Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ a:: a:: ::::l :E < ~ e w Z Z 0 0 > '" 0 .... 00 00 O"l 0 :r e, ,......; ~ C'I ,......; ..... C1) ..0 0 ..... U 0 Yamaha FZR600-mounted Brian Sutton (224) won the 750cc Superbike class at Portland International Raceway. Keith Pinkstaff took second. Bruce Olgivie finished second overall at the Shamrocks Hare & Hound in Lucerne Valley, California. Cliff Thomas was the overall winner. World Championship Superbike Road Race Series: Round B Merkel makes move in Australia SYDNEY, AUSTRALI A, SEPT, 25 The inaugural World Ch ampionship Su perbike Series is poised for a dramatic fin ish in New Zealand as a result of a 26 brilliant record-breaking effort fro m Ameri can Fred Merkel in fro nt of a reco rd crowd at Au stralia's Oran Park. Although Australian riders dominat ed th e two legs with Marlboro Yamaha men Michael Doohan and Michael Dow son ta king first and second, respectively, in each ,race, it was Honda-mounted Merk el who got th e mo st o ut of th e event, Merkel slashed series point standin gs leader Davide T ardozzi's advantage to just 2.5 poin ts. The Cal ifornia n and Italian Fabrizio Piro vano are now tied for second in th e point sta n d i ngs with j us t o ne round remain ing. Birn o ta -rn o urued T a rdozzi coul dn' t get to grips with the tigh t and demanding 1.6-mile circuit just o utside Sydney and aftera practice cras h took th ings very cautiously. Tardozzi could o nly manage 11th and IOth pl ace finishes and saw a co m forta ble poi nts lead red uced dra sticall y, Merkel fini sh ed fourth ' in th e openi ng race a nd scorched home with a new track record of I minute, 12.690 seconds in leg two to cro ss th e line third. Yamaha-m ou nted Pirovano was hi s usual consistent self and turned in sixth and seven th place finish es. . The hero of the day was defi nitely' Queensl ander Doohan wh ose brilliance saw him to comfortable victories both times ou t, Teammate Do wson was eq ua lly as com forta ble in second spot each time but the Australia n dom inance wh ich had seen Kawasaki-mounted Rob Phillis .take third in the first leg was brok en by Merkel 's charge in the second leg. Gary Goodfellow, a New . Zealander who is now living in Canada, finished eighth in the first leg and then turned in a strong fifth pl ace fini sh in th e seco nd leg on a H ond a. T he performance moved Goodfellow into 10th in th e point sta ndings, Merkel was in a determined mood as he stepped off hi s Honda following his new circu it record only seven laps from th e en d of the second race: " Bimo ta is finished . , , we are going to win the World Cham pi o nship ." Results 1ST LEG: 1. Mic:hael Doohan (Yam); 2. Mi chael Dawson (Yam): 3. Rob Phillis (Kaw): 4. Fred Merkel (Han); 5. Malcolm Campbell (Han); 6. Fabr izio Pirovano (Yam); 7. Stephana M ert en s (Bim) ; 8. Gary Goodfellow (Honl: 9. Robert Scolyer (Han): 10. Sean Gallagher (Han); 11. Davide Tardozzi (Bim); 12. Andy McG laddery (Han); 13. Robert Dunlop (Han): 14. Terry Rymer (Han I: 15. lain Pero (Suz). 