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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overall in the Desert Rats twoman team race. Early leaders Curt Harpham (490cc Mai) and Howard Pickett (250cc Han) dropped back to finish second after mechanical troubles slowed their charge. Fall seems to be the popular time for team racing in Idaho, so the Rats sponsored this IOO-miler for the eager troops. Features included three 33mile laps and riders were required to ride through the checkpoints together. There were no Expert or Novice class divisions, only Heavyweight, Lightweight (one bike 200cc or less) and Old Timers. Minis were given their own special course and did separate into Expert and Novice classes. For a change, there was no local motocross scheduled the same day, so a few MXers showed up to the amazement of all. At II a.m., 58 riders lined up for the charge to the smokebomb. Local Pro MXers Warren and Ed Hickman were openly boasting about smoking the desert crowd; a few of the hot desert racers overheard this and pumped themselves up a little more. When the banner dropped, desert stars Pickett and Harpham jumped into the lead with Henry and Dice right behind. Warren Hickman (49Occ Yam) and partner George Collingham (490cc Yam) were third with Ed Hickman (250cc Yam) and Mike Dellgard (250cc Yam) running fourth. This order remained through the first lap. Midway through ·the second lap, . Pickett missed a turn and Henry and Dice slipped by and into ~he lead. Pickett and ,Harpham rejoined the fray in second 'and appeared to be closing ground when Pickett's shock blew on the last lap. Riding smooth and smart, Henry and Dice held the lead into the finish . Pickett and Harpham kept their second to the finish, a real tribute to Pickett's ability to ride fast even w,ith a bad shock. Ed Hickman and Collingham finished a distant third, proving to the snickering crowd that fast MXers don't necessarily make fast desert racers. Warren Hickman and Dellgard kept their fourth. Fifth overall and first Lightweights were Chuck Wells (2oocc Yam) and Jim Michaelson (490cc Yam), and the second lightweights, Bill Earll (430cc Hus) and Nick Wakefield (l25cc Yam) were right behind in sixth overall. The first Old Timers were Leroy Smith (480cc Hon) and Dean Huskey (490cc Yam) in 15th overall. The Mini Expert class was won by Steve James (Hon) and Dexter Humbard (Hon) and the Mini Novice was won by Lee Rush (Yam) and Brian Rush (Yam). Rick Burgett flew to the 250cc Expert win at the PIR Vanport GP. Gerbers win Paul Holt Memorial team race By Steve Hammer KNOLLS, tiT, NOV. 14 Allen Gerber and his nephew Shawn swept into first overall in the first annual Paul Holt Memorial team race. Riding 495 26 KTMs, the duo picked up $1,000 for their "impressive victory. breaking up' the swarm of Utah racers, Idaho pilot Ron Dillon and Dan Lees picked up second overall and $500 on their YZ490 Yamahas. Sponsoring club, the Salt Lake Bees, named the race after Paul Holt, a young, popular member of the cl ub who died in July while laying out the course. The race featured a $2600 guaranteed purse and six different classes from the "A" Pro teams to the "E" mixed teams, and even three.wheelers. At 10 a.m. the Pros lined up to race three 35-mile laps. When the banner dropped, the race was on and, boy, it was fierce and interesting from the start! Swooping into' the lead was K ~in Bogue (490cc Yam) and Kevin Jones (250cc Yam). About 15 miles out, the course hit the first stretch of dry lake bed, but surprise, it was soggy from recent rain. Jones' 250 quickly seized under the s.train and the first fast team was out. This disaster, plus some quick riding, put