Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

II: W ~ U lJl lJl :::l II: > al 8 o :I: Q. Cra ig Tr inder won the 750cc and 600cc Production classes over Northwest po ints-leader J oe Pittm an at Portland International Raceway. Jeff Beckington won the 250 A class at Steel City Raceway. 8eckington wins Steel City Amateur MX By Davey Coombs DELMO NT, PA, J ULY 16 Michigan 's J eff Beckin g to n a n d P en n syl van ia 's Ma rk Ka n e spl i t overall Expert class wins on Amateur Da yat Stee l City Raceway in so u th w- : es tern Pennsyl van ia. Beck in gton , mounted on a Honda, too k the 250cc A class win with two first pl ace rides, whi le Kan e followed with a third and a seco nd with Ohio H o nda ace J oe Maurer ta king third with a 2-3 showing. Becking to n los t his cha nce at sweeping both overall wi ns early when he gated o uts ide the top 10 at th e start o f the first 125cc Expert moto, Out front Kane was ab le to get past early leaders Danny Blackham a nd J ohn Lewis, both Yamaha mounted , to pull away for th e win. Beckingt on co u ld only manage a fou r th behind Blackham and Maurer . In th e secon d h eat Beckin gton took n o chances and moved in to first early in th e going. Kan e, who ga ted seventh, moved up quickly to Beckington's pace but could not find a line past. Maurer was aga in third, wh ile FMF/Malcolm Smith's Scott Sepkovic grabbed fourth. With so m any visi tin g hot-shoes o n hand for Sunday's AMA National Champi onship M~ , Saturda y 's act ion became a preview for th eupcoming summe r Amateur Champi onships in Ponca City, Oklahoma , a n d - T ennessee. Michigan 's rising star Ha yden Ri chards ra cked up a pair of first pl ace finish es in th e 85cc class, gathering both th e 14-15 an d Super Mini wins. Ri ch ards went u p agains t Pennsylvania's own risi ng stars, Honda- m ounted T ony Bonace a nd Kawasaki pi lot Davey Yezek, an d ca me away wi th three ou t of four hea t wins on the day. It was the firs t moto of the day that Richards lo st, falling prey to a poor start and fla wless ride by Bonace. R ich ards was able to tu rn things around in heat two , get ting ' away from the gate well and holding off Bonace to wi n. Results 28 125 A: 1. M ark Kane (Han ): 2. J eff Beckin gto n (Han); 3. Joe M aurer (Han ); 4. Dan Blackham (ya m); 5. M aru c Sell ard s (Han). 250 A : 1. J eff Beckington (Han); 2. M ark Kane (Ho n); 3. Joe Maurer (Hon ); 4 . Pete Ma Urice IS uz); 5 Dan Blackh am (Yam). . OPEN A: 1. Mi ke Grafton (Honl ; 2. Sam Buch alt er (Kaw) ; 3 . Jim Youn g (Hon) ; 4 . St eve Crowe (Hon) ; 5. Br ian Koh l (KTM ). . 125 G GRP 1: 1. Rodger Molnar (kawl; 2. E"c Arl et (Han); 3. Doug Idding s (Hon ); 4. Rick Machn iak (Kaw); 5. M ike Pobor sky (Han). 125 B GRP 2: 1. Eric McLear (Yam); 2. Chadd Montero (Yam); 3. M ike McDo nald (SU1); 4 . Craig Brooks (Kaw ); 5. Robert Leona (Han).. 250 B: 1. Craig Brooks (Kaw); 2. M ike McDo!'ald (Suz); 3. Kevin Musser (Yamt: 4. Darren Un dh (Han); 5. Rick My ers (SU1). OPEN B: 1. Dennis Olliver (Yam); 2. Georg e Sosnick (Hon); 3. David Rocco (Hon); 4. David Fox (Kaw ); 5. Les Heasley (Hpn). . 12 5 C GRP I : 1. Tom Crayton (Han); 2. Daren Marshall (Kaw); 3. Bob Luketi c(Honl; 4. Ted Greene (Kaw); 5. St eve Hays (Han). 