Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127268
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LOCAL EVENTS
e
O pen Am ateu r cla ss. Ben Saglim be ni
gra bbed th e lead a t th e start a n d ra n
away from th e re st of t he p a ck.
Coolbe th wa s stuc k well back in th e
tig h t group, but by lap two had mov ed
10 fift h. On lap th ree , Coo lbe th moved
to fou rt h , a nd tw o laps lat er Coolbe th
slid under Da rr yl Baer to take third
behi nd J ohn Shaver. Shaver sli pped o ff
th e groove in tu rn four o n la p seven,
a nd Coolbe th, wi th Baer in tow, went
o n by. At th e checkered flag it wa s
Sagli mbeni by a stra ig h ta way o ver
Coolbet h , Baer an d Shaver.
CN
Resu lts
\ ' ~ lI N G E R so: I. Thomas K('("l y (Ya m ): 2. Sean
e
Heat h (Yam) ; 3.Kr ilh Bryant (Ya m).
60: I. Aa ron C reamer ( Ka w]: 2. Matth ew Mu rr ay
( K;: W).
I
Ken n y Cool beth (32) puts the move on Duane Veeder (99) on h is way to the
250cc Expert class Championship at the Afton Fairgrounds Half Mile.
sai d to be th e wa ve o f th e future wh en
it was bu ilt ea rly this season .
Schu h]. was the next to fall. In th e
very fir st ro u nd of eli mi na tio ns, th e
recent So ut hern Natio nal C ha m p io n
was u p set by local rider Ea rl T immons ,
8.20 / 163. 19 to 8. 19/16 1.95. (T im mo ns
wo n the rac e w ith a slower time by
reaClin!-: q u icker to th e C hristmas tree
starti ng ligh ts a nd gell ing ou t of the
ho le first by four-h undredths o f a
seco nd. 08 to . 12.)
With a ll th e former N H RA cham pions ou t of th e wa y by the time he
pu lled to the line for h is first-round
ma tc h agai ns t Compton , Myer s m ust
hav e th o ught he had the race in the
bag. He cr u ised into th e sem i fin al s
o n George Bryce' s Star Racin g Su zu ki
G SXR with , naturall y, th e two best
run s o f eliminations: a i .96/1 iO.29
fir st-round defeat of Compton 's 8.23/
160.ll , and a i .9 l/1 iO. 19 second-round
pounding of j o h n so n 's ab orted 10.03/
i6.6-l.
•
Bernard eas ily defeated Randy johnso n in hi s fir st-round match, i .98/
168.50 to 8. 15/ 165.83. Gast, a fter being
left a t th e sta rt ing line by Russ Nyber g
(w ho took th e last upset victory in
NHRA co mpetitio n , at th e '88 Su mm ernati onal s) pa ssed him ri ght in th e
lig h ts to w in by less th an a hundredth
of a seco nd , 8.09/ 161.20 to 8.13/ 161.5i .
After track in g down a n electrica l
b ug in th e pits, G ast b rok e into th e
is in the seco nd ro u nd , ru n ni ng a i .99/
162.39 to bea t Timmons' dista nt 8.36/
144.i'1. W ith a nea rl y identical i. 99/
16i .3 1, Bern a rd advanced to th e semi
final s over Keith G ra y's 8.0 l/ 16iAi.
Bernard th en coasted into the fin al s
with a n 8.00/ 166.45 wh en Myers, o n
hi s wa y to yet a nother N H RA fin al ,
in ex pl icabl y took off before th e starting lights were ac tiv a ted . G ast ea rn ed
th e re ma ini ng final-round berth wi th
a i.99/ 162.0i to 8.08/ 16i .09 over the
clockwork-co nsistent Ron Ayer s (th ree
ra et:-d a y r u ns w i t h in less than a
hundredth o f a seco nd ).
With bOlh m achines perform ing
eq ua lly, Bernard 's reflex es shou ld hav e
decided th e fin al right o n th e sta rt ing
lin e. ( H is eve n t- bes t .0 5-second
reaction -tim e a veraged rat es a m o ng
t he qu ick est o ne-race av ~rages in
h istory. )
As expected, Bernard ch arged to a n
ea rly lead in th e fin al with a clutch
.03 rea ction. H e kept th e lead until
half-track , wh ere Gast, on his best run
o f th e event in th e most important ra ce
of his life, took ov er the lead and
inched ahead to win by a few feet , i.95/
164.05 to Bernard 's tire-spinning 8.04/
16i. 50, hi s slo wes t o f eli m inations. eN
Snoop snares New York
HM Championship
By Tom Blach ek
AITO~, ~Y, JUNE17
COIl Snoop was
crowned New York
State H alf Mil e C ha m p io n in the
Sports man cl ass at the Afton Fa irgrou nds. T homas Ro tonda ro led the
pack o f 12 P ro -Am a nd Exp ert Ama ieur rider s through th e first lap.
