Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Sturgis Fairgrounds hosts 2nd Annual Vintage HM By Marlo n Klunder STU RG IS, SO, AUG . 9-11 T he 2nd An n ual Vintag-e H alf Mile races held at the Sturgis Fairgrounds p roduced som e of th e closest a nd exciti ng raci ng seen here in years , Partici pa nt and spectator a u en da nce was up sh arply over the inaugura l spec tacle of last yea r. Harley-David son (KR)_Tri umph. Norton. Indian, BSA, Du ca ti, Yamaha and Buhaco were a ll represented with beautifull y restored and maintained mach in es. Riders. mo stly o ver th e age o f 40 a nd from as far away as Califor ni a . Oklahoma and Connecti cut. put o n a dading disp lay of close four-abreast corner ing and pa ssin g rerni nesent o f Grand National rac ing of th e past. Marlon Klunder del ighted th e cro wd wi th full loc k slides on his 750cc Nort on, while Denny Kannenberg ('4 7 Ind ian ) a nd AI Burke (H- D KR ), duked it o u t in o ne of th e clos e " gr udge mat ch " races. Joh n Issacs, founder o f the Vintage Flat Track Association. was th e mos t co nsisten t winner in th e 500cc and Over 40 class. Issacs said, "This is the greatest tu rn out o f riders a nd spectato rs I've ever seen for a vintage ha lf m ile even t yet, a nd the spec tators were reall y rewa rded with the closest and bes t vintage races I' ve seen!" AMR coord inator o f special even ts, Tom Robertso n sai d plans are under way to mak e next year's event o ne o f fou r region al Vintage Natio nal s. " We fully expe ct th at th e ~row i ng en th usias m in vintage dirt track rac i ng wi ll gen erat e a trem endou s increase in rid ers and spec ta tors in 1990." . AMR/Indi vidual Sports Institute and th e Vintage Flat Track Racing Association will be affiliated and working together to sa nc tio n a Nati onal H alf Mile raci ng program during the 50th Ann iversa ry o f the Stu rgis Black HiIIs Motor Class ic for 1990. This Vin tage event wiII be a special tr ibute to j .C, " Pappy" H oe l who was a n India n motorcycle dealer wh en he initiated the first ra lly in 1940. Resu lts OVER 40: 1. John Issacs lBSA). OVER 50: t . Dan Doebler (Bul l; 2. AI Burke (H-D);. OPEN B: 1. Gary Peti:s(Yam ). OPEN A:. 1. Jay Crist (BSA ). 500: 1. John " sacs (BSA l; 2. Randy Feldhaus (BSA). GRUDGE MATCH : 1. Denny Kannenberg (Ind ); 2. Marlon Klunder (Nor); 3. Norm lehfeldt CBSA) . Raymond grabs Bolado Half Mile win By Mike Vancil HOLLIST ER , CA . AUG . 19 Harl ey-m ounted Steve Ra ymond topped a ta lented field o f flat track riders to tak e the 600cc Expert fin al a t the daytim e half mile hosted b y th e R&D Enterprises orga niza tio n. T wo eight-rider heat s were held to determine sta rt po siti o ns for th e l S-ride r fin al. Althou gh Raymond was o n ly able to m us ter a second in hi s heat race, he was a ble to hold o ff all cha llenges in th e IO-lap ma in . Early cha lle nge r Ri ck Sm ith fell o ff th e pace on h is Honda a nd was able to ge t the chec kers in' fourth