Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

STURGIS ;,,:... -; ~~,:>,..:? ,:.".-:, " , ' ,'. , •- • -~•. ~-P;:', '~.• ; \.:.~ VDTRA National Championship Series Round 10 Gibson grabs Bla.ck Hills gold By Clay Light STURGIS, SD, AUG. 6 C 00 0\ 0\ ..- ...0 N ..... a: ;::::l eo ;::::l < 24 u rren t VDTRA National Open Pro Twin Cha m pion Mark Gibson left th e Stu rg is Fairgrounds with th e swe et taste of vict or y in his mouth aft er a win in the Open Pro Twin class at th e 10th ro u n d of th e VDT RA Na tio na l Champi on ship Seri e s , thu s a lso padding his poin ts lea d in the class title chase. Th e Triu m ph- moun ted Gibson net - . ted an im pressive heat -r a ce w in du rin g q ua lifying in the class's prelim in ari e s , b e a tin g so me pre tty h e a v y co mpetit io n in th e fo rm of Pau l Ger .m ain and Kansa s' William Sny d er , to sit o n th e po le position for th e 10-lap m ain even t. Tw o Pro Mast er (Ov er 50) heat races fin alized the o rde r fo r the 10-l ap, 12ri der final. Class cha m p io n John Fik e won heat one, ahea d of fellow BSA rid er Norm Leh feld t. Th e heat -two w in we n t to William Berger, who d isplaced former VDTRA pr esid ent Johnny Isaacs to net a choic e pic k on the front of row one . in the final. . Co lo ra do 's Ma rk Eric kso n put his Hond a- po were d machi ne ou t fro n t in t he 250cc Amateur fin al ; h e was fo llow ed closely by a trio of rid ers head ed by Ossa pilot Dennis Melcher. Erickson d id ha ve b oth M e lch er an d Ca n-A m ri de r Doane W ood to co n te n d wi th , tho ugh, as both ride rs did their best to beat th e Coloradan . Melcher narrowl y b eat W ood fo r seco n d , w h ile W ood , Danny Burr and class points leader Roy Haines ro unded out the top five. Ger main p ut his 750cc Yama ha out fron t of the two-row Senio r main eve n t, pro ving th at his mac hine was too much for th e co mpetition . Germain ran w ell ah ead of th e field in th e 10-la p fina l, leaving a trio of riders to bat tle for second well beh ind h im . Tha t p articul a r ba t tle favo red th e 50 0cc Yam aha of Melcher, w ho d id a grea t job of holding off the 750cc Yamaha of Sn yder. Tim Newby, aboard ano ther of the popul ar 500cc Yamaha single s, n etted fo urth , ahead of 750cc Du ca ti-mo u nted Doug Stewa rt. Fike had high hopes of beat in g curren t. champ ion Gibson in the O pe n Pro Tw in final , but Fik e's cha nces w e re eli m ina ted when Gi bson and Germain swep t past him. Althoug h Fike did gain ~ position back w hen he na bb ed Germa in la te in the final, Gibson wa s no t to be d eni ed a win. Fourth we n t to Sny de r, w ho was fo llowed by Lehfeld t, Jo e l Wey , Stewart an d Mike Zbrozek. Leo Osa n towski mana ged to sa ve wha t coul d h a ve become a na sty trip th rough the hay bal es sho rtly after the Ope n Twin Amateur fina l began, bu t he lost severa l positions in the process . Triumph -m o unt ed Ke n Slo ta a nd Bill St e phen s swe p t pas t the early lead e r and finishe d ahea d of Osantowski, Fred Cuba and th e ot her H arley-Da vid so n rider in the field, William Schri tt. Fike di d ga in so m e ground o n curren t Pro M asters- cl a ss p oints lead er Isaa cs after a w in in the tw o-row final, which fea tured one of the closes t finishes of th e day's program. Fike, Isaacs and Berger w ere never more than a wh eel apa rt through the later stages, and they finis he d in that or der. Snyder finis hed fourth, ahead of John Jeffries and Bu ltaco 360- mo u n te d Gary Pe t tis , wh o , des p ite having th e sma lles t d isplacement in th e field , fini shed sixth. The fina l main event of the day w as the 12-rider, 10 -lap 600 cc P r o fin al. Isa ac s ' BSA s h o t ou t in fr ont of the Yamaha 500 of Forington, se tting up a close battle for the lead positi on . Forington lo omed in Isaa cs' s h a dow, even putting a 'w heel under th e Oklah om an , bu t Is aacs got a lucky br eak when .Foring ton'sIast-d itch attempt to inh erit the lead nea rly put the Colorad an in to the w all. Forington lost out by a w heel at the finish but had substantial gro u nd on the Yamaha-mounted Ge rm ain, w ho w as the th ird-place finish er . Berger ra llied to fi nis h in th e fo