2ND LEG: 1. Doohan ; 2. Dowso n; 3. Merkel; 4. Philli s; 5. Goodfellow; 6. Merten s; 7. Pirovano; 8. Campb ell; 9. Scolyer; 10. Tardozzi; 11. Rymer; 12 . Gallagh er: 13. McGladd ery: 14 . Dunlop ; 15 . Len Will in g (Yam). POINT STANDINGS: 1. Davide Tardozzi (B61 2. ; (TIE) Fred Merke l/Fabri zio Pirovano (B3 .5); 4 . St ephan a Mertens (75 .5); 5. M arco Lucch inelli (641 6. Atex Vieira (4 2); 7. Roger Burn ett (31 .6): ; S.(TIE) J oey Dunlop /M ichael Dooha n (30); 10 . Eric Delcamp (29 .5). Thomas tops Shamrocks Hare & Hound By Donnetta and Bob Murray RED MO UNTAIN, CA, SEPT. 25 It started o ut as a race but it ended mor e like a trip th ro ugh a maze as riders tried findi ng thei r way throu gh the sabotaged cour se at the Shamrocks Har e &: Hou nd a t T eagle Wash. Wise ri ders shou ld h ave bee n watchi ng Yama ha-mounted DiU Thomas, who led the race wire- to-wire and finish ed a good five minu tes befor e his.closest co mpe titor. Thomas was the leader by a narrow margi n at the end of the bom b despite having a threekick start, Close on his heels were Don Griewe on a pie -plate 3250, Ya maha rid ers Darrin Cartwright a nd Ronn ie Jenni ngs, veteran Mike Mulconery, ridin g a Hus ky, and Kawasaki 250 pilot Brett Howell. Thomas roa red o nto pit row 40 seco nds ahea d of Eric Hall ga th on a 125cc Yam a ha a t the end of loo p one. Not Car behi nd were C riewe, J ennings, Howell and Ron Shu ler, aboard a Kawasaki. But thi s is where th e race got interesti ng . o r fru strating if you were a lost rider. Saturda y afternoo n and aga in during the night ti me hours, someo ne sabotaged the course, pu lling dow n ribbons, markers and arro ws and makin g it a nig h tmare [or those riders in the lead on Sunday who had no dus t to follo w. Before the end of the 37-mile loo p , several of the top riders had straggled back into the pits, dejected and fru strated having lost their way and ven tured off co urse. O ther tha n from -ru nner Thomas, the top rive list chan ged drastically. Thomas cruised through the pit s five-and-a-hal f mi nutes ahead of second place ru nn er, Vet Bruce Ol givie ri di ng a Honda. He ha d been seventh man in after the first loop and now ha d gai ned five posi ions. Next down the list was Kawasaki's t Mike McDonald , who is also a Vet ride r, H owell and Mike Kornwinder on a Honda. "T he th ird loo p of the course was not marked well ," noted Thom as, wh o is sponsored by Michelin Tires/GA Racin g/ICRT / PSI Pi pes/Dick Allen Yam ah a/The In-laws. "There were no arro ws, no ribbon. I mu st have backtracked 15 tim es lookin g [or the last piece ol ribbo n. I had to stop a coup le of times to make some minor repa irs and I was even abl e to stop at a coup le of checks to drink som e water. Then I just cruised in." Not only did Thom as finish way ahead of the pack , he caug ht the ha re alon g with the $100 award [or the prize. Vet Olgi vie ' char ged in [or second p lace honors and claim ed the slowi ng down five 10 10 perce n t ena bled him to find the ribbonmar ked course. "1 missed the comers a' cou p le of tim es. but I stopped a nd scanned the hori zon until I picked up the course again," said Olgivie. " It was a grea t course. The second loop (designed to be C ast) was Iun while the tight thi rd loop kicked your butt." Another veteran, McDonald , was third to the checkered nag followed by Howell wh o was fourth overall a nd first 250cc to finish. " I had a good dice with