Cycle News

This time, the action looked more- ~ like motocross as riders seemed content Rhinestone ropes 'em again I I iJJ II: ::; « > II: J: u o ... III III J: 0. 'ove) Gaylon Mosier on the gas. (Facing page) Kent Howerton rrounded by Hannah's sprocket, Tony O:s crash and Billy The Bear. end of the eigh th lap Burgett, Mosier and Semics ran in fourth, fifth and sixth as The ~. struggled ~ hold a distant Howerton guided his Eric rlppa tuned factory Husqvama o his second overall victory in as any events in the AMA 500cc ational MX Series, styling all the ay. The reworked Lake Sugar ree circ uit len t itself to Hower- n's "oid style motocross" antics oviding th e Rhinestone Cowboy with enty of jumps and berms to use as nch pads for his berserko-looking- t-controlled cross-ups and wheelies. e day marked a refreshing return to werton's playful riding style which 'd been neglecting in favor of a .ous down to earth attempt to ride tit the top runners. "Yeah, I think we've got the bike tty well "R&Ded '." Eric Crippa eti ously quipped, poking fun at the earch and development term used Iier in Cycle News. "We're gonna op it off th at cliff (behind the motel) check th e suspension." The cliff test uldo't have any tougher way to try e Fox Shox and Husky forks than day's two 45 minute motos, wever, as Ken t scared the bike around track alway s under pressure from ers anxious to be tter th eir National int standings positions. rst mota An uninitiated spectator might have essed that st 500cc Nat ional round. The ding, heavily berrned course sented a passing problem according rider comments, and everyone med determined to attain an early Pierre Karsmakers completed the first tailed closel y by Bob Hannah, Tony Stefano, Rick Burgett and Gary mics, Howerton had gotten off a split ond behind but was charging along in olid eighth place. On the second lap, Rick Burgett, king as pumped as he's ever been, rtook both Tony D. and Hurricane nah positioning himself for a shot at rr e' s Hon da. Tony D. also got around a's .ex-BMX star (Hannali) and he was watching a e-minute sprint instead of a full gth moto judging by the furious ing th at filled the opening laps of the fell in behind the stocky Burgett. In th e next two minutes, Rick closed on the leader, th en passed to take the lead on the fourth lap ! But Burgett's turn at the helm ended less than a minute later when he stalled the factory Yamaha allowing both Karsmakers and DiStefano to repass. At the end of lap five, still only ten minutes into the long moto, DiStefano took the wide 'line as he and Pierre approached the finish line. The turn, one of the best chances to pass on the en tire track was to see a lot of action before the day would end. As The D. cut back in , th eir wheels hi t and Pierre wen t down. And Burgett, only seconds behind DiStefano, passed as the Dutchman got up before Pierre got going, both Hannah and his shadow Ken t Howerton also got past. Although he wasn't able to ride at peak capability, Karsmakers reclaimed th ird place.before another lap had been completed. At that point, lap six, the top five ran within an eight second bracket. And Burge tt was closing to push DiStefano for th e lead. As th e pair crested a hill, ·Tony took the wide line as his approach to the left-hander at th e top. Rick chose the inside line, and as he rocketed off the hilltop, Tony cro ssed his mid-air path. " I landed right on him !" Rick stated, "He came in right in front of me." " It spi t me right over th e bars! " Tony recalled, "I thought with The Jammer gone, it would be all righ t. I was really _ relaxed, then I got smashed." The impact pretzeled the Suzuki's left shock, bent the Yamaha's bars and stunned both riders, Karsmakers, but both remounted. Amazingly, only three riders, Hannah and Howerton, had passed. But Gary Semics and Gaylon Mosier had closed and a tight foursome formed. Burgett was able to hold th e pace; it was still only 15 minutes into th e moto, but DiStefano was riding with a rigid rear suspension and started to fade immediately. By th e seventhoThe crippled Suzuki even tu ally dragged DiStefano down to a 12th place in th e moto. Near the 20-25 minute point , after a lon g strong push, Kent Howerton overtook a tiring Bob Hannah for second. A problem with th e mon oshock fading, as it had the previous weekend at Southwick, had been improved but not completely cured, and Hurricane Hannah was ru nning out of wind. Hannah was for ced ou t shortly thereafter. As he leaned the DW26 into a berm, the rear sprocket hit a firmly imbedded rock breaking th e chain and destroying the alloy sprocket. The freak incident co st the Team Yamaha rider all hope of an overall top placing. Howerton steadily closed the gap on Karsmakers during the next five minutes, put the pressure on, and f"mally passed at approximately the 30 minute mark. Gaylon Mosier, riding for Team Maico Howerton with a little help from his friends at Wheelsmith, had settled the three-way argument with Burgett and Sernics and moved into third place. Semics maintained a secure fourth place over Burgett. The long and tiring moto ended with taking the win over Karsmakers, Mosier, Burge tt. Semics and Howerton's reaction ? No celebration, ye t. " I've gotta get a better start next time," Kent vowed. Second