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Winner Jason Partridge (7 2 7) leads ru nner- up Ch ris W heeler (58) in the
85cc (9 -11) Stock class of the Mini MX Nationals at Barona Oaks ,
just o ne lap after experie nc ing severe
tracti on problems.
At th e end o f th e day, Suzuki a t
la st gai ned th eir first Superbike win
of the year with Pol en showi ng why
he is cu rre ntly leading th e J apanese
Form u la One cham pionship. Da wson showed hi s pot ential , despite h is
injuries, and sta ked h is clai m for a
GP berth n ext year. Mert en s closed
th e deficit o n leader Merkel, and with
H ock enheim, G ermanv and Perg usa, Sicil y to come, appears to be
in a position to cha llen ge for the
number-one spo t. As the typhoon 's
rain and wind la shed the Sugo
circuit, the teams left kn owin g that
th e ch a m p ionsh ip is o nce agai n wide
open.
Results
FIRST LEG: 1. Doug Polen (Suzl 2. M ichael
Dawson (Yaml 3 . Rob Phillis (Kawl; 4. Giancarlo
Falappa (Si m); 5 . Tatsu ro Arata (yam); 6. Ken ich iro
Iwahash i (Hon); 7. Fabrizio Pirovano (Yam); 8.
Stephane M en ens (Han); 9. Aaron Slight (Kawl;
10. Naoto Abe (Hon); 1 1. Shoichi Tsukamoto (Kaw) '
12. Davide Tardozzi (Bim ); 13 . Raymond Roch~
(Due) : 14 . SCali Doohan (Bim ); 15 . M al colm
Campbell (Han).
RACE TIME : 47 min.. 6.5 sec.
AVERAGE SPEED: 73 .164 mph
SECOND LEG: 1. Dawson (Yam); 2. Iw ahashi
(Han); 3. Fal appa (Bim); 4 . Polen (Suzl: 5. Takahi ro
Sowa (Kaw); 6. Phmis (Kaw ); 7. Slight (Kawl; B.
M en ens (Han); 9. A rata (Yam): 10. Campbell (Han);
11. Tsuka moto (Kawl; 12. Fred M erkel (Han); 13 .
Terry Rym er (Yaml; 14 . Koh ich i Kobayashi (Han);
15. Koh Takeuchi (Yaml .
RACE TIM E: 47 min.• 45 .22 sec.
AVERAGE SPEED: 72 .750 mph
POINT STANDINGS : 1. Fred M erkel (171 1 2.
:
St ephan s M en ens (163 ); 3.• Fabr izio Pirovano
(142) : 4 . Raymo nd Roch e (13 2); 5. Giancar lo
Falappa (122); 6. Terry Rym er (101); 7. And ers
Andersson (99); B. Baldassarr e Monti (71 I; 9. Mike
Baldwin (55); 10. (TIE) Ruebe n Mc Muner/Jari
Su hon en /Aoger Burnett {38}.
Stanton stars in
Dutch Supercross
By A lex Hod gkinson
ROTTERDAM, H O LLAND ,
SE PT. 3
T he Dutch Su percross, th e
o nce p roud fore ru n ne r of all
o t her stad i u m eve nts in
Europe . de teriorated in to a
pathe tic farce on Su nday. The move
to Ro tten da m was a failure, as a mere
14,000 people turned u p , a nd the
track was o ne of th e worst ever seen
in Europe with too few obs tacles and
a ge nera l tra ck desi gn whi ch provid ed littl e opport u n ity to pass. T he
intermittent rai n which fell di d not
ea se th e ta sk of th e promoters, but
in no wa y cou ld it be blamed for th e
dismal show.
Ameri can Jeff Stanton a nd Australia 's J eff Leisk were to domina te th e
fin al . a nd fully deserved to tak e th e
first two placings in th e battl e of
s u rvi va l , but th eir e ffo rts wer e
oversha do wed as th e race became th e
most Iudi crous of th e a fternoon.
It sta rted well a s a ll of th e 17 ride rs
go t a ro u nd th e first co rner wi th out
th e usual multiple crash, but Leisk
raced to an enorm ous lead ha lfway
a ro u nd th e lap as seco nd-p laced
Mike J ones fell in a narro w sectio n
o f the tra ck and th e o the r 15 rid ers
ploughed into him , led by Stanton.
Broc Glover was th e fir st to get
clear a nd immediately went over the
handl ebars to let Stan ton into
second. For a third of th e ra ce
Stanton chased Leisk until th e la tter
lost control over the fi n ish lin e jump
a nd. the p laci n gs were reversed,
staying that way to the finis h even
though Leisk clo sed again a littl e
th ro ug h the traffic of lap ped riders.
Bu t behi nd them , it was pure
chaos. Belgian Eric Geboers quit
im media tely a fter th e multi pl e crash,
wh ile America n Mike H ea ley went
ou t aro u n d half di stance wit h th e
throttle covered in di rt.