Ron Sh uler on a n Open bike In the first few miles o[ the race bu t then the dust spread everyo ne out." said Howell , spo nsored by T eam Gr een/DMCI Rentha l/Tsubaki / Scott/ Acerbis/Sinisa lo/ Bel -Ray/ Dunl op. "The vandal ism to th e co urse markers made it a little tough . At o ne poin t, I had some Shamrocks wavi ng me onto the rig ht course." Kawasaki 250 rid er Ph il Gorgo ne was firth across the fin ish li ne. On hi s heels was a no the r 250cc rider, Gra nt Palenske also on a Kawa. saki. Seventh overall was Kawasaki-mounted Ken Rieger. Amateur Brad Fay aboard a Hon da earned his eigh th overa ll pos it io n desp ite racing witho ut any pit help. " I had to pit myself,' said the Malco lm Smith/Mill Creek Welding/B EC Racin g/ Red lands Hon da /Yam a ha-sponsored ride r. " It slowed me down a li ttle pl us rocks on the th ird loo p threw me down once and that pu t a damper on th ings." Donnie Simone pi lo ted h is 125cc Kawasak i into ninth overa ll posi tion and first 125cc through the finish chute. Simone Ielt the second loo p was a little fast for his personal taste, but the usua l end uro rider loved the rea l tight third loop. Simo ne's sponsors incl ude O 'Neal US A/Smi th Goggles / Dura lube/ Maier /Cycle Worl d Magazine/DNA raci ng . Rou ndin g out u top 10 fin ish ers was Steve he Smi th on a 250. Results M~~~~:dn;:.n:t ~~71~~i ~=1I0~t;~) }H5.n~i Gargo ne (Ka w). . OPEN EX: 1. Cliff Thomas (Yaml; 2. Ken Rieger IKaw) . 250 EX: 1. Brett Howell (Kaw); 2. Ph il Gargone (Kaw); 3. Grant Palenske (Kaw); 4 . Glenn Arm strong . 125 EX: 1. Donn ie Sim one (Kaw); 2. Nick Young; 3. Er5c Hal1gath (Yam). OPEN AM : 1. Todd Colley (Honl; 2. R. Colli ns (Han); 3. Kevin Miles; 4 . Tom Hodgin (Han). 250 AM : 1. Brad Fay (Hon): 2. Neil Vann atta (Yam); 3. M ike Koncur ; 4. Eric Gunther (Yam); 5. Dave Byrd. 125 AM: 1. Oavid Onda s (Yam); 2. Ji m Thoma s. VET OPEN EX: t . Bru ce Olgivi e (Han); 2. M ike McDon ald {Kaw l; 3. Steve Otis (Yaml ; 4 . Oan Dawson. VET 250 EX: 1. Wes Anderson (Kaw); 2. M ichael Burke (Yam); 3. Bruce Jon es; 4 . Jack Fuller (Yaml ; 5. Siev e Harm on. VET OPEN A M: 1. Robert Dunl ap. VET 250 AM : 1. Bob Camping (Hon); 2. Keit h J ones (Kaw ); 3. J ack Malone. . SR OPEN EX; 1. Bill Saltzman IHua); 2. Rex Pins (Yaml; 3. Gary Gar land (Yam); 4. Ji m McMullin (Kaw t 6. Ruzicka (Honl . SR 250 EX: 1. AI Hull (yaml : 2. Larry Gorden (Kaw ); 3. RaJ:'o=AT4:Horst (Kawl; 2. AI Guzman 1. Mike Condit. S/SR: 1. Curt (Kaw). NOV 250 VET: 1. Chertie SpeIlIlUln; 2. Kelly Gray. NOV 250: 1. Dodd Medhul"lL NOVOPEN 1. Mike _ _ 2. GoryLucharite . : Pittman doubles at Portland RR By Russ Cazier PORTLAND, O R, SEPT. 25 J oe Pitt man took hom e the big pa ychecks, but Brian Sutton put in th e best ride in the Oregon Motor cycle Road Racing Association' s next-to -Iast -race of th e season a t Port lan d Int ern ational Raceway. Sutton , of Yakima, Washi ngton , won the 750cc Superbike race on a Yamaha FZR600 Superbike against such compe ti tio n as Keith Pin ksta ff. Pitt man, Steve Littlejohn a nd others. " Brian ra n a very sma rt ra ce," said PinkstaH, " It was spittin g a little rain a nd . was pretty slippery. He ra n reall y hard [or about two laps. go t a ~ lead on th e rest of us and then was able