125 C GRP 2: 1. Jos h McCoy (Kaw ); 2. Gary Gill (Han); 3. Mark Sch ickel (Hon l; 4. Todd Davis (Cag); 5. Jim Hedtri ck (Han). 250 C GRP 1: 1. Haro ld Blakely (Kaw ); 2. Jim Reilly (Han); 3 . Brian Tremblay (Hon ); 4 . Shane Smith (SUl ); 5. Randy Whitmer (Han). OPEN C: 1. John Miller (Kaw ); 2. John Cram er (Han); 3. James Skok (KTM ); 4. Ron Taut ku s (Han); 5. Don Knoch (Yam). SR: 1. David Rocco (Hon); 2. M ark Hamilton (Han); 3. John McConnell (Yam); 4 . Josh Ab ston (Han); 5. David Kaufma n (Yam) . S /SR : 1. Jack Hamilton ( Hon~ 2. Denny Salamon (Han); 3. Ron Bailey (SU1); 4. J ames Dan ner (Kaw) . 125 SCHBY: 1. Daavid Beckington (Han); 2. Eric M cLear (Yam); 3. Robert Leone (Han); 4. Tony Bonace (y am); 5. Chr is Gr eenho use (Suz) 51 MIN I: 1. Hayden Richards (Ka w ~ 2. David Yezek (Kaw ); 3. Shane Lawson (Han); 4 . Jason Faulkner (Han); 5. Josh M cCoy (Kawl. B5 (14· 15): 1. Hayden Richards (Kaw); 2. Tony Bonace (Han); 3. Shae Lawson (Hon); 4. Jaso n Fowler ( Ka w~ 5. Same Wi llia ms (Kaw) . B5 (12 -1 3); 1. David Yelek (Kaw); 2. J oshua Steel (Kaw); 3. Jason Faulkn er (Hon ); 4. 'Mike Kochma n (KTM); 5. Steve Loveday (Han). B5 (7- 11): 1. Chr is Orm e ( SU1~ 2. Frank Bitner (Kaw~ 3. Greg Rand (Yam); 4. Jessed Th umser (SU1); 5. Jason McCoy (Kaw) . 65 : 1. Brock Sellards (Kaw); 2. Joshua Swe at (Kaw l; 3. Greg Rand (Kawl; 4 . Randy Salamon (Kaw); 5. Frank Bit ner (Kaw) . 51: 1. Kir k Rog ~ J r. (Yam). Trinder tears up Portland RR By Russ Cazier PORTLAND, OR, J ULY 24 Craig T rinder, form erl y from down under and now from Des Moines, ' lA, spent most o f thi s Oreg on Motorcycle Road Racing Associa tion sp rint ra ce on J oe Pittman 's rea r tire, but was in fron t of him wh en it co u nted, at the checkered flag: T ri nder had one easy win, in 750 P roduction , wh en Pi tt m an wa s bumped off th e tra ck in tu rn o ne o f th e first lap. Pittman was followed o ff by five ot her riders , a ll of whom go t back on th e track, but P ittman was in seventh p lace. Pittm a n rode perha ps h is best race of the day, working hi s way back up to third, bu t Trinder had a lready disappeared. In 600 P roduction , Trinder, P ittman and Shawn Ro bert raced all 10 laps within feet of each other, but Trinder passed in turn one of the last lap and made it stick. Trinder was also first across the finish lin e in O p en Prod u ctio n bu t for reasons not yet entirely clear, withdrew from th e ra ce , giving P itt ma n the wi n. Brad Pi nksta ff, older than brother Keith, but much less expe rienced a t road raci ng, looked to have his first win in Open Single aft er he ran away with the four lap grid qualifier. Pinkstaff was leading handily up to the eighth lap of th e 10 lap main, but his Yamaha single had developed a death rattle which could be heard in th e grandstands and h e had to settle for the moral victory and a DNF. Californian Kirk Hoeppner, on a much- faster- tha n- las t-race FZR 400, ran away wi th 450 Su perb ike. H e de n ied tha t T eam No Drugs was rece iving a ny su p port from Nancy Reagan , but adm itted tha t the b ike had been in th e hands o f a good tuner. Runner up Gary Crens haw sai d, " I hate to see these guys ge tt ing a ll th is co ntingency money. They use it to make th eir bikes faster." He has a poi nt, b ecau se a ll th e Su zu ki contingency classes (O pe n, 750 an d 600 Prod uction ) were wo n by Suzukis , and the Yamah a co ntingency money (in ' the Su pe rbi ke classes) went th e same way, except for 750 Superbike, where th e top two places went to J oe P ittman a n d Kei th P in kstaff on Zlock Racin g GS X Rs . Results OPEN PROD; 1. J oe Pitt man (SU1) 2. Keith ; Pinkstaff (Suz); 3. M ark Haskin s (Suz). 