Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

lished a n enormous lead before the end of the first la p . Bu t his g lory only lasted until the end of lap th ree. " T he front wh eel d ug in and I went over th e bar s," sai d th e En gl ishman, wh o remo u nted third beh ind former 250cc World Champion John Van den Berk and Belgian Wern er De Wit. The Dutchman , Van den Berk , looked comfortable for more tha n half the race , but it ha s been a .Io ng time sin ce he lasted a GP-Iength moto without feeling ex treme ly tired. True to form, Van den Berk faded slig h tly in the last 10 minutes wh en hi s right wri st gav e him problem s, a nd by then Bervoets was closing in fast. Bervoets, wh o lik e Am eri can 500cc GP co ntende r Billy Liles gets hi s backing from Johnson cigar ett es a nd the Belgian Kawasak i importer , had started 16th but tore rel entl essl y through th e pack 10 sn atch seco nd after 35 minutes. With two laps remaining he was o n Van den Berk 's rear wh eel a nd soo n moved ahead for hi s firstever GP moto win. With Van den Berk still well clear of the pack, De Wit was left a lonel y third as Herring, who had cha rged back o nto hi s rear wheel after 30 minutes, tired badly a nd dropped 10 seven th j ust a hea d of Parker. The Ital ian-based American was a fru strated man. " I was fourth at th e start, but th en I tri ed to pace myself because peop le had told me the track would get reall y ro ugh befor e th e end of the race," said Parker. " It d id n't get .so bad, though, a nd a t the finis h I wasn't tired a t aiL It was a dumb mistake by me." Parker was rid in g a sta ndard Honda as hi s HRC ki t (factory race parts) ha s been held up in Ital ian cus to ms due 10 a workers' stri ke. Even more fru strat ed was Evertsen. He finished six th, but appeared cap able of so mu ch more if he had not been forced 10 rid e with a flat front tire from five ' minutes into the race. Ahead of him at the finish were Holl a nd 's Teus Visser, who ran near the front for the entire ra ce, and Swede n 's Peter J o ha nsso n , who ha d ridd en fro m dead las t in impressive style after his clutch burnt out a t the start and he rolled into the gate. Completing . the top 10 were Dirkx and Strijbos, bo th of whom had n ' t been in the top 30 at the end of the first lap after their first-turn mishap. T hey cou ld both see fourth-place Visser at the end. Swede Jorgen Nilsson lost contact with the group of riders ahead of him in the final minutes, but finished 11th . to head the Vehkonen cousins home even though both had started ahead of him. Finland's Pekka Vehkonen was also passed by Belgi um 's Peter Iven , as he dropped back from a n in itia l third to 14th due to ill ness. American Mick y Dymond started fairly well in II th, but on the third lap he had already hurt the kn ee which he had surgery on two weeks before the GP. Dymond sens ibl y withdrew for the rest of the da y. Bu t what about the defending 250cc MX World Champion Aless andro Puzar? Just behind Dym ond after a lap, the Italian hit trouble on lap two when h is rear brake began 10 jam on. Puzar eventually stopped aft er four laps a nd it was discovered that a retaining screw had come loose. After tra ckside