Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Gary Hicks leads Costa Mesa Scratch main and Ascot Handicap ma in w inner Alan Christian (right) during Costa Mesa Speedway action . Mike Pinedo (inside) and Dan Fraley battle for a Division Two transfer spot at IMS. Fraley took it and finished third in the main. Cesmat, Clasen top Mountainview RR Zitterkopl thumps Sacramento MX By Judith K. Domin ick MEA D, CO. JUNE 4 Round three of the Mountain Roa dracin g Associatio n (M R A) season p ro vi ded the fastest, closest racing seen so far in th e young seaso n. Geoff Cesma t, who had sett led for seco nd-p lace fin ishes th e firs t a nd second rounds. scored the win in Ra ce o f the Roc kiesGTO o n his GSXR750 setti ng a n ew tra ck record of 1:05.42. H o wever , as he cel ebrated his hard- fought wi n. Guy C lasen on his GSX RI IOO. after following Cesrnat across th e lin e in Ra ce o f th e Roc k ies. went out in Open Su persport and blazed an even faster la p record o f 1:04.84. Cl asen grabbed the ho lesho t in Race of th e Roc kies with Cesmat in hot pursui t. As th e two rid er s wound their wa y arou nd th e 1.7mil e tight co u rse, they buill a tremendous lead over the rest o f the grid putting down new lap records with eac h ci rcu it they co m p le ted. On th e 10th lap of the 12·lap main even t, Cesma t mad e hi s move u nd er Cla sen and spri nted to the checkered flag. In addition to ta king th e poin ts lead in Race of the Roc kiesGTO. which leads to th e overa ll n u mber o ne p lat e for th e 1989 season, Cesm at's win was sweetened by a televis io n int erview a nd a spot o n the even i n~ sport s segmet of the Denver a rea C BS affi liate who was on hand for th e en tire da y of racing activities. Resu lts RACE OF THE ROCKIES GTO: 1. Geoff Cesmat (Suz): 2. Guy Clasen ISuz): 3. Aa ron Tur ner (Suz): 4 . Dan Turn er (Suz); 5. Ricky Orl ando (Suz). GTU: 1. Dan ny W alker (Han); 2. Deit er Lane (Yam): 3. J .T. Terry (Yam); 4 . Dan Tur ner (Suz); 5. Ricky Orla ndo (Suz). 450 S/BK; 1. Chris Gardn er (Yam); 2. J .T. Terry (Yam ): 3. Jo hn Helm (Yam ); 4. Dale Keife r (Yam ); 5. J eff Schu ell er (Yaml . 600 S/ BK: 1. Deit er Lane (Yam ): 2. Chris Gardner (Yam) 3 . Bobby Miasek (Han ); 4 . Ch ip Killin een (Yam); S. Tom Fish er (Hon). . 750 S/ BK: 1. Chris Gardn er (Yaml : 2. Guy Clasen (Suz): 3 . Raben Wr igh t (Suzl: 4 . Gui lo Barch(Suzl; 5. Den n ie Bur1r.e (Suzl. . OPEN S/ BK: 1. Guy Clasen (Suz): 2. Geoff Cesmat (Suz); 3 . Aar on Turn er (Suzl: 4. Greg Nich ols (Yam); 5. Bobby M iasek (Han ). 600 S/SPRT : 1. J .T. Terry (Yam); 2. Ricky Orlando (Suz); 3. Chip Killi nen (Yam): 4 . M erlyn Plumlee (Yam); 5 . Sean Mu llins (Yaml . 750 S/SSPRT: 1. Dan Turner (Suz); 2. Deiter Lane (Suz); 3. GUYClasen (Suz); 4. Rtck:yOrland o (Suz); 5. Robert W righ t (S uzl. OPEN S/SPRT: 1. Guy Clase n (Suz); 2. Ricky Orlando (Suz); 3 . Dan Turn er (Suz); 4. Robert Wrigh t (Suz); 5. Ph il ip Noyes (Suzi. F-COLO: 1. Danny Walker (Hon); 2. J .T. Terry (Yam); 3 . J im For ington (Rtx ); 4 . Sean Bal aun (Kaw) ; 5 . J im M archba nk (Yam). VINT·GTO: 1. Greg Frazier (BMW): 2. Herb Varona (BMW) . VINT-GTU: 1. J im M archbank (Yam ); 2.. Sean Balaun IKaw); 3. Ji m Sonnl ertner (Yam); 4. Peter Johnson (Duc t 5. Bill Anderson (H-D). AM-GTO: 1. Clint