Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Chuck Graves (1 2 0 1 leads Kenny Kopecky (1 1) and Lee Shierts (2 1 1) du ring the ARRA Miller High Life F-1 Gran Prix at Willow Springs. The Suzuki-mounted Joe Kleppe was top gun in moto one of the l25cc B class after gaining the lead with whee l-to-wheel bash ing with Honda-mou nted Chad Bolding. H awthorne scurried int o third after an other jamup in tum two. Pau l Willois and Mid-South Honda suppo rt rider Kevin Shemwell diced over fourth. Shemwell sli pped out on the offcamber to take fifth place, wh ile Bolding took • second behind moto winner, Kleppe. Moto two acti on saw Boldin g enter the track in Iron t as the two and three positions jammed up in tum one. Kleppe succumbed a nd coul d only regain eig h th by the end or the moto. Hawthorne rebo unded to second through the fast field but cou ldn 't overtake the fla wless per£Ortttal\ce£ oyf 'Boldi ng. Bolding earned the class win willi Hawihorne second. Shemwell advanced to third while Paul Willis was fourth overall, 125 B: 1. Chad Boldi ng; 2. Timmy H.lWlhorne; 3 . Kevin Shemwell. • 250 8 : 1. Ti mmy Hawthorne; 2. Tim W allace; 3 . Ronn ie R,,~ 1. Ti m Wa llace; 2. Mark Schweizer; 3. UndAy McGregor. t . Sc:ottv Gravea; 2. Matt Harriaon; 3 . Corey D..... BEG: 1. Shawn Hugueley; 2. Todd Curry; 3 •..James Mills. Winner Chuck Graves poses on his 1 10 0cc Suzuki GSXR750J . 125 A: 1. Travis Kobush; 2. Johnny Shields; 3 . Jeremy Stodlor. 250 /600 A.: t . Sieve ℓ 2. Travis Kobush; 3. J oh nny Shields. 30+ SR: 1. Timothy Sm rth.: 2. Ronnie Ray; J . Nathan Konnody. - 200 A:. 1. Br'-n Southern; 2. o.Y.d Barn Ck; 3. Ricky Donn;" WMN: 1. Kimberty Main; 2. Ma rie Pace . SR A:. 1. Geo rge Eaddy; 2. Ji mmy l ynch. McGr"",or . OPEN B: 1. c.,t Enn••; 2. J ody L Meln; 3. Bobby Kemp. 250 8 : t. Kevin Hudson; 2. Russ Poe; 3. Ash ley Brewer. 200 B: 1. Mike Wlters; 2. Dale Roge rs; 3 . S. Johnson. BEG: 1. J ay M cClellen; 2. J immy Parri sh; 3. Jo hn Dunca n . Ezell excellent at 2. Jamie Kemp ; 3 . Scotty · ' 500 B: 1. Steve Appl et on; 2. Greg Fritz; 3 . Bryan Dud ley. 40+ SR: 1. G••rge Palmer i; 2. Budd y Akers. Graves buries competition at Willow Springs RR By Richard Thompson B&JMX 28 t . Donn ie Decker. Graves.: 125 C: 1. Eddie Sm iley; 2. Joey Wnt; 3. Jay Brasf ield. 250 C: 1. Robby Shie kjs; 2. Seon Schoettlin; 3 . lindsay SR 8 : 1. St eve ~I.: 2. J ack Elliott; 3. Jam. . E......be rt. 5/5R : 1. Harry G r"~l..; 2. Larry ~Iey; 3 . Don Wiley. By John Hodge • 22 8-500 4- STRK: 1. Ronald Binkley; 2. "",-h ForTOW; 3. Judson Farrow. 85 SR M INI: . CLARKSVILLE, TN, J AN. 20 On e hundred an d seventy-five entries crowded the B Be J Motocro ss Track for the opening roun d of the 1989 B Be J- Lakeland MX Winter AM series. Cloudy skies kept the challengi ng, rewor ked track surface in good condition throughout the 26 mo tos of wheel-to-w heel acti o n. In Expert class racing, Mid-South Hondaspo nsored Steve Ezell captured the overa ll win with perfect scores. Missou ri 's Travis Kobu sh kept the Suzuki cro wd in the hunt with wire to-wire pressure on Ezell, as Johnny Sh ields p ushed the third spo t on hi s H onda. The trio freight-trai ned aroun d the course for six laps, bu t flawl ess performances kept the order in ract. Kobush earned the hono rs in the 125cc A feature over Sh ields. In 250cc B action, the dueling continued. Out in fron t for the win in moto one was Kentucky's James Btamblett, while T im Haw thorn e go t los t in the pack at tum two . But six laps were eno ugh time for Hawthorn e to come from midpack to second by the end