1981 Supercross - 2-page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1981 Supercross - 2-page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, Vintage Magazine Article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
The 1981 Supercross
Season Begins:
Got Any Favorites?
It was obvious before the 1981 Su-
percross season even started that
there would be no clear shoo-in.
No one man could so dominate the se-
ries in a way that nobody else would
stand a chance. But if one did dare to
pick a favorite, would it be defending
champion Mike Bell? After all, Bell is
the only one with the ability, and long
enough legs, to make the scattering of
dangerous bumps and ridges that
form a Supercross track look like a
stretch of interstate.
Or what about Kent Howerton? He
was disappointed enough in losing the
Supercross title to Bell last season to
fashion his own outdoor Supercross
track on his Texas property, so he
could practice at every possible op-
portunity. Despite winning the 250cc
National Championship in 1980 and
the Trans-AMA title, he was very un-
happy that Bell beat him. And while
we're considering the possibilities,
let’s include Mark Barnett. He beat
Broc Glover out of the 125 National
Championship in 1980 and was a high
scorer at all the Supercross events
His first taste of Supercross victory
came in 1979 when he won the Grand-
daddy of them all, the Superbowl. He
finished progressively better in the
1980 season and scored his second
win at the New Orleans Supercross.
Barnett is ready to be a real threat on
bigger machines, and he seems to
have an uncanny knack for Super-
cross racing.
Bob Hannah was absent from most
of the 1980 Supercross season be-
cause of his still mending leg, but he’s
back in form for 1981. He seems a bit
put out by all the hoopla over Bell and
Howerton and swears to steal back the
spotlight. In a recent interview, Han-
nah stated he was curious to see how
long it would take him to beat them. He
said that if he doesn’t get hurt, he will
beat them because he'll keep working
on it until he does. Those may sound
like rather presumptuous words, but
anyone who has ever seen Hannah in
one of his patented last-to-first banzais
Shultz gets the white flag on his way to
winning Sunday’s final at the Klngdome.
knows they are not to be taken lightly.
The first race of the season took
place at Anaheim Stadium in Califor-
nia. A crowd of 63,000 came out to see
who would strike the season’s first
blow. It had rained prior to the event
and the sandy track was deep and
loamy In no time, the heat races had
carved deep lines through the berms
Howerton won his heat race and Bell
won another heat after a tangle with
Hannah that left the Hurricane whirling
around on the ground The stage was
set for the final after Barnett won his
heat from Suzuki teammate Darrell
Shultz.
Shultz shot out of the gate first fol-
lowed by Yamaha’s Broc Glover, Bar-
nett, Howerton, Bell and a bushel of
other factory riders. Hannah had trou-
ble getting out from behind the gate
and found himself surrounded by a
Bob Hannah’s tip on Supercross crashing:
never stall the engine. Though Bell took
the lead in this Anaheim heat, Hannah was
up and away before Bell was out of sight.
Bell won the heat with Hannah in tow.
mid-pack cluster. Shultz crashed on
the third lap and Barnett took over the
lead. Howerton nestled in behind Bar-
nett as Hannah ramrodded his way up
to 14th position. The ruts became so
deep through the corners that "Too-
Tall” Bell had trouble finding room for
his legs He hung safely back in third
Up front, Howerton pressured Bar-
nett until the stocky speedster bobbled
in a sandy turn and Howerton ducked
under him. Howerton flew by the
checkered flag for the first win of the
season followed by teammate Barnett
and Mike Bell. Shultz recovered his
composure and worked his way up to
fourth Hannah's charge was cut short
at sixth place by the checkers.
The second race of the series was a
doubleheader in Seattle's Kmgdome.
Howerton started off Saturday night by
winning the first qualifier just ahead of
Hannah Howerton's winning time
proved to be the fastest 10-lap time of
the evening, earning him an extra
0. His teammate. Barnett, won the
second qualifier, and the string of Su-
zuki victories was kept alive by Shultz
who won the fourth. In the third heat,
Yamaha’s Mike Bell became the only
non-Suzuki rider to win a heat.
The final got off with Bell in the lead,
followed by Shultz and Barnett. They
held that order until Bell toppled over
in the sandy whoopers and Shultz got
by He held the lead to the flag to take
his very first Supercross victory Be-
hind him, Bell and Barnett were
bouncing off each other as they raced
to a spectacular second-place deci-
sion Barnett wasn't exactly the picture
of control, but he managed to ricochet
past Bell in the closing laps. Just be-
fore the finish-line jump, Bell shot by
Howerton flies his Floater through a rough
section at Anaheim on his way to victory.
on the inside, but Barnett never let off.
The two tangled in midair and crossed
the finish line in a twisted mass. Bell
landed facedown in the dirt with Bar-
nett's Suzuki parked across his back—
but he still had second
Both Howerton and Hannah had
their problems with the course and fin-
ished way back, Howerton ended up in
ninth, Hannah in 14th.
Darrell Shultz’s spirits were still in
the clouds when he lined up behind
the gate for Sunday’s main event Not
only had he just, won his first Super-
cross, but he had come from nowhere
to tie Barnett and Bell for the series
lead. Howerton was four points behind
the leaders.
When the gate dropped, Shultz
wasted no time grabbing the lead, the
lead that he never relinquished. Bar-
nett waited in his wake, hoping Shultz
would get nervous enough to make a
mistake. He didn't, and Barnett had to
settle for second. Howerton nursed a
set of twisted triple clamps across the
line for third, and Bell managed fourth.
Anaheim Supercross 1 Kent Howerton
Suz
2. Mark Barnett
Suz
3. Mike Bell
Yam
4 Darrell Schultz
Suz
5. Jim Gibson
.... Hon
Seattle Supercross [Saturday) 1. Darrell Schultz
Suz
2. Mike Bell
Yam
3. Mark Barnett
Suz
4. Steve Wise
Hon
5. Broc Glover
Yam
Seattle Supercross (Sunday) 1 Darrell Schultz
Suz
2. Mark Barnett
Suz
3. Kent Howerton
Suz
4. Mike Bell
Yam
5. Johnny O'Mara
Hon
Supercross Series Points Standings (After 3 of 8 events) 1. Darrell Schultz
Suz
76
2. Mark Barnett
Suz
._
73
3. Mike Bell
Yam
67
4. Kent Howerton
Suz
66
5. Steve Wise
Hon
46
6 Bob Hannah
Yam
45
7. Jim Gibson
Hon
37
8 Richard Coon
Hon
35
8. Chuck Sun
Hon
35
10. Broc Glover
Yam
34
Honda's newest teamster, Johnny
O'Mara finished fifth ahead of Chuck
Sun, and Hannah berserked his way to
sixth after another poor start.
Darrell Shultz had done the impossi-
ble. Not only did he suddenly burst in-
to the Supercross spotlight from the
underdog position, he did it with the
best possible style back-to-back wins
against all the heavy-hitters. Now if
you were to pick a Supercross favorite
for the 1981 season, who would it be?
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