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/142448
Bruce Ogilvie (66) leads the start of the first moto. Following are Dan Ashcraft (5 9), Larry Roeseler (partiall y hidden) and Tom Kelly (67). SCORE/Bridgestone Off-Road Wor.ld Championship Roeseler reels in Riverside win By Dale Brow~ Photos by Skip Johnson and Brown RI VERSIDE, CA, AU G . 7 "I knew I had one more chance," grinned Larry Roeseler after taking the overall victory in Class 22 at the SCORE/Bridges tone Off-Road World Championship at Riverside Inter n ational R acewa y. T he Yamaha pilo t had finis hed second to Husq varna 's Tom Kelly in the first moto, bu t came 16 back and was leading the second when Kelly dropped both the bike ' and the challenge. Roeseler 's partner in the long distance SCORE races, Chuck Mill er, came up with a close win in 'the 250cc Class 21, g-oing 3-1 to best Kent Pfeiffer's 2-2. First moto winner J eff Kap lan cra shed in th e second round and ended up th ird overa ll. Yamaha-mounted Donnie Morrison had little trouble winning th e I25cc Class 20,.posting a pair of wins. In Class 30, for riders over 30, Michael Goodwin and Steve Bell each earned a first and a second with the overall win going to second moto winner Bel l. It was the same story for the two riders in Class 38, with Lynn McGraw winning th e second rac e to defeat David Miller. Riders competed in two heats of 15 laps over the 1.5-mile off-road course laid ou t around th e north end of th e road racing co urse. . Competition in thi s year's event was pretty much limited to SCORE regulars. Wins in past SCORE River- side events often went to motocross specialists, but this year a new rule was put into force , requiring riders to have ridden at least two of the regular SCO RE desert events in order to get a Riverside entry. Each class had its own wave start, with the O pe n Class 22 machines going first. Honda 's Bruce Ogilvie, who'd only ridden the CR480R the day before the race, grabbed the lead ahead of Husky's Dan Ashcraft, Roeseler and Kelly . The 250s were led by Kent P feiffer and Kap lan , with Morrison and Bill Matto x in front of the 125s. H usky-mo unte d Richard Jackson was a top the Class 30 ranks, as was McGraw in Class 38. Up in front, Ogi lvie continued to lead over Ashcraft, Roeseler and Kelly. The top fo ur were very tigh t, keep ing the crowd on its toes. Kap la n ha d taken over the Class 21 point position with Miller in closest pursuit. The four-way ba ttl e for the lead became a th ree-way batt le when Ashcraft'crashed a few laps into the race. He was soon back up and running in fourth , but no longer a threat to the leaders. Midway through the race, Roeseler and Miller dropped Ogilvie to third. "I've been riding a 250 all year," said Ogilvie between heats, " and I wasn't riding the Open bike properly. You 're supposed to make the bike do all th e work, and it was working me ." Roeseler's time out front was brief, wi th Kelly taking over the lead a fter a la p . Roeseler and Ogil vie both stayed close, but Kelly ran out front to the checkered flag. Kaplan and Miller took the 250cc- battle almost to the checkered flag. • Miller was battling with the H onda pilot for the lead before he wasted the fro nt wheel on the last lap and dro p ped to third behind Kent Pfeiffer. Kent's brother Scott finished fourth. Morrison took the 125cc win after leading all the way. The third P feiffer brother, Kurt , was second ahead of Bill Mattox. Yamaha -mounted Michael Good- . .win was the Cla ss 30 winner, finishing 24th overa ll. Steve Bell was second and J ackson third. Defending class ch amp ion Rick Sh irey fell on the pa vemen t and finished fo urth, severa l lap s do wn. Arizo na's David Miller , who has won Cla ss 38 at this race the past th ree years, took the wi n in th is first rnoto, with Lynn McGraw finishing second in spite of ri di ng with a bro ken collarbone . In the p its between races, Roeseler changed the jetting in his bike to try and eliminate pinging experienced in the first event. Whe n they came off the line for the second time, Ogilvie again led with 'Kelly, Ashcraft and Roeseler in pursuit. Bill Boyer (Hon ) was out in front of Ken t P feiffer, Miller and Kaplanin the 250s. Kurt P feiffer and Morrison ran 1-2 in the 125s. Bell ied the Class 30 troops and McGraw was . in the Class 38 lead . . Kelly grabbed the lead from Ogilvie on the second tourof the course, wi th Roeseler mov ing into second on lap three. Bo yer stayed out in front of Class 21, where Kaplan was in th e