Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The Sen ior class riders charge through the first turn at the Barstow Grand Pri x . . Suzuki-mounted Ty Davis was the big winner at the Barstow GP by topping Sunday's Expert/ Intermediate race. Davis sails to Barstow GP win , ' By Donnetta and Bob Murray BARSTOW, CA, NOV. 5-6 Motocross skills paid off for Suzuki factory rider Ty Davis as 'h is h igh sp eeds earned hi m the overall win in Sunday's Expert/ Interm ediate race at the 4th An nual Barstow Grand Prix hosted b y th e Prosp ectors M.e. More than 700 riders comp eted in the two-da y event 20 staged o n the grou nds o f Barstow Coll ege. The fir st wave o f rid ers in th e Expert/ Intermediate class, a ll o n Open bikes, was led by Chris Crandall , aboard an ATK. Crandell kept the lead through th e first two 90 degree turns on th e asp ha lt and onto the lo ng paved straightaway wh ere the bikes accelerated as .high as 80' plus miles per ho ur. As the Open bik es entered th e motocro ss sectio n of th e race course, the seco nd wave of 250cc Expert rid ers were a lready charging down the stra ig h ta wa y with th e 125cc pilots nipping at their heels. As o ne a fte r an other wav e o f Expert riders flew o ver th e j u mps a nd arou nd the berms, th e mo tocross section turned into a bowl o f thi ck dust. Fir st rider into th e sand wash a nd on to th e desert secti on o f the co u rse was Crandall , immedi at el y foll ow ed by Brian Nevesti ch and Cliff Thomas, both on Yam ahas. Nevesti ch lost hi s second place standing wh en hi s fuel line came loose and he had to stop to reconnect it. Leading the 250cc bikes thro ug h ' the motocross were Tim Winslow, Davis and Honda rid er Dav id Alfo rd. Pi cking off riders o ne by o ne, Suzuki 's Davis reeled in the leaders. About a half-mile befor e th e last desert check, he found himself neckin-neck with front-runner Thomas. In that ha lf-mile, the lead changed three or four times. " I was main ly racing for (he Open desert points, " said the Mi chelin Tires/ Dick Allen Yamaha/ICRC/ PSI P ipes/GA Ra cin g/ Pa m and Loren -sponsored Thomas. "We di ced back and forth right before the last check, but th en he went ahead. That guy goes too fast. I didn 't want to kill m yself." Davis ma y have been going fast, hut Thomas was on ly 30 seco nds behind him the second tim e through the mot ocross secti on. Once the top duo was ba ck into th e desert terrain, Alfor d, riding a 250cc Honda, Tom Willis, mounted on a Husqv arna, were next o n th e spectator's scene. Earl y leader Crandall had dropped back to fifth position following th e first la p. This was Crandall 's first com pe titio n since a serio us accident over two years ago. A broken femur with com p lica tio ns has kept him out of ac tio n. _ " I want everyone to know 'T he Man ' is ba ck and the ATK will contend at Bvto - V," said Crandall, who is ba cked by EP Performs and ATK. By the beginning of the thi rd loo p , 125cc rider Ma lco mb Brix, who had h it the curb flying around the second asphalt turn following a bad start , was moving up in the pack. The Suzuki o f Van Nuys-sponsored rid er had worked himself · into eig h th overa ll position. Into the fourth la p through th e d esert, Wi lli s, who admitted to having been a " bad boy" the previo us week by not ge tting enough sleep ; was feelin g tir ed a nd sick (he ate 45 m inutes before hi s race). Ka wasaki rid ers Grant Pal en ske a nd Kenj i G authier passed him. " When I saw Gauthier leaving th e pits befor e me, all of a sudden I was feeling bett er," said Willis. H e was back to true form by th e water hol e in the motocross , ca tch ing up to Kenj i as th ey sailed over th e mud and passing him o n th e nex t jump. Willis, who is sponso red by Eric's Motorcycl es /O 'N ea l/Thick and Thin Ra cing, a lso got past Palenske who started breathing down Willis' neck during the final lap, spurring Willis