Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

was working good. It (winning) feels really good since I've had a couple off .events." It was the second win of the 12race-long series for the rider from Murrieta, California. Dobb, the British member of the SplitFire/Hot Wheels/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team, finished fourth overall in just his second race of the series after missing the first two rounds with an injured wrist. Suzuki's Brian Swink tallied consistent 5-6 finishes for fifth overall. Henry left Hangtown with 170 points, 20 ahead of McGrath's 150. Ernig holds down third with a ISO-point total The high temperatures made track preparation difficult for the Dirt Diggers, but most riders felt that the course was improved over last year's. There were several changes in lay-out for the 25th Annual Hangtown National, and special efforts were made to keep the dust down. Still, the hardpacked surface dried quickly and riders had to cope with dusty conditions in the second motos. The track announcer reported the turnout as being 16,000, though actual attendance appeared to be much lower. Kiedrowski earned $2000 of the $15,000 250cc class purse for winning both motos, and Lamson's ride netted him $1100. McGrath's share of the $12,500 125cc class pot figured out to $1600, while Henry took home $1050. The third round of the Sound of Thunder Four,Stroke Series ran between motos, and KTM's Greg Zitterkopf thumped to convincing wins in both motos. Mike Young was second overall, after finishing second in both motos on a trick Honda XR. Third overall went to Husqvama-mounted Terry Fowler. 250cc National Kiedrowski blew out of the gate and led the pack through the narrow, righthand first turn in the first of two 30minute-plus-two-lap motos. On his tail and challenging for the lead was Honda privateer Buddy Antunez, with Lamson close behind. Kawasaki privateer Scott Myers was fourth and northern California Yamaha privateer Rick Ryan was fifth. Stanton sat in sixth. Last year's Hangtown winner, Damon Bradshaw, who also won the previous round in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, saw his hopes at the championship take a sharp nose-dive when he banged up his bike in the tum-onernayhem. "I got tangled up in a bunch of bikes," said Bradshaw. "My foot got stuck in someone's back tire and I was getting pulled off the bike. I never went down, but somehow my clutch lever got twisted down, and I had to fix it. My front (brake) disc was bent, and it . locked up on me a couple times." Myers and Ryan quickly began to slide back, but Antunez held on to second until the third of 16 laps, when Lamson motored by on a downhill. "I got a real good start," said Antunez. "I felt good, but the pace was a little fast. Also, I had my supercross suspension on the bike and it was really beating me up:' Antunez tired, and eventually finished the moto well back in the pack. Stanton took advantage of the fading privateers to advance to third by the end of lap three, soaring by Antunez over the finish-line jump. Kiedrowski started to pull away slightly from Lamson, who, despite vocal encouragement by the crowd, was being slowly reeled in by Stanton. "I was pumped corning in here," said Lamson, from nearby Pollock Pines, California. "I did good here last year and I knew the crowd would be pulling for me. This is my horne track, but I don't think I really have that much of an advantage here. I rode a lot here on 80s, but it's completely different now." Suzuki's Guy Cooper, LaRocco and Dowd were all charging through the ranks after suffering poor get-aways. Five laps after completing the first lap in seventh, Suzuki's Guy Cooper overtook Antunez on a downhill for fourth place. LaRocco had been back in 13th at the start of lap two, but was already up to fifth by the seventh circuit. Dowd had gated even worse, but was in 11th and still advancing by lap seven. "I didn't get the start I needed at all," said LaRocco. "But I worked my way up pretty good. The track is kind of hard to pass on." Stanton forced his way by Lamson for second in a tight drop-away turn early on the ninth lap, and LaRocco passed Cooper on an uphill for fourth. The top five positions remained the same after that, with Kiedrowski stretching his lead to 14 seconds by the 13th lap. The two-time 125cc and reigning 500cc National Champion cruised in for the win, with Stanton second, Lamson third, LaRocco fourth and Cooper completing the top five. Dowd rode a very strong race for sixth place after finishing the first lap clear back in 17th place. As in moto one, Kiedrowski led the way through the dusty first turn to begin the second moto. Lamson was soon in second, with Antunez again starting strongly in third. Stanton was fourth, with Team Noleen's Larry Brooks in fifth. Cooper and LaRocco got slightly better starts, and w~re sixth and eighth, respectively after one lap. Dowd again gated poorly and was back in 13th position. Antunez again began to fade, and Stanton was soon in third behind Lamson. Kiedrowski appeared to be riding even better than in moto one, and immediately began to pull away. "Luckily, I got good starts in both motos," said Kiedrowski. "The dust was pretty bad, but I didn't have to .deal with it." LaRocco passed Cooper to move into fourth place, only to go down on the fifth lap and lose two positions. "The first couple laps were pretty dusty and I couldn't see in the traffic," said LaRocco. "I got Coop, but then I got out of shape in a rut, and I kind of went sideways over the bars:' LaRocco was soon back on Cooper's tail, and again passed him for fourth place on the halfway lap. "LaRocco was flying," said Cooper. "After he passed me, I tried using some of his lines, but I liked my smooth outside lines better. It doesn't seem to bother him to take those chopped-up rough lines. They (the lines) bit him that one time, though, when he crashed." Stanton passed Lamson over a fast jump, taking over second, but unlike in the first moto, he could not make the pass stick. "I wrenched my back during the week," said Stanton. "It wasn't that bad in the first moto, but it started cramping up in the second moto." Stanton's pain caused him to visibly alter his riding style, and on the 11th lap, Lamson cut inside his teammate in a turn, then passed him down the following downhill to again take over second place. "I thought I might be holding him up, so I kind of let him by," said Lamson. "I followed him for a while and watched his lines. I could tell his back was bothering him, so I went ahead and passed him back:' Stanton's troubles weren't over yet, though, as LaRocco was doing his best to avenge his poor start. With less than Jeff Stanton and Sieve Lamson (21) battled In both motos. Lamson was second overall Doug Henry (16), here dicing with Ezra Lusk, finished second in the 125cc class. two laps remaining, LaRocco passed the Honda rider for third. "I was really pushing," said LaRocco. "If it hadn't been for that crash I think I'd have gotten tamson too:' Kiedrowski cruised around the track on the last two laps, saluting the crowd. He crossed the line with a comfortable cushion on Lamson, who was well ahead of the third-place LaRocco. Stanton held on for fourth In the moto and third overall. Dowd finished a hard-earned fifth after another tough moto of picking off riders, and a tired Cooper was sixth. "This old man is beat," said 31-yearold Cooper. "Dowd had some good lines that he was using to stay out of my roost. That let him get right up on my butt, and he passed me towards the end of the moto. He was riding good:' "We made a couple changes to the bike between motos," said Kiedrowski. "You couldn't tell, but I was fighting it a little in the firs t moto. I think we got it working pretty good, though, don't you? This puts me In a pretty good position in the points, but I'm not going to change my strategy." Bradshaw struggled with the track conditions, finishing a disappointing 13th In the moto. 125cc National Team Suzuki's Ezra Lusk led Emig and McGrath at the start of moto one, but he went down and handed the lead 15

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