Race Watch
Wallingsford/Harden Top Mexicali (Parker) 300; Florida Winter-AMA Wrapup; DeCoster Injured
RACE WATCH
BARNETT, CALATHES, KUDALSKI SHINE IN FLORIDA MX
Factory participation was light, but that didn’t keep the annual Florida WinterAMA motocross series from being the usual wild four-race shootout, with hordes of riders ready for action after their brief post-’77 layoff'.
When the dust (and mud) had cleared after the final round in St. Petersburg, one works rider. Suzuki’s Mark Barnett, had taken a title and two had fallen to privateers Don “Killer” Kudalski (Yamaha) and John Calathes (Maico).
Kudalski, who was riding on his home turf, was the big news of the series as he dominated the Open class in each of the meetings, taking all but two motos, winning one of them with a flat front tire. He was the overall winner in all four races.
Kudalski also injected some extra drama into the 250 events when he elected to experiment with the Harley-Davidson factory bike that Mickey Boone had previously dismissed as uncompetitive. Kudalski climbed on in the third race at Jacksonville and carried the day with 1 stand 3rd-place moto finishes. The feat was good enough to earn him a contract with Harley.
The Kudalski bubble burst in the final outing at St. Petersburg when Bob Hannah showed up to exercise a production YZ250E Yamaha. Kudalski’s zeal left him with a pair of dnfs and Hannah took both motos, after which the Bevo Forte-tuned bike was raffled off.
Although Calathes hadn’t been conspicuous after winning the first three motos of the series—Mickey Kessler (Yamaha), Kudalski and Hannah stole the limelight— the Maico rider parlayed four 4th-place finishes over the last four motos to wind up on top in points.
Barnett had his title all but sewed up going into the final date, but a first moto disqualification (for receiving help on the course) and a second moto 3rd-place finish left him only 10 points up on fast-finishing Kip Pierce (Yamaha). Pierce, who took both motos on the final outing, emerged as the AMA’s Eastern Regional 125cc leader as well.
DUTCH DIGGERS
Top fuel bikes heading for the annual Bowling Green shootout (June 16-18) are going to have a little foreign competition this year. Dutch hotshoe Hank Vink is planning to go for it with a single-engined Kawasaki punched out to 1320cc. Vink has been running three identical Kaw-powered bikes in Europe. All are 1200cc and blown, using Magnusson superchargers. With this setup, Vink has been able to turn consistent passes in the low 8-sec. bracket. He
NO MORE EVEL
One of many who showed up at Daytona wearing new colors this year was super privateer Gary Scott. Prior to the race, Scott told Cycle News that his relationship with Evel Knievel had come to an end owing to “Evel’s present situation.” Said Scott: “To mount a successful challenge for the AMA Grand National Championship title 1 really need someone who can be dealt with on an everyday basis.”
Scott’s new leathers bear only the name KK Supply, which was a co-sponsor in ’77. Knievel’s uniforms, at this writing, are still being issued by the state of California. figures going out another 120cc, plus running on this country’s better strips, will bring the bike down into the 7s, a realm that’s lightly populated so far.
Another Dutch stormer that's got European drag racers talking is Rob Janssen’s 1920cc blown double Yamaha fueler. The engines started as 750 Triples, and Janssen has taken them out 240cc each. No word on times or 1978 plans as yet.
A TZ500 TRIPLE?
Correct, but this one-off road racer has nothing to do with Yamaha’s official European world championship efforts this season. The works entries will continue to be watercooled 494cc two-stroke Fours. The Triple, 499cc, is a privateer cobbled together over the past two seasons by Englishman Arnold Fletcher. Its engine is, literally, one and one-half TZ350 engines, destroyed from 55mm to 51.7
An interesting parts-bin engineering touch is the splined-together three-piece crank. Since there are 13 splines, Fletcher was forced to stagger the crankpins 110, 120 and 130 deg., rather than the 120-deg. setup in a normal Triple.
Set up this season with a new custombuilt Spondon frame, Fletcher and his associates expect the bike to weigh about 285 lb., 25 less than earlier editions, which, they hope, will make it competitive with the Suzuki RG500. Although the Triple doesn’t have the muscle of the Suzuki, its strong suit is expected to be reliability.
Steve Wright will ride the Triple in GPs, Tim Abram in British club and national events.
WORLD TRIALS WARS OPEN
Yjro Vesterinen ( Bultaco) got a leg up on his third straight world trials title, parlaying Martin Lampkin's bad luck and his own steadiness on a frozen Northern Ireland course to win the 1978 season opener. Lampkin, also Bultaco-mounted. appeared to have the event well in hand until his front tire went flat with four sections to go. Rather than risk a time penalty, Lampkin soldiered on to take fives the rest of the way. w inding up 12 marks dow n to the 25-year-old Finnish champion.
Lampkin’s fellow Britons Rob Shepherd (Honda) and Mick Andrews (Yamaha) wound up 3rd and 4th. with Charles Coutard scoring an impressive 5th place aboard the new SWM. It was the first outing for the Italian machine.
Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco) was the top Yank, finishing 9th. The American contingent was weakened when U.S. champion Marland Whaley withdrew at the last minute to attend to personal matters.
VILLA’S BACK
Harley-Davidson may have pulled out of European GP pavement racing, but Walter Villa, H-D’s three-time world 250cc champ, isn't through yet. As the GP circus was making final preparations for the 1978 opener in Venezuela last March. Villa was putting finishing touches on a pair of privately entered H-D 250s, one standard, one rotary valve. He saw himself as a good bet to regain the title he lost last year to Mario Lega (Morbidelli), and expected his strongest competition to come from Kenny Roberts and 1977 250 runner-up Franco Uncini on the works Yamahas.
Meanwhile, in the 125 ranks world champion Paolo Bianchi will be defending his title aboard a brand new bike, the Minarelli. Bianchi won the 125 title last year aboard a works Morbidelli.
MORE MUSICAL MX
Following the revelations of the winter warmups to the 1978 outdoor motocross season, there was a brief interlude of saddle-swapping as the various works teams organized their rosters for the opening of the national championships.
At Honda. Marty Tripes appears to have found himself another home after his showings in the Seattle and Atlanta Supercross races. The much-traveled Tripes, w ho rode for Harley-Davidson last season, began the year as a partially-supported privateer on Honda equipment.
Mickey Boone appears to be making a similar transition w ith Suzuki after beginning 1978 under contract to Harley. Boone and H-D parted company after the first
race of the Florida winter series, and he’ll probably be teamed with Danny LaPorte in Suzuki’s 500cc nationals effort. Suzuki has rounded out its works team by signing former national minicycle champ Brian Myerscough, who will ride the 125 nationals with 17-year-old Mark Barnett.
Don Kudalski stepped aboard Boone's vacated works Harley 250 in Florida and won himself a factory ride for the 250 nationals and stadium races. During the same period, ex-Kawasaki rider Terry Clark became an ex-Can Am rider when he and the factory had some differences of opinion about what mods to make on the bikes. Rich Eirstadt and Gary Semics continue to carry the Can Am colors.
CLOSE CALL FOR DE COSTER; LACKEY IMPRESSIVE
Six-time world champion Roger DeCoster was almost out of the running for the 1978 season before it ever got underway; in fact, the 34-year-old Belgian very nearly lost his life.
Practicing in early February with his long-time friend Sylvain GeBoers at a track near his home town of Möl, Belgium, DeCoster's RM400 Suzuki hit a rut or hole, sending its rider over the top and into an unfortunately located tree.
DeCoster suffered a bruised pancreas and ruptured spleen as well as severe internal bleeding. He underwent an emergency splenectomy almost immediately, and was on the critical list for 24 hours, followed by five days in intensive care.
However. DeCoster’s constant conditioning program paid off in a rapid convalescence. By late February he was en route to Spain for a little more rest to be followed by resumption of some light calisthenics. The Suzuki ace expected to be on hand to contest the opening rounds of the world 500cc MX championship (Switzerland and Austria) although he didn’t expect to be 100 percent until later in the season.
While DeCoster was recuperating. Brad Lackey and Graham Noyce were busy serving notice that Honda is a force to be reckoned with this year. Riding in the 500cc international invitational in Valkenswaard, Holland, Lackey won all three motos against a field that read like the who’s who of world class MX. Lackey accomplished the hat trick, and overall win. by holding off world champ Heikki Mikkola, who crashed in motos one and three trying to catch the leader.
Noyce was 3rd overall, behind Husky’s Hakan Andersson.
PARKER 400
One week before the proposed starting date of the annual Parker 400, Score International (the sanctioning body) notified the participants about a slight change. It had been moved to Baja California.
Third party liability insurance had suddenly become unavailable in the USA, so rather than cancel the race completely, the event was moved. The name was changed to the Mexicali 300. Since the Mexican government underwrites insurance there, the problem was eliminated. The city of Mexicali and Score president Sal Fish did a fantastic job of organizing the event in the short time available.
The weather in Mexicali was sunny and dry but the Pacific Ocean side of the peninsula was experiencing the worst storm in years. Since part of the course was on that side, rumors about conditions there were plentiful.
Sal Fish spent the night before the race surveying the storm-ravaged area the course went through. Course damage was
great and many areas had deep, impassable water. Although he worked throughout the night, the starting time had to be delayed more than two hours. Finally Sal radioed the starting officials that the course had been changed again. The loop
to Mike’s Sky Rancho had been eliminated because of flooding. This section would be bypassed and a paved highway used. (Dirt bikes may legally use the paved roads in Baja.)
Each racer was notified of the change in the course before the staggered start began.
Much confusion in the area of the course change happened when some unknowing person flagged many racers onto the impassable loop toward Mike’s.
The mountain section through the famous summit turned into a small river as snow, rain and hail pelted the desert racers.
On the course, one of the closest offroad races ever was taking place.
Husqvarna’s riders Brent Wallingsford and teammate Scot Harden were passing and being passed by the Bob Ballentine/ Tom Kelly KTM team. The Husky team finally ended up the winner by only 11 sec.—extremely close after racing for more than 300 miles. —Ron Griewe
