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/125497
MANN, WlfiTE, ELMORE, SAVAGE NEW KAWASAKI TEAM Four of the Nation's top motorcycle riders, two oUhem past Daytona winners and one Ii former national /loint champion, have been selected to race the new factory Kawasaki bikes from Japan in the 10D-mile road race feature March 18 at Daytona International Speedway. It will be the Daytona debut for Kawasaki's 250cc lightweight A-1-R bikes, which will provide a stiff challenge on the 3.8l-mile Florida road course for veteran campaigners [rom other factory teams. Named to race the Japanese-made motorcycles' were Buddy Elmore, 31, of El Paso, Tex., Dick Mann, 31, Of Richmond; Calif., Ralph White, 31, of Torrance, Calif., and David (Swede) savage, Jr., 21, of Los Angeles. Elmore is defending champion in the big-bore class which will race tbis year on March 19, and White was the '63 winner in that class. Mann was Grand National Point Champion of American Motorcycle Assn.in 1963. Young savage earned the title of Top Novice in the U.S. in 1963. It's a team of veterans, despite their youth. Among them, the Kawasaki riders have 36 years of professional racing experience. Kawasaki's team was announced in Gardena, Calif. Friday, Feb. 24 by Alan Masek, General Manager of American Kawasaki Motorcycle Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kawasaki Aircraft Co. Ltd., the Japanese firm which manufactures the 40 hp racing machines. In early outings, Kawasaki riders have won races at Willow Springs, Riverside and Carls bad, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev. Savage earned his berth on the factory team with his Las Vegas victory Feb. 19 on a stock machine that was raced practically ·out of the shipping crate· with only 5 miles on the odometer. LATE FLASH! YAMAHA 'lU FIELD TWO 3508 IN 2J)()-MlLE NATIONAL It was announced this week that for the first time the Yamaha factory will enter two of their new 350s at Daytona for next Sunday's AMA National Championship race. Tony Murphy and Canadian champ Mike Duff are the two riders slated to ride the new machines that are now mass-produced for the public by Yamaha. Duff is a former world's Grand Prix cbampion race winner and was secondranked in the world champion 250cc point standings in 1965. MUrphy, who missed all of last year due to a hitch in the Army, was the AMA 250cc winner at Laconia two years ago and former west coast non-AMA point champ, two years running. Duff is the first European Grand Prix circuit rider ever to enter an AMA National event. Duff and Murphy will also ride on the official factory 250cc racing team that will compete this Saturday. DAYTONA PURSE FATTENS Nisonger Adds $1,500.00 for Using KLG Mr. Earl G. Nisonger, President of the Nisonger Corporation, importers of Smiths Instruments and K L G Spark Plugs, announced that he was adding $1500.00 in contingency prize money to contestants in the 1967 Daytona Motorcycle Classics. The Nisonger cash prizes will be awarded to the top eleven finishers in both the lOQ-mile 250cc event scheduled saturday, March 18, and the top eleven finishers in the 20D-mile National Championship on Sunday, March 19. First place winners in each of these race events will receive $500.00. The next ten riders in each of the two races will recei ve $25.00 each. All prize money FEEl.. TH to be awarded contingent on the use of K.LG SPark Plug and the display of the KLG decal. The Nisonger Corporation will establish KLG spark Plug headquarters in the garage area, in an office adjacent to the pits. REOORD ENTRY FOR 30th ANNUAL DAYTONA SPEED WEEK Over 1,000 riders will turn out for all events at Daytona, Florida this week to highlight the 30th annual running of the largest motorcycle event in the ,,:orld. The vast majority of these nders WIll be in the various professional and sportsmen -road races at the International Speedway with the remaining entries competing in two nights of short track racing or entering the rugged swamp enduro. A total of 744 riders have entered the road racing events with California the state with the most riders represented. Purses to the riders for the week of racing will total over $20,000. Official racing teams from Triumph, BSA, HarleyDavidson, Norlon, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honday, KaWasaki, Bridgestone and Ducati will all be 00 hand to battle for national bonors. No less than fifteen national champions are entered in the 20D-miler that will cap the speed week. This includes three former winners of the famed event. The top ten finishers from the outstanding 100-mile 250cc race last year are all entered again, as are eight of the_top ten finishers from the natlonal 200-mUer. DA YTO EVENT: 2Oo-Mile 10o-Mile IlIO-Mii e 75-Mile A E TRIES: Entries From Calif. 25 Nat. 110 250cc 147 33 11 Amateur 89 Novice 178 8 SPortsmea 230 5 744 82 200-MJLE NATIONAL: Riders fJ'Olll 27 States & Canada, Entries for 200-Mile By Brand: Harley-Davidson: 40 Triumph: 30 BSA: 23 Norton: 5 Honda: 5 IllO-M1LE COMBINED EX-AM 250cc RAC E: Riders from 32 States", Canada Entries By Brand: Yamaha: 45 Harley-Davidson: 45 Kawasaki: 19 Suzuki: 12 Ducati: 12 SPORTSMEN ROAD RACES FOR MA'CHINES250cCAND UNDER: Riders rrom 35 States & Canada CLASS ONE: CLASS TWO: (5Occ to 100cc) (125cc) Entries By Brand: Entries By Brand: Yamaha 15 Bultaco 6 Bridgestone 9 Yamaha 4 Hodaka 5 Morini 4 Honda 5 Kawasaki 3 Kawasaki 3 Gilera 2 Suzuki 3 H-D, Honda, Ducati 1 CLASS THREE: (126cc to 175cc) Entries By Brand: Honda 15 Bridgestone 10 Bultaco 4 Montesa 3 H-D 3 Ducati 2 Motobi 1 CLASS FOUR: (200cc) Entries By Brand: Bultaco 6 Bridgestone 2 Parilla, Ducati, Triumph 1 CLASS FIVE: (25Occ) Entries By Brand: Yamaha 33 Bultaco H-D 30 Kawasaki Ducati 23 Benelli Suzuki 8 Morini 6 3 2 2