Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

9 still hold Class C Iice nses. Under the ru les J[HLE55 for "monev" scrambles this would have .. SCRAMBL'N'· AROUND B y Maureen L ee SALES· PARTS· SERVICE Charlie Kurt z, 17605 Horace St., Granada Hills. You can bring smiles to t he faces of th e Competi tion Co mmittee by using these new cards as they are different from the for 1966. So please, huh , use the m and not an old card, or a bi t of paper, or like one l.'Uy did , pop $2.00 in an envelope with nothing else but the legend, "send me a rid ing number," no name, no noth ing, \Vith all those hundreds of requests for num ber s EDDIE CROWELL 10427 Prair ie . Inglewood OR.3-9S73 when all they have to cope with is the corr ect card, properly filled out, and you get your number back that much faster. By W es Cooley Fans as well as the riders are looking forward to the 1966 season at South Gate with building: and enlargem ent promised ings, e ither lett ers or numbers must remai n on the eng-ine and must not be removed or tampe red with so you can't read them. If you're caught on the line in this condition, you11 be disqualified , period. All kinds of rumors have been flying around about "ride for money" scrambles this year. Thi s has definitely been voted down , in fact 1 understand the vote was 100% against, It may work in some parts of the country but not out here where so many of our riders have either held or By ROXY ROCKWOOD Had the pleasure last Sunda y moming of viewing the firs t attempt at indoor short track racing in the area. The occasion was at the Long Beach Arena which in many ways is finer than the plush Los Angeles Sports arena, Don Bryme r and Bob Dowis are the two gent lemen who held an informal practice to take a noise check and a fume survey. Abou t a dozen machines were on hand for the attempt and from all indications short track indoor racing will be held in the near future. On hand to try the concrete 10th mile oval were Sammy Tanner, Ralph White and Walt Fulton, to name a few . Brymer and Dowis are pointi ng towards an opening event for Satu rda y night, February 5t h. If not the 5th, then the 12th , Th e exac t da te will be anno unced in CYCLE NEWS in the next couple of weeks, Indoor racing in the past has run weekly in Portland, Cincinnati, and Columbus. It is quite a show . 1 had the experience of announcing an indoor short track event back in Indianapolis in '62 and it was full of action and spills. The most notable feature about the Long Beach arena is that the seats are located all the wa y around the track and everybody is looking DOWN right on top of the action , Th e bill qu estion last Sunday was, "What size bike would be best suited for the track?" Plan s call for any machine from 50cc up to and including 250cc, Machin es that were tested Sunday inelud ed: Yamaha, Suzuki, Van Tech, Honda, Du cati and Hodaka. My impression is that a stro ng 80 or 90cc will do the job just as well as a Iarger 250cc with the tricky traction that smooth, flat concre te presents. Oth er tracks have usecI rosin to afford ride rs more traction, Thi s is being looked into by the promoters at this tim e. All interested sponsors and rid ers may obtain complet e information b y contacting COOLIES COLUMN corning in, it m ak es it easier on th e guys THE FINISH LINE ,. HOoAKA ap plica tio n cards for ridin g: nu mbers fr om current ones w hen mak ing' your application New rules for the coming season will includ e the one allowing a rider to up grade his machin e to the top d isplacem ent of the class in wh ich he rides. Exampl es would be an 80 Yamaha up to 10Occ's, and the 305 Hondas up to 350, and you can bet the new 440's will be brought up to full 500's to compete with the so-called obsolete Goldstars, most of which still run like Jack the Bear. However, here's one real important point that was enforced this year at times and will really be stressed this corning year , The identification mark- . ruled out 'about 50% of our local talent from rid ing at"all on a Sunday. Whil e we're on the subjec t of 1966 , d ubs and shops can get a supply of the new Brymer and Dowis at 1540 W. 9th St. in Long Beach or phone 436-4870, One item tha t was stressed by both men was that all equipment must be extra sharp in the paint department and all riders must have clean and polished leathers. Th e lighting in the arena is extra bright so this rule on rider and machine appearance must and will be strictly enforced. Present plans call for at least two indoor eve nts at the Lon g Beach site. Maybe more if riders and the fans show immediate