Race Watch
RACE WATCH
Cooley Declared Superbike Champion After Protest and Appeals; Who's Riding What in 1981; Rocket Rex Thumps Four-Stroke Nationals
COOLEY IS SUPERBIKE CHAMPION
The AMA has finally declared Wes Cooley the 1980 Superbike Production champion, after a lengthy series of protests and appeals concerning the last Superbike race, held at Daytona. Cooley won that race, beating Freddie Spencer by less than a foot, with AFM racer Mike Spencer third on a Yoshimura Suzuki. Mike Baldwin was fourth, Roberto Pietri fifth.
Eddie Lawson had only to finish seventh or better to win the championship. But when mechanics went to start Lawson's bike for the final, a valve stuck. The mechanics rushed Lawson's bike back into their garage and switched its number plates with the plates on David Aldana's Kawasaki. Then they rolled Lawson's bike onto the grid.
AMA rules state that a rider must run the main event on the same machine he used for qualifying. However, someone at the AMA forgot to bring the numbered tags usually applied to machines during tech inspection. Without the tags on each bike, telling one similar machine from another could be difficult.
Lawson started the race, but the bike he was on (Aldana's machine) sprang an oil cooler leak and Lawson crashed in the Daytona chicane.
Cooley won and started celebrating his championship, but Lawson filed a protest alleging that Cooley's Yoshimura Suzuki had an illegally modified frame. The AMA upheld the protest, saying that the bike was indeed illegally modified. Lawson was declared champion.
Cooley appealed the decision, and AMA Racing Commissioner Mike Diprete ruled that because Lawson switched bikes between qualifying and the main event, he was not a legal entrant in the race, and thus could not file a valid protest. Cooley was declared champion.
Diprete's decision was based upon pho-> tos taken during practice, a heat race, and the final race. Those photos clearly showed that Lawson rode a different machine in the main event. Such things as decal placement, footpeg placement, routing of rear brake pedal, front brake line routing, forks, brakes and handlebars were obviously different.
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Lawson appealed, denying that he switched bikes, and the final decision went to a three-man AMA board. In a surprise move at the board of appeal hearing, Lawson admitted changing bikes and argued that his changing bikes was not the issue. Lawson said the true issue was that Cooley's bike was not legal, and should not have been allowed to start the race. The AMA board, going by the book, did not accept Lawson's reasoning and denied the appeal. In addition, for breaking the rules regarding changing machines, Lawson was fined $1000 in lieu of a one-year suspension.
The AMA board also stated that in 1981 the Superbike rules will be enforced by AMA officials before protests are made. Under the 1980 rules, anything was basically allowed—even if illegal—until another rider filed a protest.
In 1980, all the factory-backed machines—Yoshimura Suzukis, works Hondas and even Lawson's Kawasaki—bent the Superbike rules. Nobody protested because they were equally involved. Even the fastest privateers, such as Chuck Parme, had illegal-but-accepted, state-ofthe-art frame modifications to improve handling.
Lawson contended that his bike was rulebook legal, but stock KZ1000 Mkll swing arms cannot accept a 3.85-18 Goodyear slick, which Lawson's machine did, easily.
The question now is whether or not the Japanese Fours can be made to handle at racing speeds without the modifications. With horsepower at its current levels, many observers think that the AMA should allow the previously illegal modifications in the interests of safety.
WHO'S RACING WHAT IN 1981
Eddie Lawson has signed a contract for 1981 with Kawasaki. Besides racing Superbikes, Lawson will ride a KR500 in Formula One events and a KX250-based short tracker in Winston Pro Series events. Riding the KR500 and the KX250 short tracker were Lawson's ideas, and were included in the contract at his insistence. He also received a KZ1300 street bike, a KX250 motocrosser and a Jet Ski.
