' experie nc ed Fenwick. T h is tim e Musat also got around Yoder to take second on his Cycles West Suzuki. " T was learning to rid e the big Suzuki as I was going," said Fenwick. " My lap times came down with each lap, this weekend was a great learning experience with the new bik e." Dave Knapp was the heavy favorite to win the firs t round of th e 1988 Michigan Gran Prix Series. H is lap tim es, in th e I:30 range while winning th e Open Formula a nd B Superbike races, were the fastest of th e day, but a crash on th e first lap of the GP gave th e lead to Fritz Klin g. Kling battled for a few laps with Brett Cecchini before pulling away. Mu sat made a no ther co me -fro m -behi nd effort to catch the 600 H onda of Cecchini, but th e power of th e GSXR wasn't enough to catch Klin g, wh o was far faster than Musat in the twisty sectio ns of the track. At th e end Kling wo n by five seco n ds , winnin g th e $135 cash prize. Klin g is backed by RH Cycle and Co llege Bike Shop. Bob Sa ndy rode h is Do w n ers Grove Suzuki GSXR750 to two wi ns in the Novice ra n ks. Sandy battled early with Do ug Sholty in bo th races but th e Illino is r ide r gradua lly pulled away each tim e. A PRO D EX: 1. A ndy Fenwick (Ho n); 2. Ray Voder (Suz); 3. Can Musat (Suz); 4. Gregory Kar m (Suz); 5. Jeffrey Wood (Suz). . A PROD NOV : 1. Doug Shotty (Suz); 2. M ike Karm (Suz); 3 . Dave Hansen (Yam); 4. Bob Sandy (Suz); 5 . Greg Jones (Suz). B PROD EX: 1. An dy Fenwi ck (Hon); 2. Carl Musat (Suzl; 3 . Ray Yoder J r. (Suz); 4. Gr egory Kar m (Suz); 5 . Jeffrey Wood (Suz). B PROD NOV: 1. Bob Sandy (Suz); 2. Doug Shotty (Suz); 3 . Greg Jones (Suz); 4. Mike Karm (Suz); 5. Keith Merryfie ld (Hon). C PROD EX: 1. Fritz Kling (Hon); 2. Alan Benagnoli (Hon); 3. Brett Cecchini (Hon); 4. Jim StillIVam); 5. John Love (Hon). C PROD NOV: 1. Sam War drip (Hon); 2. AI Hall (Hon ); 3. Keith Merryfield (Hon); 4. TIm Lampe (Hon); 5 . Brian Pritz (Hon). PROD EX: 1. Andy Fenwicl< (Hon ); 2. Manin M iller (Yam ); 3. Jim Still (Yamt, 4. Mike Kegg (Yam). o PROD NOV: 1. Cra ig Newlonh (Vam); 2. Ken Schielelbein (Yamt, 3 . Jim Crawlord (Yam); 4. Bradley Manin (Yam); 5. Chic Cecchini (Yam). B S/BK EX; 1. Dave Knapp (Yamt, 2. Ray Voder (Suz); 3. Andy Fenwick (Hon); 4. John Madry (Vam). B S/ BK NOV: 1. Bob Sandy (Suz); 2. Doug Sholly (Suz): 3. Mike Karm (Suz); 4. Bill Huemann (Suz); 5 . Deve Hansen (Yam). C S/BK EX: 1. Alan Enagnoli (Hon); 2. Brett Cecchini (Hon ); 3 . Jim St ill (Yam); 4 . John Love (Hon); 5. Todd Stemen (Kaw). C S/BK NOV : 1. Keith Merryfield (Hon); 2. Sam Wardrip (Hon); 3 . Tim Lampe (Hon); 4 . Ken Kosieracki (Yam); 4. AI Hall (Hon) . o S/ BK EX: 1. Steve Patterson (Vam); 2. Alan Benagnoli (Yam); 3 . J im Still (Yam ); 4 . Jerry Washburn (Yam); 5. Roben Newby (Yam). o S/BK NOV : 1. Ken Kogieracki (Yam); 2. Craig Newlonh (Vam); 3 . Br uce Rice (Kaw); 4. Phil Pummell(Suz); 5 . Jim Crawlord (Yam). OPEN FORMULA: 1. Dave Knapp (Yam); 2. Fritz Kling (Hon); 3 . manin Miller; 4. Jeffrey Wood (Suz); 5 . John Madez (Yam). F-2 EX: 1. Manin Miller (Vaml ; 2. A lan Ben agnole (Yam); 3 . Steve Pan erson (Yam); 4 . J erry Washburn (Vam ); 5. Dave Bloom (Yam). F·2 NOV: 1. Ken Kosieracki (Vam ); 2. Craig Newlonh (Vam); 3 . Ken Schei lelbein (Vam); 4. Bradley Manin (Yam); 5. A ll an Miller (Vam). F·3 EX: 1. Gord an Ham ilton (Kaw); 2. Tom Exinger (Kaw) . VINT 1: 1. Richard Roin iotis (Due). VINT 2: 1. Phil Pummell (Suz); 2. Speedy Pete Smakula (Suz). VINT 3 : 1. Phil Pummell (Suz); 2. Richard Greenway (Tri). VINT 5: 1. Tom Foerch (Vam); 2. Dan Vo ight (Hon); 3. M ike McKinnley (Hon~ 4. Jeff Donath (MG) . MICHIGAN CUP: 1. Fritz Kl ing; 2. Carl Musat (Suz); 3 . Brett Cecchini (Hon); 4 . Phil Pummell (Hon t, 5. Greg Karm . o Graves wins four at Willow Springs RR By J . Franklin Rose ROSAMOND , CA, APR. 24 Chuck G raves ' dominated ARRA rac ing at Willow Springs with four wins. Graves' first win of th e da y was in th e 600cc Superstreet race. Kevin Erion, riding the T wo · Brother s Racing Du cati , had th e lead by th e second lap with Graves, Kawasaki mounted , o n hi s heels from th e balcony to turn nine. Kurt H eppe o n a Yam aha was running third and fighting for fourth spot was Eri c Liebsh ire a nd J im Dra ves. On lap fo ur , Er ion ' s Ducati - d evel oped mech anical trouble in tum five and he had to pu ll into the pits, a llowing Graves to wa lk away from th e pack to' an easy win. Hep pe, now in third place, passed Li ebshire in turn nine on th e la st lap , but Li eb shire repassed down th e front stra ight to take second with H eppe fini shing th ird. The combined 750cc and Open Superstreet event saw the first of fo ur red flags of the day when Nathan Ladd, running second in the Open class, went down in turn four on lap three. The race was restarted and shortened to six laps. Chuck Magnusson, riding a Suzuki GSX R, led the Open class from start to finish with Kawasaki-mounted Craig Beecher finishing second and Jim Keller third. Kenny Kopecky 's Suzuki out-pow ered Rob Wright's Suzuki, to finish first in a closer 750cc race with Chuck Graves in third. Graves went on to win th e 750cc Modified Production, 750cc Stock Production and 600cc Modified Production classes. Onl y two other riders finished in first place in more th an one class. Tom Christian too k his Yamaha SRX600 to victory in the 600cc Singles and Formula Singles races; Joe Soli s continued to dominate in the 305cc Modified Production and 305cc Superstreet clas ses on hi s Kawasaki 250 Ninja, fini shing first in both. Formula One was sched uled for race number 13 and the heavy guns lined up oil the grid. Chuck Magnusson had already won the Open Superstreet race; Kenny Kopecky sponsored by Kopecky Bus/Kerker/ Lemon Grove Suzuki/was the winner of the 750cc Superstreet race; Rob Wright aced the Open Novice on Saturday and finished second in 750cc Superstreet, Cresswell ended up off the track. Kopecky re-entered but dropped back to seventh position. Cresswell was out with a mechanical DNF. On lap three, Rob Wright, running in second behind Magnusson , co uld n 't find enough track in turn on e and rode off, losing four places before he co uld get back on th e track. Magnusson, still out in front, lost his shift lever on lap four in th e front stra ight and pulled into the pi ts. With th e halfway flags out, the field started to thin and Mark Thomas had a small lead in front of Tony Attwater and Chris Ganimian battling for seco nd. Thomas opened up some di stance to tak e the win as Attwater a n d G animian swapped pl aces on laps six, seven a n d ei g h t. G animain en de d up taking second and Attwat er fini shed th ird . Results 0-450 NOV: 1. Greg Gra ssman; 2. Warren Powers. 451 -0PEN NOV: 1. Chris Brow n; 2. J im Willi- amson; 3. Steve Downey. 601- 0 PEN NOV: 1. Rob Wright ; 2. Hideyuki Ishikawa; 3 . Jo e Coonan; 4. Don Honeyfield. 600 S/ST : 1. Chuck Graves (Kaw); 2. Eri c Liebscher (Han); 3 . Kurt Heppe (Yam); 4. J im Dra ves (Hon); 5. Doug Scott. BOn LIW: 1. William Byrnes (Duel : 2. Kevi n Erion (Hon); 3 . George Leavell (Kaw ); 4 . Eddie Brush (Kaw); 5. Denn is Couch (Cag). BOn HIW: 1. Trevor Du nn e (Due): 2. Gary Patton (Due); 3. Danny Farnsworth (Due). BOn VINT: 1. Janes Oldiges (Yam); 2. David Wilkinson (Yam). 7 50 51ST: 1. Kenny Kopecky (Suz); 2. Rob Wrigh t

• Cover