approval of this type of racing. Both will be AMA san ctioned, pursepaying events, so all ride rs must hold 1966 competition licenses . On that subject, the recent release from AMA hea dquarters states that riders may now apply for their '66 cards. Th ere are some changes from last year so all riders planning on ridin g in the February indoor races an d the Ascot TT even ts should request application forms now from the AMA in Columbus. Th e ad dress is still Box 1049 or 5030 No. High St. Requ ests should be di rected to Mr. Jules Hork y, dire ctor of compe tition. A self-addressed and stamped return envelope will insure quicker re turn, for the track. Mr. Von Dem ing, thc owner and ope rator, has stated the course will be length ened and widened which should add a great deal to safety as well as give the specta tors better viewing. In addition to the sho rt track motorcycle events being held presently at Sout h Ga te, an additional night is planned for the rebirth of Class A flat tracking next season . Work is under way to bring back the speed way bikes in competition, Most of these all-out machines have been stored in garages or disrnan tled since they were bann ed from racing in 1948. Th ere is a strong belief that th is type of racing could beco me popula r again, so a great deal of time and effort is be ing devoted to bringing it back. Some of the young cham pions wh o have done well at short tracking during the 1965 season and show great prom ise as champion ride rs will be movin g up to compe te on the larger courses. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the 1966 season on 1f4 and Y mile tracks. It is our firm o be lief that short track racing affords an excellent opportunity and tra ining ground for future motorcycle champions, but only time and experience will prove this a fact. Th ere has been much comment by the riders and spectators concerning the new Carlsbad Road Race course. Naturally, its course was developed util izing a dra!: strip and there are some limitations involved, but it doe s afford anoth er available course in the Southern California area on whic h the riders may participate and gain experience, with some added conveniences which are not found at some of the others . We think it is quite interesting tha t another " association has sta rted promoting road races on the West Coast, since they have been ab sent from this particular end of the sport since their fatal accident in 1961 under the same sportsman promoter, It also is very interesting to see this promoter d onating copy to one of the finest road racers in the United States, Buddy Parriott, even though in the past several years when Buddy competed in and won anding events and finished 6th many outst in Int ern at ional ( F.l. M.) 500ce sta nd ings, he never ha d the privilege of being mentioned by that reporter. So, it looks as if some of the deserving riders may finally sla rt !,:ettin ll reco gniti on from a few of the "authorities" in the motorcycle world. On December 19th at Carlsb ad , the A.C.A, will hold their National Championship Road Race eve nt which will be the last of the seaso n, and the last oppo rtu nity in 1965 to see some of the top road racing cham pions in the United Slates, such as Budd y Parriott , Ton y Murphy, Don Vesco, Ralph Le Clercq , Barry Herrmann, Walt Fulton, j r., Dave Jones, Myron Tracy, and Roger Calvert. We foresee a great man y changes in the 1966 season which, 1 think, will Ilreatly benefit the competition rid er and the fans , bu t of course, as always , only time will tell. ~@lS~ • • • SEETHE'BA ~ • • • Llghlnlng Rockel • OPEN WEEKDAYS 9 TO 9 • SUNDAY 10 TO 6 • • • • 650cc • • _ AIL OllaEll SEIlYI CE • _~Il.n.· LlSUULU,CAUf• • _ ••••••••••••••••••• -----------Yamaha Factory Authorizecl Dealer J32oo·J32JO Son Antonio Drive Norwalk, Calil. 868-9997 2620 E. Pacilic Coa51 Hwy. Long Beach, Ca/il . 433.9987 ------------e LAWNDALE CYCLE INCA. YAMAHA ~ 1:1), VELOCElTE Due A T I SALES-SERVICE-PARTS- RENTALS 15 324 H AWTH O RNE BO ULEVARD LAWNDA LE C A LI F" .... Hr- ~A Y, • '0 S P '2 18 2 2 OS 69546 ~U". CE ...... TER JOS E P H Bur GE LE 15F". ( fiOK '0 . ~ N O P T ~lL r.N U -, l. l N'I;'; OUT~irIFln "" I( N~tueC~u. " RACING CASTOR For 2 or .. eye" HARLEV- DAVIDSON Racing Champions' Choice ,he World Over WORLD 'S FASTEST HARLEY· DAVIDSON DON'T BE FOOLED BY WILD CLAIMS OF JUST AS GOOD. THERE ARE NONa 250 FOR 1966 ADDZlP ADDlrIVIS * '433-37 Fi,., St. * I_leNt, CalH. • San Fernando valley Harley - Davidson Sales 16113 She rman Way , Van Nuys • .r: » ,

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