Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

W ,_. Am T .., lid., I. Sa. Dieto: Weeilr A.. TIId & TT lid., O. TIp: Trojan Enterprises have taken over the lease on the track formerly known as So. Gate Raceway and have changed the name to Trojan Speedway. The track will now be used two nights a week, starting in Spril, for sportsman short track and sportsman TT events. The short track will run every Tuesday night, beginning APril 18th, and sporting TT's will run every Thursday ni ght, beginning April 20th. The track has been sub-leased to the Playboys MC of Long Beach who will run the events, all of which are AMA sanctioned. Races on both nights will be for lightweight machines only. There will be three classes. Class one is for machines up to and including 100cc's. Class two is for machines 101 cc up to and including 200cc's. Class three is tor machines 201 cc UP to and including 250cc's. Numbers and number plates will be assigned to all riders as they enter the event. A number system, two through ninety-nine, has been established with different color plates for each of the three classes. The races are open to all riders, licensed or un-licensed. Riders must have folding pegs, Class C tires, a full set of leathers and an approved helmet. Races will run weekly, starting wi th the April 18th event, and continue on until next November. Points and a point system, similar to that used at Ascot, will start on opening night. To allow the riders as much practice time as possible, three Saturday afternoon practice sessions On the short track oval have been set up. Any and all riders may come to Trojan Speedway and practice trom Noon until 4:00 p.m. on April I, 8 and 15. There will be no advance practice for the TT course. For further details call, 436-4870 in Long Beach. ASCOT 11 & RAT TUa SWOIS STAIT J.C. Agajanian reports that the 1967 night-time American Motorcycle Association racing season will start with a steeplechase meet Saturday evening (Apti!l) at Ascot Park. The fiat-track racers swing intn their regular Friday evening pattern on Friday evening pattern on Friday evening, APril 7. That will be the opener of every Friday night racing through the spring, summer and early tall months. Steeplechase meets will be held the first Saturday evening of each month at the 183rd and Vermont Avenue oval. . Agajanian also is coming up with a big UOlted States Auto Club midget race show on Saturday night, Apti! 15 at Ascot. This one is expected to' teature some ot the tellows who'll be among the favorites tor the Indianapolis 50Q-miler. The steeplechase meet, the tirst ot the shows, will bring out the 1966 U.S. tourist-trophy racing king-Eddie Mulder. Such others as Skip Van Leeuwen, Gene Romero, Ralph White, Dick Hammer, Chuck Jones and Jack Simmons will make it interesting. Sammy Tanner, the four-time Pacific Coast king, will be on deck for the fiattrack inaugural. SPANISH AMAb CARBURETORS MClNOM.OC oa-.n Immediate dellYllfY models and parts. Competitively Priced Complete Carburetors in all sizes! #375 22 rom Monobloc 0 #37627 mm Monobloc c #38930 rom Monobloc C #389B 32 mm Monobloc C #389 G.P. with remote float ALL PARTS INTERCHANGEABLE WITH ENGLISH AMAL For complete Information and calolo,: ANAHEIM MOTORCYCLE CENTER INC. 127 SOUTH MANCHESTER BLVD. ANAHEIM. CALIFORNIA PHONE: 714 n2-6330 Promoter J.C. Agajanian announced this week that he has obtained a 1967 lease On the piush new arena in San Diego tor indoor professinnal AMA sanctioned sbort track events. The first race will be held nn Saturday night, Apti! 29th, and the show will follow much the same pattern as that used by the Long Beach arena this past winter season. Dates have been set for the year on a once-a-month hasis with classes tor 100 and 250cc machines and riders. Plans are now being made to allow tor an all-afternoon practice in the afternoon preceding race nights. The all new ten million dollar arena is rated as the tinest location for underthe-roof racing in America. Further details will appear in CYCLE NEWS next week. Dates have already been estal>lished for the month of May and June also. I POWDER PUFF ASS. FORMED By Maureen Lee Who says women can't make UP their miods? Maybe some can't, but Our local scramblers have. They've actually chosen a name, colnrs and elected officers in just two meetings, and settled a lot of miscellaneous details as well. They've also gathered the clan together for two appearances for a Powder Putf at local tracks with almost a 100% turnout. The tirst one was the Sportsmen Me's event at Perris, and then this past Saturday night they ·invaded· Elsinore. What has amazed a lot of the gals, nnw that they .are actually organized and really in there pitching, is that they have received a great reception from a lot of people. Most important. too, is that their husbands are with them all the way inspite of the fact that it it's one thing a racing man doesn't need it's another scooter to tune! Membership Open so now the Powder Pult Association is soliciting members. Requirements are simple