R or ondaro wa s chased by R obert
Weiss, Snoop a nd Sea n C lar k. On th e
second lap, Sn oop slipped to fourth,
bu t moved ba ck around Clark into
tli ird o n th e fourth lap. While Snoop
a n d Cl ark wer e battl ing , Rotondaro
and Weiss were having th eir own
argument over first. Sn oop dov e under
Weiss on lap five to take second. The
last three laps of th e ra ce saw Rotondaro, Snoop and Wei ss sw apping
posit ions, with Snoop leading th e lap
th at co u nted . R o to n d a ro fini shed
seco nd, while Wei ss ca me u p third
with Clark in fourth.
Kenny Co olberh walked aw ay with
two Half Mile Cham pi onsh ip s as he
wo n bo th th e 125 and 250cc Expert
cla sses. Coolbeth struggled in th e I25cc
Expert hea t, but a fter some adj u stm ents 10 the carbu retor o n his Kawa saki h e ran away with the fina ls.
Coolbeth h ad 10 co nten d with th e
cr aft y Dua n e Veed er in the 250 cc
Expert class. Veeder grabbed th e
hol esh ot a nd Coolbet h , sta rt ing o n the
o u ts ide , stayed o ut in the cu sh io n
th ro ugh turns o ne and two, a nd passed
two riders to mo ve into seco nd. Do wn
the back str.tigh t, Coolbe th b lew by
Veed er a n d th en j ust held Veede r o ff
for the rest of th e ra ce. Ea ch la p Veede r
would dra w close to Coolbet h o n th e
fro nt stra ig h t o n ly to lose g ro u nd o n
th e back strai ght.
Vttder returned lat er in the day to
win th e Open Expert class H al f Mil e
Championship. Veeder led from sta rt
to fin ish whi le Cl a ud e Racine a nd
Crai g Estelle sq ua bbled over seco nd.
Racin e pushed Estell e to th ird for good
a t th e halfway mark o f th e race. Estelle,
th e o n ly rid er o n a i 50cc twin,
ex p la ine d after th e race th a t he was
unable to get th e bi g bik e to hook up
on th e slic k, grooved surface, Veed er
was never cha lle n ged by eithe r rider .
] u stin Cool beth rode possibly th e
best race of his yo u n g ca reer in th e
S
M ISI: I. Rich ard Win~ell (Suz); 2. Morgan
Coo lbeth ( Ka w ): 3. Mauhew Kt"t"lt")'(Ya m); ·l, james
Co n k lin ( Ka w); 5. Aaro n C reamer ( Yam).
125 AM: 1. Sia n Nitt iskie {Ho n): 2. j am es C.on kl in
( Hen): ~ . j ason Fu ller (Yam ); 4. Dan-k whuecouoe
(Ho n) .
250 AM: 1. S ia n Nittiski e (Han ); 2. J OM'ph
Addabbo (Ya m ); 3. David Gamble (Han ).
OPEN AM: 1. Ben Sagl imbt-n i (R tx); 2. j ust in
Coo l berh {Rt x]: 3. Darryl Baer (KT M); 4. Joh n
Shaver (Hon): 5. Michael Althou se (Ya m).
SR R: I. Dou g las Lent (R IX); 2. Will iam Allen
(Ya m ); 3. Will iam Warrfon! (Yam): 4. j oseph Gou ld
{Ho n ): 5. Da vid Gambit' (Ho n).
SR A: I. Harold Hilliard {Ya m]: 2. j ose p h
Herberf ing ( Ya m) ; ~. Ben Sag fimbeni (Rtx ): 4. Mark
Kor vrko wski {Rt x]: 5. Nor ma n La vio let te ( Ka w).
125 EX: I. Ken net h Coolbe th (kaw); 2. Bill
:'\'e w kir k (H o n k 3. Ro bert w eiss (Hen) .
250 EX: I. Ken neth Coolbeth (H o n ): 2. Du ane
Veeder (R rx ]: 3. Robert \\' ei\ \ (Ho n) ; 4. Wi lli am
Adams {H on ]: 5. Scot t Snoop ( O ~s).