VahsholU (Suz); 2. Andrew Matela (Suz); 3 . Mike Balkem a (Suz); 4. Ray Rossi (BMW); 5 . Greg Frazier (BM W). . AM -GTU: 1. Mark Schell inger (Han); 2. Bobby O'DeIl IKaw); 3. M ike Disney lHont: 4 . Stu Morrison (Yaml; 5. Brent Miller (Yam). NOV·GTO : 1. Rich Stark (Suz); 2. Ch uck On iz (Yam); 3 . M ike Balkema (Suz); 4 . Barry Bran (Hont. NOV·GTU: 1. Mark Schellinger (Hon); 2. Bobby O' DeIl (Kaw); 3. M ike Di sney (Han); 4 . Brent M ill er (Yam); 5 . Greg • Kochi S (Sul). Christian cruises at Costa Mesa Speedway By Scott Daloisio · 36 COSTA MESA. CA . -JUN E 2 Vetera n Alan " C razy" C h ristia n wo n Hve of six rides iriclud in g th e Scra tch ma in a t th e Ora nge Co u n ty Fai rgrou nd s. Ch ristia n ca me int o the Scratch main afte r winning all fo u r o f h is p reliminar y races . Fo r th e mai n , he wa s o u t o f gate tw o with Brad Oxley 011 th e pol e a n d had th e lead by the first turn. Bobby Sch wa rtz reac,ed seco nd to th e ga te. but O xley edged him to tu rn o ne. Schwartz went o u tside o f Oxley on lap o ne a nd took over seco nd , but passi ng Chnstian was a tall o rder. Sch wa ru looked to the ins ide of Christ ian 's ST /G il Armas/Ca I-Fab lTro y Let Design /Bell H elmets Jawa a t th e sta rt of la p two . H e th en loo ked o u tside. b UI wherever he looked . Ch ri stia n was th ere. Wh en the event en ded , Ch ristian had hi s fourth Co sta Mesa ch eckered o f the year. Schwartz fin ished seco nd foll ow ed by Oxley a nd Jim Sisemore. All eyes were o n Christia n for th e 'sta rt o f th e Hand ica p ma in as he wen t a fter (h e el us ive clean sweep. After a red flag. the feeling was th at Christia n wo u ld ge t a ll six . Fo r the restart (he tapes we n t up before Christian wa s ready. but the red ca me out again. Bill y Gray powered h is GM into th e lead o n th e next stan a nd held the point unti l la p two when Bill y H a m ill flew by. From .the back, Christian tried to WC"dVe his way th rough the slower traffi c and ' was up to fourth aft er pa ssing Gray at th e en d o f lap three. H a mill , on the Mo nr o via Diesel/Den n y For ming/ K.K./ Quaker State ma chi ne. had built up a co m ma n d ing lead a nd too k th e chec kered flag first a nd th e pa ycheck tha t ~ with it . Seco n d and third went to G ary Hi cks a nd Jim Sisem ore. Christian finis hed fourth. Results SCRATCH: 1. Alan Christ~n (Jaw); 2. Bobby Schwartz (Wes); 3. Brad Oxley (Wes); 4 . J im SrsemorelWes). HDCP: 1. Billy Ham llllWesl; .2. Gary Hicks (Wes); 3 . Jim Sisemor e (W es); 4 . Alan Christi an (Jawl. 0 · 2: 1. Man Canmell (Gdnl; 2, Arc h ie Perez (Gdn); 3. Jerry Black (Jaw~ 4 . Ryan Evans (Wesl 0 -3: 1. Je ff Hoyt (Jaw); 2. M ike Stefan (Jaw); 3. Denni s Stepan enko (Jaw); 4 . l ouie Trot echa ud IGdnl . SDCR: 1. Cliff Tolley/Larry Brankox (Kaw); 2. Crai g Dem pster /Peter lewis (Kaw); 3. Jeff l erch/ Ken Ohn (H0 ). Hamill strongest at Ascot Speedway By Scott Daloisio GA R DENA, CA . J U N E I Bill y H a mill m uscled hi s wa y to victory circle in the Scra tch main a t Chris Agajan ia n 's Ascot So ut h Bay Sta di um. H am ill ca rne in to the action looki ng for hi s first So u th Ba y Stadium Scra tch W In o f the yea r a nd wa s dete rmi ned to ge t the wi n . Tha t became clear wh en he ra n into Bobby Schwartz