Cycle World Race Watch
CYCLE WORLD RACE WATCH
LaPorte returns to 250cc class
Danny LaPorte, the 1982 250cc Motocross World Champion, will return to contest the 250cc championship in 1984. LaPorte, who finished second in the 1983 championship, had previously told reporters that he would ride in the 500cc class in 1984.
But LaPorte couldn't get a works bike-~5OOcc or 250cc--from budget-con-
scious Yamaha this year. There are fewer works bikes in the 250cc class, so LaPorte elected to campaign a modi fied production YZ250. Always a hard worker, LaPorte described his off-season training program like this: "At home I have a hard track and a sand track, and for the four months before the season begins I spend four hours a day, six days a week practic ing on these tracks. I run four miles a day and ride a bicycle 50 miles a day, three days a
week and work out with weights. When the racing starts I move the whole show to Europe where I have an other house, a car, practice bikes and a workshop."
Vance to sell Fueler
Terry Vance will sell his Top Fuel Suzuki to the first buyer with $35,000. Vance, 29, rode the 1 3 25cc supercharged, ni tro-burning machine on a 6.98-sec., 203.61 mph pass late in 1982. Since then, Vance and tuner Byron Hines have campaigned the Fueler intermittently.
"The bike just doesn't fit into our plans," said Vance. "We want to concentrate on competing in Pro Stock and on running our new racer support program for IDBA events, in which we've posted $20,000 in contingency money. We may build an other Fueler someday, but I can't say when."
Vance also said that the bike, estimated to produce over 450 horsepower, "Scares the s**t out of me."
Race Watch calendar
O'Mara plays to a full house
Tearn Honda’s Johnny O’Mara won the InSport/Wrangler Supercross at Anaheim Stadium before a sell-out crowd of over 70,000. Promoters estimated another 10,000 people were turned away.
O’Mara took the lead after five laps and never was passed. Kawasaki’s Jeff Ward finished second, with Yamaha’s Ricky Johnson in third. Johnson’s ride provided the most drama, being a furious charge through the field following a first-turn, first-lap collision with Ron Lechien and a resultant crash. Lechien finished 10th.
Mystery Man
The year was 1978, and a group of Californians far from home wandered through a motorcycle show a few miles from a famous racetrack, the evening before a big race. At the show, the Californians saw a booth containing a display from a lubricant company sponsoring a young rider from a state other than California. Among the Californians was another young rider, and a journalisU The journalist promptly introduced the California rider as the man who would win the big race, trouncing the non-Californian in the process. >
When the race started, the Califor nian's bike promptly seized and the non Californian won easily. The Californian was never heard from again and the non-Californian, shown in this photo, went on to beat many Californians and other non-Californians, becoming very rich and very famous in the process.
The 25th reader to name the nonCalifornian and his sponsor at the time will win the original photo, autographed by the rider.
The first reader to name the Californian and the journalist involved will win a set of genuine, used road racing slicks, suitable for display in garage or trash bin.
Yamaha money for privateers
Yamaha Motor Corp. announced a contingency program for motocross privateers riding production Yamahas in Supercrosses and AMA Nationals. The program pays $5000 to win, $4000 for second, $3000 for third, $2000 for fourth and $ 1000 for fifth in 15 selected Supercrosses, the payout continuing down in increments to $ 1 50 for 21 st place. Winning a moto at one of 10 Nationals is worth $2500 with $2000 for second and $1000 for third, down to $50 for 15th. Smaller payouts are scheduled for NMA and AMA amateur finals.
Yamaha factory team riders are not eligible for the payoffs, although they will compete on production machines throughout the season.
Honda Interceptor Series
A merican Honda Motor Co. and Metzeier USA will jointly sponsor a new club road racing series. If all goes according to plan, the program will match riders on stock 500 Interceptors fitted with Metzeler tires in events run by road racing organizations throughout the country. The best finishers will be invited to a race-off at Daytona near the end of the season, where top riders will win various prizes.
The program still hadn’t been presented to the various road racing clubs as of presstime, but American Honda spokesmen were confident that the series would be well received.
. Each rider would provide his own 500 Interceptor. Details of rules enforcement haven’t been worked out. >
Moates with kangaroos
Motocrosser Marty Moates is racing and teaching motocross schools in Australia. Moates won the 1980 U.S. 500cc Grand Prix at Carlsbad on an extensively-modified L.O.P. YZ465 and did well in 250cc GPs in 1981. He first visited Australia in 1982 and spent all of
the 1983 season Down Under, scoring several notable victories and becoming a newspaper columnist as well. Moates campaigns standard RM25Os through a Melbourne dealer with support from Suzuki Australia.
