Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

DeHoop won the 125cc Eastern Regional Championship. out the top 10 ahead of teammate Micky Dymond. 125cc heats Todd DeHoop (37) jumps out in front at the start of the 125cc main: Mike laRocco (559) charged through the pack and passed DeHoop to take the win, while Denny Stephens~n (360) claimed third. . Leisk (left) and Holland (right) team up to douse teammate Johnson as they celebrate a Honda sweep of the top three positions in the main. they landed, Naughton hit the back of his opponent's machine and he fell, leavmg Stephenson to be the last rider into the main. Final 8 Before the start of the final , Johnson was asked if having Ward out changed his strategy. "Not really. Everyone's going fast. Lechien, Broc, O'Mara, Holland. There's a saying: If you mess around with the squirrels, you're going to . get your nuts busted," he said. Dubach got the holeshot and led the 21-rider field through the righthand corner and double jump at the stadium's west end, but by the end of the first lap Holland had the lead with Dubach second, O 'Mara third, Lechien fourth, Johnson fifth , and Matiasevich sixth. Stanton, Tichenor, Glover, and Leisk followed. "I got a terrible start," Leisk would later say. "I didn't jump o ut of the gate good and it's hard to pass here." Johnson, who the announcer had warned was a notoriously slow starter, was up to fourth on the second lap, third a lap later, second on the fourth, and by the fifth lap was in the lead. Holland and Lechien were just behind with a big gap to the battling trio of O'Mara, Dubach and Matiasevich, who were well clear of Stanton, Glover, and Leisk. Lechien slid out exiting the tunnel under the finish jump and fell well back in the pack on the seventh lap. He would finish 13th. A lap later and Johnson suffered a rare lapse, overshooting a jump I and faIling with Holland speeding past. But within 15 seconds Jo!lnson was again leading, and this time he wouldn't be headed. After the fall, Johnson began to concentrate harder, his jumps were less spectac- ' ular, and his riding more meticulous. Gradually, he stretched his advantage and would win by close to 15 seconds. At the halfway point Holland was still in second, where he would finish, and a lap later Leisk would move into third filling out the winner's circle. " I knew he (Johnson) was going to get past me so there was no holding back," Holland said. "My shoulder was still sore so I just tried to get a good start and ride real smooth." Leisk said that he had revised his suspension during the night which made fiirn more confident with the machine. Once he felt it was dialed in , he was able to charge through the pack. The 12th lap saw O'Mara drop Matiasevich to fifth and hold on for his best finish of the season following over a year of knee injuries. Still, he felt there 'w as room for improvement. ''I'm not real happy ," said O'Mara. "There's no reason I shouldn't have gotten second. I made some mistakes earl y because I'm not used to running up front. Each week I've been improving and the speed ' is almost there. It's only been the last . month that I've been able to do all the training that I need for my confidence. The best 1 rode all night was in the heat. 1 got a little tense in the main." Matiasevich finished fifth after ' tiring from riding the 250cc and recurring stomach cramps. He usually rides the '125cc Nationals and Western Region Supercrosses. . "Just past halfway my arms pumped up and I got tired," he began. "That's when Johnny and Leisk passed me. The bigger bike has more power, it's heavier, and it takes more energy." Also solidifying his ·spot on the 12th lap ' was Dubach, admittedly . still' learning about racing at the top. "It seemed like the pace was 'pretty quick," Dubach said. "I rode well, but I was just five seconds out of second place. It 's a little frustrating." Eric Kehoe, who'd run as high as fifth, faded to seventh, with Mike Fisher pulling away from Jeff Stanton for eighth. Broc Glover rounded Yamaha's Mike Jones was leading Suzuki's DeHoop by two points, 111109, in the 'cham p io nsh ip battle before the racing began. Jones put a lot of ground on Mike LaRocco early in the first six-lap heat and won big. LaRocco had as much space on third-place, which went to Barry Carsten after a racelong duel with Robert McCullou~h. Mark Crozier was fifth. The top nme went directly to the main. After getting away third in the second heat DeHoop began marching forward, getting into a battle with Danny Stephenson on the fifth lap after early leader Mark Lachowicz faded. Late in the lap DeHoop stuffed under Stephenson, ran into him, then got on the gas to hold him off to the finish. Brian Carroll was third , Robert Hayes fourth and Lachowicz fifth. The final four riders into die 22rider main came from the LCQ with Randy Miller leading Brett Salander, Joseph Ellington, and Greg Randa to the 12-lap final. - . 125cc main , Almost from the drop of the gate, the championship was decided. DeHoop jetted out front and Jones was mired well back in the field and would have to deal with substantial traffic problems. On the second lap it was DeHoop in front of Lachowicz, Stephenson, Hayes, Robert McCullough, Carsten, LaRocco, Carroll and Jones. By the midpoint ' LaRocco was third behind DeHoop and Stephenson and second a lap later. Two laps from the end LaRocco was out front and DeHoop, the championship well in hand, was glad to let him past. " I feel great," the new champion said. " I was real nervous at the beginning of the race and at the end I just let Mike get by." "I just didn't want to mess Todd up or anything," said Stephenson, adding that he was saving a little energy for the 250cc race which followed. He finished 20th in it. • Results 250: 1. Rick Johnson (Hon); 2. George Holland . (Hon); 3. Jeff Leisk (Hon); 4. Johnny O'Mara (Suz); 5. Jeff Matiasevich (Kaw); 6. Doug Dubach (Yam); 7. Erik Kehoe (Suz); 8. Mike Fisher (Kaw); 9. Jeff Stanton (Yam); 10. 8roc Glover (Vam); 11. Micky Dymond (Yam); 12. Shaun Kalos (Yam); 13. Ron Lechien (Kaw); 14. Donny Schmit (Suz); 15. Brian Manley (Suz); 16. Fred Andrews (Suz); 17. Keith Bowen (Suz); 18. Keith Bowen (Kaw); 19 . Kun McMillen (Hon); 20 . Denny Stephenson (Kaw) . 125 : 1. Mike laRocco: 2. Todd DeHoop; 3. Denny Stephenson; 4. Robert Hayes; 5. Brian Carroll; 6. Barry Carsten ; 7 . Mike Jones; 8. Robert McCul· lough; 9. Mark Musselman; 10. Dale Spangler: 11. Michael Kurzeja ; 12. K. Mark Crozier; 13. Daniel Portz; 14. Randy Miller; 15. Marc Tiesler; 16. Greg Randa; 17 . Shane Siothsr; 18 . J im Randa: 19. Joseph Ellington. POINT STANDINGS 25Occ: 1. Johnson' (217); 2. Ward (177); 3. Lechien (168); 4. Holland (129); 5. Glover (124); 6. Leisk (121); 7. Kehoe (1 15); 8. O'Mara (85); 9. Stanton (79); .10. Dubach (69). 125cc EASTERN REGION FINAL STANDINGS : 1. DeHoop (131); 2. Jones (125); 3. laRocco (100); 4. Hayes (95); 5. Stephenson (85): 6. Coleman (83); 7. Kenny Kiuar (55): 8. (TIE) Robert Naughton/ Crozier (49); 10 . Carl Vaillancourt (37). ·clinched championship .

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