1973 TRANS AMA MOTOCROSS
P74
Feature
WHAT THE HELL
AM I DOING HERE?
I should have been concentrating on
the starting gate, or the newly graded track
that stretched out beyond—a carpet that
would shortly become a mass of ruts and
bits of bikes. But an idée fixe dominated my
mind, a single thought, "What the hell am I
doing here?"
It was a fair question, which had its
genesis in a spot of daydreaming nearly
a year before. Back in Australia, a fellow
by the name of Linden Prowse decided to
off-load his successful pet food business
and dabble in other things, like motocross
promotion. It wasn't his first choice. He re-
ally wanted to hold a big chess match, and
announced a AUD $225,000 bid for the
right to stage a World Chess Championship
match in Sydney, between American Bobby
Fischer and Boris Spassky of the then
Soviet Union. He didn't get
the gig, which was awarded
to a rival bid to stage the
series of 24 matches in
Reykjavik, Iceland, where
it was dubbed "Match of
the Century."
So, flush with cash
from the disposal of his
recycled animal enterprise, Mr. Prowse hit
upon the idea of an international motorcoss
series in Australia for what he termed Moto
Crosse (sic). A six-strong troupe was signed
up: DeCoster, Joel Robert (who between
them boasted no fewer than eleven world
titles), works Husqvarna rider Bengt Aberg,
winner of the 1969 and 1970 FIM Motocross
World 500cc Championships, Welsh rider
Andy Roberton, also contracted to Husqvar-
(Above) Our Ford van
at Niagara Falls prior to
the New York round.
