Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125454
.... - • Ralph LeClercq, ch lel 0lthe175cc class on his swill Ducatl. '3fI~ SfPWt94 Spuut "76" ACA Star Tony Murphy, just back Irom the wars , cleaned off the 500cc opposition on Norton bike. F ourth of July weeke nd saw the runnln g of the s econd ann ual "S pirit of 76" e vent at Wlllow Springs. T his year , th e A.C.A. mad e it a two day event , wit h the fie ld meet on Saturday morning and a Grand P rix s crambles i n the afternoon. G.P. Scrambles A Grand P ri x scramble s was laid out usi ng the Willow straightaway, Turn 1 and Turn 2 of th e road race course . It vee red off s harply ftorn the road race course and went up int o the hill s , ove r th e mountai n behind Willow Sprin gs. It was a co urse with many obstac les to c hallenge both t he rid e r s and the mac hine ry. T he ove r-a ll winn er, J a ck Ross , repe at ed his per formanc e of last ye ar. J ack won this event on appr oximate ly the same co urse a year ago in the Open class on his Tr iumph. Dennis Greene photos Lelt: Even road rlden love to watch road race s, as this well·equlpped Harley in the parklni lot testi fies. Above: Allen Woods Georie Walker, leadlni, won the 250 cc won the match race with helicopter shown class In G.P. Moto Cross, foll owed by Chie l on front paie la st week. Galbra ith (200cc winner) and David Jones Economy Run Sat urday night , commencing around 8:0 0 p.m.. a stree t dance was held . At rnidni ght began the Economy Run which allows all the pit crews and rac ers to participate in an event together. Lighting equipment was required and every imaginable machine was entered. T he largest Harleys were only given a thousand cc 's of gas and from the re down the equipme nt was aliated gaso line according to its displacement. T he over-all winner of this event was Steve P e derson on his 175cc Ossa. Even though he had a mis ha p up on Turn 2 when a jack rabbi t ran out in front of him and he hit t he animal , steve was abl e to cove r mor e distanc e than any ot her entrant . The 50cc class winner was the famed road ra cer Ron Grant on a little Italian J et, hotly pur sued by P e ggy sc ott on her hopped-up 50cc Honda . And At Last-Road Races Sunda y morning found a bright s unny day and over 100 enthus ia s tic road rac er s. suzuki was repres ented in full force and Mr. Koshino was ab le to win th e 50cc event Quite ea si ly . His t ruly is a fan tastic piec e of equipment. In t he 100cc e ve nt Barry Herrmann returned to t he winner's cir cle by winnlngthis e vent on his P R special, hotly pursued by Don Ans elm , also on aPR Special. In the 125cc and 175cc eve nt , Mr. Koshino did it again on ano ther Suzuki inning ove r-al l and first in his by w c lass. Bruc e Shaw did an e xce llent jo b fi nlshing se co nd on his Honda and Chief Galbraith was abl e to get his I 25c c wat er-cool ed Bultaco into third s pot . In t he l75cc c la s s Ralph LeClercq Boot ' n Bell Race Is old time fiel d meet contesL fun to olav or watch . Oblect ls to li nd your boot and belL put 'em on and ride cycle to the IInlsh on his Ducati won the class and finishe d second ov er-all. Alway s an exciting event is the 250cc race. Ron Grant and Koshino, both on suzukis, chased eac h ot he r throu ghout th e 250cc main event , passi ng each ot her continually. On the last l ap , co mi ng out of Turn 9 , Gra nt was able to s li p by Koshino and c ome acr oss the s tart-fi nis h li ne a half bike len gth ahe lfd. Followin g clo seiy behind was Walt Fulton al s o on a Suzuki , so the tide has change d tempora rily and Suzuki is winnin g I, 2 and 3. Fo urt h went to John Buc kner on his Yamaha. Ral ph L eCl er CQ was running i n strong conte ntio n but was force d to make a pit s top hecause his lea ther s broke ope n in the front a nd a cted as a sail , slowi ng him down. Becau s e of the heat probl em durin g t he month of Augus t, no road ra c e eve nts for motorcyc les will be sch eduled at Wi llo w Sprin gs. Read er s ar e ur ged to watch the Calendar of Event s in t his paper for t he ne xt A.C .A. road rac e e vent. ( Re s ul ts appeared in Cycle Ne ws la st week ) Far Left: Norton sidecar team showed what the luture holds. Center: Knobbles on the Willow Sprlnis irld? Grand Prll Moto Cross mixed large and small bike classes in one mass start, ran on payement and dirt . CalaIina-style. Aboye: A.C.A . prelY Wes Cooley measures gas Into a contestant's tank durIng Salurday nighl economy run• •