repairs were performed, Puzar rejoined the race to follow Van den Berk for several laps in order to learn th e best lines in the sand for the seco nd mo to. Va n Doorn made the start of the seco nd mot o a nd led for a lap and a half before Van den Berk came past. Down 10 seventh at the end of lap four, Van Doorn gracefully withdrew. Van den Berk once again disappeared into the distance, but his wr ist began to give him problems much earl ier tha n in the first rn oto and he was passed in ra p id succes sion by Dirkx a nd Strij bos at half distance. Str ijbos had initially led Dirkx, but dr opped behind for one-th ird of the race to stu dy hi s ri va l' s lines. After doing so , Strijbos pounced and was sure of victo ry even befor e a la te fall d ropped Dirkx to fourth. Waiting to take ad vantage of the mi sha p were Evensen a nd Puzar, who had detached the msel ves from th e pack as th ey fou ght a su perb duel 10 the finish having left De Wi t well beh in d during the second half of th e race. . Bervoets go t off to a terrible start a nd then fell halfway through the first la p to co me arou nd in a seem ingly hopeless 33rd posit ion. But the Belgi an never ga ve up a nd wi th 10 minutes to go he had ad van ced 10 seventh , whi ch was en o u gh 10 clinch th e o verall victory, as Van den Berk was down to fifth. T wo laps lat er the pair had reversed the ir pos itions a nd fifth-place BerVO elS '. overa ll triumph co u ld n' t be threatened even .when Parker made a ma gn ificen t lat e charge, which saw hi m cross the lin e o n Bervoe ts' rear wheel. Pekka Vehko nen was goi ng bett er for a lo ng li me before mech anical problems forced him out, and it was a sad race for Yam aha , as J ohnsson 's roll-offs jammed as he p repared for a late cha rge. T he Swede had ear lier cras hed in the second corner, alo ng wi th Finland 's Ism o Vehko nen a nd Iven . In hi s fir st GP rid e, Dutchman Willie Va n Wessel rod e well 10 finish eighth. Fanton finished o ut of the points as did a terribly tir ed Herring, while H ealey quit with undisclosed problem s which left th e Am er ican pointless for the da y. OJ THE I PROS ARE COMING i ! AND WE'RE READY FOR 'EM... with Calfomia's Best and ~ ~ Purse SATURDAY NITE MAY 4th Friday Mite • May 3 Sportsman Pro Am Saturday Mite. May 4 Western Regional ShortTrack Resu lts TIMED PR.ACTlCE: I: Peter Dirkx (2 minutes, 12.40 seconds): 2. Wern er De Wi, (2:12.58); 3. Oen Ja n Van Doorn (2: 12.67); 4. P e ter J ohansson (2:13.06); 5. Marn icq Bervoets (2:13.32); 6. Rudy Van Leeuwen (2:13.19); 7. Rob Herring (2:14. 13); 8. Edwin Eve nse n (2:14.3 1); 9. Ismo Vchkonen (2:14.33); 10. Dave Stcijbos (2:14.36); I I. Axel Hol voet (2:15.13); 12. John Van den Berk (2:15.23); 13. T rampas Parker (2:15.41); 14. Teus Visser (2:15.42); 15. Peter Iven (2:15.71); 16. Jarkko Ammala (2:15.78); 17. Alessandro P uzar (2:16.07); 18. J orgen Nilsson (2:16.10); 19. Eduard De Bru ijn (2:16. 13); 20. Erik Loohan (2:16. 13); 21. Pekka Vehkonen (2:16.19); 22Mike H ealey (2:16.28); 23. Pen eri Kytola (2:16.33); 24. Will ie Van Wessel (2:16.43); 25. Micky Dymond (2:17.02); 26. Klaa s H ofstede (2:17. 18); 27. Bernd Eckenba ch (2:17. 