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/125496
- THE SAND PIT SCRAMBLES Photos &. Report By Doug Richmond The Salinas Ramblers ran of( another scrambles in their ·Salinas Sand Pit- on February 2S, and had their nsual fabulous tumouL The race of the day was undou btedly the 500cc Amateur Main. Lap after lap Gene McRae and Bobby Fortino swapped the lead back and forth - th perfect tribute to the riders classification system. Lap after lap they were side by side. Then, wi th the yellow flag in sight. they both got off in "The Sand Pit" about a hundred yards from the finish line. Even wi ves who cherish a low opinion of racing in general. al· lowed as how this was a race worth seeing. The crash of the day occurred in tb fust turn of the 500 Expert Main. All but one rider went down necessitating a re-start. I was told that Ken Dalla was the only one who didn't join the pileupwhich shows that now and then it pays to get a bum start! Unlike the previous event, the track was just damp enough not to require wetting-down and - by Sand Pit standards - was very fast. Rutting was a problem, and the Ramblers made a considerable effort to condition the track by smoothing it with a pull-scraper at every opportunity. The most interesting race of the day was a Special Added Attraction - a Sweepstakes open to all class winners wi th a real lalapalooza of a trophy donated by R. Cancilla of san Jose. JOHN LOIlONTO shows how riders ride when they're eJlllertSe START OF ntE 350cc MAIN In loose sand limited the traction. For this event the bikes went· wrongway·'round" OT clockwise (normally they run counter-clockwise here), and were lined UP with the smallest class first and the 650cc expert last. We were all looking forward to this - we thought we might see the question resolved once and for all of whether a good man on a small machine (Roger Goldthwai te, Bullaco) could beat a good man on a big machine (John Lomonto, Triumph). We stlll don't know for sure, because after a restart caused by a couple of the lads getting crossed up in the deep sand in the first turn, ExpertGoldthwaite came into the turn like the clappers of hell, swung wide in the soft sand, climbed the bank and ran along it for a hundred feet or so, then got back onto the track and fell off, leaving the field clear to Expert Lomonto. (Results on page ti) GEM E MCRAE, 32p and Bobby Fortino, 64p, eXchanced the lead on and off In the 500cc Amateur main. 500cc EXPERTS LEAVE THE LINE only Ie r..start after a first lum pileup. ROGER GOLDTHWAITE WONDERED If he could beat Lomonlo. Rocer had Ills drifts, ell..". and step-offs. ~~j ;~~~ " • ..--, ~ BILL KRAUSE ',"',f", • ,>'10 TH E motorcy cl e partnnd accessories -.r • '''''.', • ' .. '.• 1 ...... - . Dept. Store. HON OAf TPIUl"lPH J~' )~~i.' ____ _ _ , ':F .;;,. GI ntiS IS HOW the sw....stalles looked as e".,jone _ I around bacllw.ds 011 the ~ ... 1257 S. LA BREA ot Cenlucv • Inglc ... ood • 671 ",4.:6.673 50J5 t- ,,,,\1 -