Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ LOCAL EVENTS e J eff Gayner (228) defeated Kur t H all to win th e B Superb ike race at Ro ebling R oad. Hall won A Superbike, and fin ish ed second to teamma te Mike Smi th twice . Kell y Moran wh eelies afte r winning the Lo ng Beach Sp ring Cla: sic. Moran won fou r of hi s five qualifying heats. the fin al one in come-from-behind fash ion. l - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .) Smith wins, Harth erupts at Roebling Road RR By Larry Lawrence 30 FAULK\1Lil, GA, M 18 AR. . Georgian Mike Sm ith didn't even have to leaves h is home sta te to hit his first big pa yda y of the seaso n..The T eam Hammer r ider rod e hi s Valvo linc/Suzu ki/ Du nlo p/ Emgol Arai l SBSlTsuba ki/ Vana: &: Hines-backed Suzukis to three Suzuk i Cu p victories a t Roebling Road Raceway, earrnng him self $1500. Sm ith's win in th e B Su pers rock race Came a fter Mike Harth lost the race due to a pr otest, T he protest, filed by T eam Hammer . tou ched off a vio lent reaction by Harth. After learnin g o f th e prot est , H arth walked over to th e Team Hammer pi ts a n d a ttac ked Hammer's J ohn Ulric h. H arth felt th at Ulri ch was th e culprit of th e pr o test, Harth, ni ckn amed " Iro n Mike," was restr ained by o nlookers before much damage was done, but WERA fined Harth $500 for hi s outburst. Smith sta rted off his profitable '.fuy by runnin g h is bright red Suzuki GSX600 Kata na to a n easy win in th e C Superstock race. Steve Nardiello kept his Yamaha FZR600 close for a co u ple of laps before Smith pulled away to a six-seco nd victory . Sm it h had a to ug her time in the A Superstoc k event. Ku rt Hall got h is usu al quick sta rt a nd led a tigh t, four -bik e pa ck incl uding Smi th, ro ok ie ex pe r t Tripp Nobles a nd end ura nce spec ia list Ja y Denbam. By th e cros sed half-way flag s, Sm ith had moved ar ound tea m ma te Hall while Harth made h is presen ce felt by moving his GSXR750 into th e front-runn ing pack of II00s beh ind Denham for fifth. In th e closing laps, Sm ith co nso lida ted his lead and Harth moved past first Denham . then Nobl es to cha llenge Hall for seco nd . At the fin ish . it was Smith crossing the lin e for his seco nd $500 win . A co u ple of seco nds bac k. Hall held off a stubborn cha rge by Harth to tak e second. Harth's bik e was the o n ly 750 to finish in the top 10. In the co ntrove rsia l B Superstock race, Hall led th e first lap bu t was caug h t o n the next go-round by Sm ith . with Harth and Canadian Jeff Gayner in tow. During the middle stages It beca me a four-bike dogf ight for th e lead . and Harth soo n began to draft into the lead mor e frequently. In th e fin al two la ps, Harth o pe ned up hi s lead over Sm ith a nd Hall. Gayner (who was lat er di squalified for racing a Li m ited Edition GSXR750) was fading back in fourth. On the last lap. Hall decided it was useless to chase Harth's hor sepower-lad en machine and resigned himself to thi rd. Smith mounted an all-out assa ult on th e lead er and go t q ui te o ut of sha pe severa l tim es exiting the comers, but Harth crossed th e finish li ne a second and a ha lf ahead of Smith. Harth attr ibu ted hi s win to being able to get o n th e gas earlier: "The Michelins were wo rkin g well exiting the tu rn s - ] ga ined time o n tho se guys com ing out of every co rner." cla imed Harth. Sm ith and Ha ll didn 't see it th at wa y and th e protest was filed. " We just wanted to see if th e bike' s motor was lega l," sa id Sm ith . The probl em for Hart h was' that the bike was borrowed from racer Davi d Ferris wh o refu sed to stick aro und to ge t his