Race Watch
RACE WATCH
Lackey Tops in British MX GP, Read Doubles at Isle of Man, Tony D. Hangs Onto AMA 250 MX Title
LACKEY WINS BRITISH MX GRAND PRIX
American Brad Lackey set a U.S. record for motocross at the British Grand Prix: He won. It was the first time an American has been overall winner in a world-title motocross event. (And it can also be looked upon as proof that the latest works Honda bikes are as good as they looked when they appeared at the U.S. GP last month.)
Competing on the tricky but spectacular Fairleigh Castle circuit, near Bristol, Lackey took the first moto outright, holding off Sweden’s Bengt Aberg (Yamaha) and Dutchman Gerrit Wolsink (Suzuki) to do so. Heikki Mikkola (Yamaha) and defending world champion Roger DeCoster (Suzuki) were both absent at the checkered flag, owing to mechanical problems.
DeCoster, who has now given up all hope of retaining his title, was forced out of the second moto as well, but Mikkola, fresh after watching most of the first race from the sidelines, was unstoppable and won going away. Lackey, conscious of preserving his overall victory, motored home 4th behind a pair of British riders. John Banks (CCM) and Graham Noyce (Maico).
Lackey’s 23 points in the British round of the 500cc world MX championships solidified his hold on 4th place in the standings. With three-fourths of the 12round season completed, Lackey stands 60 points ahead of 5th-placed Herbert Schmitz (Maico) and within striking range of DeCoster himself.
BRITISH 500CC MX GRAND PRIX FAIRLEIGH CASTLE, ENGLAND RESULTS
WORLD 500CC MX CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 9 ROUNDS COMPLETE, 3 ROUNDS REMAINING
ROBERTS LEADS CAMEL PRO SERIES AT MID-SEASON
As the 1977 American Motorcyclist Association camel Pro Series made the turn into the second half of the season following the Sears Point showdown, Kenny Roberts was back on top in the points standings, shading Harley-Davidson factory ace Ted Boody by a single point.
Roberts’ 20 points for the victory at Sears lifted him from 3rd place, behind defending champ Jay Springsteen, to the front in the hot ’77 chase. Since Harley has no suitable road racing mount, neither Springsteen nor Boody were on hand at Sears, leaving Roberts with a clear shot at the midway lead.
The mid-season points position is important, since that’s when Camel hands out $25,000 in bonus money to the top 10 riders. The bonus for 1st place at the halfway mark was $8000. Second was worth $4000, 3rd $2500. Boody’s absence at Sears Point thus cost him $4000.
Another rider who benefited by his Sears Point appearance was Yamaha’s number two man Skip Aksland. By finishing a solid 2nd in the Sonoma Classic, Aksland ran his points total to 53, good for 9th place—and $1200—in the standings. Camel will divide another $75,000 in bonus money at season's end to the top 15 riders in the series.
CAMEL PRO SERIES STANDINGS MID-SEASON
READ WINS AT ISLE OF MAN
Phil Read Came out of retirement for the Isle of Man races and won both the Senior race and the Formula 1 race for Suzuki. Read also received a traffic citation. Seems he was checking the machine over during the evening, overdid things and went down. He wasn’t hurt but the police decided this was an improper time for testing and wrote Read up for insufficient tread, the tires being racing slicks. Read still said he enjoyed the event and might unretire for more races.
SHEENE LOSES ONE; MICK GRANT WINS ONE
It’s not news anymore when defending 500cc world road racing champion Barry Sheene wins—only when he loses. Thus Sheene’s 2nd-place finish in the Dutch GP at Assen, behind local Wil Hartog (Suzuki), is something worth noting.
However, it took a conspiracy of weather and bad luck to knock the British Suzuki rider out of the winner’s circle for the first time this year. A last-minute rear-wheel adjustment made a slight misalignment much worse, and during the early stages of the race, run in a downpour, the Suzuki handled badly. Sheene closed dramatically as the track began to dry but Hartog was not to be caught. Americans Pat Hennen (Suzuki) and Steve Baker (Yamaha) were 3rd and 5th, respectively.
