Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Rick Johnson leads Donrlie Hansen in their hard-fought 250cc Pro struggle. Johnson won and also picked up the 125cc Pro win. Johnson shines at 15th annual Mammoth Mountain Motocross By Terry Whytal MAMMOTH LAKES , CA, JUNE 25-27 The most exciting Pro race ever to excite the fans at Mammoth took place on Sunday as Honda's newly crowned 250cc National Champ, Donnie Hansen, and the man he defeated for the title, Yamaha sensation Rick Johnson, battled wheel to wheel for the entire 45 minute plus-two-lap final race. 10 Johnson came up the winner by a bikelength but not until the lead had changed nearly 20 times between the two leaders. "I just worked my own pace," exclaimed Johnson after taking the checkers, " and tried not to lose my mind. I think I proved to myself that I'm as good as I thought." By comparison, Johnson 's 125cc Pro win on Saturday was pretty ro utineafterthe "T oo Hipp Kid" grabbed the lead on the power robbing u p hill start and pulledto'an 18 second lead at the halfway point. A flat in the ' final two laps allowed runner-up David Bailey to close within four seconds at the finish but Johnson remained in control and won without panic. Bailey was the star on Friday as he powered his Honda 480 to the Open Pro win. Suzuki star Warren Reid pulled to a commanding early lead but fell victim to a seized motor. Bailey inherited the front position and soon opened a huge lead on the field. As expected, the Mammoth Mountain course was prepped and maintained in exemplary fashion with most riders enthusiastic about th e challenging 8000' track. Noted Bai- ley, " T h is place is decent. It's definitely super, I just hope it's as rough as it 's ever going to get!" Credit for the fine event goes to Dave McCo y, T .]. Johnson and Dennis Agee, and all the many folks from the Mammoth ski area who helped run and organize the race . Also a special thanks to all the event sponsors including O'Neal, Bel-Ray and Yamaha just to mention a few. Friday Yamaha rider Bob Moore ran away with the Mini final and captured enough points to win the overall. Tony Flores picked up second place on his Yamaha while Honda ace Mouse McCoy was th ird. Maico-rnounted Phillip Baron powered to the Open Junior win despite strong competition from second overall finisher Robert Da y (Hon), Werner Maas (Hon) posted third overall. . The Open Intermediate win went to Maico pilot Rusty Baron trailed by Honda rider John Miller and Chris Mallory (Mai) . The Pro final blasted up the start hill with Honda rider Steve Banning in the lead position. Banning soon faded with unknown bike problems and Warren Reid moved his Suzuki into the lead after passing Honda! LOP rider J im Tarantino. Reid soon opened a commanding lead while Bailey worked his way into the number two slot. Suddenly Reid was out with aseized motor and Bailey took over the lead. Juan Benavidez caught fire back in the pack and began picking off com petitors at a furious pace, riding a borrowed Honda 480 that he had never ridden before . Near the final laps Benavidez moved into second and actually began closing on Bailey before taki ng ;i' hea der and dropping back to fourth where he would fin ish. Tarantino picked up the second place share of the $14,000 purse with Honda rider Jim Ellis grabbing third ahead of Benavidez and Yamaha-mounted John Whelchel. " It's too bad Reid's bike quit," commented Bailey later, "I think we would have had a good race. " Saturday Lucas Reynolds wicked his Suzuki to the 125cc Junior class win by defeating rivals Mike McCrale (Hon) and Jim Hanna (Suz), 2-3respectively. Honda-mounted Marco Folchi aced the 125cc Intermediate race despite the efforts of runner-up John Condon (Yam). . Five seconds after the gate dropped for the 125cc Pro final the outcome was set as Rick Johnson moved his factory Yamaha into the front position going up the start hill. Suzuki rider Gary Bowman stayed close to . Johnson throughout the first few laps and nearly grabbed the lead on lap three before Johnson shut the door and pulled away from the field by nearly two seconds a lap. Bailey and Reid had both gotten mediocre starts and were picking their way through the pack. Reid's bad luck stayed with him and he dropped from the race after taking a tumble. Bailey kept on the gas and finally worked into second place at the halfway mark, blas ting past Bowman with a full-throttle pass on the Carrera Sweeper. . Johnson kept a safe 18-20 second lead on Bailey until two laps from the checkers. " I kep t hitting this rock coming out of one turn," explained Johnson, " by the time I got the two lap signal the rear tire was completely flat !" Bailey began a furious charge to reel in Johnson but time ran out-with