of the moto. Btamblett scored the win , while Scott Tapp registered a third. In moto two Hawth orne took control £rom tum one for a wiR'-to-wire win. Bramblett succumbed to the pack a nd could onl y mu ster a twelt h placing, eliminati ng him from ovetaJl awa rd conten tion. Tim WaJlace took up where Btam bleu left off for the second place in moto two and coup led that with a consisten t third £rom moto one to earn second ovetall ho no.... Ha wthorn e's 2-1 was good for tht: win. Tapp found a new li ne in malO two and finished third moving into the top five awards with fifth oVetall. !ronma n Ronnie Ray used consistent 5-5 scores to p ick up third behind Wallace. one and two, but I stayed with it and kept in from of him." Sh ierts flirted with disaster in the fin a l laps of the event, but luckily averted disaster: " I cras hed and the bike stood rig h t back up. It was the cras h that didn' t crash! " Results F-t : 1. Chuck Graves (Sur); 2. Barry Burk e (Yam ); 3 . Lee Sh ierts (Suzl; 4 . Paul Voge l (Suz); 5 .K.enny Kopecky (Suz) . F-2: 1. Richard Moore (Yam ); 2 . Nick lenat sch (Yam ); 3 . ·Micheel Gnl YeS (Yam); 4 . Art Boehm (Yaml . ~g ueh i CHon t S. Mitch F-3 : 1. Kev in Murr a,. C Hon); 2. Curt Ki mbl e (Yaml . F-SGL: 1. No lenatseh (Yam); 2. AMy M itton (Yam!; 3. Rodney Williams (Yam): 4 . Fra nk Dom ino (Yam):: 5. Trevor CunneCHon). 750 51ST: 1. Kenny Kopecky CSuz L Tommy Lynch (SuII; ); 3. Lee Shierts (Suzl; 4. Paul Vogel (Suz); 5. Brad Hazen (Ya ml. 600 51ST: 1. Nici tenatseh (Yam); 2. An Kawaguchi (Hon); 3 . Paul OeeYin (lCaw); 4 . 0 . 1 Kieff.r (Ya m); 5 . M itch " Boehm (Yam). 500 5 1ST: 1. Curt Kimble (lta w); 2. J im M ak)u i n (Va m); 3. Ray S m ith (Ya ml; 4 . Jason Per. it. CKaw ); 5. Walte r Holde r (Ya ml. Results 85 J R MI NI: Hank M oree won the overall in both the 125 and 250cc Expert classes at t he Bermuda Invitational Motocross. ROSAMOND, CA, JAN. 29 Chuck Graves ma de hi s win look easy as he rode to the Formula On e race win in the first round of the AR RA Mill er Hi gh Life Gra n Prix Series at Willow Springs Internationa l Raceway. Ken ny Kopecky put h is Suzuk i out front at the start. but by tum two it was Graves with the lead . Graves, riding a Suzuki GSXR750 with a n I l OOcc engi ne built by Greg Lu ndy of Balli stic Motorcycles in Canoga Park, California, graduall y stretched his adva ntage, leavin g Kopecky a nd Barry Burk e to ba ilie for second. On the second lap , Burke rode h is Yam ah a FZR I000 pas t Kopecky down the front straigh taway to move Into second p lace, as Lee. Shi erts closed the ga p. O n the third . lap, Shierts put h is llOOcc-po wered GSXR750 past Kopecky in turn three for third place. , Pa ul Vogel, ridi ng a GSX R750 ow ned by a customer o f his Grizzl y Performance Prod ucts sho p, ttailed in fifth position , and sraned to ma ke his mo ve on Kopecky. By the sixth lap , Gta ves had a quarter-mile lead over the rest of the field , while Bur ke battled with Shierts and Kopecky tangled with Vogel. Vogel trium phed on lap nine, and held off Kopeck y to rake fourth position . At the end of the tenth and final lap it was Gtaves, Burke, Shierts, Vogel a nd Kopeck y raki ng the top five spots. " Kopecky had the jump on me in the begi n ni ng,"said Gtaves after the race. " I shot pa st hi m in tUT two and from then on it n was go, go, go. I never went faster than I:30s before and now , with tadial sliclcsa nd a li ttl e bit of horsepower, bingo, I'm doing 1:27s. I thi nk I have a real shot a t the tta ck record " (1:26.33 set by ScOll Gta y in 1987). Gtaves is spo nso red by Van Nu ys Suzu ki, Dr. John's Ftame Shop, Michelin ICRT, Shoei an d Fox. " Ken ny (Kopecky) and I ha d a good dice: ~ said Burke. "Kenny tried to stuff me in turns 400 51ST : 1. 