bike torn down. ~' l hav e to be so me whe re in th e mornin g. The bik e is Cam Roo s' o ld bike; I haven 't don e anythi ng to iL It was lega l by AMA Supersport ru les from last year. No w. wh eth er it's WERA-Iegal or not . f ' do n 't kn ow : ' said Ferns, loading up th e ma chine. David McG rath was th e hig winner in th e Novia: ranks. The loca l Sava n na h, Geo rgia, rider took three win s aboard hi s Deerin g Racing Honda CBR 600. . Resul ts A SI STI(; I. Mike Smith (SUI); 2. Kun Hall (Sw ): 5. Mikf' Han h (Suz). B S/STK:: I. Mike Smit h (Sw ); 2. Kun H.. II (SUI ); 3. Todd Hoge {S uz). C S/STK: I. Mike Smi lh (SUI); 2. Steve N.ilrdid lo (Vam ): 3. So Shuptrine (502). A PR OD EX: 1. Bill y EUIlf'" .l(hn (VlIm}; 2. Pa ul RohoI.lI (Vam ); 3. Rob Lacombe (K.1Iw). A PROD NO \'; I. Raben Hollin" (Vam) ; 2. uri 1l.. llord (SUI ); " . J am~ M ad~s (SUI ). 8 PROD EX: I. RobLKombe( Kaw); 2. DavaeM im, (JUiw); 3. Michael Shiw-I'S(Hon ). a PR OD NOV : I. David M("Gr a th (Hon); 2. Bria n Jones (V..m ); 3. u ri Hall ord (Suz). C PR OD EX: l. Micha el Shivt"n (H a n ). C PROD NOV : I . J am n Elx-rha rt (H on ); 2.. Br ~n Jonn (Va m); .5 Ric hard Joye (YOIm ). . D PR OD EX: I. Mart y Lene (Ya m ): 2. Will iam Quinn (Ya m). D PR OD NOV : J. Gary Micha rd (Vam ): 2..Sirove MoniKln . (Kaw); 3. Rich OwImpion (Ya m ). A SlS K EX: I. Kurt Rill (So2): 2. Su n y C levm~r (502): 3. Pauick Hems (Yam). • A SI S I' NO V: I. Da vid McG r.llh (Hon); 2. Tracy Thoma son (Stu) ; 5. John Ol iver (502). S S/ BK EX: I. Jef f Ga yner (S uz); 2. Run Hall (5uz); 3. Kevin Gu lar (H an ). a S/ BK NOV : 1. David McGrath (Ho n); 2. John Ol iver (SUI); 3. Tracy Thomaso n (S UI) . C S/RK EX: I. Patr ick Ha IT (Yam); 2. Kevin Gu lar (Ho n); i, 3. Slew' Seaborn (Ya m ). C SlU R NO V: 1. Brian Jo n" (Yam ); 2. Lane Shnm..n (Hon); 3. Michael Bowick (Yam ). D SI SI' EX: I. Will ia m Qu inn (Y",m); 2. Rober t NUll (Vam); 5. Chu ck H uneycutt (Yam). D S/ BR NOV : I. Rich Champion (Yam ); 2. Ray H ichman (Ya m ); 3. Ru ben Frankenfield (Yam ). F· I: 1. Sha wn Nirolol f (S UI) ; 2. Bill y Eisenacher (Yam ); 3. Bill Trow brid~ (SUI). F·2 EX: I. Wil liam Qu inn (Ya m ); 2. OJ.uck Huneycuu (Ya m); ". Ro bert NUll (Yam) . F·2 NO V: I. Rich Cha m pio n (Ya m); 2. Don Freemon (Ya m ); 5. Robert Sc::haudf'l (Raw ). F·" EX: I. Edwi n Bruner (Raw); 2. Ha rry Mor~ (H on ). F· " r-; V: I. Michael KinWT (Kaw); 2. Bob Didu·nll (lUw ); O 3. Pa ul Snu ddy (Kaw). CLB M ~ EX: I . Edwin Bru nn I Kaw): 2..Ji m Snoddy (Kaw ). CLBMN NOV : I . Joh n Blakf' (Su l ); 2. Kf'ilh Bryant (Ya m ); " . Mi("haf'J Kinser (K.aw). Jones, Felts top Pro-Sport MX By Kemp Hauser W YTHEVILll. VA, MAR 18 Dennis J ones sco red double mot o win s to take top hon o rs in the 250cc C class, while Robbie Felts ran away with both mot os 10 ta ke th e Senior Min i class victory at the seaso n opene r at Pro-Sports Mo tocross. Eddie Adda ir took his Suzuki to the fin ish with double win s ahea d of Ed Santuk aboard hi s Honda in th e 250cc B cla.. division. Wh en the gate fell fo r moto on e of the 250cc ·C cia.. Roger Boggs je tted hi s Yamaha ou t a head of Den nis J o nes, Mike Nutter and Jeff Smith. Boggs and J o nes started up a heated battle. changi ng leads severa l tim es in the first few laps. which carried th em 10 an early advan tag e ah ead of th e battle for second between Nutter, Sm ith and Tony Smelser. Before the ha lfway flags cou ld co me o ut BOllgs went down hard in the fro nt whoop sectio n in a n efforl to rega in th e fron l po sition from Jones. This put J on es out fro n t wit h a com fortable lead and Bogg s down to fift h. T he chec ke re d fl a g saw J ones ta ke th e win