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/127694
day's "big gun" showdown. Also held on Sunday was a Legends Exhibition tha t featured 17 stars of yesteryear, mounted aboard the bikes that "made them famous." Participating in the Legends Exhibition were multi-time Supercross and National Champion Jeff Ward, 1982 SOOcc World Champion Brad Lackey, four-time 250cc National Champion Gary Jones, 250 and 500cc National Champion Kent Howerton, San Jose Supercross winner Doug Dubach, 125cc National and Supercross Champion Johnny O'Mara, 1980 SOOcc US. GP winner Marty Moates, multi-time National winner Warren Reid, two-time 125cc National Champion Marty Smith, Fourstroke National Champion Bryan Myerscough, former Team Honda rider Tommy Croft, multi-time Ultracross Champion Jim Holley, eight-time ATV Grand National Champion and former 125cc Pro Gary Denton, the Old Swede Lars Larsson, Mark Brooks, Rich Eirstadt and Bryar Holcomb. When the gate dropped for Sunday's first eight-lap Vet Pro moto, Willy Musgrave shot into the lead with Dubach, Beier, Johnny O'Mara, Tom Carson, Greg Zitterkopf and Ward in tow. After handily winning both of Saturday's Vet Pro motes, Musgrave found himself full of confidence as he raced around the course. Things would not go as smoothly on Sunday, however, as Musgrave missed several lines on the first lap. "I thought we would get a parade lap to check out the track," said Musgrave. "But we didn't, and I seemed to be hitting all of the bumps and bouncing off lin e. " Dubach was quick to capitalize on Musgrave's errors, and zipped into the lead on the opening lap. Though he started third , Beier momentarily dropped to fifth. "Dubach was weaving all over the track trying to get past Musgrave," he said, "I was watching him and taking all of the same goofy lines instead of taking my own." Zitterkopf caught fire on the opening lap and quickly motored into second, . passing, O'Mara, Beier and Musgrave. ! Mounted aboard a big KTM LC4 620 I four-stroke, Zitterkopf thundered up to Dubach's rear fender and the stage , looked set for a tremendous battle. But such a battle would not develop, as Zitterkopf fell over in a rutted tum, right in front of the grandstands. "I heard Greg behind me and figured, 'Here we go:" joked Dubach. "But then he fell over like a nerd. With Zitterkopf's ·d e m is e, Beier scooted back into second, but had a hard-charging Ward right on his tail. "I got a crappy start," said Ward. "My arms started to pump up, and it was hard to get warmed up. Zitterkopf falling over made it easier to get to the front." Ward made short work of Beier and quickly put distance between he and third, but could do little to gain on the fleeing Dubach. At the checkered flag Dubach enjoyed an eight-second margin of victory over Ward, who was followed by Beier, some nine seconds back in third . Zitterkopf recovered to finish fourth. "I was so mad at myself for faIling down that I started to ride over my head:' said Zitterkopf. "I knew that I had a good chance of winning. and the crash ruined my chances. Then I fell over in the same tum again on the next lap!" Holeshot artist Musgrave settled into a comfortable fifth. "By the time I settled into a pace, the white flag was out," he I I H said. "I think we need about 12 laps for a race like this. That would have given me plenty of time to catch back up." Dubach started moto two just like he finished moto one - out front. Shadowing "Dr. 0" through tum one were Musgrave, Dave Coupe; Ward and Zitterkopf. Dubach wasted little time, and quickly began to pull away from the field. Knowing that would be Dubach's strategy, Ward pulled out the stops and passed both Musgrave and Coupe on the opening lap. At the start of lap two, Dubach led Ward by only a iew feet, and the crowd cheered in anticipation of a great showdown. They would not be let down. While Musgrave, Zitterkopf and Beier battled over third, Ward did all he could to stick to leader Dubach's rear fender. Though he got close at times, Dubach appeared to have a superior line through the whoop section that allowed him to maintain his advantage. While Ward doubled through most of the section, Dubach consistently tripled his way through the middle of the whoops. All hell broke loose in the fifth lap, as Dubach lost his front end as he landed from a jump and parted company with his YZ. "I was jumping pretty far over this jump, and almost landing in the next tum," said Dubach. "I landed pret- ty front-end high and it just washed when I landed." Ward snuck past as Dubach scrambled to remount, and the stage was set for the dramatic last two laps. Ward initially enjoyed a IS-bike-length lead, but Dubach quickly closed the gap. . "All I was thinking was 'How much time do I have?'" said Dubach. "I figured I would jump past Wardy in the whoops on the next lap, but he took my line and I couldn't. Then we got the white flag, and I was thinking that it was gonna have to be a contact pass." But in the end, a lapper proved to be the deciding factor, as Ward and Dubach closed in on a slower rider in the canyon section of the course. Dubach picked a better line than Ward, and as they emerged from the canyon it was the Yamaha rider in front. Dubach held on for the win over Ward, while Musgrave came home a distant third. After battling tooth and nail with Zitterkopf, Musgrave managed to gain the upper hand by the moto's end. Beier also snuck past the KTM pilot to finish fourth, good enough for third overall. Musgrave's 5-3 scores edged out Zitterkopf's 4-5 for fourth overalL Pro Circuit's Loren Pochirowski was perhaps the winningest rider of the weekend, as .he racked up three overall wins and one second-place finish. Pochi- (Top) Former Supercross, 125, 250 and 500Cc National Champ ion Jeff Ward fi nished second In both motos. (Above) Gary Yearsley (66) and Brei leef (53) led the 40- to 4~ear-old Novice class through tum one, and went on to finish first and second, respectively . rowski easily topped the 25- to 29-yearold Intermediate class on both days of racing. and also won the 30- to 34-yearold Intermediate class win on Sunday. Pochirowski was dealt his only defeat on Saturday, when Ian Fitz-Gibbon spanked the 30- to 34-year-old intermediate class. . ATK's Mike Young was the king of the 25- to 29-year-old Expert class, as he raced his big four-stroke to commanding wins on both days of racing. Young looked quite stylish aboard his thumper as he topped Gary Bronikowski and Shawn Galbraith on Saturday, and Mike Dunlap and Travis Robertson on Sunday. . Mark Brooks emerged the overall victor in the 35- to 39-year-old Novice Division Three race on Sunday, but it certainly wasn't easy. 1974 Honda Elsinore-mounted John Greenway topped Brooks in the opening moto, and the two waged the battle of doom in the sec- ~ e -g, ~ M cr) C'l 1il ..0 S Q) :> ZO 7