p lace. Pi ckin g up where Sm i th lef t o ff was Dan Moor e, al so o n a H onda , a nd he closed o n Raymond for the last six laps of the race. Fi nish inr; in thi rd behind Mooree was jo n Nunez o n hIS Rotax. At th e checkers H uf the sta n ing J 6 riders were running on the very fast and ha rd Bol ad o co u rse. Dan Moo ree and Rick Sm it h were the hea t race wm ners . In the Ju nior/Expert com bined 80cc fina l it was an upset win for Ma tt \\'ill a ~d o n h is Kawasaki, when the Morgan H ill yo u ngster rode one of the best races in h is you ng career. Will ard had tra il ed in for fourth p lace in the heat race and didn 't ap pear p repared to race o n suc h a fast and slick surface. Pro ba bly most surprised at h is rum -a round performance was h ea t-ra ce win ner Br i a n Sg heiza, a lso Ka wa saki-mo u n ted . Sgheiza and the others were clos e to the leader b ut no o ne co uld find a dent in Willard 's armor a nd the race ended with Willard first. There was considerable excitement in the 50cc Novice cla ss heat and final, partiall y brought about b y th e large t u r -n o u t o f participants and to a d"ll" ee the ex pec ted " u nexpected" from NOVIce-r anked riders . O nly o ne spi ll marred the fina l and the rider, J o h n n y Johnson was able to wal k away u ni njured. Hea l race winner Fra nk Macia s p ut toge ther two pe rfect rides to wi n both th e ht"" at . and the fina l over the ot her n in e riders in the class. For seven of the 10 laps in t he fin al La rry Cmwford was close and appeared to be waiti ng for a j ust righ t mom ent to pass th e Ie" dcr. H owl.Ver , Crdw ford slipped o ff th e d " groov e and a llo wed Randy Go nza les to tak e h is p lace. Pierce had to g ive a n ex tra bi t o f effort tn ho ld hi s thi rd p lace ,at t he chec kers from a fast -closin g Raymond Gami l!. Resu lts PIW 50 ; 1. Je ss e Daw son (Yam ); 2. Toby Jorg en sen (Yam). M INI SO JR / EX: 1. M att W illa rd (Kaw) ; 2 . Br ian Sgheiza (Kaw) ; 3. Robert Stevenson (Yam); 4 . Tim Alvernaz (Yam). 250 JR: 1. Lonn ie Pauley (Yam); 2. Perry Lang (Yam); 3 , John M on tes (Suzl. 500 NOV ; 1. Fran k M acias (Yaml; 2. Rand y Gonz ale s (Rtx); 3 . Larry Crawford (Yam~ 4 . Raymond Gammill (Yam); S. Joh n Pierce (Yam). 500 J~: 1. Kenn y Waag (Han ); 2. Dan Argano (Ho: l; 3 . n Scon Bncker (Rtx~ 4 . Raben Aikins IRtx ); 5 . Gary RItchi e (Yam). 600 JR: 1. Tr acy Dawson (Han); 2. Dan Ar gan o (Han). Scotty Takacs (8) grabbed the holeshot in the second moto and lllirapped up the 250cc Intermediate class w in ~t Glen Helen Motocross. 600 EX: 1. Ste ve Raym ond (H -D); 2 . Dan M oor e (Han ); 3. Jo hn Nun ez (Ru); 4 . Rick Snuth l Hon); 5. Kevin Bri cker (Honl . VET: 1. Tracy Daws on (Han); 2. Kevin Crowley (Rtxl: 3. Sam Freeze (Yam); 4 . Rich ard Darn ell (Bu l). Takacs topples Glen Helen Motocross By Donn Maeda SAN BERNARDINO. CA. AUG . 