0.1., Kieffer (Yam); 2. Mitch Boehm (Yam); 3 . Dave Sb ien (Vam ); 4 . Chris Gardner (Yam); 5 . Scot Paul (Yam). 750 MOO PROD: 1. Tommy l ynch (Suz); 2. Chri a G.nlmia n (SU l); 3. Scott Eiehberger (Suz); 4 . Jeff H.rder ISuz); 5 . M ike Str awder lKa w) . 600 MOD PROD : 1. N iek le n atseh (VarnI: 2. A rt Kawaguchi (Hon); 3. M ike G ~ aar (Kaw); 4. A lan Sm it h C Hon);5. Steph en SulI iv.n (Hon) . 500 MOO PROD: 1. Leonard Kirsc hner (Hon ); 2. Danll Anderson (Kawl . 400 M OO PROD: 1. G. ry Sti les (V.ml; 2. Scot P. ul; 3. M ichael Hughes (VIm): 4 . Bill Foster (Yaml; 5. St eve Haerr (VI m). 750 STK. PROD: 1. Shawn Leipold (Suz); 2. Scott Liles (Suz); 3. Robert Campbell (Sud; 4 . Ralp t'l Payn (Suz); 5 . Michael Thomsen (Suz). 600 STK PROD: 1. AI. n Sm it h (Hon); 2 . Bruce Reimer (KiIw l; 3 . Steven Miblas; 4 . Chri s Gardner (Yam); 5.Kev in Al len (Vam). 500 STK PROD: 1. Leo nard Kirach ner (Hon). 400 STK PROD: 1. Scot Paul (Vam); 2. M ichael Hughe. {Yaml : 3. Richa rd Christopher (Yaml; 4. Ma tt W rig ht (Varni. BOTT HIW: 1. Gary M ansf ield (Due); 2. Ted Lum pki n (y am ); 3. ll oyd Jo hn son IDuel; 4 . Trevor Dun na lDu cl. BOTT UW: 1. Cun Kimble (Kaw) ; 2. An dy M ilt on (Yam I; 3. David Bry ant IKaw): 4 . Jason Pereira (K.w l; 5. Geor ge Leavell lKaw l. BOTT V1NT: 1. Danny Farn sworth (Due); 2 . Bill Burd ett (Nor); 3 . Rich Smith. 600 SGL: 1. NicIr. lenatsc h (Vern); 2. Rodney William. (Yam); 3 . Andy M ihon (V.m); 4 . Frank Dom ino (Yam ); 5. Eron Rory (Hon). OPEN NOV: 1. Todd Heming; 2. Scott utes (Suz); 3 . Joe A ria. (Suzt 4 . Daniel Sa~ih.u (SuI); 5 . George Ma glain . 450 NOV: 1. Cli ff ord Piper (V.m ); 2. David Sm ith (Yam); 3 . Hugh March (Yam); 4 . M ark Gutheinz (Yaml; 5. Diane Spizzirri lHon). NOV: 1. Dave Koskran lKa w l; 2 . W alter Holder (Yam); 3 . Vincent Bru net (Hon); 4 . Jeff Dugiot (Yam); 5. M il e Mothershead (Hen). 80 S/ST: 1. William Donova n (Vam ); 2. Darry DeCoste lKa w) . SO 5 1ST : 1. Ellen Tay&ot (Hon); 2 . Kevi n Murray lKaw); 3 . David Moote (Yam); 4 . Doug las Donova n (Yam); 5. Lynda Donovan (Yaml . Reynolds rocks CaLdwellST By Mike Thuleen CAL DWELL, !D, FEB. I I Carl's CyclesIVirgii Gall egos Pa in ti ng/Don Stevens Triumph Racin g's Richie Reynol ds claimed wire-urwire wins in both the O pm and 250cc Amateur classes at Owyhee Motorcycle Club's Caldwell Nigh t Short Ttack, 35 Ricky Henson topped a heated Open Expert class duel with Troy Norris. After shoo ti ng down Steve Li ber ty and Lynn j ohnston ror the 250cc Ama teur class honors early in the eveni ng, Reynolds read the lights perfectly in the Open Amat eur class to slice in hom of J eff Wallers, Patrick Massie and Gle n Young. Re)"fto lds took it all from there, openi ng up a decisive lead over Wa tters a nd Young, wuh Massie dr oppi n g o u t. Hookin g up smooth ly, Reynol ds wheelied past the chec kers fim with Young steali ng second from Wall ers. Al Ru ssell Yamaha 's He nso n sla mm ed th rough the firs t tum in th e Open Expert ma in fighting off Troy Norris, j eff Russell and Steve Liberty Tates Ren tslTBeD Racing/ Sh oei /Sudco In tl.lL ew Alter/ Ho nda o f Caldwell',Norris fell bad £rom Henson, but then mad e the ground back up di.