Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

First annua Flat Track R l eunion Murphree magic at Lodi 51 By Mik e Law Many happy returns LaD!, CA, SEPT 19 . By Mike Law LaD!,CA, OCT. 4 he p er son who coined th e phra se "y ou ca n ne ver g o h om e a ga in" w a s cl ea rl y n o t into fl at -trac k motorcycle racing, as was evid enced by the turnout for the ina ug u ral Flat Track Reunion at the Lod i Cycle Bowl. Despite weat her predic tions for ra in, the Rod Lake-sp onsored even t p layed host to hundred s of racers, former racers, fans, family and friends. In add ition to an afternoon's wo rth of AHRJ\1A TI racing, those in att en dance we re treated to a meal of perfectly barbecued tri -tip steak and chicken, with all of the fixings . Many old racing programs, photos and othe r mem orabilia w ere on display as attendees strolled d own the blue groove of Memory Lane. While it is impossible to men tion all of the notab le people wh o were in atte nd a nce, th e m ost fa mous for m er Lod i a lum nu s had to be Kenn y Rob ert s . Before racing 10 fa me as AMA G ra nd ational Cha mpion in 1973 and 7 4, and then moving on to Eu rope to claim three s u cc es s ive World 500 cc road r a cing titles, Roberts turned many laps at Lod i and made many friend s for life. "It's bee n a long time since I've been here," Robe rt s said . "The p lace rea lly hasn ' t cha nged that much . The p eop le collecting the money at the ga te are even the sa m e. It' s kin d of (lik e) s teppi ng back in time . My sons rode here not too lo ng a g o, but I ha ven 't bee n here in about five yea rs." Alt ho ug h his cla ims to fame aren' t qu ite as grea t as Rober ts', alumnu s Rick Ho ck in g w en t o n to w in fo u r AMA Nationals as well as numerous local an d region al titles. " I ra ced h ere for s eve ra l yea rs between 1968 and 1970," Hocki ng sa id . "I still rid e a little, bu t mostly I rid e my bi cycl e a nd w ork in s heet meta l a nd heating and air conditionin g now ." Fo rme r-d irt - tra cke r- tu rn ed - roa d racer Jimmy Fili ce ex p ressed fee lings simila r to Roberts' w hen he was asked about his return to the Lod i Cycle Bowl and the Flat Track Reunion. "It's been quit e a few yea rs since I've b een h ere ," Fili ce said . " It h a sn 't cha nged much, but it's a pret ty neat place. I wor ked with Kenny (Roberts ) for the last couple of years in Barcelona wi th his s tuff, bu t I've taken so me tim e off and scaled back. I call Mod esto hom e T now ." Anot her rider who spun laps at Lodi before go ing on to great er fame is Scott Pear son, the rider who ga ve the Honda marque its first half mile Nationalwin when he piloted a factory Honda NS750 to victory at the 1983 Louisv ille Half Mile. "I lik ed thi s p lace, bu t it cou ld be reall y fru strating some times," Pea rson said of Lod i. "You could go ou t and wi n a Na tional at a place like the Peori a TI, th en co m e h e re a n d ge t yo u r d o o rs blown o ff by the regular guys . Rid ers like Jorg ens en a n d com p a n y w e r e alwa ys tough!" Pro moter Lake, ho w ev er, put th e Jim Odom (left) and Rick Hock ing (ri ght) were among th e dirt track racing celebrities gathered at the Inaugural Flat Track Reunio n at the Lod l Cycl e Bow l. Othe r famous pers onaliti es included Jim my Fili ce, Sco tt Pearson , and none other than tw o-tim e Grand Nati on al and three-ti me Wor ld road race Champ ion Kenny Roberts. prope r spin on the d ay, as the festivities began to w ind d own . . "O u r s p o r t is th e greatest one on earth," Lake said. "La tely, it see ms like the only time we all get togeth er is at the fun eral of one of our own. It is time tha t we all ge t togeth er for a differe nt reason, and that reason is a celebra tion. This is the first Flat Track Reu nion , and it will not be the last. We'll be here aga in nex t n year." AHRMALodiTI Spencer spiffy at Lodi Cycle Bowl . By Mik e Law LaD!, CA, OCT. 4 ollowing the success of its inaugura l AHRM A s h o r t tra c k s e v e ra l months earlier, the Lod i Motorcycle Cl ub we nt one step further and schedul ed its inaugural AHRMA TI on th e sa me d ay as its firs t annua l Flat Track Reuni on. Desp it e th e fa ct th at th e re . we re 17 d ifferen t classes - includ ing severa l exh ib it io n classes - no t one rider scored multiple vic tories, w h ich mad e for an in terestin g afternoon of Vin tage racing. The 750cc Twi n class, however, wa s the most hotly contested event , an d w he n th e c hec kere d fl ag fl ew , Rod Spencer emerged as the big winner. John Pro to blast ed off the line on his Yamaha twin and led