1973 TRANS AMA MOTOCROSS
P80
Feature
The entire front end of Lackey's
Kawasaki departed from the chas-
sis, and he carried the wreckage
across the line to claim points as
there were so few finishers.
BURNING THE
MIDNIGHT OIL
There were only a few days to get
to the next round in Copetown,
near Hamilton in Canada, so while I
drove, Laurie sat in the back of the
van, building wheels from bits we
had scrounged. I liked the track. It
was grassy and fast with rolling hills
and no murderous, fiendish jumps.
In the first leg, I finished 20th;
things were looking up. Flushed
with confidence, I burst from the
starting gate in Leg 2, grabbed
second gear and the gearbox
exploded. Laurie soldiered on for
another placing in the mid 20s.
Here began an interesting
sequence of events.
Round four was at Mid-Ohio,
and we had been invited (or in-
vited ourselves, possibly) to use
the facilities of the Maico dealer
in Piqua, Ohio. Driving non-
stop from Canada, we arrived
late at night and headed for the
dealership, which was naturally
closed. No matter, there was
a large empty car park beside
the shop, so we crawled into
our sleeping bags in the back
of the van and passed out.
Around midnight, the doors to
the van were flung open and
an intense white light flooded
the interior. Through the glaze I
could make out what appeared
(Above) Jim's Maico in
the pits at Mid-Ohio. A
factory racer, this is not.
(Right) Laurie Alderton
on Scaysbrook's
Maico at Road Atlanta.