The outing may have been bad news to Sheene, but it was a good day for Mick Grant, who gave Kawasaki its first Grand Prix win in the 250cc class.
Sheene returned to form in his next outing, winning the Belgian GP on the super fast 8.77-mile course at Spa-Francorchamps. In the process he put up a new track record with a lap at 137.067 mph and averaged 134.987. Baker and Hennen were 2nd and 3rd.
With five victories, one 2nd place and one boycott (at the Austrian GP, in protest of safety precautions there) in seven events, Sheene had a virtually insurmountable lead in the points standings with 87 to 58 over Baker. Hennen stood 3rd at 43 points
JAMMER GETS JAMMED—AGAIN
The L.A. Superbowl of Motocross was an all-too-brief bright spot in an otherwise gloomy year for Kawasaki motocrosser Jimmy Weinert. Four days after his great come-from-behind effort in the Coliseum, the Jammer, tuning up to chase the AMA open class MX title again (he won in 1974 and ’75), fell and broke his arm.
The injury was expected to sideline the Kawasaki team captain at least through early September, but Team Manager Tim Smith was hoping the Jammer would be able to compete in Europe this fall.
Weinert started the year with a pulled tendon in the ABC-TV Superstars series. After that it has a broken collarbone in April at Hangtown. The broken arm has Weinert’s fourth major injury in the past two years.
Weinert’s teammate Gary Semics was tagged to head Kawasaki’s open class effort.
THE WINNERS
Thanks to the AMA’s useful habit of staggering the various series during the season, several national titles have been decided by mid-summer.
Tony DiStefano is the 1977 250 Motocross champ, for Suzuki. Tony D. had three overall wins, to two for Marty Smith, Honda, who finished 2nd in the series. Jim Pomeroy, also Honda, was 3rd. The rest of the top 10 are Kent Howerton, Husqvarna, 4th; Tommy Croft, Honda, 5th; Jimmy Ellis, Can-Am, 6th; Bob Hannah, Yamaha, 7th; Chuck Sun, Husqvarna, 8th; Danny LaPorte, Suzuki, 9th, and Gaylon Mosier, Maico, 10th.
In the AMA’s two-day enduro series, the 125 class was won by Mike Rosso, Hercules. Winner of the 175 class was Drew Smith, also Hercules. The 250 title went to Jack Penton, whose brand of bike need not be named. Mike Hannon, the Bultaco man, won the 350 class and Kevin Lavoie, Penton, took the 500 class.
By stretching the definition of winners, it’s possible to report that the AMA board of trustees has assigned AMA Executive Director Barrie Best to be responsible for all AMA activity, which thus includes professional racing. Best has appointed Doug Mockett, Manhattan Beach, California, to the new job of commissioner of professional racing.
For the second season, as the TV people say, the AMA 500 motocross series opened at Lake Whitney, Texas with a surprise for the big teams. Steve Stackable won both motos on his 400AW Maico, first national win for Team Maico in some time. Second was Kent Howerton, also in both motos, for Husky.
Not to take away from Stackable and Howerton but the temperature was above 110 degrees F., both riders are Texans and are more accustomed to Texas summers than the riders from cooler sections of the country.
Marty Smith, Honda, was 3rd, Bob Hannah, Yamaha was 4th and Jim Pomeroy, Honda, was 5th. Howerton is defending champion, so if the first round is any sign, the big factories are in for a struggle.
BELL TO YAMAHA
Yamaha’s latest team motocross rider is Mike Bell, star of the support class at the
1977 U.S. GP. Bell, who finished 4th in the L.A. Superbowl of Motocross, will ride for Yamaha in the stadium events and then the support class for the AMA national 500 series and the Trans-AMA. That will give Bell the experience and exposure to Eastern tracks he’ll need, the team says, so in
1978 he’ll be ready for the open class events.