in the first bend. Schwartz went down a nd was run over by Na tio nal Cham pion Steve L ucero . Referee Da ve Sims im medi a tel y put o ut the red a nd ca lled for a restart. Hami ll went a t Schwartz a~in o n the restart, taking h im wide in th e first tum a nd impeding th e progress o f Lucero . Gary H icks moved to secon d a n d tr ied to h ook up o n th e outside on lap two, bu t it d idn 't work. H ick s stal ked H a m ill a nd th e wa y to the checkered. bu t could never find a wa y by the Monrov ia Diesel/Qua ker Stale/Den n y's Forming/ K.K. Wesla ke. Sch wa rtz look third with Lucero fourth . Kevi n J o rdan h ad th e lead when th e H andica p main began while Charl es Ermolenko and Wa lt Farnum were in a bitter war for second. Ca mped just beh ind them was Alan Christian. Ermol enko and Farnum went wid e a nd Christian scream ed through th e ho le. Christian , on his STP /Gil Arm as/Cal· Fab / T roy Lee Desi gnlTerr)'ca bl e Jawa. sniffed out lead er Jordan at th e ,·nd o f la p three. H e a pp lied th e pressure a nd took th e lead wh en J or da n parked in tu rn two on la p fou r. By the tim e J ordan recovered , he ha d dropped to fifth. Tha t turned seco nd over to Josh La rse n. J o rda n 's woes co n tin u et:l o n lap six wh en he brok e a cha in a nd sla m me d in to th e wall, unhurt. Atthe.l ro nt . Christ ia n took the win b y a h alf stra ig h t. Larsen held of f Lu cero, Hami ll a n d Sise mo re fo r seco nd . Results SCRATCH: 1. Bill y Ham ill (Wes): 2. Gary Hicks (Wes); 3 . Bobby Schw anz (GM ); 4 . Steve lucerO (Gdnl. HDCP: 1. Al an Chr iS ian (Jaw ); 2. Josh larsen (W es); l 3 . Steve lucero (Gdn); 4. Bill y Ham ill (Wes). 0 -2: 1. M ati Cartme ll (Gdn); 2. Craig W ilkie tGdn); 3 . Chris M cGee (W es): 4 . Ja son Chism (Jawl. 0 ·3: 1. Mike Buff (Jaw ); 2. M an ie W ell s {Wesl : 3 . Ryan Evans (Wes); 4 . Ma rk Faul (Wes) . SOCAR: 1. Craig Dempsl er/ Petar lewis (Kaw ); 2. Cli ff Tolley / Steve Hardwick (Kaw ); 3. Jeff Lerchh/Ken Oh rt (H· D); 4 . Jeff Stanton lTom Tufts (Kaw); 5 . Randy Mc ln l yt e/ Ken M cintyre (Kawl . By Nuklear Neukam SAC RA ME NTO, CA. J U N E 2 Fo r th e seco nd week in a ro w, ATK-mou n ted G reg Zitterkopf tor qued h is wa y ( 0 victory in th e 500cc P ro class at th e Fri da y ni ght Sacramento Ra cew a y C MC Champio ns hip Stadium MX Ser ies by gu idi ng hi s a weso me four-stroke to first in bot h motos. In the firs t m o to Clayton Blood roosted h is Concord H onda into the lead a head of Honda mou nted Eri c Sa ndstrom. Ziuerk opf was mid pack after th e first turn bu t qu ick ly adva nced 10 third (0 ba u le with Sandstrom. Blood had o pe ned a sm all lead by the time Ziuerkopf had passed Sandstrom. It wasn 't long, however, unti l Blood co u ld feel th e rumble o f the visitin g sou the rn Californian as he ca me kn ocki ng at the door. T h e co m pe ti u o n was fierce as th e fourst rok e cha lle ng ed the two-stroke for the lea d. Then, a few laps la ter, Zitterkopf d ov e underneat h o n a left-ba nder a nd assu med th e lead. Blood tried to repass. b ut Zinerkopf had no intention o f steppi ng down a nd str etched h is lead to th e chec kered whi le Blood had to settle for seco n d a head o f Sand strom. Will y Musgrave brough t hi s two -str o ke ATK in for fourth