OPEX EX: 1. Duane Veeder (\V-R); 2. Claude
Racine ( RIX); 3. Cra ig Estelle (H -D): ·" Sum Sn oop
(Rtx ): 5. C
onrad Parshall ( Rtx).
S PTS MN: I. Scott Snoop ( R rx j: 2. Thomas
Ro to n da ro (H a n): 3. Ro bert Wd)s ( R IX): 4. Sha w n
Clark(H·DJ: 5. Todd H un ter (11-1» .
250 DTX: I. j od y P hel p s (lion): 2. Norman
La viol ette (K3w): 3. John Shaver (Yam ).
CMC Pac-West Nationals: Roun ds 5-6
Bell blazes at Hanagan
Raceway
By Do n Schneider
BELLINGHAM, WA,J UNE 16-1 7
i ke ' s Suzuk i/Bell H elmets/
Answer/Scott US A-sp o n so red
Mike Bell moved into th e serie s
points lead in th e Pro class after strong
finishes during rounds five and six at
Hanagan Racewa y.
In th e opening Pro cla ss mota on
Sa turday, Chaun McAllister got the
jump o ff th e pad, with J ack Gabelhausen , David Bailey and Frank Dunlap
in to w, Bell o u t-ju mped McAllister in
th e woods to take over th e lead and
Bailey was a lso o n th e move, passin g
Gabelha use n.
Quickl y pi ckin g up th e pace, Bell ra n
away and hid from the pack to ta ke th e
win. Bailey a nd Gabelhausen blew by
McAll ister wh en he took a so il sa m p le.
Second fell to Bailey with Gabl eh ausen ,
McAll ister and Dunla p th ird th rough
fifth .
The second mot a saw McAlli ster get
another hol eshot with Bell again hot o n
h is heels. On lap two , Bell o vershot a
sweeper, letting Bail ey by, Ba iley wa s
o n th e gas and o n lap three he mad e
a move a nd moved by McAlli ster and
sto rmed away ,
Bell hounded McAll ister for th e rest
of th e mota but to no avail as Bailey
crossed th e fin ish lin e o ut from and hi s
2- 1 ga ve him th e '; vera ll victo ry. Bell
took second ove ra ll with his 1-3 malO
tall y, with third o vera ll ho no rs going
to McAllister by virt ue of his 4-2 da y.
The 125cc Imermediate class sa w
Gerry Bums blast his Honda to an early
lead . ] aso n McCormick sta rted seco nd,
but m oved p assed Burns h alfway
through the opening la p . Rya n Huffman, meanwhile. suffered through a
dismal stan but soon began knifing
through the pack. By lap three, Huf-
M
fm an was up to fifth : and he would en d
up fourth.
T he seco nd mot o , ho wever , was a ll
Huffman 's; h is 4- 1 tall y giving him the
overall win. Secon d o vera ll went to
Sha ne West's 3-2 with Dan Moore
tak in g th ird overa ll wi th h is 5-3 tall y.
McCorm ick crashe d hard in th e seco nd
m oto , a nd fin ish ed with a 1-12 tally
for 12t h overa ll.
In the 125cc P ro cla ss o n Su ndav,
Bell g ra bbed the ea rly lead on his
brand- new Suz uki RM1 25. H e led Ri ck
Simmer. McAlister, Scott Ta kac ks a nd
Lowell T hom pson .
Simmer chased Bell unt il the latter
mi ssed a sh ift. gi ving Si rn me t th e lead.
T homs o n wa s o n th e m ove, di splacing
fir st T akacs th en McAlister . The sixth
lap saw a desperate McAlister pass Bell
to m o ve into seco nd pl ace; Bell nearl y
crashed a llowing Thompson to pass.
They stay ed in that order a t the finish :
Simmer. McA lister, Thomson a nd
Bell.
Th e secon d m ota saw McAlister
taking th e win, a nd with it the overa ll
vi a h is 2-1 score. Thompson wa s
seco n d, hi s 3-2 g iving him third
o vera ll. Sim rn ir's 1-3 tally ga ve him
second overa ll.
T h e l2 5cc Interm edi at e cl ass saw
tw o Oregon speeds ters a board H onda s
go untouch ed to ca p tu re fir st and
seco nd , respectivel y. After three resta rts, McCorm ick kep t th e lead o n
Huffman for nea rl y th e en u re m or o ,
u nti l H u ffm a n fou nd a way pa st lat e
in th e rare. Mo ore. Rh o d es, a n d
Pa ul sen rou nded o u t th e top five
fi n ish er»,
M OI O two saw McCormick gra b th e
lead over th e I ;i·ride r fiel d . H e en ded
u p going wi re-to-wire fo r th e win a nd
th e overa ll over Hu ffm a n 's 1·2. :\e'\ oore
was agai n a dista n t th ird , taking third
('~
o vera ll with h is :3 -3 showi ng.