un cha llenged ahead of Nutter. whi le Boggs worked back in to third wi th Sm it h a nd Smelster taki ng the last top five pos itio ns. Ma lO two sta r ted with the same fire as the first wh en J o nes grabbed the holesho t and Boggs was hot o n his case. The pa ir im me· diatel y started swapping the lead and pulled away. with Sm ith left to hold off Sme lser for the battle for third. Boggs ' da y again was brought to a sudden ha lt . o nly th is time he was o ut with a· stuck throttle. which side lined him for th e day. Jones went on to tak e hi s second mot o win wit h Smith stepping into second ahea d of Smelser. David Snav ley Jr. a nd T odd Hamby. Racing in the 125cc B class was also exciting wi th the bar-ban ging action provided by Shawn Prather and Eddi e Addair. Both rnotos saw side-by-side racing from start to fin ish , with Pra th er clinch in g th e o vera ll with a last lap pa ss in th e second mota to take th e mot o Win. Mark Ma ndevill e held off Steven Li u and J am es Womack to round o ut the top five. Robbie Felt s wasted no tim e provi ng that he was the man to beat when he holesh ot th e first moto of the Senio r Mini cla ss and pulled a quick lead. Bren t Lough set hs sigh ts o n ca tching Felts and was on hi s way ti)1 a fall in th e back hilly section dropped him back in th e pack. Stacey Layne, Danny Rossi an d Mike La fferty wer e left 10 di ce it out for second. On lap four Layne ' came tog ether with a lapped rider in the whoops a nd lost seco nd 10 a hard cha rgi ng Lough. Felts easily wo n th e mo to with Lo ug h making up time for seco nd ahead of Layne, Joseph Prather and Lafferty. Mota two again saw Felts take cha rge over Lough . Rossi . La fferty an d Layne. Whi le Felts j:3the red h is second victory . Lo ugh kept him In hi s sights but was never able to cha llen!;e. Lay ne moved th roug h to tak e third wh ile Laf ferty displaced Prather for fourth. Results 50: 1. Jeffery Fields (Yam ). ~ 7· 11: 1. Nicky H obadc. (Kaw); 2. Adam Co llin, (Kaw). JR MINI: I. Spe ncer Hil f' (Suz); 2. SIf'W'n La Um y (Yam ). h SR MI Nt : 1. Rob bie Fel ts (Stu) ; 2. Brent u)u/it (502); 3. St.atty LayTM" (K.3w); 4. Mik" La Hc:Tty ( Ka w ); 5. Jo!oeph Pra ther IKaw], 125 C: 1. Johnny Cox (S UI ); 2. Da niel Sp,;,lO/itkr (SUI ); ". Mike NUlln(Kaw);4 . JQ ndy Darman (Ya m ); 5. Wah n G riggs (Kaw ). 125 8 : I. Shaw n Prather (Raw ); 2. F.ddif' Addair (SUI ): 5. Mark MandeviUe (Yam ); 1. Stew Liu (H an ); 5. Ja mes Womack (H on ). 1:5 A: I. Clad Lough (Hon ); 2. Rilly Co x (SUI ); ". Jdf Sh ulet (S02). ~ C: J. Iknni , J~ (SUI ); 2. Jdl Smith (Sw); 3. T ony Smd~ (H a n): 4. Mikf' Nu un (Ya m ); 5. David Shaw-Iy ( Yam ~ 250 B: I. Eddie Addai r (Suz); 2. Ed Samuk (Hon); 5. Ja mes Haves (Hon ); 4. Kri~ Fros t (Ya m ); S. Larry Harriso n (Sw). 250 A:. I. Olad Lou,,:h (H on); 2. Lee Coo nes (Ya m ); 1Jdf Shu ln (So2). O PL-..rAM: I. Gary Chbo rllt' ( Hon );2. Rarry Ha rvrt (Hon ); 3. Jf'f(ny Sla lf' (Hon ); 4. Don Cr i"ip (Kaw); 5. G~ry Pritt ( Hon ~ PLUS ~: l. Jay Ha ullof't" (Han); 2. Ed SoInt uk (Ha n); " . Larry Ha rr iso n (SUI ); 4. SIf'W' Li u (Hon ); 5. Drnni, Scalf (K.a ). w PLUS -'0: l. Gar y O!