Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·VINTAGE . .AJ!RIIA west Regional s.ries Round 4: 11th Annual Steve McQueen Memorial Vintage Motocross Standeford scored the win on another Maico with 2-1 rides to beat Yamaha rider Mike Olsen's 1-2 showings. Hart ran away with both 250cc Expert-dass motos and had virtually no competition at all. The Portland, Oregon, resident flew into uncontested leads in both outings. Only teammate Joe Casey could keep Hart in sight in moto one. For Casey, though, the day started off wrong. After hitting another rider and deeply lacerating his hand, he still netted second to Hart. Rickman rider Shawn Brown finished third. Dallas Nyblod kept Hart honest in moto two, but only for the opening lap. Hart pulled away to cap off his 1-1 sweep of the class ahead of Brown, who overtook a tiring Nyblod on the last lap. Nyblod, Fisher, Matt Waldron and Casey followed across the finish. By consistent 2-2 placings, Yamaha rider Jon Morgan earned the overall win in the Intermediate portion on a 1974 Yamaha MX250. CZ rider Greg Mattoon won the first moto but found his CZ wasn't as competitive in the dry conditions of moto two as he trailed winner John Ziegler, Morgan and, brother John Mattoon for second overall. Fisher, one of around 100 Californians to make the trek North, rode a 1974 Ossa 250 Phantom to an overall win in the 40+ Expert class. Fellow Californian Marty Lukaszewski, CZ-mounted, topped the first moto ahead of Fisher, By Clay Light EUGENE, OR, JUNE 23 ....... regon's Grayson Hart proved to be adaptable to any weather conditions thrust upon him at the fourth round of the AHRMA West Regional Vintage Motocross Series, held at Eugene Motocross Park. Despite pouring rain that made practice and all the first motos miserable, Hart was able to score impressive overall wins in the 125cc, 250cc and Over 30 Expert classes. The event, which for 11 years has been billed as the Steve McQueen Memorial, drew wen over 200 riders from seven western states and Canada. Constant rain throughout Saturday night and most of the next morning made the 2-mile course, which Dick Mann has long called "one of the three. best vintage tracks in America," a total mudfest. Quite a few riders opted not to compete, a situation that favored the Northwestern riders who face these conditions throughout the year in Oregon. However, those who did choose to compete were greeted with near-perfect track conditions once the sun made a rare, brief appearance. One of the many riders who chose to call it quits after the first moto was multi-time winner Doug Grant. For Grant it was a day he would just as soon forget, marred by the quagmire and mechanical woes. "Things just aren't going well," Grant said just prior to packing up and heading to his home in Mukilteo, Washington. "I've got a family and a mortgage to think about, and I'm sorry if I've disappointed any of my fans." In Grant's absence another top Oregon AHRMA competitor, Bill Row, won in the Open Expert class aboard a 1%9 CZ 360. Row trailed Grant, who won the first moto, and then chased Maico riders Greg Carter and Rick Price to the finish in the much drier second moto to win the class. Others, though, were just glad to survive the day. Hart, who rode a pair of 1974 Honda CRs, nearly made a decision to sit the event out, this coming not after arriving and surveying the course, but after getting out of bed on Sunday morning. '1 got up and looked out the window and nearly went back to bed," said Hart, a top-notch local pro motocrosser and former National number holder. Now I'm glad I made the decision to come." While most out-of-staters couldn't adapt to the muddy conditions, several did log impressive performances, such as Maico-mounted Carter of Sante Fe, California. Carter won the Expert portion of the newly added Evolution class and topped the second Open Expert moto, even after a horrifying bike-totaling crash while leading the first Open moto. Carter led the first Open Expert moto, which was incidentally stopped when Oregon's Greg Blazek, last year's AHRMA Regional Champion, crashed hard on the opening lap. Shortly after the restart, Carter crashed in the same position and was finished for the moto. "The throttle stuck wide open and I knew I couldn't save it so I just let it go," said Carter, who watched helplessly as his Maico cartwheeled down the gradual incline and came screaming to a stop some ISO feet later. This handed the lead to Rick Price, who in turn yielded to Grant. Despite the loss of his clutch, Northwest Maico/CZ-backed Grant rode to a win in the muddiest of all the motos. Row finished second in the D F-marred race, followed by Canadian Terry Hyde. (Above) Greg carter (9Z) IelIds Rick Price (6) and Doug Grant (10W) In the tlrst Open EXperl-c:lass mota. (Right) Grayson Hart maatered the tough, muddy condnlona • and hie competition to take overall wine In the 125cc, 250cc and Over 30 Expert c...... Carter and Price stepping up their performances and nabbing the 1-2 spots during the second moto, which, once the surface hardened, favored the California riders. The duo, who were both unable to finish the first moto, would be out of the overall picture, giving the win to Row, who hails from nearby Springfield, Oregon. Carter came back - again aboard a Maico - to top the popular Evolution class. Vintage Iron's Rick Doughty added the class to the program to spark some interest for the upcoming Washougal AHRMA Evolution National. Carter and Doughty finished 1-2 in the first-moto mudfest, but David Fisher overcame a dismal moto-one showing to top moto two aboard the Bengt Aberg Replica Yamaha. It was Carter, though, grabbing the overall win ahead of Doughty's 2-3 consistency and Fisher's 5-1 placings. In the combined Intermediate portion, Charles who charged through traffic to nab Charlie Brown. Grant ran as high as third in the moto before calling it quits. "The mud is awful," said Grant, who rode back to the Northwest Maico/CZ pits and retired for the day. "Vintage racing is fun, but I've ridden far too many races to like this." Fisher was unstoppable in moto two. Lukaszewski, though, had to charge from nearly last to chase Brown to the finish for a 1-3 showing that would net the Chico, California, racer second overall ahead of Brown (3-2), Row (4-5) and Hyde (6-6). Lukaszewski, though, didn't go away empty-handed as he took home top honors in the Oassie SOOcc Expert class aboard a 1968 Greeves 360, even after spending the entire first moto battling Vintage Bultaco's Steve Sprague. BSA rider John Geer, who had opted to sit out the first moto, came bac;k to beat Lukaszewski in moto two, but "Luke"

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