the talented Howard brothers, Harvey (25Occ Hon) and Bob (480cc Hon) into a comfortable lead coming into the pits after the first lap. Just behind the Howards were a bunch of talented racers who were knocking heads. Allen and Shawn Gerber were flying just ahead of Ron .Dillon and Dan Lees. Mark Jones (43Occ Hus) and Kim Leydsman (49Occ _Yam) were running fourth, with David Spencer and George McQuiston ·running fifth. The course was very flat and fast, and Open class bikes were chewing up the smaller bikes. The leading teams were running the 35-mile lap in about 38 minutes, even with mud on the salt flats that buried a couple of 125s up to the gastanksl A. special feature was the Pepsi Challenge, which gave $100 to the fastest bike across the flats. Because of soggy conditions, the fast time was a sluggish 82 mph and was run by both Mark Jones and Paul Chilton. As the second lap progressed, the Dillon/Lees team slipped by the Gerbers and into second. This only lasted for a few miles, however, as Dillon missed a turn while daydreaming and lost about five minutes while regaining the course. This put the Gerbersback into second and the Jones/Leydsman team into third with Dillon/Lees fourth. The Howard brothers still held a commanding lead heading out on the third and final lap, but sometimes the gods of racing are cruel and Harvey seized his 250 just before check one, putting them out of the race. This threw the Gerbers into the lead which they held to the end. The Dillon/Lees team slipped back ahead of the Jones/Leydsman team to fin-. ish second, with Jones/Leydsman third. Spencer/McQuiston held fourth with Todd Henneman and Mike Clark fifth. The first "B" team (riding for trophies, with'only one Expert rider per team) was Scott Phillips and Roger Braithwaite coming in ninth overall. The first "C" team (both riders Novices) was Bruce Grandin and Les Miklosy in 11th overall and the first "D" team (father and son) was 12year-old Boe Bland and dad Terry, the famous first winner of Cherry Creek. The winners of the mixed class (male-female) were Joel Quinn and daughter Joy, and Jack Overfield and Dan Holmes won the Old Timers division. Overall, club members and racers alike were extremely pleased with the first running of this annual event. One hundred thirty two entries were reported, with only three minor injuries occurring. For next year's event, the Bees (who also put on the Widowmaker Hillclimb) have pledged a guarante'ed $15,000 purse, with a bigger and better Grand Prix course running through Wendover! Watch for this one, r·acers! Results OVERALL: 1, Steve Henry (Hon)/Cun Dice (Mai); 2. Cun Harpham (Mai)/Howard Pickett (Hon); 3. George Collingham {Yaml/Warren Hickman (Yam); 4. Mike Dellgard {Yam)/Ed Hickman (YarT'l); 5. Chuck Wells (Yam)/Jim Michaelson'(Yam); 6. Bill Earll (Hus)/Nick Wakefield (Yam); 7. Mike Deines (Yam)/Kelly Fulfer (Yam); B. Doug Robens (Hon)/ Sam Taylor (Kawl; 9. Rick Stool man {Yaml/Reed Bright (KTM); 10. Ron Wehr {Yaml/Darrin Obendorf (Yam). HEAVYWEIGHT: 1. Steve Henry/Cun Dice; 2, Cun Harpham/Howard Pickett;.3. George Collingham/Warren Hickman. LIGHTWEIGHT: 1,Jim Michaelson/Chuck Wells; 2. Bill Earl/Nick Wakefield; 3. Kelly Fulfer/Mike Deines. OLD TIMERS: 1. Dean Huskey/Leroy Smith; 2. Bob Dillon/Dan Muller, MINI NOV: 1. Lee Rush/Brian Rush. MINI EX: 1. Dexter Humbard/Steve James. Results OVERALL: 1. Allen Gerber (KTM)/Shawn Gerber (KTMI; 2. Ron Dillon (Yaml/Dan Lees (Yaml; 3. Mark Jones (Hus)/Kim Leydsman (Yam); 4, David Spencer/George McQuiston; 5. Todd Henneman/Mike Clark; 6. Randy Lindsey/Dave Vogeler; 7. Paul Chilton/Preston Gerber; B. Dick Young/Joe Freedom; 9. Scott Phillis/Roger Braithwaite; 10. Scott