Race Watch
RACE WATCH
Lackey joins Kawasaki; 1979 MX Teams; New Kawasaki 750 Four for Daytona?
LACKEY DOES IT
Bad Brad Lackey has signed a two-year contract with Kawasaki to compete in the 500cc World Championship Motocross Grands Prix. Lackey, 26, finished the 1978 season second in World Championship standings. behind only defending champion Heikki Mikkola. Lackey's season finish was the best ever recorded by an American. More impressive is the fact that during the races Lackey was the only man consistently capable of running with Mikkola, the pair usually running away and leaving the pack far behind while they engaged in wheel-to-wheel combat. Lackey, who checked out a prototype open-class Kawasaki before signing, is confident that he can win the World Championship for the Big K.
NEW FACES DRESSED IN GREEN
Meanwhile, on the domestic motocross scene, Tommy Croft (ex of Team Honda) has joined Gaylon Mosier in Team Kawasaki's 500cc motocross effort. Jammin' Jimmy Weinert will be backed up by Mickey Boone-a Kawasaki support rider for most of 1978-in the 250cc class: and Jeff Ward, 17. (formerly of Team Yamaha) and newcomer Chappy Blose will compete with 125s. Blose, 17, of Phoenix, Arizona, was 1978 AMA 125cc Amateur Champion. His new ride with Kawasaki will mark his first professional season.
HOMOLOGATION AND CLAIMING RULES DISCARDED
The AMA has discarded homologation and claiming rules for 750, 250 Expert and 250 Novice road racing classes effec tive for the 1979 season. 1978 rules required that manufacturers offer 25 machines for sale before a particular model could be raced in AMA events, and allowed competitors to buy, or "claim," an other rider's machine in an event for a set price. Because of the rule changes. one-off prototypes and exotic racebikes will be eligible to race in the named classes. Changes to the restrictor rule will allow unrestricted 500cc two-strokes-like Suzuki's square Four-to run against restricted 501-750cc two-strokes and unrestricted 750cc four-strokes. The AMA rejected a proposal that would have allowed unrestricted 1025cc four-strokes to compete in the 750 class, due to uncertainty that tires mounted on the heavier four-strokes would last the full 200 miles at Daytona. However, the Superbike Production race at Daytona this year will be a full 100 miles, or twice as long as previous Superbike races, and tire-wear information will be evaluated for use in further discussions of the 1025cc four-stroke proposals.
RESTRICTED JUNIOR DIRT TRACKERS
New AMA rules will restrict carburetor size on all Junior-class dirt track machines. Measured at the smallest point in the venturi, carburetors on all 501-750cc machines cannot be larger than 28mm, regardless of carburetor brand or nominal size. The rule will be enforced at tech inspection before races. There will be no restriction on carburetor size for 335-500cc mach in es.
MOREHEAD EARNS A HARLEY DAVIDSON
teve Morehead. who won one national hind tinkhed seventh in 1978 Camel Pro Series points, has earned himself a factory Harley-Davidson ride. \lorehead joins Jay Springsteen on the works team. Corky Keener will be hacked by Haney Davidson. hut won't have a team mechanic for 1979. Ted Boody will he provided with bikes and parts. but won't be an official member of the team.
TEAM SUZUKI REORGANIZED
Suzuki's racing team for U.S. moto 1cross events has added two talented former privateers to its roster. Scott Gillman, who amazed the masses by leading Yamaha's Bob Hannah during much of the motocross portion of the Motorcycle Olympiad. joins Suzuki veteran Danny LaPorte in the 500cc class. Darrell Shultz made a name for himself as a privateer in the 1978 Nationals and earned a Maico ride for the Trans-AMA series. Shultz won the final Trans-AMA event-at Sears Point-and found himself being courted by both Kawasaki and Suzuki. He signed with Suzuki and will ride a 250 along with former 500cc National Champion Kent Howerton. Brian Myerscough and Mark Barnett will ride 125s. Long-time Team Suzuki member and three-time AMA 250cc National Champion Tony DiStefano is no longer part of the Suzuki racing e ho rt.
HONDA KNOWS WHO, BUT NOT WHICH
r earn Honda's rnotocross tearn for 1979 will consist of Steve Wise, Warren Reid, Jimmy Ellis, Marty Tripes, Marty Smith and Gary Semics (formert~ of (an Am). But while they know who they've got.