7 50 PROD: 1. Craig Tr ind er (SUl); 2. Shawn Roberti (Su z); 3. Joe Pin man (Suz). 600 PRO: 1. Craig Trind er (SU1) 2. J oe Pittman ; . • (SU1) 3. Shawn Robert i (SU1) ; 450 PROD: 1. Robert Hinoj osa (Yam); 2. Tony . Rome (Yam); 3. Richard M atth ews (Yam). 750 SPRBK: 1. J oe Pittman (SUl); 2. Keit h Pinkstaff (Suz); 3. St eve Linlejoh n (Yam). 600 SPRBK; 1. Br ian Sutton (Yam); 2. Kirk Hoeppn er (Yam); 3. Terry Williams (Yam). 450 SPRBK: 1. Kirk Hoeppner (Yam); 2. Gary Crensha w (Yam); 3. M ike Kenyon (Yam). F- 1: I . Keith Pink staff (SUl); 2. Phill ip Kress (SUl); 3. Steve Littlejohn (Yam). . F-2 : 1.' Mike Sullivan (Han); 2. Brian Sunon (Yam); 3. Terry Williams (Yam). F-3 : 1. Cliff Baker (HYH); 2. Gary Crenshaw (Yam); 3. Rick Salmon (Han). OPEN BOTT: 1. Randy Shemwell (Duc); 2. Brian Wynne (M·G). 650 BOTT: 1. Don Peters (Kaw); 2. Christia n Ninaud (Kaw); 3. Matt Moe ller (Kaw ). OPEN SGL: 1. Nick Falcos (Yam); 2. Dan Ball (Yaml; 3. Jerry Jones (Yam). NOV: 1. Stu art Miller (Han); 2. Tony She lto n (SUl); 3. Scott McA rth er (Han). Key coasts at Lodi ST By Mikki McBride t.onr, CA, J ULY 23 H arl ey-D avid son rider Ma rk Key stood out by winnin g th e Pro-Am class at th e Lodi Cycle Bowl. Key sai led through h is heat race effort lessly and th en tu rned aro u nd to do the same in the ma in event. In the main Key was first o ff th e line and in to th e h ol esh o t with Ro ta x rider Bob Damron slidi ng into second. Key ex tended his lead to a comfortab le margin a nd left Dam ron to extend h is ow n m ar gin over Frank Sanchez in the third spot, Danny Mc Donnel l in fourth a nd Co ry Perreault in fift h. Perr eault. go t a wh eel under Sanchez which caused Sanchez to go just wide enough for Perreault and Gresha m to slide by. Bobby McD oweW a lso over- took Sanchez, G resham and Perr eault and was still .m ovin g whe n he began having tro u bles and had to drop way to th e back. By the checkered flag itwas Key way out in front, Damron way out ahead of th ird -p lace McDon nell. Gresham got by Perreault to take over fourth and Perreau lt stayed in the fift h spot. In the O pen Expert main Bob Damron grabbed the holeshot with Mike Gresham and McDowell right behind him a n d began to pull himself and th e o ther two riders to a long lead. Frank Nye wa s in th e fourth spot just a hea d o f J ose Aguilar. McDowell go t by th e o utside o f Gresh am o n th e front straight in time for th e wh ite-flag a nd held his p o siti on for the checke re d w ith Dam ron in first an d Nye a nd Aguila r still in the fo urth a n d fifth spot. - The Vet Ex pert class only had four rider s, bu t it wa s a g reat show between Mark Butl er a n d Da ve Bostrom. Bu tler too k a n ea rly lead with Bostr om right on hi s tail. Tim Walla ce pu t so me heat on Bostrom wi th Roy Fisher bringing u p th e rea r. Butler led a ll th e way a nd Wallace almost got by Bostrom a co u p le o f tim es, but Bostrom m anaged to h ang o n to seco n d. Resu lts P/W C& B: 1. Michaal Patterson (Yam); 2. Toby Jorgensen {Yam~ 3. Dan ny Vickers (Yam); ·4. Tony Seuea J r. (Yam); 5. Chri s Loredo (Yam). 