>burnr (Hon ); 2. WOl lin Gri~ (Kaw). PLUS -lO: I. Ted Field, (Ya m). EN DR: l. Jamn H ick!. (YlIm ); 2. SInt'n Sh",f(t'f (K.aw): 3. Many Hedrick (Kaw): 4. Brad Armlilronli',; (Ya m); 5. John ChOlppc-1I( K.aw). Moran clinches Long Beach Speedway opener By Sco tt Daloisio LONG BEACH, CA, MA R.3 Kell y Mora n opened th e so u the rn Ca lifornia speedway season with a wi n a t the Legal Ri gh ts Defen ders Spring Classic held in Long Beach Veterans Stad ium. Mor an mad e th e main by winning h is qualifying heats in fou r of th e five preliminary ro unds. Hi s fin al-ro und vicLOry was a ll the more spectacu lar since Moran for~Ol 10 tum o n th e gas and came from far behmd lO pa ss Sam Ermolen ko o n th e final lap for th e victo ry. J oinin g Moran in th e main were Bobb y I Sch wa nz . Bill y Hamill, G ary Hicks and Rick Mill er . who q ua lified via a four-lap runoff ; with Mike Far ia. ' Hi cks nudged his front tire ah ead when th e main even t left the li ne. but Schwartz new ) pa st off tur n two. H icks reta lia ted in tum ~ three. then Schwam ca me back and wh eelied I in tum two o n lap iwo . a lmost nailin g Hi cks. Sch wam saved it and too k fu ll co m mand of 1 Iirst, Hi cks dr ih ed off the groove in turn three I and had to block Ham ill 10 keep him in thi rd . I O n la p three H icks pa rked It and Hami ll , ) with nowhere to go, slam med into hi m. Moran and Mill er laid their mounts dow n to avoid th e mess. Normally if a race is red-flagged a he r th e I halfway po int it is over. This race was pa st I halfway. but th e referee ca lled for a restart, I On the restart Ham ill . Schwa rtz and Moran ~ thrilled th e crow d with a three-abreast race i through the first bend. Schwartz end ed up th e I lead er with Mo ran a nd Hamill trad ing seco nd . , They co nti n ued to wag e a war for seco nd just J behind Schwam until Hamill pulled to a stop. 1 Battered a nd bruised. he ca lled it a night. 1 Withou t Hami ll, Moran went 10 work on Schwartz a t the halfway poi nt, He took th e J Life's a Beach l Arai /Oak ley G M lo w a nd I blazed int o the lead off turn two. At th e end I of th e race it was Mora n by 10 bike len gt hs rover Schwartz wi th Mi ller thi rd. Resul ts fiN AL: 1. Kc- Iy Mor a n : 2. Robby &-hwa ru : :t Ri("kMillf'r; l 4. Rilly Hamill ; 5. G", ~y Hi d .ro. ? Rawson rails to Perris OTHGwin By Greg Robertson PERRIS, CA. MAR. 17·18 Yama ha ride r Steve Raw son used co ns istent finishes in a ll fou r mOlDS to top the Over The H ill G an g EXpCTt class d uri ng two day s of '. motocross racing a t Perr is Raceway. T he il OT H G were g ues ts of th e Ol d Timers MX Associatio n during their an nua l wintern a- II tiona! event. Durin g Sat urday 's action. Kawasa ki KX500 rider Scott Wallen berg grabbed the first mo te ho lesh ot ahead of Raw son . Mar k Anderson and ScOlt FTleman . Raw son ~ot by 'Wa llen' berg for (he lead , whil e Anderso n o vershot a corn er a nd proct.-eded to wra p him self in U"ack banners. Brad Will iams was o n the gas a he r a m idpack sta n and was cha llenging Raw son for th e lead by th e fifth lap. At o ne , poi nt \Villi am s got past Ra wson but imme.; dia te1y fell dow n and had to sen Ie for second ahead of Freem an . Will iams a nd Ra wson swi tched p laces for th e second mota SL'lrt. \Vith a clear tTack \Vill iams ran away and finished th e mota with a 20-second lead . Raw son picked off o ne rider I a la p to fin ish seco nd ahead of Wall enberg. I T he first mota o n S unday was a Williams 'i ben efi t, as he pulled the hol esho t and wen t o n fo r the win . Agai n, Raw son had to work I th ro ug h the pack bu t was ab le to keep Will iams in s i ~ h t by th e fini sh . \Vilh bo th Raw son a nd \Vill iams in co n- ~ tention for th e overa ll. the fourt h and final mot o fi nisht=S wou ld be cruCial. \Valt O lson po wered hi s Honda into the lead, w h He Ra wson acted as hi s shado w. \Villia ms gal nff the li ne dead last. Ra wso n found a wa y aro u nd Ol son. wh ile \Vill ia m:'S was loo king for a war around th e entire pac k. whi ch h'e ) a lmost did. By the third lap Will iams was u p ~ •

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