on to his eventua l fourthp lace fin ish. Davis won the race by a wide margin and seem ed hard ly out o f breath' following the six grueling la ps of asphalt, mot ocross and desert terrain. This co u rse was a lo t rougher a nd more technica l th an I'm used to," said th e Suzuki/Bel-R ay/MS Ra cin g/Trick Cas/Brei Leef Tuningsponsored competitor . "You had to be in better shape. It was real rough, the way I like it. I came out here to train for Bvto-V, get in shape and have some fun." Second across the finish line was T ho mas, happy with his Open Expert fir st-place position. Alford, who held hi s third pl ace spot to the end, claimed the course was rough and long, but a lot of fun. Willis was fourth, pushing by Palen ske in fifth , while Nevestich and Crandall were next to pass th e checkered flag. Gauth ier, Win slow a nd Brix filled o u t th e top 10 fini sh ers for th e race. . Bobby Owens had hi s share of pro b le ms , in clud in g lo sing hi s brak es, bu t hung in th ere to rid e his H onda o ver the finish lin e as the first 250cc Intermed iate. Steve Bainter piloted hi s new I25cc Cagiva to a fir st 125cc Intermediate finish a nd a gr eat birthda y p resent for himself (he turned 24 Sunday). Saturdav's Unclassifi ed race , the first even t of th e GP was won by Rodney Brand, riding a 1985 Honda 500. Brand led th e race wi re-to-wire and wasn't rea lly cha lle nged until . the last lap. By the end of the second loop. Davis was able to pass fallen Yamaha rider Mike Baker, He was . still trailing Brand by a mi nute and 15 seconds. A pit stop for Brand narrowed that lead to around 30 seconds, whi le Baker fell off the pace. " It was very challenging out in the desert," commented Brand. " In fact, it was frightening at times with' the rocks and ledges." he added that his stone stock suspension was not handling well, causing his hands to come off the bar throughout the race. When asked if he had any strong challenges for the lead , he answered, " I didn 't want a challenge. I'm in no shape to di e for anyone. " The top five order acros s the finish line wa s Brand, Davis, Baker, Nevestich and Ra ndy Morales. The Vet rac e Sunday morning saw Kawasaki pilot Dan Daw son lead his co m pe tito rs through th e asphalt and motocross se ctions of the race. Dawson said goodbye to his lead . when he expe rienc ed me chanical difficulties out in the desert, allowing H usky-mo u nted Mike Mulconery and Gary Scheidler, on a Yamaha to pass him just before the last check. Mu1conery had command of the lead heading into the seco nd lap of th e mo tocross. Thirty seconds behind was YZ250 rider Mike Sixberry, who had advanced q uickly from a second wave start and ha d moved fro m 16th to seco nd place in the ranks during the previous lap. Mulconery hit a ditch going out into the desert again, allowing Sixberry to pass him. Sixberry found th e going much easier once he'passed Mulconery - no dust. H e had a 48'second advantage over th e Husky rider by th e end of th e seco nd loop, stretch ing his lead to nearly two minutes heading into the fourth lap. Sixberry's laps were going so fast, the Prospectors extended the Vets race to six loops in stead of five as in th e previous rac es. This posed a problem for Open class leader Mu lconery, who ran out of gas on the fina l loop and had to push hi s bike into home ch eck, finishing out of contention. Although Mulconery had stopped for fuel during the race , his crew had neglected to open the valve on his d ump can leaving hi m with the fals e impression that he ha d a full ta nk . . Six berry had plenty of tim e to rest before his neares t competitor finished the race. . J im Eveland crossed the finis h lin e second overall and second 250cc on his Yamaha. Scheidler was first Open bike to finish as well as third overall. Mark " Mongo " Mangold noted that strong winds clea red the

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