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
Some of America's finest riders got this view of Jeff Ward at Washougal'. National. Ward rode 1-2 for the win over Bob Hannah and Jim Gibson. AHA IZS/50oee National Championship" HX Series: Rounds 7/7 Be-II, Ward '. survive Washington crash fest By Karel Kramer Washington's Washougal motocross track opened the gates to the brutal natural terrain sections of the course reserved for the AMA's 125 and 500cc National riders and tested those riders to their limits. Former 500cc champ Mike Bell and Kawasaki's Jeff Ward survived and won their respective 8 classes, but not without conceding a few points to the track. Surprisingly, Bell and Ward both felt that their riding could have been better. The highly partisan and equally divided crowd, half Washingtonites and half Oregonians, packed the c1oud-shaded-and-often-misted-on hillsides and saw Johnny O'Mara, Jim Gibson, Mark Barnett, Danny Chandler, Goat Breker and Alan King let overall victory slip through their fingers when the handlebars of their respective works bikes did thesameat inopportune moments. To keep the winners honest, Yamaha's Bob "Hurricane" Hannah diced with Ward before finishing 3-1 to Ward's 1-2. In the 500s it was a points tie between Bell and Honda's Chuck Sun, with Team Yamaha's Bell having a better second moto finish. Darrell Shultz, current 500cc points leader, rode in pain to 7-8 finishes to stretch his lead in the 500cc National standings. Shultz said after the race, "This has been the toughest week I've had yet." He was sporting a massive tape job on his knee and an unusual duct tape bandage on his chest that he would not discuss. O'Mara and Barnett were both high and low during the day, O'Mara sawed 18 points off of Barnett's lead when Barnett DNF the first moto, Barnett -carn e back to take the 18 points back and add two in the second moto when O 'Mara fell in the third tum and left the race. " This year's track featured many natural sections that displayed the effects of three years of racing as pounding whoops. Added to these sections were parts of the normal Washougal track that included several ski-jump downhills. Supercross sections were added, presumably to keep speeds down and to add spectator enjoyment. Honda Team Manager Dave Arnold said of the track, " It was nasty! Rough everywhere and " the flat parts that looked loamy., weren't. They had soft dirt on a hard, slick base, like three inches of dirt on concrete. " 125cc National Barnett left the first turn in the lead after a first turn pile-up left Bob Hannah; Gary Denton and Roger Hensley on the ground, Jim Gibson and Johnny O'Mara back in the pack " and Jeff Ward with an injured and possibly broken ankle that would make life rough for him all day. Bar- . nett was followed by teammate George Holland, Ward (who was centerpunched, but did not f'lll) and Honda's Brian Myerscough.,O'Neal/Carrera/Suzuki rider Fritz Schlegal, who ended the day as top I25cc privateer, Honda-mounted Chappy Blose and a local shoe, Airway Heights Yamaha's Gary Kuest, filled in the top positions. Gibson and Hannah slashed through the pack from their poor starts and were with the front-runners on lap two. O'Marajoined them a lap later. By the fourth lap things looked settled in with Barnett on his way to a runaway win, like his ride here last year, followed by Holland, Ward, Gibson, Myerscough , Hannah, O'Mara and Ron Sun on a selfsponsored Honda. It was not to be. On the next circuit, Ward started to. recover from the .. . , ... pain in his ankle and began to driv on Barnett. Before they could develo a serious dice, Barnett went dow and came around in ninth plac . before dropping out altogether. Ward was on a roll by then and th only riders to see the "Teeni Meanie" from that point were thos watching him go by for the secon time. Hannah and Gibson both de moted Holland in the same lap. Han nah had come out of the pack an gone " around both Gibson an " ~: Mar~ , _I <.><.>~ ~ng far better on th