Honda representatives couldn't tell us which classes the respective team members would ride, and said that the~ would have a better idea in about a month. Long gone from the red machines are Brad Lackey,
who signed with Kawasaki. and Jim Pomerov, who at this writing hasn't signed with anyone or any thing.
AME FACES, NEW YEAR
S ince Team Yamaha cleaned house in 1978 motocross, it should come as no surprise that the 1979 version of the team will include several familiar faces. 250cc National. Supercross and Trans-AMA Champion Bob Hannah; 125cc National
Champion Broc CLover; 500cc National Champion Rick Burgett; Superhowl of Motocross winner Mike Bell; and 500cc National and Trans-AMA Series runner up Rex Staten will all ride Yamahas again in 1979. Former 500cc National Champion
Pierre Karsmarkers won't be a race team member, but may have a research and development contract with Yamaha for 1979. Jeff Ward, who enjoyed limited sup port from Yamaha in 1978. defected to a full works ride with Kawasaki.
continued on page 180
continued from page 178
TEAM DG 1979
Bob Hannah and Broc Glover both started out with DG, progressing to Team Yamaha and national titles. That speaks well of DG, one of the most successful non-factory racing efforts and the single most successful source of serious racing accessories. For 1979 Team DG's lineup includes John Savitski and CYCLE WORLD test consultant Steve Bauer on 250 Yamahas: Gary Dircks, Paul Murphy and Chris Heisser on Suzuki RM125s: Willie Simons and Greg Toyama on YZ 125 Yamahas; and Ted Brady on a Suzuki RM8O. One wonders how many future champions are included in the list.
CECOTTO WINS AT SUGO; ROBERTS RUNS OUT OF TIRES
New Formula 750 World Champion Johnny Cecotto won an international invitational road racer at Sugo. a Yamaha recreational facilit\ and racetrack near Sendai. Japan. Kenny Roberts was second to I. Takai in the first le~ of the event,' ahead of Cecotto. Christian Sarron, S. Ueno, R. Mohri, Australian Warren Will ing and American David Emde. Roberts' supply of Goodyear tires had been held up in Japanese Customs and didn't make it to the track. Kenny used up his one new tire during the first leg. so started the second segment on used tires rather than run another and pitted after several slippery laps. Cecotto von the second leg. ahead of Sadeo Asami, Sarron. Ueno. Mohri. Will ing. and M. Mizutani with Emde 10th. Cecotto won overall, followed by Sarron, Leno. \lohri. Takai. Asami. Willing. Roberts. Mizutani and Emde. Skip Aks land traveled to Japan for the race, but went home when he found that the bike provided by Arai Helmets for his use was "no good." with no hope of making it right before the race.
MX FOX GOES FOR IT
Motocross Fox. historically a springboard for factory rides, will sponsor four racers during 1979. Donnie Cantaloupi. 17. of Stockton. California will campaign a Yamaha co-sponsored by MX Fox and Yamaha Motors Corp.. U.S. in AMA 125cc Nationals. Larry VVosick, 16. of San Jose will ride a CR250R in AMA 250cc Nationals and the Florida Winter Series. Wosick earned the CMC * 1 plate for Northern California in 1978. Randy Kirschbaum, 18. of Kansas will ride a Fox Suzuki in 500cc Nationals. MX Fox will also sponsor a CR250R Honda for Jim Turner, the 1978 Canadian Motorcycle Assn. (CMA) 250 National Champion, in the 1979 250cc World Championship Series. which is held mostly in Europe.
DOYLE DOUBTS NEW GREEN MEANIES
N eville Doyle, the Kawasaki Australia mastermind and tuner behind World Championship contender Gregg Hansford, doubts that Kawasaki will have a new four-cylinder ready for Daytona. Accord in~z to Doyle. all work on the new twostroke 750 halted in October. 197S. and probably won't he resumed. Kawasaki Motors Corp.. the U.S. distributor, has said that Mike Baldwin might have one of the new bikes at Daytona. 1979. But while Doyle doesn't think that a new Four will he ready, he believes that he can make a threecv tinder KR750 competitive now that For mula 750 and AMA 750 homologation rules have been dropped. With the new 1979 rules allowing one-offs without re quiring that 25 copies he made available to other racers. Kawasaki can cast up a few new, more efficient cylinders for the KR750. Look for 1-lansford and Doyle to do business at 750cc races this year.