whi le J on Ni co la use rounded OUl th e top five. Mo to two looked to be a tim e for gl ory fo r Sandstrom as he pulled th e ho lesho t whi le Zit terkopf fou nd h im self in th ird and. o nce aga in , loc ked in deba te with Blood for seco n d p lace. By the ti me Zitterkopf was a ble to wr estle seco nd away from Blood, San dstrom had bu ilt u p wha t appeared to be a co rnfortab le lead . Comfort soon turned to a n xiety as Ziu er kopf closed th e ga p with a maz ing qui ckn ess. Sandstrom p ro ved to be a worth y ad versa ry but experie nce won o u t as Ziu erkopf ch allenged h is opponen t in every tu rn u nti l he fina ll y sn uck int o the lead. Ziuer kopf co nti nued unch all en ged to the win a nd the ove ra ll. wh ile Blood, Mu sg ra ve a nd G allagher fo u nd their wa y by a slowing Sa nd str om who gal a rea r nat. o n th e final lap. Results 500 PRO: 1. Greg Zin erkopf (A TK); 2. Clayton Bl ood (Han); 3 . W ill y M usgra ve (A TKI. 250 PRo: 1. Ray Cru mb (Kaw ); 2. Ron Al htn (Kawl: 3. Shawn Frelling (Kawi. 125 PRO: 1. Greg Tirheimer (Suz); 2. Serg io Fern andez IHon ); 3. Cru mb (Kawl . INT: 1. John Thomas (Kaw ); 2. Jerry Wr igh t (Kawl; 3. Derek Curr ie (Hon ) VET MSTR: 1. Riclt Aik en (Kaw ): 2. M ike Harper (Hon); 3 . Pete Gondry (Han ). VET JR: 1. M an: Berq uist (Kaw ); 2 . M il ch Sytva (Hon ); 3. Edwi n Sims (Hon) 50: 1. Bilty Gross (Yam); 2. Jim Hansen (Yam); 3 . J ared Washabaugh (Han). 60: 1. Jerry Harvey (Kaw); 2. Andy Gregg (Kaw); 3. Jesse Ketcham (Kawl. 80 BEG 0 ·1 : 1. Beett Khnger (Kaw); 2. Jim Rowe IKawJ; 3. Shawn Burr ell (Suz) . 80 BEG 0 -2: .1. David Reueloff IKaw); 2. Marli n Cole (Kaw ): 3 . Chrrs Vendl ey (Han). . 80 JR: 1. Sha wn Trantham (Kaw ); 2. Casey Hinke y (Kaw) . 125 BEG: 1. Jo hn Sh ipman IKaw); 2. Tim Voung (Kawl; 3. Ricky Forbes (Kaw ). 125 J R: 1. Darr en Kitzm iller IHon ); 2. Andy Adams (Han); 3. Jim Mechem IKawl 250 BEG 0 -1: 1. Charlie King (Vam l; 2. Todd Clapman tKawl; 3 . Tim BenOit (Kaw). 250 BEG 0 -2: 1. Howa rd M intz (Suz); 2. Fred Mc Carty (Han); 3.Je rry M ill er (Yam). 250 JR : 1. Dan All e n (Kaw ); 2. Gus Berqu isl (Kaw) : 3. 500 1Ft;i~~~;':T!Pton tHan); 2. Kris Svenson (Kaw) ; 3 . Oa J im Pilgrim (Hon). 500 BEG: 1. Mi ke lewis IYam); 2. John lee (Han):' 3 . Kyle Kenworthy (Yam). Faria flies off with 'MS Speedway win By Scott Daloisio SAN BER NARDINO . CA, MAY 31 Mike Faria wi ths tood the ea rly adva nces o f Bobby Schwanz a nd wo n ,h e Scratch ma in a t Inland Mot or Speedway. his fir>! victory a t the faci lity. , Faria, mounted o n the O ff Shore/Shoei / Hi· Po in t/MJB Plali ng lTeam Scopeliue G M. led wh en the ta pes went u p. Billy Ha m ill a nd Sch wartz followed a nd nea rly ca me together in turn o ne . Sch wa rtz th en drop ped to last wh en h e wheelied o ff turn two . bu t came back q u ick ly a nd picked off Edd ie Cas tro a nd then tr ied to go arou nd Hamill before the end of the fir st lap. H am ill held h im .o ff into turn one but . as they came o ff turn two , Sch wa rtz drove past. Schwa rtz built a lo t o f momen tu m, stayed wide a nd wa s soon o n Faria 's rear lire. At th e ha lfway poi nt . Faria had to shut the door o n Schwartz to ma intai n hi s adva ntage. As Schwartz ca rne 0 (( tum lWO on the th ird lap, he wa s read y to pa ss for th