mota A pile up on the hairy Lake Sugar Tree firs t turn took out four riders as Rich Eierstedt started the chain reaction domino effect that also put Tony DiStefano , Gary Chaplin and DeWitt Knox on the ground. Tony D., seemingly the only rider hurt in the ' tumble, was stunned but eventually regrouped and got rolling again, almost a lap down. " I really wanted to do good in the 500cc series," Tony lamented, but being taken out in both motos was more than he could overcome. Bob Hannah had avoided the first turn wipe out and held down th e top spot on the opening lap . Ken t Howerton, true'to his word, had gotten off qui cker th is time and was giving Hannah something to th ink about in second place. Following Howerton were J oe Gretchen, Steve Stackable and Wayne Boyer. Mosier was ninth ; Karsmakers was lIth. Sernics was back in 14th. o III iJJ oJ > o to pace their strategy for the long moto, III Mosier, perhaps , was the one exception. Gaylon picked up two places on the first lap, two more on the second, and III on lap three moved into fourth place. " I like the 400cc bikes better than th e 25 0, " Mosier commented later, e "The people at WheeIsmith have helped a lot with the Maico," still followed Hannah, both riders apparently pacing themselves for a spring later on. Still, their steady tempo had' put a seven second space between them and Steve Stackable who in tu rn held a ten second advan tage over Mosier. In fifth , Billy Grossi was putting Once, near the ' 15-20 min ute mark, Howerton closed on Hannah and passed to hold the lead until near th e 30 minute point. Then Hannah repassed and Ken t, knowing th at he didn 't need to beat Hannah for the overall win , seemed content with secon d. Mosier narrowed th e gap on Stackable 's Suzuki, but when it ended, th e order stayed the same: Hannah, Howerton, Stackabl e and Mosier. Billy Grossi took fifth and Gary Sernics trailed in for a sixth. Following Howerton's dominan t 1-2 score, it was Mosier's steady 3-4 placings that earned second. Lack of consistency dropped Karsmakers' second placing in the first moto to th ird overall with his second round seventh. Gary Sernics took fourth with a 4-6 and Billy Gro ssi rounded ou the top five with a 6-5. Anticip ation of a works bike being claimed almost overshadowed the actual racing this week. Several factory teams seemed convinced that one of th eir machines would go up on the block; one team even went as far as to load up their bikes instan tly afte r the final moto and leave any would-be claimee in a "you bought it, now let's see you get it" situation. For a half hour following th e race, the AMA· referee . Ron Denny hosted an entourage ,representatives, of team each holdin g an envelope with claiming papers and check, ready to post counterclaims if necessary. The opportunity never came. No claims were made, and at th e second the referee's watch called a close to the claiming period. the group dispersed. 250cc Support Three factory supported riders crowned the Support class standings at Lake SugarTree, Mickey Kessler, one 'of Kawasaki's newest recruits, staged a perfectly executed I-I victory. Backing . Kessler's effort was Kawasaki tuner Steve Johnson, Jimmy Weinert's main man. With backing like that Mickey . didn't dare to lose . Giving Kessler something to worry about was Team Honda's Don Kudalski. " Killer" Kudalski, supporting start in the TV' version of the Daytona Supercross, bumped elbows with Kessler in the first moto before he fell and dropped to third behind Team Yamaha's Danny Turner. The second moto went to Kessler after some high pressure second place ridin g from Kudalsk.i. Don took the lead at approximately th e halfway point when Mickey went over a berm, but Kessler repassed only two laps from the finish to take the 1·1 overall victory. The intensely competi tive Support class, playing accompaniment to the National, made the Lake Sugar Tree event one of the hottest on record. • (Hus). 2. Gaylon Mosler 3-4 (Mal). 3. Plerre Karsm.lkws 2~7 (Hon). 4. Gary $emlcs 4-6 Results 500ce NATIONAL: 1. Kent Howerton 1.2 STANDINGS: 1. Kent Howerton 94; 2. Bob Hannah 72. 3. Gaylon MoSier 64; 4. Gary Semlcs 57; 5. Steve Stackab le 53; 6 . Pierre Karsmakers 49; 7. Tony DiStefano 43; 8. Billy Grossi 42; 8. John Ayers 42; 10 . Rick Burgett 38. 6-6ISUZ). 7. William Klein 8-9 (Vam). 8. Oran Wol e 1...8 (Yam). 9. Gary Duncan 14-10 (Kaw). 10. Curtis Hammons 13·11 (Hus). UNOFFICIAL 500co NAT'L POINT (Kaw ). 2. Don Ku dalskl 3..2 (Hon). 3. Dan Turner 2-4 (Yam). 4. Sam Dayton 4-3 (Suz) . 5. Donny Swartz 7-5 (Suz). 6. Arthur McCord lKaw). 5. Billy Grossi 6·5 ISuz). 6. Ste.e Staekable 13-3 tsue). 7. Tommy Croft 9-9 IHon). 8. Rick BUl'll"tt 5-13 (VarnI. 9. Mickey 900n. 11-8 (Suz). 10. Wayne Boyar 7·t2 IBul). 11. John Aye rs 10-10 (Ma l ). 12. Gary Chaplin 8-15 (S uz). 13. BOb . Harris 15-16 ICZ I. ' 14. Frank Stacy 16-19 (Pon). 15 . Francis Summey 25..11 (Suz). 16 . Jim Both 19-17 (Hus). 17. Mike Lonz 17·20. 18. Tony DIStefano 12·26 ISuz ). 19. Bob Hannah 40-1 (Vam). 20. Terry Tucker 20-21 (Vam). 250cc SUPPORT: 1. Mickey Kessler 1·1 10;1 Ei ~ Ten minutes into the race, Howerton r-- 0"\ ..... ~ in a good ride ahead of Bultaco's Wayne ~ Boyer. C'l C'l QJ I: l---) II: • 13

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