Resu hs
SATURDAY
50: 1. Nick Foss (Yam ); 2. Travis Taylor « Yam ):
3. T avis Howard (I ta ).
60 9-tt: I. Troy Hew ard (Ka w): 2. j ason Dempsey
(Ka w]: S. Phil j ohnson (Kaw).
PI P: I. Shannon Starba rd (Hon ): 2. Kris Ha nnan
(Ho n ): 3. Sherrin Blzinkenbaker.
60 BEG: I. Dennv Dewall {Kaw): 2. j ason Hong:
3. Aa ron Know les (Han).
80 OPEN: I. jason Hon g: 2. J ason Dem psey (Ra w );
S. Troy How (Kaw].
anl
80 Ill: I. Michael Y
Olk (lion); 2. jerry Clark (Sua);
S. Bit y Binckley (YamI.
80 tNT: I. Michael Boehm ( Kaw ): 2. Sian Sloboda.
jr.. (Ka w ): S. Brett
Boeh m (Kaw ].
80 LX: I. Chris Pa terson (H on),
125 BEG 1).1: I. Matt Bleckh ov ( Kaw) : 2. Eric
Waunch (H on ); 3. Pat Hrn ry ( Ka w) .
125 BEG D-2: I. D-an 1101"" {Suz): 2. D
anny Sessler
(SUl): S. Sax, j o hnson (Sur).
125 JR D-I: l. f.ddie G<'1Ti:oh (S uz ~ 2. David M
l')'en
(Suz): S. Alex Travagllone (SUl).
125 JR D-2: I. Bria n Anderson : 2. Mar k Bjorkquist
( Kaw) : 3. Oliver Benek (Ka w),
125 I:\'T: I. Ryan Ho ££ma n (Ho n): 2. Shane Wr'!lol
Dan M oo re (Sue),
PRO: I. Low<1I Thompson (Y
am): 2. Chaun
(Yarn ); 3.
125
~ lcA lisllT
(Suz); 3. David Bailey (Yam).
250 BEG 1>-1 : 1. T ravi\ Thorton (Yam ): 2. Randy
M om (Yam ); 3. Marl Atchl ey (Suzj.
250 BEG D-2: l. john T erpstra (lion); 2. B
rian SOOIl
(H en ): S. Anrhony 0 ", (lion).
250 jR D-t: I. Dave Ingra ha m (lion): 2. Ernie
Tru lson IHon): 3. Alan Evans (S UI ).
250 1:"1: I. Ryan Hu ffman (Ho n); 2. Darren Paul sen
(Kaw): 3. Shan. W (Y
est am).
250 PRO: I. David Ilaill')' (Y
am): 2. Mike &11 ( SU1~
3. Cllaun M
cAlliSlcr(Su,).
500 BEG : I. Mike Longo (H on); 2. Shain Ston er
3. Ot ri~ Jensen (Ho n).
SOO JR: 1. Erni e T ru lson (Yam ); 2. Da'\'id Scheda
(Ha n); 3. Wayne F..gr-rdal ( Ka w).
500 1~'T: I. Brt"11 Bit'Tl"k (Ha n): 2. T ony DeVries
( H o n ); 3. Eric POlla (Ha n ).
!)()() PRO : 1. Mike l .arson (l io n); 2. Ron Wesl lake
(Ka w);
(Kawl.
VET JR: l. Alan [vaIlS (S UI ); 2, Mile Boyct" (Yam);
3. Burom A ldrid~ ( H( )I1).
VET I~": I. Gr~ Nelson ( Kaw ); 2. Richa rd Sather
(lion): 3. Jdl Throop(lion).
VET MST R: J. Ron Wallat"t'(Ho n ),
VET PR O: l. Brian Doyle (Ho n); 2. Don Schnt'idt' l
(SUl); 3.
n,lO M a th i ~ (S Ul) .
UTH JR: I. Dave In ~ra h a m (Hon) ; 2. ~'fik t'
Raulen l>t....~ (Suz); 3. Rick Ik t:k (Ha n).
UT H INT: I. AI And erwn (Suz),
OT jll: I . Paul Budai(IInnl:2. Dav< Nyhlom(Hon):
3. Tmy I.:",on(Kaw).
OT INT: I. AI Andt'1'!Oon (S UI) .
OT MST\l: l. M . Pmy (Suz): 2. Dav< M
il