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/142447
Jim Gibson (8), Br ian Myerscough (1 7 5 ), Johnny O'Mara (9) and George H oll and (b ehind O'Mara) lead the first moto start. Jo hnny 0' rode hard , but he wasn't in the hunt today. New 5 0 0 cc Champ, Darrell Shu ltz , rode a very conservat ive race. New 1 2 5 cc Champion , Mark Bar nett sewed up the win in the first m ot o. Yamaha beh ind. jim Holley was in 10th until th e late laps. Bell was way out front and feeling, and righ tly so, like it was in th e bag. His record since starting the Na tionals late incl uded four top th ree finishers in a ro w and a win in Wash ington . With o nly a few min u tes lef t to go, Bell came slowly up the "Freeway" with th e rear suspensio n at full co m p ressio n . Bell was ua nbleto co n ti n ue and Breker happily inherited the lead and won . King followed in seco nd , but G ro ssi was not in th ird at the flag. A chain problem o n the last lap put hi m down and in to 13th p lace . Su n , Ke ll e r , Can talou pi, Rhyan , Locey, Ell is, Holley a nd La rso n made up the to p 10. Gerig a n d his Swedish steel led th e way to th e first turn agai n in mota two! Sun foll o wed while being tai led by Bell, King, "Unknown j erome" H eiberger on a Maico a nd Breker. La rso n a nd Kell er had their o wn ba ttle behind a nd were almost in separable for the seco nd week. The race settled quickly into a Bell / Sun / King race. King moved past Su n and got down to the busine ss of gi vin g the spectat ors their mo ney 's wo rt h. Nineteen m in u tes into th e mo to, King made h is big push o n Bell. T he ne x t lap th ey were side by side in th e mechanic's a rea , and Kin g m ade an a ttem p t before th e ledge tha t was n o g o o d . Going into " Ra u lesna ke Gulch " Bell a nd King were in tra ffic a nd King came out in the lead! Bell repa id the favor do wn th e " Freeway ," where most of th e day's passin g took p lace, and rega ined th e lead. King mad e a massive block pas s before the ledge in front of th e bleachers.:Bell used th e passing lane on the "Freeway" o nce more befo re h is bike protested th e treatment and he was forced to wa tch King go. Keller a nd Larso n moved th eir duel i nto the 4-5 slo ts and Holle y pu t hi s Yamaha into sixth from a start o utside th e to p 10. Cantalou p i, Ell is, Locey and H eiberger filled th e top 10. Mickey Kessler and Ge rig were 11-12. " I j us t h ad to get th e last o ne of th e year! " sa id King in exu lta tion, "I o we th is o ne to Suzuki , my mechanic a nd Mark Barn ett. Mark got me down here practicing and sho wed me how to train, showed me what it takes to be a champion . I've never wo rked like that before.!" Shultz was in trospective in victory, "This was a tough one; 1 had a couple of setbacks...m y crazy days are be hind me now. 1 lik e winning! It on ly ta kes me two or th ree hundred injuries to rea lize wha t I' m doing wrong." 125cc National American H onda-spo nso red Brian Myerscough, hot after winning h is qualifier, ho les h o t the first 125cc moto, just a hea d o f H o nda team mates Jim G i bson and johnny O'Mara. Before the end of the first lap, Myersco ugh had fallen to Gibson and the h ard- ch arging Suzuki of George H o ll a nd. Championshi p point-leader Mark Ba rnett was .back in nimh place, bu t moving up fast. By lap four , Barnet t was fifth . by la p five he was third. On lap four the leaders were already lapping riders. O 'Ma ra , who had to win this mota to gain a remote chance at the Champio nsh ip, passed HoIland and began reeling in Gibson . R idin g only o ne seco nd away fro m the lea d, J oh nn y 0 ' tan gled with o ne of the lapped riders a nd went down. "I got up in fifth, " sa id O 'Ma ra, " .. .1 got one of the rid er s (Myerscough), that was about it." O'Mara's fourth p lace fin ish was a hard bl ow to j ohnn y. Not on ly was his class th e o n ly championsh ip Honda has not ta ken th is year, but between crashes this week and last, he was p hysically hurti ng from head to toe as well. Closing in at the half, Barnett was still working o n thi s year, passing teammate H olland and setting his sights on G ibso n. When the first mota clock ran down, Barn ett , after a mediocre start, was j ust six seconds back from leader Gi bson and not the least ashamed of it. Barnett was