13 Round si x of th e Dod ge Trucks/CMC Ca lifor nia Su mmer Series at Gl en H elen saw Scouy Takacs ta ke th e overa ll win in th e 250cc Intermedia te clas s. T he SCRl MNFXlCeetl Enzo Racing/To rco /Tf' Racing-sponsored ri der posted 1-2 mo to fin ish es to captu re the overall. Chris Ridgeway powered h is Kawa saki to th e firs t-mota holesh o t, but sha dowi ng h im were Ta kacs . Bill Sa uro and Jeff Fin e. Takacs slid through th e fir st tum. a nd led the pack do wn the first straightaway. Sauro found h is way arou nd Ridgeway in a fast left -hander , a nd began to p ressu re Takacs for th e lea d. T a ka cs. ho wever, had d ifferen t ideas a nd began to pull away fro m th e pa ck. Mean wh ile, Fin e was pr essu rin g Ridgeway a nd fo u nd a n openi ng as th ey entered the u phill whoop sect io n. Fine bo u nced by. a nd set his sig hts o n seco nd p lace. By lap fo ur , Fin e had ree led in Sa uro and was wa iting for a mi stak e by th e H onda rid er. Fine p u lled a lo ng-side Sa uro in th e bac k whoop sectio n a nd do ve to the in side o f th e followi ng turn to ta ke OV th e ru n ner -up pos itio n. Takacs l."7 crossed the fini sh lin e well ahead o f Fine and Sleven Kota/'arv i, wh o had worked hi s way up fro m a fi th place stan. Takacs roared o u t o f the ga te in rnoto two to grab th e hol esh ot ahea d of Sa uro , Rid geway a nd Kotaja rvi. Fine suffered a sixth pl ace start, but worked into lou rth within the first few tu rns. On lap two , Ridgeway ou tbraked Sauro in a dow n h ill left and took over second p lace. Fin e new th ro ugh th e bac k whoops, taking thi rd from Sa uro o n lap fou r and began to press ure Ridgeway. Fi ne p ulled along-side Ri dgeway as they approached Animal's Leap and soared past as they dropped to the track below. Fin e then proceeded to close on Takacs a nd was clawing at th e Suzuki rider 's rea r tire by lap five, On lap six, Fi ne dov e to th e inside of th e far turn and took ov er the lead. About 20 feet later. Fine's H on da br ok e its sh ock lin kage, ca using him to lose co n tro l and veer into T akacs' line. Takacs and Fi ne tangled, all owi ng Ko tajarvi to inherit th e lead. Takacs freed himself from the disabled H o nda in time to salvage seco nd pl ace, and he set a fter Kcrajarvi in an att empt to regain th e lea d. Time ran out, however, and Kc tajarvi look the moto win over Takacs, Ridgeway, a nd Sauro. Takacs took the overall with h is 1·2, Kotajarvi was Seco nd with a 3-1 and R idgewa y th ird with a 5-3. Resu lts PIW: 1. Srandon Mo rgan (Ya.m); 2 . Br ian M organ (Yam); 3. J Im m y Stewart (Yam); 4 .Nlck PUCCIO (Yam); 5. John Hopkins (Yam l 60 O·S : 1. Regina ld Mi tChell (Kaw): 2. Br ian M or gan (Kawl·. 60 9· 11: 1. J ason Shi re y (Kaw); 2. Paul Ito (Kaw) ; 3 . J imm y Var is (Kawl; 4 . J erry Al em an (kaw); 5.Jason Dan iel s (Kaw) . . 