Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

• • THE FINISH LINE By Roxy Rockwood • • • Mulder scores the hat trick in TT racing and now can claim to be the best in the land on the basis of winning at all three tracks in California, Illinois and Washington. He made it look easy at Castle Rock,Washington and ,Ascot but had to run it right down the wire last year at Peoria against Bart Markel. Mulder has a supurb-running rig that is tuned and built by Jack Hately of Triumph - Burbank. Eddie and Jack are one of the new winning combinations on the national circuit. Few if any riders can hold up under the pace set by Mulder last Saturday night. Dallas Baker and Travis Petton looked exceptionally good. Baker the first part of the race, Petton the last half. Skip Van Leeuwen was plagued with engine problems both nights. He never got going after taking third up at Castle Rock last week. ARMY - BOUND • • Two of the West's best Amateurs. Rich Thorwaldson and Lonny Walters were riding their last race for awhile. Both are service bound for two years. Romero will follow right after the next TT. More are scheduled to follow in the near future. Bart Markel turned in an extra fine effort in both the heat and final. He rides the rig he entered for the Ascot event once a year and it was far from being set up 1000/0 right for the Ascot track. He came close to eliminating himself again this year in the heat race on the first infield tum trying for front position. The champ then settled down to run 6th in his heat race and then come back to run the distance with only one or two major mistakes. He missed a couple of gear changes. A lot of people were mildly surprised by Sammy Tanner in time trials on Friday night. He looked extra good on aJJ parts of the track except the jump. Sam missed the show by only four notches. Many of the veteran TT riders stated that if he had just come out and ridden one event prior to the national he probably would have made the program. Bobby Winters was out from Arkansas and also just missed the show. This was his first time ever at .Ascot. He really liked the track and says he'll be back for more. Winters did manage to go home with one prize. He and his wife, Ann. won the dance contest after the races up at the Red Vest. A bottle of bubbles went to the winner. Where Were all the Northwesterners?' • . • • For the second straight year one of the big questions is. "why don't more of the northwest riders from the Washington, Oregon area enter the Ascot event?" All the top talent from down here enter up there every year but only five or six came down here for the '66 running. Sid Payne is back in the saddle and says he will be around all the time now that he has had a breather. Sid may even go to Peoria in late August and give it another try. Clark White was in the stands for tl1e races and is still in happy retirement. He built a new house big enough to play basketball in. Digger Helm also came down from Bakersfield for this one. Digger is now devoting full time to formula car racing but still can't shake the two wheel bug. Many of the fans were saying after the races that this was the best national TT yet. A record crowd for TT's filled the stands, but stiJJ a couple of thousand orr the crowd that shows up for the annual 8 miler which is on .•. saturday night, September 10th. Mulder and company will be back for the next TT but Eddie will prob- ably miss the August 19th shot due to Springfield. He rode here last year and then flew back for the 50 miler. A special word for all the sponsors of the many fine TT machines at the national. The bikes all looked extra sharp, with most of the riders looking the same. It all helped to make it a true national championship event. SCRAMBLIN AROUND By Maureen Lee It seems that lately we've been grumbling about what is wrong with the AMA, complaining about various rulings and other things we don't like and seeming to forget what is good about the AMA. For all the complaints we have. the organization is still probably the best in the world of amateur-class competition, providing a system that is almost fool,proof in allowing you to rise through the ranks as a competitor, taking the next step up when you prove that you are ready by earning your points, and not before. You are all aware of the rules, but maybe you don't know hOW good the system is when compared to another sport like ours, one based on a hobby, like amateur sPorts car racing. When we were personallY in that little sports car world which is every bit as tight a society as motorcycling. there was no such thing as a Novice. When applying for a license you went up to the club office after you had passed the physical, and took a written test. This was quite tough requiring that you at least knew flags. conduct on the track etc.. and that was that. You climbed into your little bomb and raced. There were course judges who observed to make sure you weren't a complete and utter SQuirrel, but the point is that a man who had perhaps never driven anything more violent than an MG to the supermarket could buy a car like a 4.9 Ferrari and go out with it in the same race as people like Phil Hill. Carrol Shelby, Pete Woods and Dan Gurney, et al. That's enough to make your hair stand on end! The parallel in our sport would be riding a Trail 50, then buying a TT Special and riding the Open Expert class ,first time out. Now when the AMA set up the rules for Sportsman Competition, they rea 1lY knew what they were about in preventing fiascos like that. Sure, you can move from a Trail 50 to a TT Special, but you'll ride it with all the other Novices wbo are learning what it's all about, and the s:ystem moves right along into professional competition. The recent ruling of having to present an Amateur or Expert Sportsman card to get your Novice