T he yo u ng Belgi a n Werner De Wit
was th ird th roughout wi th H oI land 's J ohn Van den Berk a n eventual four th , j ust a few feet fro m being
lapped a fter he and Gert J an Van
Doorn both passed Ol ivier Perrin
la te o n.
H a lfway through th e race G lover,
who was chasing Van den Berk hard,
tangled with the lapped Marcel Van
Drunen and in a moment of desperate frustration dragged th e Dutchman from his bike and wrestl ed him
to the ground.
Officials separated th em and
G lover continued, but Van Drunen
qu it after a further boxing match in
the middle of the tra ck with Glover's
mechanic who had to be escorted
from the stadium. It was a sha bby
scene which was symptomatic of the
entire show.
Perh a ps the halfwa y standings in
the FIM Rod il Champion ship Series
su m up th e entire affair.
Ni klasson agai n leads the title o n
equal poi nts wit h Perrin as on ly a
h an df ul o f riders scored in eac h
event .
Resu lts
1. J eff Stanton (Hon): 2. Jeff l eisk (Hon l; 3.
W ern er DeW it (Kaw); 4 . John Van den Berk (Yam);
5. Gun J an Van Doorn (Suz); 6 . Ol ivier Per rin (Yam) '
7. A lwin V~n Asten IKaw); 8 . Edwin Even sen (SUl);
9 . Teus Visser (Yam); 10. Mike Jones (Yam); 1' .
Broc Glover (KTM).
RODll POINT STA NDINGS A FTER THREE
ROUNDS: 1. Leif Niklasson/ Perrin (25 ) 3. Eric
Bernard/Pekka Vehkonenl Jeff Stanton (20 ); 6.
Mike Jone s (19); 7 . larry W ard (1 7); 8 . Broc Glov er
(161; 9 . Guy Cooper /Wern er DeWit (l SI: 11.
Jochen Ja sin skl l Jerome Be lval / J ohn Van den
Berk (13).
Ri ck Johnson tempered b y a n
ent h ra ll in g victory for Fin land 's
Pekka Vehkonen , just one machine
len gth a head o f USA 's Larry Ward
in th e U tlevi Stadium o n Sunday.
Ward had led for rna t o f th e ra ce,
but Vehkonen closed on him after
lOaf th e 15 la ps and took advantage
of the back markers to pass the 20year-o ld Am eri can.
J eff Leisk and Am eri can Gu y
Co oper had been a mongst those
rid ers to crash in the first co rn er, but
while Leisk pulled out a fter crashing
again at half-distance, th e Ameri can
cha rged for the entire race to finish
third.
On ly three riders who had scored
points in th e firs t ro und of th e FIM
Radii Championship at Poo na/
In d ia in January a lso sco red in
Sweden.
Results
1. Pekka Vehk one n (Yam); 2. Larry Wa rd (Han);
3. Guy Cooper (Han); 4 , M ike Jo nes (Yam); 5. Broc
Glover (KTM); 6. Jorgen Nilsson (Hon); 7. Brian
Man ley (Kaw ); 8. Leif Niklasson (Hon ); 9. Marcus
Hansson (Kaw); 10. Cra ig Dack (Yam); 11 . Denny
St ephe nson (Kaw ); 12. Niklas Andersson (Han); 13.
Joc hen Jas insk i (Suz); 14. Dick Pettersson (Yam) '
15. Mi cke Frisk (Yam).
•
Barona Oaks hosts
5th Annual Min;
MX Nationals
By Robin Dav is-Walke r
RAMO NA, CA, AUG . 26-2i
T he California Mini-Mo torcycle Club held its 5th Annual
Mini Nationals a t th e Barona
O aks R a cewa y. Fi fty -eight
sponsors do nat ed enough prizes so
th at every kid -could win a p rize to
take h ome. San D iego Yamaha
do nated Yamaha scooters to 13 lu ck y
riders co m pe ti ng in th e Stoc k classes.
The weekend's p ro gram included
two days of rac ing, th e first mot o o n
Sa turday and the seco nd on Su nday,
fu n games a nd prizes for a ll ages
(including moms and dads ), a nd a
DJ . a nd dance contest Saturday
evern ng.
Racers from four Western sta tes
showed u p to compete fo r over
15,000 in contingencies. Kids of
every age and size were ab le to ride
in o ver 20 different classes. Ma n y of
th e riders rode up to four hea ts a dav,
The big winner of the weekend
was J im m y Weitze l of Ra m o na .
Ca lifornia, w ho took h o m e two
Yamaha scooters, with I-I finishes
in both the 125 and 250cc Stock
Novice classes.
In the Pee Wee division it was
Justin Buckelew of Alb uquerque.
New Mexico. domina ti ng bot h the
Stock an d Modified classes. Buckelew is the New Mexico Sta te Pee
Wee Champio n and proved h is
abi lity by beati ng an ex tra la rge field
of Pee Wee riders in bo th classes.