ur th p o sition, a hea d of Fike, w hose late-r a ce rally ea rn ed him fifth, altho ug h com ing into this ro u nd he trailed Berger by a pain t and he lost grou nd to th e Iowa ri der. Sears, McClelland, Dar rel Brink, Jeffries and Sny der, w ho this time was Bultacomo unted, rounded ou t the top 10. C\ Sturgis Fairgrounds Sturg is, South Dakota Res ults: August 6, 1998 O PEN PR O TW : 1. Mark Gibso n (Tri); 2. John Fike (BSA): 3. Pau l Ge rma in (Yam ); 4. Will iam Sn yder (Yam ); 5. No rma n Lehfeld t (BSA). OP EN AM TW: 1. B i~1 Ste phe ns (T ti); 2. Ken Slo ta (Tt D; 3. Leo Osa nt ow ski CH-D); 4. Fred Cuba (Tri); 5. William Sch ritt (H-Dl. . PRO MSTR: 1. Jo hn Pik e (BSA); 2. Johnny Isa acs (BSA); 3. William Ber ger (H on) : 4. Bill Snyde r (Yam ); 5. Jo hn Ie ffrics (Yam) . M S TR AM : 1. Le o O sa n tows ki ( H ·[) ; 2 . Da n Deubler (Bul ): 3. Ken Allah an (TrD; 4. Willia m Sch ri tt (H-D). S R: 1. Pau l G er m a i n (Ya m) ; 2. De nn is Me lch e r (Ya m ); 3. Will iam Snyder (Yam ); 4. Tim Newby (Ya rn): 5. Doug Stewart (Dud. 250 A M: 1. Ma rk Erickson (Hon) ; 2. Den n is Melch e r (Oss ): 3. Doa ne Wood (C-A); 4. Dan ny Bu rr (Bun; 5. Roy Hain es (Bul). 600 AM : 1. Mar k Erickson (Ho n): 2. Dan Ha n kerson (Yam ); 3. Tim N ewb v (Yam ); 4. Do a ne Wood (Hen): 5. Dan Deubler (Bu!) . · • 600 PRO: 1. Jo hn ny Isaacs (BSA); 2. Jim Forin gt on (Ya m ); 3. Pau l Germ ain (Yam ); 4. William Berger (Hen): 5. jo hn F;ke (SSM . VDTRA Na1ional Championship Series Round 11 . McClelland, Erickson double up By Clay Li ght STURGIS,SD, AUG: 8 yo m ing' s John McC lelland and Colorad o' s Mar k Erickso n were d ouble class w inn er s a t th e J.e. " Pa p p y" H oel short tr ack, sit e of the 11th roun d of th e VD TR A Na tiona l Ch a m pio nship Se ries, ho st ed by th e [ackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Clu b. McCl elland , rid ing a 750cc Ya ma ha as we ll as his usu al mou nt, a 500 Yamaha, w o n th e 600cc Exp ert m ain even t, also posting a wi n in the Senio r (Over 40) fina l. McCl ell a nd al so ba ck ed up those exce p tiona l perfor mances w ith a secon d -p lace fini sh in the Open Pro Twin class. Eric kso n w as a lso impres- W J ohn Flke (1) he ld off Johnny Is aacs (10) and William Berger (58) for the Pro Mastersclass victory dur ing'round 10 of the VDTRA Nationa l Dirt Track Se ries at the St urgis Fairgrounds. si ve . The N ed erland , Colorado, rider w on th e 250cc Ama teur main ev en t, a class h e dominated all week long in VDTRA Regional/National action, and also picked up a win in the 600cc Am ateur final. Colorado' s Mark Gib son cam e away fro m the week with two National wins in the Ope n Pro Twin class, his final win coming on the eighth-mile ova l, furthering his point lead in the class ahead of Kan s a s' Bill Sn yd er a n d J ohn Fi ke . McClelland finish ed second to Gib son's 750cc Triu mp h, but ahead of Sny der in Sat urday' s fina l. Qu alifying sta rted off th e eve n ing' s program w it h a lon e eig h t-ri der Open Pro Twin heat ra ce. Sny d er, Yama hamounted, went on a rampage in a wireto-wi re win, his bes t performan ce of the evening, to beat the class Nationa l Champion , Gibso n, and McClelland to earn the pole position for the 12-lap final. McClelland came back to top Snyd er in th e Senior-class qualifie r, taking th e choice pick on the front ro w . Regardless, Sny der, w ho all but has the Senio r-class title wrapped up w ith his eig ht straight w ins, wa s con tent w ith a row -on e position. Tw o 600cc Pro heat races trimmed the field to its 12-rid er configuration . H eat one wa s wo n by O kla h o ma n Johnn y Isaacs an d his B50-based BSA. Isaacs led Iow a' s William Berger and Californian Th om as Boo th to victory . McCl ell and held under h eavy pressure fro m Tim Sears, Fike an d John Jeffries for a ....vin in heat tw o, also ea rni ng the pole position . Due to a small turnout in the 250cc and Maste rs A mateu r classes , th e tw o ra n co m b in ed fo r the e ven ing ' s fir st . m ain eve n t. Booth put a Honda ou t in front of Erickso n, but Erickson cou nterattacked wi th a move from w hich fourstroke pilot Booth wou ld never recover , alt ho ug h both rid er s were wi n ne rs in