60 NOV /JR : 1. John Murphree (Kaw) ; 2. Helder Alv ern az (Kaw) ; 3. Sammy Sabedra (Kaw ); 4 . Eric Martin (Kaw) . BO NOV I J R/ EX: 1. John Murphree (Kaw); 2. Jesse Sanchez (Yam); 3. Earnie M art in (Kaw); 4. Eric Bostr om (Hon); 5. Man Wi lla rd (Kaw). VET NOV: 1. Robert Meiring (H· D); 2. Timothy Snyd er (Yam); 3. Don Sh ipley (W ·R); 4. A lbert DeHoyos (Yam); 5. Henry Sanchel (Han). VET JR : 1. William Rider ( Hon~ 2. Lynn George (Han); 3. Gary Cordeiro (Han); 4 . Jack Winans (Yaml; 5. James Hodgin (Yam). VET EX: 1. Mark Bult er (W·RI; 2. Dave Bostrom «W -R); 3. Tim Wallace (Yam); 4 . Roy Fisher (Han ). 125 NOV; 1. Chad McBride (Sul); 2. Robert Stev enson (Yam). 250 NOV/JR : 1. Troy Watts (Kaw ); 2. Gary Mi lewski (Han); 3. Anthony Freeman (Han ); 4. Robby Peichoto (Yam); 5. J ohnny McG ill (Yam). 500 OPEN NOV: 1. Dwa ne Franc isco (Hon); 2. Robert Me ir ing (H· D); 3. Richard Sanchel (Han); 4. Ma rk Jo in er (Yam ); 5. Don Shipley (W-R). 500 OPEN JR: 1. Sherman Gresh am (W·R); 2. Stev e Stewart (Yaml; 3. David Sanc hez (Han); 4. Sam Loma nt o (Han); 5. Gary Cordeiro (Han). 500 OPEN EX: 1. Robert Damron (W-R); 2. Bobby .McDowell (Han); 3. M icha el Gresham (W-R~ 4. Frank Nye (W·R); 5. J aime Agu ilar (H-D). PRO-AM: 1. M ark Key (H· D); 2. Robert Damron (W-R); 3. Daniel McDonnell (H· D); 4. Michael Gresham (W-R~ 5. Cory Pert eault (W·R ). Jones jets to wins at Meadowlarks MX By Peggy Adamic AMHERST, OH, JULY 10 G ear Ra ceware/Yokohama-backed Bryan J ones rode to the overall wins in th e 125 and 250cc B classes at Amherst Meadowlarks MX , scoring four m ot o wins en route to the victories. Jones first attacked th e 250cc B class as h e routed hi s machine through turn one ahead of Chris Grasso, Steve Wooledge and Steve Wilmington. Grasso went down . early , handing Wooled ge second . place. J ones ran up an 11 second lead o ver seco nd-p lace Wooledge by the en d of the m ot o , Grasso rode through tum one of moto two with J ones a nd Wilmington beh ind. J ones quickl y took over th e lead a nd pulled a way to a better. th an lO-second lead at th e end o f th e five-lap moto. Mik e Shi ns ky hol esh ot rnoto one of the 125cc B· class with Grasso, J ones an d C h ris Bodo in pursuit. By the end of lap one, J ones was out in fro nt with G rasso shooti ng past Sh ins ky a la p later. J ones pulled away from the grou p o f rid er s with Gra sso holdi ng a so l id seco n d. Sh ins ky battled wi th Bod o for th ird u nti l th e .fi na l la p o f th e rno to as Bodo routed h is H o nda aro u nd Shinsky wi thin the last ha lf-lap. Jones held a 12-second lead over Crasso a t the checkered £I a~. Mo to two was a swee t victory for J o nes. Grasso grabbed th e lead off the line to begin th e moto with Shi ns ky, Jo nes, Bod o and R a y Macintyre trailing. Jones immediately dis placed Sh insky, and in the u p h ill second turn G rasso 's bike seized: Grasso fell a nd took J ones with hi m as he tried to pass for th e

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