Race Watch

RACE WATCH

Pons Killed In England: Carpenter Strikes Back With Suzuki; Mega-Buck Mugen Wins U.S. 125cc MX Grand Prix

PATRICK PONS KILLED AT SILVERSTONE

Reigning World F750 Champion Patrick Pons, 27, was killed in a crash at the British 500cc Grand Prix at Silver-stone. Pons, riding a Sonauto/Gauloises-sponsored Yamaha, died of head injuries.

Pons won the 1980 Daytona 200 on a Yamaha TZ750.

CARPENTER BEATS VANCE TWICE IN PRO STOCK

R.C. Engineering’s Bob Carpenter sorted out his new Suzuki GS1100 and beat VHR’s Terry Vance twice in as many races. Carpenter, serving as his own R&D man, mechanic and rider defeated four-time Pro Stock champion Vance despite the best efforts of Vance’s friend, business partner and tuner, Byron Hines. Carpenter notched his wins at an I DBA

Race in South Carolina and at a NMRA race at Indianapolis, both times defeating Vance in the final round.

With Carpenter campaigning a Suzuki," R.C. Engineering founder and president Russ Collins has been riding Carpenter’s 1979 Pro Stock Title-winning Kawasaki inr Pro Stock events.

MUGEN’S O'MARA WINS MUDDY MID-OHIO 125CC USGP

It was the second time this summer that a non-factory team rider won one of the three important American motocross Grands Prix, making it a clean sweep for American riders in all three displacement classes of the World Championship events which they do not regularly contest. First it was LOP’s Marty Moates winning both rounds of the 500cc Carlsbad GP, then Kent Howerton of Team Suzuki with backto-back moto wins at the 250cc Unadilla GP, and now Johnny O’Mara riding for Mugen who came out on top at the muddy Mid-Ohio 125cc USGP where the major World Championship contenders were sidelined in the wet conditions.

For 19-year old O’Mara of Van Nuys,

California, the United States 125cc Grand Prix was his first major victory. He took the overall win for the day with 1-3 moto placings on the Mugen-modified watercooled Honda. Team Honda rider Ron Sun was leading the opening moto when his engine sucked in water and quit. O’Mara then fought off Suzuki’s star rider Mark Barnett for the moto win. Reigning 125cc National Champion Broc Glover was put out of the race on the opening lap when the throttle on his factory Yamaha jammed with mud.

Ron Sun charged back in the second moto with a vengeance to run away from the pack for an uncontested win with Honda team mate Rich Coon taking second. O’Mara collected a consistent third place finish, still good enough for the over-" all win.

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The extremely muddy conditions at Mid-Ohio were the result of a track which,, had been over-watered during the morning of the race, compounded by an unexpected rain storm just before the first moto began. The track was a quagmire. Top 125cc World Championship contenders like series points leader Harry Everts of Belgium (Suzuki), team mate Eric Geboers and Italy’s Michele Rinaldi’ (TGM) all suffered from numerous spills and drowned motors.

Jim Gianatsis

GLOVER AND SUN LEAD NATIONAL MOTOCROSS POINTS

Two more rounds were held in the AMA’s 125cc and 500cc National Motocross Championships before the 1980 series went into its mid-summer break. In the 125cc class reigning threetime 125cc National Champion Broc Glover of Team Yamaha was able to finally « pull out a slight points lead over the serious dethroning attempts of Suzuki’s air force, Mark “Bomber” Barnett and Brian “Messerschmit” Myerscough. In the 500cc class Chuck Sun of Team Honda continued to dominate his competition, pulling to within six points of wrapping up his first National Championship, a seemingly easy task for Sun in just one of thefour remaining motos.

GOLDEN STATE RACEWAY, SONOMA, CALIFORNIA

The 125cc class proved to be a freight train on the hilly and dusty Northern Cal-1 ifornia track where Broc Glover quickly stuffed his watercooled OW 43 works Yamaha into an early lead the opening laps of both motos. “Broccoli” was dishing out the fastest lap times of the day, pulling away to win both races by a steady 6-10 second margin over runners-up Barnett , and Myerscough, debuting Suzuki’s new monoshock RA 125-80 Floater watercooled factory machines in their first American race. Fourth overall went to newly-signed Suzuki factory rider Scott Burnworth, while LOP’s Mike Brown stuffed his production Yamaha YZ into fifth for the top non-factory placing.

What the 125cc class lacked in excitement, the 500cc class more than made up for. Chuck Sun found himself having to work his way up to the front the hard way the first moto, slamming his RC 470 Honda past former Yamaha class champ Rick Burgett, LOP’s Gary Semics on Ya‘ maha, Kawasaki’s Goat Breker and Carlsbad Grand Prix winner Marty Moates, also LOP sponsored. Moates battled back and forth with Sun for the lead until the rough track broke the frame on Moates’ production Yamaha and he was forced to »slow, turning the lead and the moto win over to Sun. Reigning 500cc National Champion Danny LaPorte temporarily overcame the bad luck which has plagued him in the series, working up steadily the first moto to claim second with his RN Suzuki. Then in the second moto LaPorte battled side-by-side with Sun to the finish line, where Sun narrowly edged LaPorte thanks to a spectacular mid-air pass. LaPorte collected second overall as Honda’s Jim Gibson picked up third for the day, followed by Burgett, Marty Smith on the other Team Suzuki open bike and Kawasaki’s Breker.

WASHOUGAL MOTOCROSS PARK, WASHOUGAL, WASHINGTON

Washougal is a new track on the National schedule and has proved to be one of the top natural terrain tracks in America. «•Mark Barnett liked it enough to grab the lead of the opening 125cc National moto from rookie teammate Scott Burnworth and proceed to run away with the moto on his Suzuki. Suzuki teammate Myers„cough passed as well to claim second, while Glover struggled his way up through the pack for a still creditable fourth, but it would cost the champ the overall win. The ^second moto was a Glover runaway with Barnett and Myerscough playing follow the leader once again, except Barnett’s better overall 1-2 moto placings gave Suzuki the win. Myerscough collected third overall ahead of Kawasaki’s Jeff Ward, Burnworth, then Rich Coon as the *top Honda rider.

Both Glover and Donnie Cantaloupi

used the race to debut new watercooled OW 43 Yamahas with power valve cylinders. A gear drive off the engine’s crankshaft operates a centrifical advance exhaust port valve, altering exhaust port Jheight according to engine speed to help broaden the powerband.

The 500cc class was a Chuck Sun benefit race as the Honda Open class star dominated both motos again for the overall win, drawing to within easy reach of this year’s title. Kawasaki factory test rider Goat Breker was second both motos and took second overall ahead of Moates, Smith and Gary Semics. —Jim Gianatsis