e lea d but slid o u t as th ey ex ited turn two o n lap th ree and fell down. That ga ve Fari a a lead that he never relinquished a nd he took th e victory wi th room to spa re. H amill fin is hed seco nd with Ca stro th ird. Don adorn was in the lea d in th e Handicap ma in un til h e wh eelied off o f tum two o n th e seco nd circ u it, a nd Steve Ru ssell b lew by for the lead. Odorn 's problem s co ntinued wh en Ton y Bienert slam med into h im in the next turn. Bien ert eme rg ed with seco nd whi le Odom dropped to fih h. Biener t stay ed close to Ru ssel l until the end of th e fourth lap when his skid shoe cam e o ff a nd he parked it o n the in field for the duration. From th a t point on it was a ll Ru ssell a nd h is R ussell 's Grandsta nd s/STP/Petro · che m / El iie Au to Bod y/Bell /Traci Wesla ke. J im Sisemore took seco nd w ith Far ia th ird. Results . SCRATCH: 1. M ike Faria (GM ); 2. Bill y Hamill (Wesl: 3 Ed Castro (Wes): 4 . Bobby Schwart z IGMI . HDCP: 1. Steve Russell (We s); 2. Jim Sisemore (Wes); 3. M ike Faria (GM); 4. Eddie Cas tro (We5). 0 ·2 : 1. Ron ny Kemp (We s); 2. Pat Hawl ey (Gdn); 3. Dan Fral ey (Wes); 4. Jason Chism (Jaw). 0 ·3 : 1. Louie Trotechaud (Gdn): 2. M ark Faul (Was,; 3 Ma rti e We ll s (W es); 4 . Rick Seip (Jaw) . FAST TIMe : 1. Scott Brant (Jaw) . Rivas rips Raceway Park MX . By Rosanne Lukaitis ENGLISHTO WN , NJ. MAY 28 After a hard-earned win in the first mo te, Jason R ivas ca me back to eas ily win th e seco nd round for th e overa ll victory in (he 125cc Ama teu r class at Ra ceway Park. ~ Bru ce Calkin rook h is Kawasak i to the ho leshot at th e sta r t o f the first mote. Close behind was Suzu ki-mo u nt ed Rivas, Honda pi lo t Bria n Gundry, J ohn Walto n and Craig Mason, Heading int o the back section or the tra ck Rivas made a pass o n Ca lkin. Rivas held the lead for a co u p le of laps but th e pe rsist ent Ca lki n pulled o u t a ll the stops to tak e the lead bac k aga in . G undry held on to third wh ile Walton co u ld feel th e pr essure of Joel Denllier hot o n his rear . \Vith o ne lap to go, Ri vas took the lead back from Ca lkin and brought it to the chec kers . Ca lki n follo wed in a dose seco nd with G u ndry . Waltoll and Dengler rounding OUI th e top rive. The fin al mo to started with Rivas jumping OUl lo an ea rly lead and running rhe mo to wire-to-wire in firM, o pen ing up a good lead from the rest o f th e pa ck a lo ng the way . After a misrrable start, Den gler started to pi ck hi s way th ro u g h the pa ck a nd brou gh t himsel f clear u p to fin ish in seco nd for the molO . Wa llOlI. Cal ki n a n d R ich Zupko rou nded o ut th e lO p fiv('. Results " 12 & 13 : 1. Anut i Stoul (Han!; 2. Dan Shea (Suz); 3 . Dan Bu rn e" (Kaw). 14 & 15: 1. Billy DeLanzo (Han); 2. l ee Rostien (Hont; 3 . Tom Ulik owsk i (Han) . )I AOV SR: 1. Frank A madrul o tKaw ); 2. Frank l en ieri (Suz!; 3. Jam es Henshaw (Kaw ). 250 AM : 1. Joel Dengl er (Vam); 2. Jason Rivas (Suz); 3 . Tro y Kehoe (Hon l. . 250 NOV B: 1. Robert Bru sh (Suz); 2. Carl Ol ero (Han): 3 . Brian Benye (Hon) . OPEN A M : 1. Gaby J imin ez (Hari); 2. Rich Rike (Hen): 3 . Charles Coll ins (Han) 125 NOV B: 1. Dan iel Geberth (Suzl; 2. M . Constintineo

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