the new 125cc Nationa l Champion, whether he raced the next moto or not. For this Cha mpionship, it was all over but the champagne, or so it seemed. Behind Ba rnett ran Holland, O 'Mara, Myerscough, privateer Sch legal, Bo w m a n , R o n Turner (Hon), Chris Heisser (Suz) and Rick Maki (Kaw ), T he second 125cc molO st arted much like the first, exce p t that Barnett was in th e top three a nd Myersco ug h was buried in th e pack. Gibso n holeshot with H olland and Barneu right o n hi s fender. The track was instantly a live with whistles and shouts as the three lead ers ran side by side on the straights and bunched together in th e turns. Holland passed Gibson on the first lap, but he couldn't pull away. You could literally place th e leaders by listening to the crowd and following th eir a tten tio n. Holland's drive soon fell short of that of Gibson and Barnett, but still no one could pull away. Finally, on th e third lap, Barnett wicked it up off " Ledge" a nd down " Freeway" to beat Gibson to th e big berm at th e bouorn. The new cha m p io n then pulled aw ay in th e very position a ch a m p io n should. Holland put in his best ride of th e season , hanging on to Gibson a nd o vert a kin g him by th e checkers to tak e the runner-up honors for Suzuki. After th e secon d moto, Barnett ad mined to riding ca u tio usly the first round, especia lly since he had such a poor sta rt. But wh en O'Mara didn't win th e fir st contest , " a ll the pressure was off ," sa id Barnett. 1 could go for the win. Ever y time 1 race 1 wan t to win anyway , but it was just a little easier this time." • Results 125cc NATIONAL: 1. Mark Barnett (Sliz) 2-1; 2. J im Gibson (Han) 1-3; 3. George Holl and (Su z) 3 -2 ; 4 . Johnny O'Mara (Han) 4-4; 5. Brian Myerscough (Han) 5 -7 ; 6. Fritz Schlegel (Suz) 6-B; 7. Gary Bow man (Suz) 9-6; 8 . Ron Turner (Han) 12-5 ; 9. Chris Heisser (Suz )8-11 ; 10 . Rick Maki (Suz) 13-10; 11 . Rick Ryan (Suz! 11 -12 ; 12 . M ichael Brow n (Han ) 7-"; 13 . Gary Denton (Suz) 23 -9; 14. J eff Wa rd (Kaw) 10-"; 15 . Russ Wageman (Suzl 8 - 13; 16. Patr ick Hubbs (Suz) 20 -14; 17. Ted 8rady (Han) 19 -15 ; 18 . Frank Lamp (Suz) 17 -17; 19 . Chr is Howard (Yam ) 14 -" ; 20 . Roger Hensley(S uz) 15 -8 ; 21 . David Weak (Suz) 21 -16; 22 . Doug Dubach (Yam) 16 -" ; 23 . Troy Blake (Yam) 8 -18; 24 . Dean Cates (Han) 1B-25; 25 . Lou ie Franco (Han ) " -19; 26 . Doug Jackson (Yam ) " -20. 500cc NATIONAL: I . A lan King (Suz) 2-1 ; 2. Chuck Sun (Han) 3 -3 ; 3. Jo J o Keller (Han ) 4-4; 4 . Donnie Cantaloupi (KTM) 5-7 ; 5. Phil Larson (Han) 19 -5 ; 6. J im Holley (Yam) 9-6; 7. J immy Ellis (Han) B-8 ; 8 . Tim Locey (Yam ) 7 -9 ; 9. Goat Breker (Kaw) 1-"; 10 . M ike Bell (Yam) 28 -2 ; 11. DavidGerig (Hus) 12 -12; 12 . M ich ael Kessler (M ai) 16 -1 1; 13 . Steve Rhyan (Han ) 6 -" ; 14 . Bill Grossi (Hus) 13-15; 15 . Don Gr iewe (Suz) 17 - 13; 16 . Kevin Davis (Ma i) 14 16; 17 . J erom e Heib erg er (M ai ) " -10; 18 . Tom Carson (Ma i) 18 -14; 19. Andy Stacy (Mai) 15 -17 ; 20 . Darrell Shu ltz (Han) 11 - ' ; 21 . Michael Bradshaw (Hus) 22 -18 ; 22 . Scoote r Staf ford (Yam) 21 -19 ; 23 . Bill Jewell (Ma i) 19 -'; 24 . Robert Schulz (Yam) 23 20 ; 25 . John Finkelday (KTM) 20 -' . AMA I 25 cc NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Mark Barn ell (339); 2. Joh nn v O'Mara (31 4); 3. J im Gibson (285); 4 . Jeff Ward (270 ); 5 . George Holland (263); 6. Bob Hannah (20 6); 7. Gary Denton (Suz); B. Er ik Kehoe (156); 9. Ron Turner (144); 10 . Chr is He isser (139); I 1. Brian MyersCDugh (10 3); 12 . Troy Blake (92 ); 13 . Doug Jac kson (90) ; .14 . (TIE)Fritz Schlegel/David Preston (54); 16 . Mike Beier (66 ); 17. Rick Ryan (64) ; 18. M ichael Preston (54 ); 19 . Jeff Surwall (47); 20 . Karl Jordan (3B). AMA 500cc NATIONAL CHAMPIONSH'IP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Darrell Shultz (2B5 ); 2. Chuck Sun (275); 3 . Alan King (273); 4 . M ike Bell (240) ; 5. Goat Breker (233); 6. Danny Chandler (219); 7. Phil Lar son (193); 8. Jo Jo Kell er (1B5); 9. John Finkelday (159); 10 . M ichael Kessler (126); 11 . Jeff Hicks (123); 12 . Bill Grossi (121); 13 . J immy Ellis (120); 14 . Jerome Heiberger (1 15 ); 15 . Kent Howerton (103 ); 16 . J im Holley (73 ); 17. Kevin Davis (72); 1B. Andy Stacy (67 ); 19 . Tom Carson (61); 20 . Eric McKenna (53) , 7