to back oH a little when it started rai ning harder. There was no wa y we cou ld make u p any gr ound o n him .,. Though Sutton managed a win a class up, he did not fin ish 600cc Superbike, He pulled ou t a good early lead in the 600cc race bu t sta rted slow ing and Finally h is FZ stuck a connec ti ng rod o ut the bottom ·0£ the en gine on the last lap. Joe Pittman ra n one of his best races ever in 750cc Prod uction. He was a distan t fifth after seven laps ol the IO-la p ma in , but moved to second on ' the eigh th lap then overt oo k ar ch -rival Craig Trinder on the last lap. Pittman also pulled oHa come-from-behind win over Keith Pinkstaff in Open Production , a nd was involved in the tightest racin g of the day in 600cc Pr oductio n. In that cl ass, Pittm an , T rinder and Shaw n Robert i were in a three way duel [or the lead [or the ent ire 10 laps. An three racers too k turn s a t the lead , with pa ssing on every lap .,bu t Rober ti was in fro nt on th e lap tha t co un ted. OMRRA a lso hosted the fina l rou nd of the Vanso n Leath ers Northwest T ri ple Cro wn of Vintage Racin g. P reviou s ro unds were held on May 22 at S[R, July 23-24 at Westwood , B.C., with the decidi ng round and awards presen ta tion at PIR. Ra ce fans were also treated to a th ree lap parade of vin tage m otor cycles incl uding suc h ra ri ties as a Su nbea m, a Creeves road racer, several reall y old Harl eys and Indian a, and T on y Howar d's immacula te Suzuki Titan, wh ich Tony cou ld not resist wheelyi ng the len gt h of the pre-grid. 4' Results OPEN PROD: 1.J oe Pitt man (Suz); 2. Keith Pinkst aff (Suz); 3. Mart Haskins (Suz). 750 PROD: 1. Joe Pitt man (Suzt 2. Craig Trinder ISuz); 3. M ike Sull ivan (Suz). 600 PROD: t . Shawn Robert i (Suz); 2. Craig Trinder (Suz); 3. Joe Pitt man (Suz). . 4 50 PROO: 1. Robert Hinojosa (Yam); 2. M ilte Given (Yam); 3 . R5chard Matthews (Yam). 750 S/BK: 1. Brian Sutt on (Yam); 2. Keit h Pinkstaff (Suz); 3. Steve Littlejohn (Yam). 600 S/BK: 1. Ovin Seferos (Han); 2. Skipper Nilsen (Han); 3. Arood And rews (Han). 450 S/B I(: 1. Kirlt Hoeppn er {yaml; 2. Robert Hinojosa (Yam); 3 . Stephen Rodc:hIn (Yam). F- 1: 1. Kerth Pinltstaff (Suz); 2. St eve littleio hn (Yaml; 3. Oan Zlock (Suz). F·2: 1. Mik e Sull ivan (Hon ); 2. Brian Sutt on (Yamt 3. Oevin Seferos (Hon). . F-3: 1. Cliff Baker (HYH); 2. Gr eg Gaulke (Honl ; 3. Andy Crane (Han ). OPEN BOTT: 1. Randy Shemwell lCag); 2. Brian Wynne (M ·G); 3 . Rob Ma ines (BM W). 650 BOTT: 1. Oon Peters IKaw); 2. Chris Ninaud (Kaw); 3. Man Moeller (Kaw). OPEN SGl: 1. Brad Pinkstaff (Yam); 2. Nick Falces (Yam); 3. Oan Bau (Yam ). OPEN VINT: 1. W ard Rodgers IKaw); 2. Robert Watson (BSA); 3. Vic Ours (Han). 500 VINT: 1. Craig Mclean (Mat) ; 2 . Tim Mar ek (BSA ); 3 . Sw iss Niederberger (BSA ). 250 VINT; 1. Jim Rivelli (Due); 2. David Wh ite (Due); 3. Tony Rivelli (Duel. . NOV: 1. Stuart M ill er (Yam); 2. Si eve Medina (Kaw); 3. Dave Rookaird (Kaw) . • OPEN YlNT: 1. Ward Rodgers; 2. Bob Watson; 3. John Collet; 4. Duncan Craict.; 5. Reno Ort iz. 500 V1NT 1. Tim Marek; 2. Cr8ig Mewn; 3. Swi ss : Niederbe rger: 4. Bill Brown; 5. M ike Ri....lIi . 260 VlNT: 1. Dave Wh ite; 2. Jim Rivelli; 3. Tony Fivell i; 4. Sammy Schwan.: 5. Ron JohMOn.

• Cover