80 BEG: 1. David Hicks (Kaw) ; 2. Aar on Winston lSuz); 3 . Chuck Enscoe (kawl: 4 . M ike Salazar (Kaw); 5. Aar on Altamirano (Suz). SOJ R: 1. Aaron W en strup (SCR); 2. J ason DePauo (Han); 3. Ty Kady (Kaw l: 4 . Larry Li nkogle (Kaw) ; 5. Ron Robin son (Suzi. 80 INT; 1. Ter ry Pars on (Han ); 2. M ike M etzg er (SCRl; 3. St eve Heng ev eld (Kaw) ; 4 . Tim St auf eng en (Han) . SO OPEN: 1. Trav is Preston (kaw) ; 2. Paul Ito (Kaw l; 3 . Jason Shirey (Yam); 4 . Jos hua Fisher (Yam). BIG WH L: 1. Andre St eph ens (Kaw) . 125 BEG: 1. Kend all Stanl ey (Han); 2. Lar5 Erik Larso n (Yam l; 3 . J oh n Clifford (Yam); 4 . David Cha se (Han) ; 5 . Rodney Pet er son (Yam). 125 JR : 1. Sudd en Sam Hawley (5 uzl; 2 . Jerry J en on (SCR); 3 . M ike Bulley (Yam); 4 . M att Polosky (Kaw) ; 5. Ryan Pau l s (Hun ). lty 12 5 INT: 1. St even Kot ajarv i (Kawl; 2 . SCO Takacs: 3 . J eff Fin e (Han); 4 . M ark Easley (Yam),; 5 . Travis Cory (Suz). 12 5 PRO: 1. W ill ie S urratt (Suz); 2. Br ian Pryor (Suzl; 3 . Vin ce W arr en (Ho n); 4 . Chri s Youn g (Suz); 5. Mike Young ICag), , ' 25 0 BEG: 1. J oe Acuna (Hon): 2. M Ike M ani scal ch i (Yam) : 3 . M ark Gorg ene (Suz); 4 . Je ff Lokker; 5 . Lou SOtO(Yam) . 25 0 J R: 1. Guy Giff en (Sul); 2. Tony Seckman lH onl : 3 . Dann y Pacheco (Hon) ; 4 . M ike Geim (Hon ); 5 . A dam Jones (Kawl . 250 INT: 1. Scotty Takacs ISCRI; 2 . St even KOlajarvi (Kaw); 3 . Chris Ridg ew ay (Kaw); 4 . Bi ll Sauro (Han); 6 . J eff Fine (Hon). 250 PRO: 1. Mike You ng (Cag); 2. Chr is Young lS uz)'; 3 . Dan Berg (Kaw); 4 . M ike Chamberlain (Yam); 5. Levi Noble (Ya m). 500 BEG : 1. Marcus Gordon (Han); 2. Scott Hoff man (Honl; 3 . Mi ke Seeley IKaw); 4 . Rodney W eesner (KTM ); 5 . Scan Jo hnson lHonl. 500 JR: 1. Mark Ma tson (Hon); 2. John Riggl e (Hon ); 3 . Brad Sloan (Hon); 4 . Randy Dale (Hon); 5. Dan Gre nt (Kaw) . 500 INT: 1. Raben Gustine (KTM ). 500 PRO: 1. M ike Young (Ca g); 2. Rex St aten (Hon ); 3. Eddie Hicks (KTM); 4 . Willy Musgrave (ATK ); 5 . M art in Klossner (Hon). . . UTH J R: 1. Ken ny Yon. (Ya m~ 2. Frank Hort on (Hon); 3. Bill Averill (Han ). UTH INT: 1. Jerry J etton (Suz~ 2. Bob Nune z (Hon). VET JR : 1. Oon Clin e (Kaw); 2. Rick W in kler (Hon); 3 . Scott Curt is (Kaw); 4 . Rudy Chav ez l Hon); 5 . Paul Ikeda (Hon l. VETINT: 1. BreI leet (Honl; 2. Curt Ja mes (Yam); 3. Si eve Ger ber (Hon); 4 . Brad Sloan (Hon) . VET MSTR : 1. Brian Betl ee (A TKI; 2 . Phillip Tabo&do (Yam); 3. Bobby Tipp it lKaw ); 4 . Tim Ma rsh (Hon ). VET PRO: 1. Rex Staten (Hon ); 2. Vincent Deluca (Honl ; 3. earl Gazafy lHon). aT JA; 1. Vasek Ulrich (Hon); 2 . Rob ly1 le (Hon); 3. Larry Kirch (Han). OT INT: 1. John Hueged (Hon) . Klesh wins Ohio Vintage Trials Meet By C.A. Francy TO RO NTO, O H. AUG. 12- 13 Craig Klesh , a BSA rider from Bloo msb ur g . Pen nsy lvan ia . bested a field o f 37 rid ers w ho co n tested th e Vintage Tria ls recen tl y held by th e O h io Valley BSA Ow ners Clu b. T he two day event was o ne o f the features or th e cl u b's 81h Annua l Rall y for classic Brit ish and Eu ropean motorcycles . Klesh , who lo st seven ma rks wh il e competing in th e Vi ntage L ightweight Expert class a boa rd a Dick Man n-built BSA 44 1, had the best ove ra ll score