Gerber/Mike Johnson; 11. Bruce Grandin/Les Miklosy. . Henry, Dice win Rats Team Race Klettke, Burcett, Wylder Superblke It at PIR GP By Steve Hammer MURPHY, ID, NOV. 14 Steve Henry (480cc Hon) and . Cu~t Dice (25Occ Mai) took first By Brien Bemes I POR.TLAN~, OR. NOV. 14 Portland International Raceway hosted the final race of this year's inaugural Vanport GP Moto Fun series today, and what a race it was. The PIR course was nearly three miles long, with asphalt, gravel, grass and dirt making up the track. Riders climbed to speeds nearing 100 mph while flying down the high speed front straight. A r-ight turn off the course then took participants through the woods section. The course was similar to tlte Superbikers race and everyone commented how much fun the race was. Thirty-six 125cc class riders took off for the first moto of the day and it was quite a sight watching all 36 bikes screaming down the asphalt quarter-mile after a dead engine start. Kawasaki-mounted Jerry Pillar and and Randy Jungwirth led the pack on the first lap followed by Grayson Hart (Yam), Mike Klettke (Suz) and another Yamaha rider, Bill Holtman. Jungwirth led Pillar until problems dropped him from the race, leaving Klettke, Darrin Currier (Yam) and Suzuki rider Ron Robinson to battle for the second 45 minutes. The hour and a half mota started to take its toll on the small bikes as the race wound into its final laps. Klettke got by Pillar with four laps remaining and won. Pillar was second, Robinson third, Craig Clark (Yam) fourth and Currier was fifth. The 250cc Expert/Amateur race saw 41 bikes start the race and after only five hips it looked like the race would bea runaway. Ron Sun (Honda support/MX Fox) had a giant lead after following the Suzuki mount of Randy Hubbard the first lap. Sun overtook Hubbard on the high speed quarter mile straight and had seemingly rocketed to a giant advantage. Rick Burgett (Yamaha/MX Fox), Eric Burkinshaw, Craig Koski, Rick Wylder (Kaw support) and Kyle Hall (Han) were in the next five spots with Wylder later moving into the third position behind Burgett. Lap 15 brought disaster for Sun when his bike seized, ending his hopes for a runaway win. Burgett took over with Wylder close behind and the two diced for several laps until Burgett pulled a small lead and cashed in for the win. Wylder was a solid second, Burkinshaw third, Koski fourth and Husky-mounted Gary Gump fifth. Sixty-seven Open and 30-and-Over riders raced down the strip for the last GP of the day and Rick Burgett again was up front. Burgett led Bill Cop, Randy Thompson and Wylder (mounted on the 250 he'd just raced the moto before) in the first four spots. Thompson got the lead for two laps after Burgett's bike expired on lap four, and Wylder took over on lap six, riding to a fairly easy victory over Thompson, Rory Mooneyham, Cop and Chris Washburn (Yam). Look for' more of this type of race to be featured next season at PIR as this was a very successful race that was enjoyed by everyone in attend· ance. • Results 125 AM: 1. Chuck Goodrich; 2. RlIY 'Gamon; 3. Brae Ross; 4. Paul RhllY; 5. Michael Simantal. 125 EX: 1. Mike Klettke; 2, Jerry Piller; 3, Ron Robinson; 4, Jeff Miles; 5. Darrin Currier. 250 AM: 1. Phillip Siri; 2. Roben Hamilton; 3. Frank Cornelison; 4. Walt Bianchini; 6. Ron Steven· son. ' 250 EX: 1. Rick Burgett; 2. Rick Wylder; 3, Eric Burkineh_: 4. Craig lCo8ki; 6. Gary Gump. OPEN AM: 1. David Morton; 2. Todd Luall; 3. Kenny Hedden; 4. Dan Huffman; 6. Bill Crenah_. OPEN EX: ,. Rick Wylder; 2. Randy Thompeon; 3. Rory Mooneyham; 4. Bill Cop; 6. Chris Washburn. 30 AND OVER: 1. Larry 81_; 2. Ron Long; 3. Doug RhIy; 4. Phillip NorItrom; 5. Greg Autry.

