Wolsink Waltzes In the 500cc Round At Carlsbad.

Wolsink Waltzes In The 500cc Round At Carlsbad.

USGP WRAP-UP

500cc USGP CARLSBAD

Kenny Roberts at Daytona and Roger DeCoster at Carlsbad have one thing in common, they lose when they’re supposed to win. This time, for DeCoster, it was a broken footpeg in the first moto and a kinked front-brake cable in the second that kept the four-time World Champion out of the competition. Still, it was a great day for Suzuki, because Roger’s teammate Gerrit Wolsink ran away with both motos.

Gerrit led the first race from wire to wire. He stretched out his lead each lap to win by a whopping 49 seconds. Parading behind the “Flying Dutchman” were teenage British sensation Graham Noyce and America’s Gaylon Mosier, both on Maicos. The battle between these first three was quick and decidedly in Wolsink’s favor. The rest of the field perhaps began slowly, but good riding and surprising performances lay ahead.

Recovering from poor starts, Brad Lackey and Jaak Van Velthoven were picking their way through the pack. Van Velthoven charged from 10th place to capture 4th by the moto’s end, while Lackey came from nearly dead last to chase Jaak’s KTM across the finish line.

Two veteran motocrossers, Maico s Adolf Weil and KTM’s Willi Bauer, were having bike trouble and just cruised through the moto. Bauer seemed to have trouble with his KTM’s rear suspension. Adolf Weil’s Maico was loading up.

While the crowd waited for the second moto to start, Husqvarna’s Kent Howerton waltzed away with his second Support class moto of the day. Howerton went to Carlsbad believing that he would ride in the GP class, but Husky had its hopes on Brad Lackey and wanted Kent to ride the Support class. Naturally, with no other national caliber riders present (Marty Smith, Bob Hannah, and many others were at a 125 National) Kent had no trouble sweeping the motos.

At the start of moto two, Honda’s Pierre Karsmakers shot into the lead with Gerrit in hot pursuit. For a few laps the Dutchmen battled, but the Honda, because of improper jetting, was no match out of the corners. On the fourth lap, Wolsink scampered past Pierre and that was all she wrote. Repeating his performance in the first moto, he stretched his lead. The rest of the field circulated around the track absolutely amazed at Wolsink’s talent.

However, the real racing was not taking place up front. Some big changes in positioning were beginning to take place. Surprise rider of the day, Tommy Croft, put his Honda into good position as the field sorted out and riders began to either slow down or > drop out. By the halfway point he was 4th. DeCoster was out. Noyce also dropped out with the same loading up problems that hampered Weil’s effort in moto one. Weil’s mechanic had overcome the problem and in this go-round he was on the gas. Unfortunately for Croft, his front wheel began disintegrating in the very late stages of the moto. The eleven spokes that parted company with the rim made it impossible for him to hold his position. Lackey and Weil both got by before the flag fell, but Croft put in a spirited ride nonetheless.

This was Wolsink’s third consecutive USGP victory. This year he dominated the race in such a blatant manner that people wondered if DeCoster could have matched the pace had he not encountered mechanical difficulties.

The factories had much to be pleased about. Suzuki had a great day. Wolsink won, and Steve Stackable took 4th in moto one behind Mosier. Honda took 2nd in moto two with Pierre aboard, while Croft’s ride displayed tremendous promise. Maicos followed the leader home in the first race, and managed a good showing in the second. Husqvarna’s lone entry, Brad Lackey, earned a 2nd overall for the day.

There was a lot of good riding at Carlsbad, just not much racing. Had Lackey not been on the track to provide two great comefrom-behind finishes, both motos would have been little more than single-file parades. 15]

500 GP RESULTS

1. Gerrit Wolsink . .(1-1) Suz 2. Brad Lackey .. .(7-3) Hus 3. Herbert Schmitz (5-8) Puc 4. Ake Jonsson .. .(10-4) Mai 5. Tommy Croft.. .(9-5) Hon 6. Steve Stackable (4-10) Suz 7. Jaak Van Velthoven .... .(6-9) KTM 8. Gaylon Mosier .(3-15) Mai 9. Adolph Weil... .(13-6) Mai 10. Terry Clark ... .(12-12) Kaw

250 SUPPORT

1. Kent Howerton .Hus 2. Bob Elliott .... .Suz 3. Gary Ogden .. .Suz 4. Chuck Lampe . , .Mai 5. Carlos Serrano .Kaw