-ing into the turns, trying to force by a resisting Henson . The pair bauled tremendously, with Henson blastin g by the checkers only inches ahead of Norris. A few lengths behind Ru ssell cli nched th ird over T om Sherman , who had slamm ed by Liberty ror fourth. Charles Burke collected sixth with Scou McPherson wrapping up seventh . America n H onda /Honda of Caldwell 's Mark Hall swep t the Knobby Expert class, pulling a n ear ly lead over J amie Stee lsm ith , john Paller ia , Ricky H en son an d Mike Harri s: After several exci ting laps, Palleria went down and pulled ou t of the race, and Henson also wen t ou t with clutch problems. Steelsmi th main tained second, as O 'Neal/ Smi th Sport O pt ics/Ma ier/Max imalTeam Northside's Ha m s sho t from comer-to-corner in chase bu t was sti ll in th ird at the finish . Yamaha-pilot Ch ad Fuller stormed to the Knobby Amateur win over Kevin Barth, and Loren Hen ry. Dax Lopez wou nd up the Mini B class aboard hi s Ya mah a, pulling the holeshot and holding orr a tenacious Ja y Skinner every lap. Rob Floth, only a Iew len ths beh ind , collected th ird over Mitch Ward. In the Micro class, ho wever, Ward too k a n impressive win over Bria n Sweany and brother. Mall Ward, with Kawasak i-moun ted Danny Smith roosting in to fourth. Results OPEN EX: 1. Ricky Hen son (Yam); 2. Troy Norr ta (Hon); 3. Jeff R......IIIRotl. OPEN AM: 1. Richie Reynokb (Hon J;2 . Gktn Young (Hon); 3 . .Je ff Waners (Hon ). 250 AM: 1. Rich ie Reynolds ( Hon~ 2. St... Who"" (Hon~ 3 . Lynn Johnston (SUI). MINI B: 1. 0 0 Lopez (Yam); 2. Jey Skinner IKaw); . Rob Fk)th (Hon). MICRO : 1. Mitch W ard (Kawl; 2. Br ian Sweany (Ka w); 3 . Matt Wardd (Kl w) . PIW: 1. Bred Hoffman (Su z); 2. Billy Boomer ang (Yam); 3. J oe Fastgu y (Honl . KNOBBV EX: 1. Mark Hall (Hon); 2. Jami e Steel smi t h (Hon ); 3. M ike Harr is (Kaw i. KNOBBY AM: 1. Chad Full er (Yam); 2. Kevin Sarl h (Hon); 3 . Loren Henry (Hon ). Moree captures Bermuda MX win By Ea-rl Walton CO NEY ISLAN D. BERM UDA, FEB. 5 Kawaski rider "Hammeri n" Hank Moree beca me " Mot ocross Ambassador or Goodwill" for creating a tida l wave or exci tement as he sto rmed the beaches of tropical paradi se Bermu da 10 cap tu re not only the " nag" but the hearts of the isla nders. By invitation or the Bermuda Auto/ Cycle Unio n, Moree, along with Kawasaki rider Todd Neill from Georgia a nd H acker Wilso n fro m T en nessee, participated in the annua l Elenor Maci nto sh Memorial race, The event , which hon ors the former BAI CU officer a nd avid mot ocro ss supporter. is intended as an in terna tio na l relati ons ven ture. " We are an isla nd in the middle or Ihe . Atlan tic Ocean 22 and a half miles long and th ree an d a half mil es wide at it's widest po in t," commen ted jerry Robinson, presi dent or the BAI CU . " Few people in the world even know we ha ve motocross racing here. We are hopin g that by invitin~ riders the caliber of Hank here from the Um ted Srates we will get notoriety and overco me thi s." Island eut husiasm seemed evident as the gate dropped in the first mot o of the Sunday tace. As j ohn , " Scrooge" Ednes, a nati ve ravorite 250cc Expert Honda ride r blasted from the sta rt ga te, the nearl y 800 loca ls on hand for the event roared ou t a hero's cheeri ng recep tion . Buddy j oell gtabbed the holeshot for a tem porary lead but Ednes qu ickly ga ined cont rol with Todd Neill , an d " Mojo " Spencer in third and rour th. The 125cc class was stagger -star ted with a 2O-seco lag behind the 250cc Expert field nd This time spa n translated into about one third of a ttack lap. When the 125cc gate dropped Moree leaped into the class lead and ta pidly sepatated him self £rom the rest of the secondary pack.

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