Americans Smoke Off the Limeys At Match Races; Lackey Wins In Austria; Husqvarna Wins Las Vegas 400

Americans Smoke Off the Limeys at Match Races; Lackey Wins in Austria; Husqvarna Wins Las Vegas 400

RACE WATCH

Roberts, Spencer, Mamola Dominate Match Races

The American team dominated the 10th Marlboro Transatlantic trophy series, which pits Americans against Englishmen each Easter weekend.

Watched by a total of over 140,000 fans at Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Oulton Park, the six-race series (two races at each track) will best be remembered for the first British appearance of Freddie Spencer, the 18-year-old who had never been out of the States till the Tuesday preceding the races that started on Good Friday.

Although he blotted his copybook with a 1 OOmph crash at Island bend on the fourth lap of his last race in the second leg at Oulton, he had, on the previous lap, knocked half a second off Barry Sheene’s 680cc Suzuki outright lap record.

And he did it on only his 23rd lap of the demanding 2.76 mi. Cheshire circuit.

With Kenny Roberts, Randy Mamola and the sensational Spencer sharing the victories in the six legs, the British team (hampered by the fact that Barry Sheene’s private Team Akai and Texaco Yamahas were far from reliable), had to settle for any down-field points they could manage.

The British team had one bright spot when they won the final round at Oulton by 14 points, but that was far too little too late because the Americans had clinched the series for the second time running, this year by a clear 73 points.

Roberts was the top scorer of the weekend with a total of 92 and he really collected the lap bonus money in a big way at Mallory when he led for 42 of the 44 laps covered in the two legs.

Spencer stole the show at the opening Brands rounds on Friday with a superb double victory. New Zealander Graeme Crosby, the first colonial on the British team, set the pace in the first leg but on the third lap Spencer went to the front. Spencer pulled away at will as Sheene, in third, came under pressure from Roberts, who made a slowish start.

Roberts left his big effort to the last lap when he passed Sheene to take third place by a tenth of a second. Randy Mamola had brake trouble on his works 680 Suzuki and dropped to 10th place. England’s John Newbold moved up to fifth place ahead of Skip Aksland.

Spencer, who came within a fraction of the lap record in the first leg was soon in command of the second leg, as the Americans started to assert their authority.

England’s Ron Haslam down to 13th place in the first leg after brake failure which nearly resulted in a crash held second place in the early stages but was forced back to fourth place as Roberts and Mamola moved into second and third places.

Sheene went out on the third lap with clutch failure and he pushed over the line at the end of the race to get just three points. Further disaster came for Britain when Crosby also waited to push over the line after six laps when an engine oil seal broke, and Guy and Grant managed only one lap each before their respective Yamahas struck engine troubles.

Dave Aldana,like Wes Cooley on a fourstroke Yoshimura Suzuki, was the only American who failed to finish the full distance. Both four-stroke American superbikes were outclassed on the corners by the 750 Yamahas and Suzukis and both riders spent most of the time between races changing engines.

Roberts soon took command when the event moved to Mallory on Sunday and he chalked up a 2 sec. victory over Spencer in the first leg as the Americans continue to pile on the points.

Haslam did all he could to keep the works bikes at bay and the crowd of 45,000 was on its toes as he came alongside Spencer on the last lap. But at the finish it was the young American by a fifth of a second. Mamola gained a similar winning margin over Crosby in a fourth place battle but Huewen staved off the pressures of American Richard Schlacter.

Roberts, with Spencer as his shadow, was quickly out in front of the second leg at Mallory. A lap later Guy took a high speed tumble and collected shoulder injuries that kept him out for the rest of the weekend. Haslam again kept up the pressure but although fourth he was a full 2 sec. behind Spencer, who allowed Mamola to take second place.

The same three Americans dominated when the series moved to Oulton before a crowd of almost 60,000.

Spencer led for the first three laps but Roberts decided to have a trio of victories before he went home. “It really is a great feeling here today,” said Roberts before the race. “The pressure is off. We can go out for a ride.”

Once in front Roberts stayed a fifth of a second ahead of best placed British rider Huewen, who had England’s Roger Marshall on this tail for most of the race.

Sheene held third place for 10 laps but then his Yamaha broke a crankshaft. Haslam, who suffered ignition trouble, failed to score.

Crosby and Guy were replaced by Stan Woods and Steve Parrish after an emergency meeting at Oulton when the Americans agreed to a rule change so that the spectators saw two full teams in action.> Grant quit the Oulton round because of his injury.

Haslam took the lead at the start of the second leg but by the end of the first lap Spencer was in front. But while trying a bit too hard after setting a new absolute lap record for the circuit at 104.29 mph, he crashed at Island bend hairpin. He was uninjured but out of the race.

Roberts took over on the fifth lap as Sheene went out with a second broken crankshaft, but it was the turn of the hardworking Mamola to have a victory ride and Roberts let him through with four laps to go. Haslam hung on to third place ahead of the consistent Huewen who did well to beat Skip Aksland, who improved race by race. — -John Brown

LACKEY WINS IN AUSTRIA

American Brad Lackey rode his Ka»wasaki Uni-Trak to victory in the Austrian 500cc Motocross Grand Prix, taking the World Championship points leadi in the process.

Conditions in Austria were terrible, with snow and high winds compounding bitter cold. Yet Lackey dominated both motos, plowing through the sticky, muddy course to win. Hakan Carlqvist,(who won the 250cc World Championship on a Husqvarna last year, and who switched brands to Yamaha and classes to 500cc this year) finished second in both motos. In the first moto. Andre Vromans (Yamaha) finished third, while Gerrit Wolsink was third in the second moto.

After the Austrian round. Lackey led the" points table with 54 points. Carlqvist was second with 44 and Andre Malherbe third with 39. Malherbe won the first round of the Championship, defeating Lackey in Switzerland the week before the Austrian Grand Prix.

HUSKY TOPS YAMAHA IN LAS VEGAS 400

The Husqvarna-riding duo of Scot Harden and Brent Wallingford won the torturous 1980 Las Vegas 400, the richest professional motorcycle desert race. The pair’s Husqvarna 390CR finished 20 minutes ahead of the runnerup Yamaha of Bruce Ogilvie and Chuck Miller. Third in the Open class went to team Husqvarna’s Terry Clark and Fred Hansen, Jr.

Brothers Kent and Scott Pfeifer led a Yamaha sweep of the 250cc class on their G-model YZ. Local teams of Chris Hovvard/Leroy Kyger and Troy Fitch/ Kevin Steele finished second and third, respectively, on YZ250Gs.

Las Vegans Daryl Folks and Billy McDaniel pushed their Suzuki past the local Can-Am team of Michael Welch and Johnny Harshman to win the 125cc class. Husky riders Steve Webb and Doug Winchell finished third.

Yamahas ruled the senior divisions with John “Smokebomb” Gaetz and Rick Shirey besting the “Over-30” class on a YZ465G while Jack Froelich and Bruce Levvelleyn captured the Over-38 class, also Y Z465G-mounted.

Chuck Harper