their respective classes. Erickson sco red a 250cc Ama teur w in ove r Ch uc k Beving and Bul taco rider Roy Hai nes, while Boo th 's Mast er s-class wi n ca me a head of Montana's Ken Allahan. Oklaho ma ' s J.e. Clark u sed hi s fas t starting ability to pu t his 500cc Yama ha ou t fron t in the Senior fina l, bu t McClelland and Erickson we re qu ick to relegate him to third after a lap. Thi s left Clark to fend off the likes of Snyd er , w ho .di d eve ntua lly d isplace C la r k, but by th e time the Manhattan, Kansas, rider did so , lead ers McC le ll a nd a nd Eri ckso n w ere ou t of reach . Clar k held on to finish fourth, ahead of Jeff Ga rlach. Snyder was the pole sitter for the 12lap O pen Pro Tw in fina l, but Gi bson, w ho started to the left of Snyd er on th e inv erted pole, g rabbed the lead ahead of M cC le lland , BSA rider Joel Wey, an d Snyd er . Wey 's night, though , was done a fter a lap, allowing bo th Snyd er and Mik e Zbrozek to move u p a position. Th e b att le b etw e en Gib son a n d McClelland - the closest of the even ing lasted the entire 12 laps, as th e duo rode in a side-by-side configuration; McClellan d' s last -d itch attemp t wa s in vain as Gibson retaliated, slamm ing the door on th e W yomin g rid er to fi nis h o ff h is sweep of th e cla ss in th e two Sturgis N ation als, Snyder fini sh ed third, which m o ved him into seco n d in the cla s s po ints, foll owed by Zbrozek' s irnpressi ve fou rth- p lace fini sh . Fike fina lized his week in the Black Hill s wi th a fifthplace finish . i Berger, w ho ro de an XL 350 -based m a ch in e , p ut o n e o f th e s m a ll es tdis placemen t bik es in the field ou t front in the Pro Mast ers final. Isaacs, National Champion Fik e, Zb rozek, Jeffri es and Sn vder - who th is tim e w as a board a 360cc Bultac o - battled for p ositions beh ind the leader . Isa ac s ch a lle nged Berg er' s e very mo ve, but when a tri o of rid er s vyin g for third tan gled , the race wa s stopped . A sing le- file rest art - one which again had Ber ger leading - sa w Isaacs take a last-lap lead fo r th e w in in the closest fini s h of th e even ing . They were fol lo w ed by Fike , Snyd e r, Je ff ries, Dan Malon ey and Ne bra ska 's Th om as Laird. The fina l VDTRA main event of th e Stu rg is Race' W eek w as th e 600cc Pro finaL Berger and McC lell and ch ose to occu py th e o p posite en ds of th e fro n t row for the we-r ow, 12-rider fina l, but McClelland 's outside ga mble pr oved to b e th e right choice, as h e led Berger, Sears, Sturgis' Darrel Brink, Isa acs, Fike and Snyder on the ope ning lap. When Sears cras hed after ta ng ling w it h Brink, th e race, w h ich had go ne five laps, was red -flagged . McClellan d, w h o until Se a rs ' cras h h ad bu ilt u p nearly a half-la p advan tage, now saw h is lead eva pora te to o n ly a w heel's len gth over Brink. Thi s set up on e of the best b attl es of the week , on e w h ich ended in McClelland 's favor. Brink and Isaacs joined hi m on the podium. Berger a nd Je ffr ies were fo u r th a nd fif th, respectively . ":'i J ackpine Gypsies Clubg rounds Sturgis, South Dakota Resutts: August 8, 1998 600 PRO: 1. John McCl e lla n d (Ya m ); 2. Darre ll Brink (Yam); 3. Johnny lsoacs CBSA); 4. William Berger (Hen): 5. Joh n Ieffries (Yam ). O PE N PRO TW : 1. Mar k G ibson (T r t): 2. Jo hn McCl e lland (Ya m ); 3. Bill Sn yd er (Ya m) ; 4. Mike Zbroze k (Tri): 5. John Fike (ESA). PRO MS TR : I , Joh nn y Isa a cs (BSA ); 2. W ill iam Berge r {Hon): 3. Joh n Fike (ESA); 4. Bill Sny d e r (Bu l): 5. Jo h n Jeffr ies (Yam ). ( S R: 1. Jo h n McCl t.>lland (Yarn): 2. Ma r k Erickso n (Ho n): 3. Bill Sny de r (Bul ): 4. j .C. Cla rk (Ya m ); 5 . Jeffrey Ga rlac h (Yam). O P EN AM T W : 1. Fre d C u ba (T ri) ; 2. Willi am Sch ritt (Tri): 3. Ken Slota (Tri): 4. Ran d y Jam ison (Tri): 5. Bill Step he ns 600 A M: 1. Mar k Erick so n (Hon ): 2. Thomas Boot h (Ha n ); 3. Robe r t W rig h t (Ya m) ; 4. Da n H anker son (Yam): 5. J.e. Clark (Yam). 250 AM: 1. Mar k Erick n (H e n): 2. Chuck Bcving so (Yarn ): 3. Roy Haines (Bu D. ~ M STR A M: 1. Thomas Bo oth (Ho n ): 2. Ken Allaha n rr-n rr-n.

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