Freddie Spencer ended speculation that he would ride in 500 road racing Grands Prix for Yamaha by re-signing with American Honda for 1981. Spencer will ride a Superbike and an RSI000 Formula One bike. Joining Freddie on the Honda pavement team will be Mike Spencer, 22, an unrelated California hot shoe who impressed race watchers by turning incredible lap times on his home-built 855cc KZ650 Superbike. Mike Spencer's ability got him a ride on a Yoshimura Suzuki for the final 1980 Superbike race at Daytona. There, Mike joined the elite few Superbike pilots who have lapped Daytona in 2:08 (others are Freddie Spencer, Graeme Crosby, and Wes Cooley). In finishing third at Daytona behind Cooley and Freddie, Mike Spencer beat Mike Baldwin and Roberto Pietri.
Meanwhile, Mike Baldwin has signed a contract with Honda France to ride in World Championship Endurance races on an RS1000. Baldwin's partner will be David Aldana.
Wes Cooley signed to ride Yoshimura Suzukis in 1981 Superbike and Formula One races.
On the dirt track scene. Suzuki signed Ronnie Jones to campaign a new, 4-valve, TSCC DR500 in Winston Pro Series TT events as well as a PE250-based short tracker. And three-time 500cc road racing World Champion Kenny Roberts, who will return to Europe to defend his title in 1981, announced that he would sponsor Mike Kidd and l 7-year-old Jim Filice in a Winston Pro Series race effort. The pair will ride Yamahas—including the new VTwins—developed by Mert Law w ill under
contract with Yamaha Motors Corp., U.S.
Yamaha also announced that Scott Burnworth, Erik Kehoe and Donny Cantaloupi would ride in the I25cc motocross class, and that Broc Glover, Mike Bell, Rick Burgett and Bob Hannah would be split up in an as-yet-undetermined manner between the 250cc and 500cc classes. Honda said that Johny O'Mara and Richard Coon would ride in the I25cc class; Steve Wise and Donny Hansen would ride in the 250cc class; and Chuck Sun and Danny LaPorte would ride for Honda in the 500cc class.
Suzuki lost LaPorte to Honda, but announced that Marty Smith and Darrell Schultz would return in the 500cc motocross class; Kent Howerton and 16-yearold former AMA Amateur I25cc champion Denny Bently from Perry, Mich, would ride in 250cc races; and Mark Barnett and Brian Myerscough would ride in the 125cc class.
Kawasaki will have Jeff W'ard riding I25cc Nationals and Supercross events; Warren Reid riding 250cc Nationals and Supercross; Goat Breker riding 500cc Nationals and Supercross; and Tommy Benolkin riding 125cc Nationals.
ROCKET REX THUMPS FOURSTROKE NATIONALS
Team Yamaha's “Rocket Rex” Stater
rode a 600cc Pro-Tec Yamaha to first overall in the Sixth Annual CMC Four Stroke Nationals held at Carlsbad Race way. Staten won with conservative 2-2 moto placings, after quicker riders in the Open Pro class were sidelined in one moto or the other due to mechanical problems with their exotic, hand-built thumpers. Lightweight two-stroke engines dominate motocross, relegating four-strokes to such special annual gatherings like the FourStroke Nationals. The bikes are built with loving care by small specialty manufacturers who then convince speed-crazed factory stars to manhandle the snarling beasts around one of the roughest tracks in America.
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The opening moto in the Pro class went to Team Moto-X Fox rider Jeff Jennings on a Kelvin Franks-built 500cc Honda. Jennings had a slow start from the gate, but quickly charged up to pass stars like Staten, Team Honda's Donnie Hansen (C&Jframed XR500 Honda) and Johnny O'Mara (Mugen XR500 Honda). Soon Jennings had closed on leaders Ron Turner (Horsepower Factory XR500 Honda) and David Gerig (Kelvin Franks XR500 Honda). Scarey full-throttle jumps off the top of the big Carlsbad downhill gave the brave Jennings the lead from a battling Gerig and Turner at the mid-point of the moto, with Jennings then pulling away to the moto by a convincing margin. Gerig, Turner, Hansen and O'Mara all experienced mechanical problems before the end of the race, and Staten finished second.
