1973 TRANS AMA MOTOCROSS
P76
Feature
into the Trans-AMA series, which
kicked off at the end of the 1973
European season. To my great
surprise, he actually replied, and
in a very positive fashion. It was
time to piss or get off the pot,
so after a bit of soul searching
and asset sales to finance the
venture, we shook hands on the
deal. With a partner, I imported
products from Filtron (coffee
goods), based in Van Nuys, Cali-
fornia, and they were quite happy
for us to ship our bikes there—my
400 Maico and Laurie's 400 CZ.
TIME TO GET
ON WITH IT
In early September we arrived
in Los Angeles on a Saturday,
grabbing a piece of carpet for a
couple of nights in a miniscule
apartment rented by Ken Stubbe,
an American who had raced in
Sydney for a while, his wife and
one-month-old baby girl.
It was very cozy.
Come Monday, we were at
Filtron, and, miracle of miracles,
the bikes were there, ready for us
to collect. Except we had nothing
to collect them in or with. Soon
after we found ourselves trawling
the used car lots on Hawthorne
Boulevard. I left the decision
to Laurie, a trained mechanic
who could fix anything. He was
so adept at solving mechanical
problems the Americas on the
MX series nicknamed him "The
human Swiss Army Knife."
Our new set of wheels was
a long wheelbase V8 Ford van,
longer than anything I had ever
seen, but quite normal, I was
assured. It started and ran okay,
(Above) Knackered but
happy; Scaysbrook after the
second race in Texas, and his
first prizemoney of the series.
(Above right) Philadelphia
Stadium, round two. My first
(and last) indoor event.
