Motor Racing : Ward, Glover Top Americans in Motocross

American motocross riders, who have dominated the United States 500cc Grand Prix since San Diego’s Marty Moates broke the European lock on the event in 1980, will attempt to keep the title in this country Sunday at the Hollister Hills track in Northern California.

Jeff Ward of Mission Viejo, who recently rode his Kawasaki to the national 250cc outdoor championship, and Broc Glover of El Cajon, winner of last Saturday night’s Coliseum supercross, head the list of 23 domestic riders entered in the two-moto world championship event. Glover, 28, the Yamaha veteran who won the U.S. Grand Prix in 1984, is the oldest competitor among the upper echelon of American riders.

The 500cc was held for 14 years at Carlsbad Raceway but was not contested in the United States last year because of a scheduling conflict. Its new home, Hollister Hills, is in San Benito county, between Salinas and San Jose.

Honda teammates David Thorpe of England, who won the world 500cc championship in 1985 and 1986, and Eric Geboers of Belgium, the reigning world 250cc champion, are the leading foreign riders. Thorpe, who won three of the first four motos this season, holds a four-point lead over Geboers, 180-176, with Kurt Nicoll of England next with 158. Geboers’ six-moto winning streak was halted two weeks ago by Jacky Vimond of France in the second moto of the Italian GP.

Georges Jobe of Belgium, who won the world 500cc title last year, is not defending his championship. Jobe elected to ride in the world 125cc class this season.

Rick Johnson of El Cajon, the national 500cc champion who won the 1986 USGP in Carlsbad, the last time it was held there, is not entered because he plans to contest the world 250cc championship July 24 in Unadilla, N.Y. International rules do not permit a rider to enter more than one world class in the same season.

This weekend, Johnson will be at Mammoth Lakes, Calif., riding his Honda in the ski resort’s annual motocross.

World 500 cc standings:

1. David Thorpe (England), Honda, 180 points; 2. Eric Geboers (Belgium), Honda, 176; 3. Kurt Nicoll (England), Kawasaki, 158; 4. Jacky Vimond (France), Yamaha, 101; 5. Kees Van der Veen (Holland), KTM, 93; 6. Kurt Ljungqvist (Finland), Yamaha, 83; 7. Jacky Martens (Belgium), KTM, 75; 8. Haakan Carlqvist (Sweden), Kawasaki, 70; 9. Dietmar Lacher (West Germany), Honda, and Mark Banks (England), Honda, 67 each.

SPRINT CARS--Arizona’s two premier drivers, Ron Shuman and Lealand McSpadden, will race one another at Ascot Park for the first time since May 29 in Saturday night’s Parnelli Jones Firestone/California Racing Assn. main event. It will also be the start of the three-race Budweiser-Bud Light Challenge series. Shuman recently won the Antique Night feature at Ascot when McSpadden was absent, and McSpadden won when Shuman was vacationing in Australia.

MIDGETS--Sleepy Tripp, who has won 11 of 21 main events in defense of his United States Auto Club Western States championship, will attempt to continue his dominance Saturday night at Ventura Raceway on the one-fifth mile dirt oval. Also on the program will be a USAC three-quarter midget main event.

STOCK CARS--The Toyota Superproduction Grand Prix cars will return to Willow Springs Raceway for Round 3 of the 7-race series Sunday. Favorites include Steve Anderson of Las Vegas, winner of the second race; Rick Ware of Los Angeles, who has been second twice, and Andy Porterfield of Costa Mesa, who has two thirds. . . . NASCAR sportsman and hobby stock oval and Figure 8 cars will share the Saturday night spotlight at Saugus Speedway. A destruction derby is also scheduled. . . . NASCAR sportsman cars will also race Saturday night at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino. . . . The Coors Silver Bullet series will continue Friday night at Ventura Raceway. . . . Ron Meyer of Garden Grove and Marcus Mallett of Gardena will continue their rivalry Sunday night in the Curb Motorsports Winston Racing Series for pro stocks at Ascot Park. . . . Super stocks will run Saturday night at Cajon Speedway.

SPEEDWAY BIKES--British Speedway League rider Lance King of Fountain Valley is taking a week off from his Kings Lynn team in England to ride Southland tracks--tonight at Ascot Park, Friday night at Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa and Saturday night at Speedway USA in Victorville. In tonight’s Ascot Park program, he will be facing Rob Pfetzing of Santa Ana, who will return to England to ride for his Bradford team Friday morning. Their main challengers will be Bobby Schwartz, the year’s leading rider in victories, and national champion Brad Oxley, the year’s point leader with consistent finishes. . . . The Inland Speedway at San Bernardino’s Glen Helen Park will have a fireworks show with its program Wednesday night.

SPORTS CARS--A record entry of more than 600 cars is anticipated by the California Sports Car Club for its three-day Last Lap of Riverside over the Fourth of July weekend. Regional and national championship races--the last ones held on the track after 31 years of club racing--are scheduled for Sunday and Monday, July 3-4.

MOTORCYCLES--The American Federation of Motorcycles will hold its final races on Riverside’s road course this weekend. . . . A CMC motocross will be held Friday night at Ascot Park.

DRAG RACING--The Nostalgia Timing Assn. will hold a Lions Reunion this weekend at the Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale. Featured will be cars and drivers that competed at the popular Lions drag strip in Wilmington before it closed in 1972.

NEW TRACK--Grading has begun on the Adelanto Motorsports Complex, which is scheduled to open later this year with a one-third mile dirt oval. The three participants in the project, Gary Sigman of Carson, Russ Tolleson of Encinitas and Dave Hubert of Mission Viejo, hope to expand the facility with a 2.3 mile paved road course and a drag strip in the future. The track is north of Adelanto, at the intersection of Nichols Road and Highway 395 in San Bernardino county.

NEWSWORTHY--Darel Dieringer, who was the first Southerner to win a NASCAR race at Riverside--the Golden State 400 in 1963--has been elected to the National Motorsports Press Assn. Hall of Fame. Dieringer, 62, was instrumental in the development of the inner liner safety feature of stock car tires.