Jennings once again pulled out a huge lead in the second moto, then found himself sidelined with a thrown chain. David Gerig and Billy Grossi (Porter 600cc ProTec Yamaha) next took turns at the lead before mechanical problems dropped them back as well. Ron Turner won the second moto. Staten found himself with another second place moto finish, good enough to give him the overall win. —Jim Gianatsis
HOWERTON WINS TRANS-USA SERIES
Team Suzuki's Rhinestone Cowboy, Kent Howerton, pulled off the 1980 Trans-USA Series Championship in the final moto of a shortened four-race series. In doing so, Howerton retained the title he first won in 1979 and added another title to his 1980 season accomplishments, which already included winning the 250cc National Motocross Championship and the U.S. 250cc World Championship Grand Prix.
The Trans-USA series proved to be highly competitive right from start to finish with everyone required to ride 250cc rather than 500cc bikes for the first time in the 10-year history of the series. Howerton's mount was Suzuki's RH 250-80 monoshock Floater works bike prepared by mechanic Greg Arnett.
The first race of the Trans-USA Series at Mid-Ohio looked bad for Howerton as he was bitten by the flu bug, doing poorly in one moto and forced to retire in the other moto. The race was a battle between Howerton's Suzuki teammate Mark Barnett and Yamaha's Broc Glover as they traded moto wins, but with newly-crowned 125cc National Champion “Bomber” Barnett pulling off the overall victory.
Round two was at Buchanan, Michigan, and there a hard-charging, newly-recovered Bob Hannah passed early leader Barnett to claim the first moto win. The series was Hannah's return to racing after a year's layoff (due to a badly-broken leg). America's winningest motocrosser had lost none of his old speed, but was cautious during the starts, which kept him back behind the leaders and out of contention > many motos. The second moto went to Team Kawasaki's “Flying Freckle” Jeff Ward, who had looked like a winner the week before at Mid-Ohio before a blown transmission put him out of the running. Both Hannah and Barnett finished down in the pack the second moto to allow Glover to pull off the overall day's win with 3-2 moto placings. Meanwhile, Howerton, still recovering from the flu, took fourth overall behind Hannah and Barnett.
Howerton was fully recovered for round number three at Unadilla, New York, and ready for the challenging, hilly, natural terrain course. Howerton ran away with both motos easily and Hannah collected second overall ahead of Glover and Barnett.
When the Trans-USA Series reached Georgia for the fourth round of the series the riders were informed the fifth and final round at Sears Point, California, had been cancelled by the promoters due to poor pre-event ticket sales. The Georgia race would determine the Championship and going into that “new” last round Glover held the points lead. The first moto start saw Glover lead and pull off into the distance as Howerton quickly charged up to latch onto second spot. Glover may have been able to hold onto his lead to win the moto, but with just a few laps to go the swing arm pivot bolt on his works Yamaha came loose. Glover finished a dismal 15th as Howerton won. The mechanical problem for Glover in that first moto balanced out the DNF due to sickness that Howerton had experienced the first race of the series at Mid-Ohio, leaving the two riders effectively tied in points going into the last moto—which would determine the championship. Both Hannah and Barnett also had a shot at the title.
The final moto blasted off the line with> Howerton and Glover side-by-side, dicing for the lead. Hannah pulled out of the race when the saddle fell off his bike, and Barnett crashed hard enough to not be able to rejoin the race. Howerton led Glover across the finish line to win the 1980 Trans-USA Series Championship.
—Jim Gianatsis
TRANS-USA SERIES POINT STANDINGS
SUZUKI POSTS $73,000 FOR NMRA 1981
U.S. Suzuki Motor Corp. has posted $73,000 in contingency money for the 1981 NMRA season, offering money to top-placing Suzuki riders in the Top Fuel, Pro Stock, Super Eliminator professional classes as well as in the Pro Comp, Comp Eliminator, Modified Eliminator and Stock Eliminator Sportsman classes.
Riders supported by the Suzuki factory (i.e., Terry Vance) are not eligible for the awards.
