Jack Johnson Wins Baja Solo; Kawasaki Cleans Up At Memphis Drags; Pierce Impressive At Le Mans;

Jack Johnson Wins Baja Solo; Kawasaki Cleans up at Memphis Drags; Pierce Impressive at Le Mans;

RACE WATCH

JACK JOHNSON WHIPS BAJA INTERNACIONAL SOLO

With teammate Larry Roeseler side-lined with a knee injury, Jack Johnson rode the 403 mi. Baja Internacional by himself, taking the overall victory with a time of 7:39. Before finishing the fastest Baja Internacional ever, Johnson survived a crash into a tree and a ride through an uncontrolled brush fire. Second overall was the team of Scott Harden and Brent Wallingsford with a time of 7:48. The top two finishers were on Husqvarna 390s.

Third overall and first 250 in was Brian Wright/Brad Henson with a time of 7:57 for their Yamaha IT250.

Johnson became the first motorcyclist to win the Valvoline Iron Man trophy for winning the event solo. The trophy was created in 1974 just for motorcyclists and expanded the following year to allow fourwheelers to be recognized.

Early in the race Bruce Ogilvie was in the lead, followed closely by Johnson. Between the first and second checkpoints, Johnson’s bike hit a rock, throwing Johnson into a tree, but not slowing him down. By the second check, Johnson was nearly tied with Ogilvie. When Ogilvie’s partner. Chuck Miller, ran out of gas just shy of Mike’s Sky Rancho, Johnson took the lead to the finish.

By the end of the race Ogilvie/Miller had dropped out when the transmission of their 400cc Yamaha fell apart. Third place in the open class went to Morgan Malocco and John Hateley (8:10) riding a C&J framed Bill Bell Honda XR500. One other solo rider of note was Diane Holeman who came in 10th in the 250 class on her 250 Husky. Scott Coutts and Scott Pfeiffer (Husky) won the 125cc class with a time of 8:48. Sam Bass and Casey Folks (8:50, Husky) won class 30 and Dick Vick and John Watkins edged out Cecil Hollenbeck and John Kaplan with a time of 9:03. both teams riding Huskys in class 38.

BELL HELMETS CONTINGENCY

Bell Helmets has established a contingency program for competitors in the AMA Winston Pro Series: 125cc. 250cc and Open National Championship Motocross and the Stadium Motocross series.

Winners who wear Bell helmets will receive $250. while second and third place finishers wearing Bell helmets will earn $100 and $50.

KAWASAKI DOMINATES I.D.B.A. MEMPHIS DRAG RACE

After a rain-out at Gulfport. Mississippi. the International Drag Bike Association (I.D.B.A.) moved to Memphis for its annual mid-May showdown.

Kawasaki Pro Stock racer Sid Pogue upset Suzuki’s Terry Vance again. Pogue, riding a Pogue Machine-prepared Z-1R, pulled off the win in the final round when Vance experienced problems with his air shifter at mid-track and hung up the gear box. Pogue and Kawasaki now lead the points race in Pro Stock.

Kenny Annesley smoked off a string of passes in the high sevens to win the Top Fuel eliminator title. The Motorcycles Unlimited racer rode his 2400cc double-engine Kawasaki to an easy win over Elmer Tretts’ double Harley. Times of the final were 7.98 at 177.16 mph for Annesley; Trett managed an off-song 8.86 at 152.00 mph pass. Five different brands of motorcycles were represented in Top Fuel.

Blown fuel funny-bike Kawasaki rider Ken Blackburn took the win in Super Eliminator. Blaekburn racked up consistent 8.50s all weekend, qualified first with an 8.55 at 163.04 mph. and never backed off. In the final Blaekburn out-ran the fuel ftinnv Kawasaki of Dick Frey. Times were 8.50 at 154.90 to 9.50 at 142T3 mph.

Charles Israel rode his turbo-charged Kawasaki to the win in Pro Comp. Israel qualified number two behind Terry' Kizer. Pee Wee Gleason qualified number three on a Kawasaki from American Turbo Pak. Gleason eliminated Kizer in round two and faced of}' against Israel in the finals. Israel out-turboed Gleason. 8.88 at 157.34 mph to 9.1 l at 124.62 mph.

Joel T. Breuult

TESON/BERNARD TOP FUEL XS11

The Top Fuel team of Ron Tesón and Jim Bernard is completing shakedow n tests of its l I50cc Yamaha XSll. Drag racing fans know Tesón as the man who built the first single-engine drag bike to ¿urn in the 7-second bracket he did it regularly w ith a 970ec blow n Honda w ith a -best E.T. of 7.65. With the larger engine, pilot Bernard mav be able to turn E.T.s in the 7.30-range.

Tesón did the engine work, using R.C. Engineering 8.5:1 c.r. pistons, allov rods carved from solid billet, and cam followers with adjustment shims located underneath. The crankshaft, crank bearings and valves remain stock. Bore is 1mm over stock. 72.5mm. while stroke is a stock 68.6mm. Ignition is by magneto.

The key to the tremendous power output needed to turn sevens lies in the Magnuson crankshaft-driven supercharger, feeding a mixture of 90 percent nitro and 10 percent alcohol through an injector with a 73mm throat. The bike burns 2 gal. of the exotic« $20-a-gallon fuel on every quarter-mile pass.

continued on page 90

PIERCE FASTEST, HONDA WINS

Ron Pierce turned consistent lap times seven seconds faster than anyone else in the rain at the Le Mans 24-hour Coup d'Enduranee in France. Riding a Yoshimura R&D of America 1099cc GS1000. Pierce lapped at 2:03 while the next fastest rider. Christian Leon on a factory RGB Honda, turned 2:10. Pierce’s lap time advantage dw indled to a disadvantage w hen the track dried out during the nighttime hours, with Pierce turning 1:54 to Leon's 1:51.

Despite Pierce's hours of fast laps in the wet. the Yoshimura R&D team was hampered bv a balkv engine on the start they had to replace the battery after Wes Cooley wore it down trying to start the flooded engine, losing three laps-and several pit stops to repair damage incurred when Cooles crashed twice in the rain. Pierce unlapped the team three times in his first riding stint, but the team was still far behind the winning RGB Honda of Leon and partner Jean-Claude Chemarin w hen the Yoshimura bike broke its crankshaft after 16 hours.

It was a moral victory for Pierce, who won the Daytona Superbike race and finished second in the Daytona F750 race, only to discover later that the Yoshimura Superbike he rode at Daytona had five less horsepower than the one ridden by Cooley (who led until his bike suffered a brake failure, and who finished second).

continued on page 85

Primary drive is via two straight-cut gears, a 6-in. gear on the crank and a 10-in. gear on the slipper clutch. The transmission is a two-speed and is shifted by simply pushing a big red button located on the left handlebar.

Sandy Kosman built the chassis, which mounts a 12.5-15 D1885 Goodyear drag car slick in the back and a 3.25-18 D1456Goodyear road racing tire up front.