Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Bonneville (Continued from page 19) The Oklahoma Kawasaki group qualified th e KR I in a different cla ss, APS -AF-250 , 1344.993 a gainst a 130.598 record set by Harry Fair o n a Yamaha in 1978. Fa ir wa s a m ember of a gro u p ac t ive a n d success fu l for several years on the sa lt a t that tim e, centered aro und th e Vickery Ya maha shop in Co lorado, a nd he set six records that year. Eric Rin er, with th e current Don Vesco group prima r il y tryi ng to surpass th e car wh eel-dr ive record of 409 mph with a' car dri ven by Don and made by his broth er Ri c k, qualified his Rora x-po wered, T win Sp ar alu mi n um -fra med road race r at 145.449 in th e MP S-AG-250 class against a 1978 record of 144.387 set by Sharon Vickery in 1978. Tim Clevenger of th e P rofessional Fire Protecti on qualified Steve Alexander's turbocharged Honda Salt Flats racer, from the old Ameri can Turbo Pak group, at 178.018 against its own 1979 record of 175.8 13. And Scott Guthrie in hi s usual fashion of at least one qualification per da y ran 186.634 in the MPS-AF-750 cla ss against a Don Vesco 1974 TZ Yamaha record of 178.442. Other riders wer e lined up or working o n engines. Us ually by Wedn esday eno u g h co m pe ti to rs have broken for the lines to thin o u t but this year running was so restricted that the lines were still verv long. The co urse was aga in sh u't down in th e aft ernoon, fir st for a bad . car wreck wh en a part broke, the car got sideways, and th e chute fail ed. The wreck looked terrible but th e ro ll cage survived intact. It had to be sawed open to rem ove the driver , wh o had broken bones bu t not hing life-threat ening. Then after the parts were pi cked up th e wind came agai n. This tim e th e wind didn't stop. After blowing a t speeds up 10 th e 80s in the even ing, a good part of th e salt desert 's average a n n ua l rainfall ca me down during th e night, In th e morning officials decided th e co urse might dry sufficientl y fo r reco rd runs on Friday. On Frida y moming all of Wednesday 's qualifiers were lined up at 6 a. m . to go on to the sail. After much delibera tion and insp ection, the officia ls decided part of th e course was still too wet a nd dan gerous, so the meet was cancelled. Racers were di sappointed at th e lack of runs. But many com mented th at th e most important pa rt was being a ble to use the salt a t all, a nd seeing friends fro m years pa st, The salt pan is o n ly dry eno ugh to race on for a few weeks each year a t best. Although, on the other hand, some summers are so dry th e sa lt is very roug h, especi a lly now th a t decades of potash min in g have tak en th eir toll. The sa lt pan is depleted to a portion of its former size du e to brine being dra in ed off for potash ex traclion, whi ch nobody so far has been able to stop. In fact a new a nd aggressive co mpa ny ha s bought o u t th e Kaiser Ch emical pro perty. The Utah Salt Flats Ra cing Association is ren ewing its Save the Salt ca mpaign, and urges rid ers a nd drivers to write to th eir senators and representatives before the historic Bonneville Salt Flat s becomes th e form erly fam ous Bonnevi lle Mud Flats . The USFRA runs two meets on the salt, a two -day meet over the J u ly 24 Utah Pioneer Days ho liday, and the four-day World of Spe ed Meet held this year from September 29 to October 2. These small er m eets provide a valuable alternative to th e crowds of Speed Week: nobody go es away wi thout enough runs. • G~:"'''vf:,~· $25,000 ,"~'6 1 25 · 5 ;.V R B d s AMiI PURSE SANCT IONED TI ree TEAM • .Jo hnson Amateur Day Saturday, Oct. 7. 19a9 All Classes of Motorcycles and Q uads t\\~~ SIGN-UP _ For both Mota-Cross and Hare Scrambles ~~\~\i FRIDAY 3 - 9 p.m. . / (Pro Party Friday Night) t,t\ SATURDAY 5 -7 a.m. WEEK-END ADMISSION $22.00 Bradshaw I '" -=~ O< !f~~J ~!~ - - - / ...r- - - !JJ!lJIlftllJll!f{llt~~ , _ -- FREE CAMPING .... .......... _"". ~~~L?:~;~~~f~~k~s~AYC~:~~::N~~~:~~ (301) ~?O~::F~L~~" ,_ Hecht Company Sto r es or call track lor infor matio n r----------~-------------------------------------, 1 . For FASTEST service attach old mailing label in space AttentiOI! - SubscriberS, - be low. If ma iling label is not ava ilable. prin t you r name and address in th is box . Please allow 3 weeks f or c hange t o t ake effect . When yoU move••• 2 . Print your NEW address here. NAME ADDR ESS CITY _ __ _ __ _ _ STATE _ ZIP _ 3. Mail to: Circulation Department CYCLE News, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801-0498 ~------------------------------------------------~ 27

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