Race Watch
RACE WATCH
Mike Bell Leads Supercross Terry Vance Sets Pro Stock Record But Loses Mace To Sid Pogue; Team Suzuki Sweeps Outdoor Nationals
YAMAHA’S MIKE BELL RETAINS SUPERCROSS POINTS LEAD
With Team Yamaha’s Mike Bell leading in points after opening rounds at Seattle and Oakland, the 1980 Supercross Series headed for Atlanta. Daytona and Houston.
Dismal weather for the third year in a row greeted riders and fans at the open-air Atlanta Stadium where new Team Honda rider Chuck Sun rode a Pro-Link works bike to his first major victory. Sun took over the lead of the race at the midway point. . . amid mud and near freezing rain . . . from teammate Steve Wise, who after leading from the start was forced to drop out when his Honda threw its chain. Sun was chased across the finish line by Team
Suzuki riders Brian Myerscough, Mark Barnett and Danny LaPorte, with another Team Honda rider, Jim Gibson, placing fifth. Bell pulled a poor start at the beginning of the race and then crashed en route to a hectic.sixth place finish in the mud. Afterwards, Bell had to be taken to the hospital to have stitches put in a cut elbow.
The weekend after Atlanta brought sunny skies for one of the most important Supercross races of the year, held at Daytona International Speedway in conjunction with Speed Week. On the flat grass field in front of the main grandstands it was Team Yamaha’s Rex Staten who pulled off a surprise win. Even more surpris-
ing was Marty Smith who led the opening laps, then battled with Staten for three laps in an exciting clash that still left Smith with a creditable second place finish. Daytona was Smith’s first race in eight months and the first event riding for his new sponsor, Suzuki, after a long career which included three National Championships with Team Honda. Shoulder problems had prevented Smith from racing competitively since a Supercross crash nearly two years previous, and he had delayed having the shoulder repaired by surgery until dismissal from Honda forced the needed operation.
Bell placed his OW-40 works Yamaha into third at Daytona to help him retain his> points lead, with Bell finishing just ahead of Honda riders Sun and Donnie Hansen.
ATLANTA
From Daytona, the Supercross Series moved to the Houston Astrodome and two nights of back-to-back racing. It proved to be a hot weekend for Team Yamaha as Bell dominated the Friday night Qualifiers and then ran away with the 20-lap Feature event ahead of team mate Broc Glover.
On Saturday night their positions were exactly reversed as Glover won in the Qualifiers and then ran away and hid in the Feature, leaving Bell to fight off Ka wasaki's Warren Reid all the way to the finish line-where Bell placedjust ahead of Reid by a scant two feet.
DAYTONA
Bell’s strong finishes the Houston weekend allowed him to pull out a strong 16point lead in the series standings over nearest rival, Sun. The Supercross Series then went into a short break while the outdoor 125cc and 250cc Nationals got under way. With the momentum of his Supercross Series lead behind him, Bell is the top prospect for winning the 250cc National Championship, having been moved to the 250cc class this year by Team Yamaha to fill the vacancy left by still injured team mate Bob Hannah, the reigning Champion. >
HOUSTON FRIDAY
HOUSTON SATURDAY
SERIES POINT STANDINGS
Jim Gianatsis
VANCE SETS PRO STOCK RECORD, POGUE WINS
Terry Vance used his Byron Hines-tuned VHR Suzuki GS1100 to set a new Pro Stock ET record at an IDBA national race in Gulfport. M ississippi. Vance turned
8.97 sec. in the semi-finals, lowering the
8.98 sec. record established by Sid Pogue’s Kawasaki last year.
Vance also broke the terminal speed record by running 148.27 mph. but Pogue turned an identical 148.27 and backed it up with a second 148.27 to take the official IDBA terminal record. Under IDBA rules, in the event two riders turn an identical speed, the one with the closest back-up speed gets the official record.
But although Vance set a new ET record, he was soundly beaten by Pogue in the final race, turning 9:03 to Pogue’s 9.04— Pogue simply holeshot Vance at the lights.
The final race was actually run twice.The first time, the starting light “Christmas tree” computer handicap system was still programmed with a handicap from the amateur classes run before the Pro Stock race. So instead of heads-up racing where both riders get the green light at the same time, the computer lit Pogue’s lights and, withheld Vance’s. Vance left the line as soon as he saw Pogue's light even though his (Vance’s) light didn't come on.
The computer saw that as Vance jumping the start (programmed in error to be delayed) and gave him a red light. Pogue, meanw hile, stalled his bike coming off the line.
IDBA officials re-ran the race, and in the, second try Pogue smoked Vance off the line for the win. >
TEAM SUZUKI SWEEPS OPENING OUTDOOR NATIONALS
The start of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) sanctioned outdoor National" Motocross Championships saw Team Suzuki collecting the overall wins in both classes of the first two series races.
In the I25cc season opener, the Hangtown Classic at Sacramento. Calif., it was Mark Barnett who used his Suzuki RA 125-80 works bike to tie Team Yamaha's reigning three-time I25cc National Champion Broc Glover in points as both picked
off one of two moto wins and placed second behind the other when they weren’t winning. But it was “Bomber” Barnett who ran off and hid from Glover in the second moto tie breaker to collect the overall win for the day. Suzuki teammate> Brian Myerscough charged in for third overall. All four Japanese teams (Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki) ran new watercooled works bikes.
Backing up Barnett's performance in the 125cc class, Suzuki star Kent Howerton totally dominated both motos of the 250cc class at Hangtown, pulling 30-second leads over his closest rivals in the two 45-minute motos. Runner-up behind Howerton in the first moto was Kawasaki’s Warren Reid, while in the second moto it was Donnie Hansen on Honda's watercooled RC 250 works bike. Finishing third both motos was indoor Supercross Series points leader Mike Bell, w ho thus earned a second overall finish for Team Yamaha. Of the Japanese teams. Suzuki was the only one using bikes with conventional double shock rear suspension, the others all nowracing single-shock works bikes. Suzuki has a single-shock motocrosser of its own waiting in the wings, but has delayed its debute in American races for fear its appearance may hinder the sales of RM production motocross bikes which have conventional double-shock rear suspensions.
HANGTOWN 125cc OVERALL
HANGTOWN 250cc OVERALL
Just one week after Hangtown, Team Suzuki cleaned house once more as they picked off both classes at Saddleback Park, Calif. In the 125cc National class it was Brian Myerscough’s turn to play rabbit as he reeled out huge leads both motos for what seemed like easy wins. Runner up both races behind Myerscough was teammate Mark Barnett, while Yamaha’s Broc Glover was third. Barnett now holds a slim 1 point lead over Myerscough. then Glover in the points chase for the 125cc crown.
In the 250cc National at Saddleback. Kent Howerton rocketed his Suzuki to another runaway victory in the first moto ^after having to push his way up from a somewhat poor 10th place start. The second moto found Howerton out front again, but a hard charging Marty Tripes quickly took the lead away from Howerton and held him at bay the entire moto. finishing the race just 10 feet ahead of Howerton who put in a determined bid to regain his lost lead the closing laps. The surprise ^rnoto win by Tripes was his first race victory since leaving Team Honda last fall to ride for Yamaha. Tripes finished second overall for the day behind Howerton, ahead of Mike Bell, who maintains a distant second place in the series point standings behind Howerton. B3