into the tree turn, followed furiou sly by Eric Weisler and Rod Spencer. Proto, on the outside, headed fo r co ve r up th e esca pe ra m p , as Weisler' s big Yamaha twin pus hed and went wide in a ne'!r miss that d ro pped Proto back several positions before he was able to return to the track. Spencer, meanwhile, closed the gap while in the second position at the start/ finish line, and then positioned himself to execute an outside pass at the entrance to the tree turn. Proto jammed hard on the gas and worked his wa y ba ck in to th ird place, as Spencer gradually pulled away from Weisler. All thr ee riders led for at least one lap, but Spencer led at the finish for the win. F Lod i regula rs Richa rd Arnold a nd Ca ry Buck en gaged in a ga me of ca tand- mo use in the 250cc Spo rtsm an class , with Arn old getting off the line on his Yama ha first, fo llo wed closely by th e screaming Bultaco of Buck. With a fairly wide groove aro und the tree turn, Buck ma de a calcula ted pass arou nd Arnol d a nd th en charged in to th e lead . Buck con tinued to ride flawlessly and won by. a wide margin . Ma tt Roh r timed the starti ng ligh t perfectly for th e ho les hot and led the 600cc Sportsman class for the firs t six la ps before Bra d Spencer mad e a rea l hard cha rge go ing into the tree turn to overtake Rohr. Spen cer conti nued to up the p a ce a n d won by a bo u t six bik e lengt hs . Local favori te Dan a Perri was a little too anxious for the sta rting ·light durin g the 1i00cc Su pport main and was banished to Sib e ria in th e cra sh- ma rred mai n, which featu red a rare TI appear ance by Rob Da m ro n, aboa rd the L&R Hu saberg. Damron w heelied his way off of th e lin e in to se co nd p os ition , and th en two rid ers we n t d own in the tree tu rn, w hich brought ou t the red flag and a subsequ en t restart. Damro n im med i- • a tely sco red . the holesh ot on the res tart and rod e to the chec kered flag basica lly u ncha llenged . Dan te D' Ambruoso an d Alla n Yarro w battl ed for the ru nner-u p spo t, with th e nod going to the crafty Yarro w, aboard a hot Yama ha. 1:-0 Lod i Cycle Bowl Lodl , Califo rn ia Results: October 4, 1998 CLSSC 2S<> 1. Maurice Ortega (Bul); 2. leff Apple (Bul). SPTSMN 2S<> 1. Cary Buck lBul); 2. Richard Arnold (Yam); 3. Maurice Ortega (Bu l): 4. Ken N ekko (C-A) ; 5 . Ch ris Apple (Bu l). NOV 250: 1. George Booth (Ya m); 2. Stev e Aday (Yam ). sao SUP: 1. Steve Hall (Ya rn): 2. D a nny Casey (Ya m); 3. James Lewi s p I W MOD: 1. Cody l-lmbott (Act); 2. OMTon Ohl .. ( J.un-ll Hu ghes lIIuld; 5. Ikrriclr. Ohls ( Hun ). OPEN A: I. Johnny Murph~ (Yam I; 2. Bub c.~"Y fW· R); 3. Sha w n Raggio ( R tx ); 4 . Mi ck ey Leoc ( Rtx ); 5 . All a n McOellan (Rbd. . O PEN B: 1. Paul Sa n d bu m (Rrx); 2. Billy Hilt~ (Ya m ); 3. Arman d o Rod rigu t"z (Ya m) ; 4. Rill"Y COl( (Bu ll ; 5. Barry OI!O("J\ (Rtxl. orEN C: 1. Har lu nd Junni'Ofl (lI on J; 2. IIltO!"oN Aizawa (Rtx); 3. O iff Hdm.. (}-Ion); 4. RobMt Mct:.Jrty (Rtx); 5. Jot" Cl"TTO (y.\ m) . VINT : 1. Riley Co x (Bu t); 2. David Mo~an (}-Ion); 3. Daryl Mu !>to ( H un). VlNT lW A: 1. Sammy Sl"Ndr.\ (Ya m) ; 2. Roger Hamilton (Ya m ). VINT 'rw C: 1. Ca rl 0i1otC!J (Ya m); 2. Rob H ard m eyer (T ri) . Vl!\IT 40+: 1. R~t'r Hamilton (Yam ); :z.. To m Buoth (Yam); 3. lohn Dotson (Bull ; 4. Ca m-or Fisher (BullS. Charles H igd o n (T ri ). VET A: Bub ea.....y (W· R); 2. OM;! I'crri (Rtx ); 3. Steve Fisht"f (Rll(); 4. Robt-rt &cosa (Rtx); 5 . Rob McDo n nt'1I(H -D) . VET B/ C: 1. Pau l Silndbum (Rtx); 2. Joh n ny Pilt ma n (Rn); 3 . Jon Foun t" in (H o n ); 4. J"ml.~ Mdhcr (Jion). (H ·D); 3. Hank Cos io (Tri) : 4. IT Ken H olland (SU7.). SR: 1. Mike Van liende n (BSA); 2. [)w ne S~ncl' P IW STK A: 1. Ryan L.1w (Ya m ); z, A nt h uny roo (Y" m ). n/; P/ W STK B: I. Rebecc a Law (Yam); 2. Kyle Anll('\mi (Yaml . f' /W 5TK C: 1. ChCld COI't' (Yilm ); 2. T ravis Ml<:.l rth y (Yam I; 3. O;lnidk· Clldci ra (Yilm ). rr: I. Rebecc a Law [Yam ); r / w MO D: 1. Cody Lambort (Act ); 2. Ron R obem (KTMl. 60 B: 1. Bobby Fon~ (Kaw l; 2. J( I(' He rne ndez IKawl. 60 1. Scan Jon ('S (Kaw); 2. C hri, Borjall (Kaw ). KN BY: 1. Jam t"ll Lewis (KolW); 2. J{lt' C u nn ing to n (Ka w l; 3 . Robert Oarke (Y"m); 4. Dwon ~Fn.-eze (Yam) . 2S0 A: 1. D.lnny CaSt. "Y(Hun); 2. Conoy E.1ton (H on ). 250 B: 1. Cast")' Ya rro w (Yaml ;:z.. Fl'l.odd y roli (Ya m ). VET: I. Bill y Arbogas t (Su z) ; 2. Steve H all (Ya m ); 3. Jo hn Prot o (Yol ); 4. AIL Yarn>w (Ya m); 5. Rob Mdl"nnt·1I (H -D). m ln V INT TW : I . Eri c Wei"ler (Ya m) ; 2. Mdrty Lewi,

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