for tw o days and was pr esented wi th a handsome trophy for h is effo rts at th e rall y award ceremo n y o n Su nday. Klesh was closely trailed by Rob Pro vo st. a New Jersey rider who dr opped eigh t marks in the Vintage Lightweight Expert class on a T eam Obso lete Triumph Club. Club members led by T ria ls coordi na tor Bud Kubena had pr epared a course of 10 sectio ns for the riders, many of whom arrived t."".u ly o n Frida y to enj o y the en tire rall y. Four secno ns were laid o u t in close proximity to lh ~ ca mpgro u nd so that the . rall y att endees co u ld enjoy the actio n without ha vin g to leave th e ra lly sit e. The rem a ining sect io ns were sca tt ered thruughout the densely-forested ar ea and co n nec ted by an approximately two-mile loop. Split sections were u sed in a n effo rt to take into acco u n t both rid er and ma chine abilities. AH RMA ru les for vintage trials were fo llowed with the oldest machine in com pe· tit ian being lhe Norto n 500T of Akron 's Mike H osa fros. The bu lk of the newer machi nes < :ompeti llg were Bultaco, Ossa iJnd ~oI1lesa dual -sh ockers with th e remai n i ng bi kes repres enting a cross-section of Briti sh , Eur opean a nd Japa nese u ia lers fro m the .I950s. 'fi{)s and '70s. T h e tria l got und er w a y on Satu rda y a fter noon with half the ride rs starti ng: O il section o ne a nd th e remai n ing riders goi ng to section three. A good supply of checkers a nd Ihe well -marked loo p insu red linl e delay fo r the competito rs. The section s taxed th e abi lit ies of mac h ine and ri der al ike as no rider emerged d ea n after the fir st day's scu res were tabul a ted . Nevertheless , th e sectio ns were tightened up for Su nday's round and the M:ores dropped acco rdingly. Sectio ns seven a nd eig h t were esJX"Cially di fficuh wit h section seven being a long, off -camber. uph ill climb Matt Francy challenged the Ohio ' Vintage Trials on a Honda TL 125. among bo u lders. O uce at th e top. ~i de.rs h~d LO traverse t he boulder -strew n lu llside 111 sect io n eig h t. Clea n rid es were few o n th ese two serrions wi th many fives bein g ea rned. Results 0 1A : t . Craig Klesh (BSA) . PIW; 1. M ark Vansickle lYam ); 2. J aso n Vansldde (Yam); 3 . Br ian Huber (Han). MOO NOV: 1. Rich Rodg er s (Suz). MO D CLBMN: 1. J Im Van sickle (Yam); 2. Doug Kle in (Kawl ; 3 . Duncan W rig ht lMonJ;4 . Tim Goss ( ~ o n). MO D EX: 1. Greg Kuntz (Bull; 2. Royce Klem lMon); 3. WIU Stone r (Yam ). RIGID; 1.Mike Hosalros INor) . SPTSMN : 1. Wm. C. Sm it h (Pen); 2. Chuck Wrot ney lBu ll . HIW: 1. Stan Ja kubasz ek (BSA). V1 UW CLBMN : r. Ed Brin (BSA~ 2. Brad Eato n IBSA). NT V1NTUW EX: 1. Rob PrOVOSI (Tri); 2 . Ker ry Kube na (BSA); 3 . Paul Dan ik (BSA) . Hickman conquers Cox in Arizona Road Race By Naomi Bourne CH AN DLE R . AZ. AUG . 