Usgp Carlsbad Experience Makes the Difference
USGP CARLSBAD EXPERIENCE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
Bad Brad Took One Moto, Mike Bell Put on a Show, and Gerrit Wolsink Paced Himself to Another USGP Win.
Fred Caldwell
Whats a four letter word to describe this GP? Ask the 31 riders and the thousands of fans on hand and you'll get a unanimous answer: HEAT! The riders knew they were in for a killer when the temperatures climbed into the high 90s during Saturday's practice. Sunday brought no relief. For the race watchers, the best vantage point was from atop a loaded ice-chest. As for the riders, it looked like endurance would be the winning ticket.
Going into the U.S. round, after four events, there were five riders looming large.
British Honda teamster Graham Noyce led in points, with 77. Honda is still working on the exact form their open bike should be—engine si ¿es at Carlsbad ranged from 360 to 450 cc—and Noyce has been riding with his head.
Heikki Mikkola had 70 points. This was a tremendous accomplishment. Weeks before the series began, the reigning champ suffered a severe knee injury. Doctors said he’d be out for three months. Five weeks later he was racing and winning.
Brad Fackey recently switched from Honda to Kawasaki, partially on the strength of Kawasaki's commifmenCto w inning'ttye title and partially because of Kawasaki’s Uni-Trak. Between the switch and the U.S.G.P., Team Kawasaki underwent trauma' in the form of suspension tuning, engine development and even frame breakage. They figured they had it right for the home field—Lackey picked up 69 points and three moto wins—but they couldn't really know.
Garrit Wolsink is stolid and strong'>and has ridden for several years in the shadow' of Roger DeCoster. Wolsink also wins at Carlsbad on a regular basis. Steady riding during the early season earned him 56 points.
DeC'oster. of course. Surely the bestknown name in motocross and long a crowd favorite, in the U.S. as elsew here in the world. Rumor has it he’ll retire at the end of the year. There's also no doubt Roger D. would like to retire as world champion. DeCoster also had a pre-season injury, a broken collarbone, from w hich he recovered in record time. And he had a works Suzuki with the darnedest leading/ trailing/fork front suspension seen in years. The design is an attempt at reducing the radical change in rake and trail associated with long travel forks. It is a total departure from normal suspension design, but doesn't seem to be completely perfected yet. DeCoster's bike looked prone to tank shippers on Carlsbad's rough uphill section.
When the gafe for the first moto dropped .
It didn't. At least not for everyone. The left half of the gate fell open, the right half stayed put. holding back most of the riders.
Before the AMA official at the end of the* starting chute could grab his red flag, seven ridersTlévv by. And worst of all. guess w ho was leading? Lackey! The Magnificent Seven, thinking the race was on. stormed around the track for one full lap before they could be red-flagged. Lackey was boiling. He was later heard to comment to Mikkola, “If this race was in Finland, you know they would have kept on going.”
At the restart, Andre Vromans from Belgium on a Suzuki grabbed the holeshot followed by Mikkola. Jimmy Weinert, Mike Bell, and Noyce. Weinert immediately took over second place.
The character of the face changed instantly.
At the lowest part of the track there’s a natural creek, aided for thrs event by the track’s sprinkler system. It was a bog. a quagmire, crossable only by getting a good run up a short jump.
On that first lap, for no visible reason. Mikkola didn't get the good run. His Yamaha slowed and went over the ramp front wheel down.
The wheel dug in and Mikkola went over the bars hard. An Iron Man, he got up, dodged the traffic and stood at the side until the last rider had dodged or ridden over his mount. He started the engine and rode to the pits. Hurt, and knowing he had no chance of catching up, the champ decided to save his strength for the second moto.
Meanwhile, Vromans had the lead with Weinert second, until Bell, third here in 1978, moved past Weinert and set his sights on Vromans. One lap later the young Yamaha rider grabbed the lead by flying past Vromans on the long treacherous downhill. Unfortunately, on the same lap, both Danny LaPorte and Lackey pulled off the track and hung it up. La Porte had fallen and his forks were tweaked badly. Lackey decided to wait for the second moto since he saw little chance of getting into one of the top 10 points-paying positions. Back in the race, Weinert was beginning to tire from the extreme heat and slipped back to fourth as Wolsink moved up to third. Near the halfway point in the race, Wolsink overtook Vromans. again on the downhill, and set out after Bell. At first it seemed like Wolsink would never be able to challenge Bell’s 14 sec. lead, but then Mike started to slow noticeably. The heat was affecting him so badly that he could barely hold on to the motorcycle. After 40 min., with a mere 3 laps to go, Mike could not take any more, and left the track while still in second place. In the meantime DeCoster had worked his way up steadily from a 10th place start, all the while doggedly pursued by an impressive Chuck Sun. At the 30 min. mark, DeCoster moved past Noyce for third place, leaving Sun in fifth. When the checkered flag mercifully appeared, Wolsink had a comfortable 15 sec. lead over DeCoster. They were followed by Noyce, Sun, Vromans, Herbert Schmitz, Jean Jacques Bruno, Rex Staten, Rick Burgett, and Marty Smith.