441; 28. Matthew Bales (2:17.62); 29. Yann Guedard (2:17.78); 30. Veni Seppala (2:17.79); 31. Michele Fanton (2:17.82); 32. Marco Mink (2:17.85); 3' . Robert lImgtsson (2:17.95); 34. J onas Herm an sson (2:18.30); 35. Joban Ejdehage (2:18.52); ,6. Simo Hel jan ko (2:18.80); 37. Erwin Hendrickx (2:18.87); 38. Diet mar Lacher (2:20.27); 39. Ryan Hunt (2:20.65); 40. Bader Manneh (2:26.00). MOTO t : I. Marnicq Berv oets (Kaw ); 2. John Van den Berk (Sw ); 3. Werner De Wil (Kaw); 4. T eus Visser (Kaw); 5. Pet er J ohansson (Yarn ); 6. Edwm Evertsen (Kaw); 7. Rob H err ing [H o n ); 8. Trampas Parker (H on); 9. Peter Dieckx (Hon ); 10. Dave Stri jbos (Suz); 11. Jorgen Nilsson (Hon); 12. Ismo Veh kon en (H us ); I'. Peter Iven (Sw ); 14. Pekka Veh konen (Ya m); 15. Rudy Van Leeuwen (Kaw); 16. Mike Heal ey (KTM); 17. Klaa s Hofstede [Hon ): 18. Axel Holvoet (Kaw); 19. Jarkko Amma la (Suz); 20. Veni Sep pala (Hon); 21. Erik Loohan (Hon ); 22. Marro Min k (Ho n ); 23. Robert Beng tsscn (H us); 24. Eduard De Bru ijn (Ho n); 25. Ryan Hum (Sw); 26. Simo Heljank c (Ka w}; 27. Bader Ma nn eh (Ya m). MOTO 2: l. D3 v~ Stri jbos : 2. Edwin Evensen; , . Alessandro Pwar (Sw ); 4. P eter Dirkx (H o nj: 5. Mam icq Bervoe ts: 6. Tram pas Parker, 7. W~r~tT Ik Wit; 8. Willi e Van Wessel (Kaw): 9. j orgen Nil sson ; 10. John Van den 8erk ; 11. T eus Visser; 12. Peter J ohansson ; 13. Klaas Hofstede: 14. Axel Holvoe t: 15. Peneri Kytola (H a n); 16. Michele Fanton (Hon); t 7. Erik Loo han: 18. j ohan Ejd eha ge (Kaw); 19. Rob Herring: 20. Edu ard DeBruijn; 21. J arkko Ammala; 22. Simo Heljankc: 23. Soren Ebbesen (SUl); 24. veni Sep pa la ; 25. Ryan Hunt; 26. Michele Mon u ; 27. Isrno Vcnk onen. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 25Occ: MX SERIES POINT ST ANDlNGS: I. Mamicq Bervoets (' I); 2. Ed wi n Evensen (27): 3. Da ve SLrijbos (26); 4. Werner De Wit (24); 5. J ohn Van den Berk (23); 6. Peter Dirka (20); 7. (T IE) Trampas Parker /Tens visser ( 18); 9. (TIE )Alessandro Puzar/ Peter Johansson (15); II. jorgen Ni lsson (12); 12. Rob Herring (9): 13. wi lfic Van w essel (8): 14. Ismo Vehkonen (6); 15. Ismo Vehkonen (4); 16. (TIE) Klaas H ofstede/Peter Iven (3); 18. (TIE) Pekka vehkcnen/ Axel H olvoet (2); 20. (TIE) Ru dy Va n Leecwen/Peueri Ky,ola ( I). $500000+ tO~~~ ~PEn'\~ GATES.OPEN Friday. 3:00 Practice. 5:00 Races. 7:00 · Saturday. 3:00 Practice. 5:00 Time Trials. 6:00 Fri., Tickets . ADULTS $5.00 CHILDREN $3.00 SATURDAY. $10.00 including program CHILDREN $5.00 SAVE $2.00 WITH A 2 DAY DISCOUNT TICKET April 21 Lodi IT April 27 Lodi ST Double Points May3 Lodi ST June 29 Lodi ST July 6 Stockton ST July 13 Lodi ST Jul y 20 Lodi ST July 27 Lodi ST Aug. 3 Stockton ST Aug. 10 Stockton ST Aug. 17 Lodi ST A ug. 24 Lodi ST Sept. 22 Lodi IT Sept. 29 Lodi IT MAY 4 AMA Regional ST May 11 Lodi ST May 18 Stockton ST Jun e 1 Stockton ST Jun e 8 Stockton ST June 15 Stockton ST BenefitDouble Points June 22 Lodi ST For Information: Call 209/368-7182 Or See Your Local Hartey Dealer Races. 7:00 OCT. 20 Lodi TT Vintage Bellefit I Armstrong Road t ~L Tr N I~tockton II I I I HWY 991H I Eight Mile Road (T.:k) Morse RO:;~ I LODI CYCLE BOWL'S SUPER FAST 1/ MILE BLUE GROOVE 4 DIRT OVAL e e ~ ........

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