Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

• COTATI SWINGS OPEN Story and Photos by George Martin A crisp, cool, spring morning greeted American Federation or Motorcyclists road racers as they unloaded their machines (or the first battle of the season at Cotati Raceways. The SUD fouglt a losing battle with mist and overcast all day while just about everyone else fought losing battles with Art Baumann. Two new touring machines made Baumann, it can now be revealed, is not really the mildauspicious debuts at the Cotati event. Ron Grant had a new Yamaha 350cc mannered fellow he appears to be. from AI Fergoda's with which he won When he dons his black an.d orthe 350cc production class. This race was a combination affair with every' ange leathers (uo mean feat in a thing from 175cc to open running, and cramped Cotati phone booth) and Grant was second overall, only losing out to Bill Lyons' Triumph 650. cries -Doowliah- - that's HailSomewhat less spectacular were the wood backwards - be becomes two Kawasakis which showed up. These beth ran in the grand prix class, but Super Scratcher: faster than a they were modified Samurais, not the factory production racers everyone up sp eeding Norton! More powerful north is waiting to see. than the average Triumph! Able Ned Marandino managed a fourth in to lean deep potholes in a single the 250cc class and George Roche of "T North Highlands came in eleventh. boud! Terry Grotfeld, just over from EngThis last is a handy talent to have at Cotati. ,For this race, someone in the AFM decided to name all the corners in the British manner. Turn two, which has a vicious sinkhole in it and at which many riders have met their respective Waterloos. became. according to the dittoed map being passed out at the gate, -Baumann's Bend. - land and now Service Manager at Bu!taco American, had one of the new Bultaco 250cc Metrallas entered in the production event. Terry took second in class. During the day we made arrangements for a Cycle News road test of the new Metralla. which should be completed in a few weeks. The aforementioned Mr. Grotfeld deserted the Bultaco camp long enough to take a 50cc class victory in the Unde,.100cc grand prix on a Honda. Art Ballma.... Bombl n' lhroucll BaIIma...•s Bend. Winner of the event was Ron Grant on a very potent Yamaha 100 twin. Grant strung out a good lead over Grotfeld while Tom Cleghorn of Menlo Park and Ken Harvey of Richmond diced for several laps on their Hondas. e ~ :lO : ~ ~ :;; '" !l ,g 1Io A dIt.III...... lookl.C Raa GraM Iuds lbe 350 praduetlon race on I -Too Exciting'· After a couple of vicious slides (once getting completely crossed up in tum one), Harvey cooled it somewhat. observing later. "I guess I'll have to get a new rear tire; that was too exciting.· With Harvey riding somewhat more circuqlseclly, the finishing order was Gmnt, Grotfeld, Clegbom. Harvey and Cbades Clement or Woodside on a Honda. The 175cc race provoked more than the normal interest because the heat race had been a hard-fough t battle between the Honda 160s ridden by Jim Williams of san Mateo and Fred Muhlberg of san Francisco. with Muhlberg taking the wins. However, both machines had been geared too high to take advantage of the shortened Cotati course, and while Williams was swapping sprockets on his 160, Muhlberg was working on his 350 Honda. With the main event, Williams' previous gearing disadvantage turned into and advantage, and he was able to handily outPace Muhlberg. Under the rule that class winners can move up to the ne xt class race for no points, Ron Grant had the 100cc Yamaha out. He was second on the first lap. first on the second, then was passed Qy Williams on the third and pulled into the pits when some trouble in his ignition suddenly turned his lOO twin into a 50cc single. At the finish it was Williams and a. . Yamaha Graad Prl z 350. Muhlberg on their 160s. followed Qy the 125cc bikes of Hayes Williams and Windy Foreman of Sparks, Nevada, beth Hondas. ADd Along Comes Art With the 250cc event Art Baumann began his series of wins which would last the rest of the day. Baumann's Team Cutlass Suzuki X-6 fired quickly at the start and going into the first turn he led, with Merv Wright (on Orrin Hall's Parilla). second. Bob Cambou on an Al Fergoda Yamaha TOol third. and Harold Parks on a Ducati fourth. As Baumann's tailpipes disappeared in the distance, attention focused on Wright and Cambeu. who were having a ding-dong battle for second. Wright held off the rapid Yamaha for three laps, despite frothing gas in the carburetor which caused the engine to sputter and cough on right hand bends. On lap- four, however. Cambeu would not he denied and he swept past to hold second place at the finish. Parks on his Ducati has been passed on lap two by Ned Marandino, who pulled ahead of Parks but was unable to catch Wright. They finished in that order: Baumann" Cambeu, Wright, Marandino and Parks. For the 350cc event Baumann parked the Suzuki and came to the line with the Precision Machining Honda 350. Also on the grid was Ron Grant, still on the Yamaha 350 he had ridden in the production race. Stocker Stormer! 1 am very skeptical when a dealer or rider points to his production machine and says it's stock. If Grant's Yamaha was really unmodified, the Yamaha company bas a reaT winning machine on its showroom 1100rs - complete with legal equipmen t. For with the flag Baumann pushed off and into a quick lead with Grant jumping into an immediate second place which he held throughout the race. Behind Grant was Martin Brinkworth on a Honda and hot on his heels, Dick Kilgroe, also Honda mounted. On lap three Kilgroe nipped Brinkworth, to complete the final finishing order, Baumann, Grant, Kilgroe, Brinkworth and fifth, Bob Bender of Arcadia on a Honda. The 350cc GP class has been the pri vate domain of Honda for a long time now, but Grant's second place, complete with street bars and muffler, suggests a possible change-like for instance the first time someone puts tuned expansion chambers and a fairing on a new Yamaha. The 500cc and open classes ran together, with Baumann lining up to have a go just for kicks. Commonplace as it's getting to be, he won again. with Dick Kilgroe On the Honda 450 second (1 sl in 500cc) and Truman Humphries of Vallejo third on a Triumph 650 and first in the open class. Real Road Racer Gold so as the sun sank slowly in the west the winners come to start-finish to claim their trophies and discovered (shock!!) "gold- with real grand prixstyle road racers on them, not the usual model Harley fiattracker. These. it turned out. were the work of the AFM's trophy committee. who had conned a trophy man into springing for a new road racing mold. Even happier than the people who were claiming trophies, it seemed, was TerTJ Grotflld (Hoada SO) SIIIUS a peek. Behind hi.. al'l II K.. Harvl, and 243 Charlls CIIIl*Il. At rlpt, backeraund, Tom CIIIhom. (Continued OD pace 8)

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