Malherbe Seeks First Motocross Victory at Carlsbad

World 500cc motocross champion Andre Malherbe of Belgium and defending champion Broc Glover of El Cajon head an international cast of riders entered in the 13th annual Nissan U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross Sunday at Carlsbad Raceway.

The Carlsbad race has developed into an annual grudge match between European riders, who dominated the first seven years, and Americans competitors, who have won four of the last five. It is Round 8 in this year’s 12-motocross world championship series.

Malherbe, who has never won at Carlsbad, although he has taken three world titles (1980, 1981 and 1984), has won three rounds this year, yet trails his Honda teammate, Dave Thorpe of England, 217 points to 212. Thorpe, who won 20 straight motos in England last year, has scored two Grand Prix victories this season, including one in the Netherlands two weeks ago, when he wrested the standings lead from Malherbe.

Hakan Carlqvist of Sweden, who won at Carlsbad in 1983 and went on to pick off the world championship that year, is also entered, on a Yamaha. Other prominent European entrants include two other Belgian riders--Georges Jobe, a former world 250cc champion, and Eric Geboers, who plans to race despite a broken leg. Geboers, the third member of the powerful Honda team, won the Swedish Grand Prix last month and is third in points.

Danny (Magoo) Chandler, of Foresthill, Calif., the lone American on the Grand Prix world circuit, will attempt to repeat his Carlsbad win of 1982 on an Austrian KTM. Chandler, who won the French Grand Prix in April, missed the last two rounds with an injured shoulder and dropped to sixth in the standings.

Chandler and the cast of Grand Prix regulars will have plenty of domestic competition from Glover; national 500cc champion David Bailey of Axton, Va.; Ron Lechein of El Cajon, Billy Liles of Fairburn, Ga., and Scott Manning of San Bernardino.

Riders will compete in two 40-minute motos over Carlsbad’s twisting one-mile track. Also on the program are two 250cc motos with a field that includes national champion Ricky Johnson of El Cajon, Johnny O’Mara of Simi Valley and Scott Burnworth of El Cajon.

Carlsbad Raceway is located southeast of Oceanside, five miles inland from Interstate 5 on Palomar Airport Road. Practice starts at 9:30 a.m., with the first moto at 1 p.m.

World 500cc standings: 1. David Thorpe (England), Honda, 217 points; 2. Andre Malherbe (Belgium), Honda, 212; 3. Eric Geboers (Belgium), Honda, 165; 4. Georges Jobe (Belgium), Kawasaki, 139; 5. Kurt Nicoll (England), KTM, 125; 6. Danny Chandler (Foresthill, Calif.), KTM, 89; 7. Andre Vromans (Belgium), KTM, 78; 8. Jacky Martens (Belgium), Husqvarna, 72; 9. Jeremy Whately (England), Kawasaki, 71; 10. Micheli Margarotto (Italy), Kawasaki, 63.

INDY CARS--Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, still recuperating from foot injuries suffered last September, will skip the next two CART Indy car road races, Sunday’s Meadowlands Grand Prix in New Jersey and the July 7 Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix. Mears, who had the fastest lap at Indy before dropping out after 122 laps, then finished third a week later at Milwaukee, will return to competition in the Michigan 500 July 21. Al Unser Sr. will replace him in the two road races. . . . The CART miniseries, a four-race schedule designed to provide experience for would-be Indy car drivers, has been canceled for lack of interest.

SPRINT CARS--Former motorcycle racer Eddie Wirth, with a victory last week, moved within seven points of Kraco-CRA leader Brad Noffsinger. Wirth’s third win of the season gave him 1,023 points to 1,030 for Noffsinger. The CRA season continues Saturday night at Ascot Park. The sprint cars will also return to Ascot next Wednesday night for the Firecracker 50, complete with a fireworks display.

STOCK CARS--A 150-lap International Enduro will take place Sunday night at Ascot Park for completely stock foreign and domestic compact cars. The only requirements are a helmet and a safety belt. Also on the doubleheader will be a 25-lap feature on the quarter-mile oval for Volkswagen and Volvo mini-stocks in the California Dirt Series. . . . The Curb Motorsports Winston Series returns to Ascot July 4 with pro stocks, bomber Figure 8s, oval cars, a demolition derby and another fireworks show. . . . Bakersfield Speedway will run a 200-lap enduro Saturday night for street stocks. . . . Sportsmen stocks will be the feature attraction Saturday night at Saugus Speedway, following time trials for trucks. . . . Radio station KWNK 670 in Simi Valley, because of favorable response after carrying the Indianapolis 500, will carry at least four NASCAR races--the Firecracker 400 at Daytona Beach, Fla., July 4; the Talladega 500 in Alabama, July 28; the Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C., Sept. 1, and the Winston Western 500 at Riverside Nov. 17.

MOTOCROSS--The Continental Motosport Club will conduct a series of motos today at the Quail Canyon course, near Gorman, for peace officers from Eureka to San Diego. Officer Lee Wilcox of Oxnard has an entry of 150 riders for the statewide competition as part of the 44-event Police Olympics. . . . The CMC will also hold its weekly program Friday night at Ascot Park. Last week, they had 370 riders.

ROAD RACES--Cal Club drivers will have a double opportunity to pick up points in the California Cooler Grand Prix series Saturday and Sunday at Riverside International Raceway. Seven regional championship races will be held each day. . . . Pro karts will run Friday night on the Saugus Speedway road course.

MOTORCYCLES--One of the most competitive speedway seasons in history finds U.S. champion Kelly Moran without a win at Costa Mesa’s Orange County Fairgrounds going into the 14th week Friday night. Seven riders have won--Mike Faria four times, Sam Ermolenko three, Alan Christian two and Brad Oxley, Shawn McConnell and Bobby Ott one each. Also winless are Lance King, third in last year’s world championships, and Rick Miller, who will return to the British League season after this week. . . . Sam Ermolenko defends his narrow points lead over Steve Lucero in tonight’s speedway program at Ascot Park’s South Bay Stadium oval.

SUPER MODIFIED--Wally Pankratz and Chuck Gurney head a strong field in Saturday night’s winged super modified main event at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield.

RIVERSIDE--Despite dropping the Prado Basin as a potential site for relocation of Riverside International Raceway, track officials expect to name their new site--scheduled to be ready for racing in 1987--in the next 60 days, according to Daniel Greenwood, the raceway’s president. Prado became undesirable, Greenwood said, because “unified and active community support for the project is one of our requirements, and this ingredient is not present at the Corona site.”

CONCOURS--Race cars of the Vintage Auto Racing Assn. will be on display Sunday in the GT Concours d’Elegance at the Newporter Resort in Newport Beach. It is a benefit for the Mardan Center for Educational Therapy in Costa Mesa.