26 Tom H ickman raced his first ni ght race t h is sum mer at Firebird In tern a tion al Raceway a nd won a ll th e Middleweigh r/C'Tlf-class races over seco nd -p lace Jim C ox. Super S race of C A/C uslOm A'T Cz Dese r! Cycle/CSEspo nso red H ick ma n runs in o n ly on e gear high. Despi te being docked a lap fo r passing u nder a yello w beacon. H ick man took the checkered flag in th e 100 Kilo meter GTlJ race. r u nni ng seco nd behi nd GTO lead er Kye G un n. Race d irector Tom Dahl ca lled a riders' meet ing aft er th e l OOK, du e to IWe> cras hes that had occ ur red, and ur ged a ll th e racers to usc extra care. j &D/ Avon / Cyd e T u ne/ Loc k hart/ Dyno Je t/Mot u l/Marushin /STA Rsp o nsored Cox chose to lis ten to Dahl. bu t his safety-conscious attit ude forced hi m to settl e fo r second in th e l OOK GTU, Middl eweig h t Superbi ke and Midd leweight G P . behind the aggressive Hickman . Gunn o nce again do mina ted the larger dis placement cat egories, winni ng th e lOOK GTO, H ea vyweigh t Superspon and Heavywei ght Superbike classes . Doll Cottage/ Chicago Bar & Gril l/Sparks Cvcl e/Dvnoj et / Desert Ka wasa ki-Suzu ki-spo nso red Gunn cu t his lap times by accelerating ea rly a rou nd th e tow er turn, in sp ite o f th e bumpy asphalt which ca used hi s machine to dance sideway s every lap. when questi oned, Gu nn replied that during his tim e o n th e road lo uring th e Natio na l circuit he learned to dea l with tracks much tougher than Firebird. Fox Sh ock sl H indle Exhaust-sponsor ed John Bur goyne foll owed Gunn, laking second p lace in (he H eav yweight classes. Novices Danny Lyon and Rob ert n ick battled it out for fir st in th e Middlewei gh t Supersport race. Ro bert pa ssed in the cu rves, and Da n n y regained his lead o n th e stra ightawa y. Fin all y, it was Dan n y Lyon who earned the chec kered flag , whi le Robert Dick placed ~econd . Results lOO K SOLO ENDUR-GTO: 1. Kye Gunn (Suz); 2. Tom Hickm an (Yaml ; 3. Jo hn Bur goyn e (Yam); 4 . Bri an J oder (Suz); S. Ken Older lYam). lOOK SOLOD ENDUR·GTU ; 1 . Tom Hickman (Yam); 2. Ja mes Cox (Yam); 3. Brad Stephe ns (Yaml ; 4 . Todd Gesse l (Hon); S . Charles Dixon (Yam). F-5 0 : t . Roger Gang wer (Yam ); 2 . Dwi ght Hopkins (Yam); 3. Jim M cColl ough (Yam ); 4. James Burke (Yaml; 5. Wa de Woodard (Yam) . H/W S/ SPRT EX; 1. Kye Gu n n (Suz ); 2 . Br ian Jad er lSu z). H/W S/SPRT NOV: , . Danny lyon (Honl; 2 . Ron Gentile (Suz); 3 . Carlos Ki mbro ugh (Suz); 4 . Eri c W ilson (Yam); 5. Gene Conn or IKa w ). M /W S/SPRT EX: 1. M icha el Beel (Yam) : 2. Gary Burnham (Hon); 3. Bill J ami son {Han I. M/W S/SPRT NOV: 1. Dan ny l yon (Han); 2. Robert Dick (Yam); 3 . Martin Harv ey (Yaml : 4 . W arr en At kins (Yam); 5. Kraig Kessl er (Yam) . L/W S/TW EX: 1. J ason Peredlra IKawl: 2 . Loren Poole {Kaw l; 3 . Tom Fujiba yashi (Kaw). UW S/TW NOV: 1. Scott J am ison (Kaw t; 2 . Joe Jackson (Kaw). UW GP EX: 1. Brad Stephens (Yam); 2. Joe Shelton J r. (Hon); 3 . Marc Shaffer (Yam); 4 . Dale Whela n (Yam); 5 . Leonard Kirshner (Yam) . UW GP NOV ; 1. M art in Harvey lYam). 43

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