In the first moto on Saturday' it
was Buc kelew ta ki ng the h ol esho t
wi th Derek Chase ho~t on hi s tracks.
For three la ps th ey baul ed for firs t
a nd second . while Brandon Mo rgan
and Kirk Cha nd ler were di cing Ior
third a nd fourth .
.
By th e fourth la p the Chase had
edg ed by Buckelew. At the checkers
it was C ha se th en Bucke lew. Morgan
a nd Ch undh-r ronrinued th eir verv
clos t' ban k- a nd fin islll'd th ird ani!
fourth . respeniv"' y. This weekend 's
o n ly girl racer, J ennifer Ne lso n ,
came in fift h.
On Su n day , in the seco nd mota,
it .was Chand ler ta king the ho lesho t
with Buckelew and Chase right on
hi s tail. By th e end of th e first la p ,
Buckelew and Ch ase were able to get
by Chandl er a nd th en quickl y pulled
ahead o f th e pack. Beh in d th e leader
were Monte Montagu e, J ohn Hopkins an d Nelson with a close battle
for fourth through sixth.
Buckelew never let up and took th e
overa ll win a nd a Yam aha scoo ter
ba ck to New Mexi co.
Second in th e m oto a nd seco nd
overa ll wa s Chase. Thi rd in m oto
two an d fifth o vera ll for th e weekend
was Montague.
In th e Jun ior Cycle cla ss it wa s,
o nce again, Chase and Buckelew
go in g for th e go ld in th e 0-8 division.
In rnot o o ne o n Saturdav, it wa s
Chase leadin g from sta rt io finish ,
easily takin g th e win. Buckelew took
seco nd whil e Montagu e rode in for
third.
On Sunda y C ha se nabbed th e
ho lesho t wit h Moruegue 'a nd Buckelew in p ursu it. C has e a nd Mo n teg ue
pulled a head of th e class, whi le
Buckelew wa s having hi s probl em s
in third. By lap three Mo n tag ue
seemed to be ca tch ing up to Ch ase.
On the last lap both Ch ase an d Montague gal ca ug h t up in traffi c.
But a t th e fini sh if was Ch a se takin g
top honors. econd wi th 2-2 fin ishes
was Montagu e, T hird was Buckel ew
w i.th fo urth goi ng to Reg in ald
Mitch ell a nd fifth to Kirk Cha nd ler.
The 85cc Stoc k (9· 11) class saw two
d a ys o f very close a n d exc it ing
ra cmg.
In th e first mota it was Jason
Pa rt ridge ge tt ing th e jump on Chris
Wheeler with Du stin Nelson hot on
their tail s. Partridge and Wheeler
were on th e ga s and left Nelson in
th e dust.
Part ridge event ua ll y bobbled and
Wh eeler passed him. Then it was
Pa rtridge coming back, edging bv
Wh eeler. Ho wever. near the end o f
th e moto, it was Wheeler ta king over
the lead and pu lli ng ahead to take
the wi n. Part ridge picked up seco nd
p lace and Nelson was a dis ta nt third.
Fo urt h went to Paul Ito .
On Su n day it was more neck-andneck racin g between Partridge an d
Wh eeler. T he two swapped bac k a nd
fort h for the entire race. At th e wh ite
flag it was Wh eeler in the lead with
Partridge inches behi nd. but with
about a quarter of a la p to go.
Pa rt ridge sq ueezed bv Wheeler for
the win.
.
Nelson managed a 3-3 finish for
a solid third. Ito aga in was fourth
with 4-5 in his motos. R van Clark
rounded out the lOP five. .
The 85cc 12+ Modified class ran
with a co m b in a tion o f Novice.
I nt erm ed ia te and Expert riders .
Again it was Decker shoo ting o ut in
fro nt. Intermed ia te riders Tim Sta u fenbeil. Tyler King a nd Novice rider
Jack Cox foll owed Decker in a heated
batt le. Decker co nt in ued to walk
away from the group. as Staunfenbeil, Kin g a nd Cox had a great race
going o n behi nd hi m .
Firs t it wa s Staufenbei l. th en it was
Kin g. bu t a t the checker it was n ovice
Jack Cox with the seco nd overa ll aud
first Novice.. Sraufenbeil got third
overall and first Int erm ed ia te.
. O n Su nday. Decker decided not to
pa rticipa te i"n th is class. T ha t left
Co x. Sta ufe n be il a nd Kin g to go at
it aga in. Sraule nbe il shot o u t into
the lead thi s rim« wi th Novices Dan e
H erro n. Jeff Tilton and Cox in
pursui t,
.
On lap th ree. Co x easi ly passed
Herro n and T ilt on and stnrr ed 10
mak e hi s move o n Sta u fen beil. At th e fiu ish it was Stau fenb eil gettin g th e
overa l l a nd Inn-rmedi.u e win. with