Class "C· license stops a great number of unqualified people from becoming money racer s. The drop in the number of Ascot Novice accidents this ye/1.r shows how wel1 this works. Not only in the field of competition, but in all pbase s of motorcycling, the AMA has built and is continuing to build a climate of respectability by means of lobbying. and enforcing gen- eral • good citizen" rules on its mem- scrambles you know that. generally speaking. the race is going to be run the same way any place you go because there is a standardized way of doing it wiLh classes, points awarded, etc. and you have a plainly stated set of rules to follow. One club can't do it one way one Sunday and then another way the next. SO. when we all stand around and grouse about what is wrong with the AMA (and 1 do my share!) let's also remember what is good about it. An organization that can set up such a good system as we now have in the rules for competition can't be all had. We hope with all the in-fighting that's been going on lately, and the fact that the National AMA must know the natives on the West Coast are restless, that some mOLe good rules and changes will come out of the chaos. Say, that's who must be behind all this uproar. KAOS! I OPEN HOUSE AT - I., CI> "C co 0.. «> «> ZJid~'d- -. Bellflower Motorcycle Shop Inc. COOLIES\\ (' (COLUMN L~&~! I,', fealuring We're happy to see that the International Vase A Team, consisting of Bud and Dave Ekins, James Sherwin, John K i r z man and Charles Hochderffer, will be entering the famed Six Days Trial again this year. I'm sure that this team will give a good account of themselves. Dave Ekins and. his· brother seem to be the only ones in the United States who are interested in entering top European events of this type. Even though they don't receive much practice in this country in European timed trials, I feel the riding experience is invaluable, and I'm sure the knowledge they have gained through competing in these international events wUl be very helpful to the 'riders who follow in their footsteps. In the past, even under adverse conditions and lacking in experience, the Ekins' have always done a fine job of representing the United States, and as they gain experience, I'm sure they will come out, on top in future events. I wish we could inspire this competitive attitude for World events in other riders in the United States, but because of the past philosophy of isolationism I feel it will be some time before we can hope to interest the average American competition rider in riding international events. I sure wish Ekins and the team the best of luck in this event. It is amazing how motorcycling in Europe has held its tremendous popularity even though Europeanl< have gone so strongly for the automobile as a means of transportation in recent years. I just received my copy of Motorcycle News from England and at the recent East German Grand Prix, which is a world's classic road race event for 125, 250, 350 and 500cc, they reported over 200,000 paid spectators. Which might go to prove a point that there is a great deal of interest in world's championship events, at least in Europe. Saturday July 3D, 11 am - 3 pm 9135 E. Compton Blvd. Bellflower, Calif. ROAD RACERS-WinAFM Cbampionsbip points at COTATI RACEWAYS AUG. 14. All classes, 1·2·3 plac. G.P. and pro· ducllon Irophles, plus G.P. cash. Practice Aug. 13-14, race al noon. Italy Sport Cycle Newly Appointed Distributor for ITAt JET Dealership.:. Arai.ble 11fIIIIefI. ~ Contact: Lee Cowan, National Sales My. 3415 E. Firestone Blvd. South Ga.te, California. '1't1'tIVV'tIV't'ol'tl'tlY'tlYV~ SAVE BIG MONEY NEW 1966 HONOA'S Two Big Locations LOMITA HONDA 326-3810 2073 W. Pacilic Coast Hwy. MAYWOOD·BELL HONDA 583-3409 6101 Atlantic Blvd. ~-----------------------~--- bers. You don't appear on a professional track on a junker or looking like a HA yourself. In a recent referee's report there was a note pertaining to beards. Beards are O.K. but no kookY looking ones are allowed. In the system of sanctioning events, when you enter a BATES MOLYNEAUX KILLED Veteran dirt tracker Bates Molyneaux was fatally injured last saturday night in a baJf-mile event at Troy, Ohio. The Detroit rider had been racing since 1955. He won the Daytona Amateur 100 miler on the beacb in L956 and up until two years ago was one of the top ten half-milers in the nation. Bates competed at Ascot in '59, '60 and '61. In his'last half-mile appearance at Ascot be was leading tbe main event until he fell on the backstretch on the 12th lap in the 15-lap final. Witnesses stated that it appeared that bis throttle stuck apen, causing him 10 crash and death was perhaps due to a broken neck. The event was won by Ronnie Rall. Molyneaux rode Harley-Davidson his entire career and was sponsored for """ny years by Detroit dealer Earl Ro~ inson. He was a one-time winner of the Billy Huber Memorial haJf-mile at Reading, Pa. and a three-time Michigan state dirt lr.wk title holder. He retired at the end of the '64 season but came back to ride Springfield last year and theA has been a consistent rider at midwest half-miles this year. Bates was not mamed. AI New Cusfam Gas Tani for 450 HONDA Ready. to Paint / See your Local Honda Dealer • Buns MFG. 49 95 or write .. -----------_._ .... For additional 5% discounl ~rlng ., in IhlS ad U 1 BA~~~S;~ERLR~~ ~:LIF. I ~-------------------. DO YOU WANT TO WIN - - - -..... OR DON7 YOU? Stop talking about going fast and do it with the 9lcc Suzuki H.P. Kit from B & W Enterprise. $28.50 Excbange/or $34.50 including installation. (Includln: robor. cl,., B & WEnterprises, Inc. new hl·domeoislon, rings, . _ wrlstpin and racing port liming.) 128 South, PaCifiC Ave. cc Suzuki. San Pedro, 832-5345 00 CI> :; '" (new owner) / 1 111 0)

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