After his fantastic start, Weinert pulled off the track just after the halfway mark, saying. “I got a little overheated out there and just couldn’t handle it.” As for Bell, he came into the pits so exhausted he needed a reporter to help him put the bike on the stand. He was immediately attended to by doctors for heat exhaustion. Compounding his pain was a recently broken finger which he had taped up for the race. Both Wolsink and DeCoster went straight to an air-conditioned motor home and were treated with ice packs to bring down their body temperature. Weinert and DeCoster did not make the start of the second moto. DeCoster said, “I tried really hard to come back at the end of the first one, and I did!” When asked about the second moto, Roger commented, ”1 guess I was just too tired.”
For the second moto there were two interesting factors. One, the track had changed from a moist, somewhat muddy condition to a dried out, rock hard circuit sprinkled with mud bogs. Two, Lackey and Mikkola had not raced more than a few laps of the first moto, were fresh, and therefore had a definite advantage over the rest of the field.
As the gate dropped. Mikkola immediately shot out into the lead followed by reigning 500cc AMA National Champion, Rick Burgett, Wolsink, Lackey, Wayne Boyer (an instructor at the Suzuki School of Motocross), Parry Klassen and Sun. Wolsink and Lackey quickly dispatched Burgett and took off after Mikkola. One lap later. Lackey got by Gerrit on Carlsbad’s uphill and the stage was set. In last year’s G.P. here. Lackey caught up to Mikkola near the end of the second moto and a fantastic battle evolved for the remainder of the race. Lackey lost that one; could he win this time? Lackey knew the answer and patiently studied his opponent for three laps before making his move.
As they approached the sweeper near the finish line. Brad set Heikki up just right and passed him cleanly and seemingly without effort. For the rest of the race Lackey pulled out a larger and larger lead, Mikkola only making one serious challenge to catch up.
Noyce made his move with visible effort.
And style.
The approach to the mud hole was short; a tight righthand turn, a run with a lefthand kink, then the ramp and the mud.
All riders save one cut close on the right, squared the left and went over the ramp on the outside.
Noyce let his Flonda run wide, crossed the approach and shot into the air from the left, on an angle over the mud. While in flight he threw the bike into an angle, a> neat 45°, and he came down on both wheels in the vee between track and bank. His crossings were longer and quicker.
Noyce caught Wolsink a few feet per lap, until the pair came through the approach with Noyce on Wolsink’s heels. Wolsink squared the turn and Noyce crossed WFO, passed Wolsink while both bikes were in the air, and landed on an angle, at speed and in front.
Beautiful.
All he earned, though, was the appreciation of the crowd. The Englishman tired as the moto ground on and could not keep up the grueling pace. Wolsink slipped back by and Smith also got Noyce with just two laps remaining. After a 10th in the first moto. Smith turned in an inspired ride to finish fourth for the moto. Sun, who had done so well in the first race, was held back by a flat tire which hampered him during the last quarter of the race. Second moto finishing order was: Lackey, Mikkola, Wolsink, Smith, Noyce, Burgett, LaPorte, Staten, Sun, and Klassen.
When the moto finishes were tallied. 32year-old Gerrit Wolsink had won Carlsbad for the fifth time. English champ Graham Noyce’s third and fifth place moto finish earned him the No. 2 position and, like last year, the top American finished in third place overall. This time it was Husqvarna factory rider Chuck Sun, who’s competing on the World Championship circuit for the first time.
When Wolsink was asked for comments on his win, he explained, “Last year 1 did poorly on the circuit and many people felt I should have quit . . . The bikes weren’t very good and I wasn’t really in that good of shape but 1 showed today that with the right bike I can still win.”
SUPPORT CLASS (250) RESULTS
OVERALL
SUPPORT CLASS
The USGP 250ec support event attracts a higher caliber of rider each year. Several factories were represented with works riders. In the first race, Suzuki rider Mark Barnett took the lead at the halfway mark ahead of Jim Gibson (Honda). Following were Donnie Cantaloupi. Brian Myerscough, Scott Gillman, and Cycle World contributor Steve Bauer, who held sixth place the entire race. Also worth watching was Danny “Magoo” Chandler, who came from dead last on the first lap to finish eighth. Chandler was worth watching in the second moto, because he displayed the coolness and good humor which earned him his nickname.
He fell in the mudhole. Before picking up the bike, he did a mock victory dance, shrugged his shoulders and waved at the crowd. Carlsbad fans are loud and friendly and know the riders, so they all waved and cheered back and Chandler rode away, out of the running but undaunted.
In the second moto, Jeff Ward (Uni-Trak Kaw), who fell in the first moto while running second, led the entire race from start to finish, in spite of the bruised hand he suffered in his first moto fall.
Second moto finishing order was Ward, Cantaloupi, Barnett, Steve Rhyan (Suz). Carlos Serrano (Mai), and Myerscough.S
U.S. GRAND PRIX 500 RESULTS
MOTO ONE