but effective. First off, you do NOT have to be a competition rider, but you must have an active interest in competition riding. This is to enable the gals who spend long hours at scrambles cheering on their men-folk a chance to belong it they wish, but they don't have to cOmPete. The nnn-competition types will wear club colors too. with probably nne small difference somewhere along the line. Naturally the Association wants riders, but we're open to everyone who can fill our basic rules. To ride in Powder Puffs though. the engine limit is loocc. Although the gals all differ in size, strength etc., we feel that a loocc machine makes it more fun for everyone and a 100cc hike should be one that everyone can handle. A women ~an always pick it UP, should she drop It, and we don't think it's fair to rely on the guys too much just because we can't pick UP a big hulking scooter! There are times you can't just stand there looking helpless until someone with muscles shows up on the scene! Eventually we want to be able to assist smaller clubs requesting our help by handling some of the masses of paper work which accompany scrambles events. In that way. besides jus t ha ving fun as racels, we will be helping our District. For intormation as to how you can join our happy throng, call Eulene Long at (213) 865-2747, or track me down on my travels! - By Chuck Clayton Ql If a.. Wes Cooley, the bete noir of motorcycle jouma.lism caused con- &; Biderable anguish among American-type racing EIItlausi~ts with his ~ pre-Day1Dna colunm, in which he asked the question, - Are fac1Dry- serve the races. 2. AMA rules permit use of any brake front 01 rear as long as the distributor of the motorcycle submits photographs Showing sanitary installation. The same goes for other components. Disc brakes can be used as well as any approved brake, nr any individual can work through the distributor to have a new brake ape proved. The oil cooler used for the pas t four years on road-racing Triumphs is adapted from a Chevy Corvette oil cooler and is available to one and all 3. As for the motorcycles which WOn Daytona's recent 200 miler, Mr. Cooley can indeed buy one. They are avaUable to every customer at his nearby Triumph dealer. t\sk for the 1967 T100R Daytona Super SPOrt model and yOU can modify it exactly the same as Gary Nixon's, if you have the talent. The factory jobs stsrted out as stock motorcycles. we are assured. There were no special parts used which could not be dUPlicated by a private indi vidual. 4. The • special· steering dampners on the Daytona Triumphs, contrary to the information reported by the British press, were standard Girling units which have been used the past 4 years. 5. Nobody we spoke with thought that I FIM ru es unfalrly match riders against factory specials, since the same rules apply to all. AMA rules differ primarily 10 that here raClng machines (Class C) must begin as machines available to customers in minimum lots of 100 in this country. If Count Agusts wanted to send 100 MY 4's for example he could t them appro;ed for racin~ in the ~ Presently, however, 500cc machines ar~ limited to 4 speeds. The rules no longer say that a Class C racing machine has to be a counterpart ot a road machine with headlights and hom, etc. ' 6. Finally,ifthere were any hanky-Panky going on as Wes suspected, someone would have protested the winner, or any competitor could have claimed Nixon's machine for the unexotic cl . i . 81m ng pnce of $2.000 according to AMA rules. Since neither of these safeguards were invoked, we must assume that all the ru~ers-up felt that they were beaten fanly and squarely. 7. It it is true that exotic factory specials will provide a ·shot in the arm· for road racing by increasing sPectator appeal, as Cooley believes, then we Shall with great interest compare the crowd watching ACA and AFM events, where exotic machinery IS allowed, with the spectators .at AMA road races. 8. Misters Hallwood and Agostini ""auld probably like to race here as much as we all would like to see them come. I am assured that they would be given AMA Expert licenses if they applied for them, on the basis of their considerable experience and fame. Trouble is, they would be kick.ed. out of the F.I.M. if they tried It, for It IS not generally known in this country, but the F.I.M. is far more authoritarian and shows less sign of liberberalizing than our AMA. • • • • • • • • ••••••••••• We have even been accused of fOllleD,," InC dissension within the motorcycle family by alJowlnc Wes Cooley to air b1s views in our paces, We believe dlat _ e dissension does exist, but dlatit existed lOIlc before we becan publi!lhinc a neW9paper for IIlOCoreycle entbusiasts. We even susPect dlat by lettiDC these views be read, it has S6ved to redDce the mia...derstandincs that used to ex1!1t. We have stronc evidence to Indicate &bat our readers are above the averaee in Inte))jcence, We think that they are able to sort the wheat from the charr in our columns and that they apprecJate the fact that nobody is tryinc to conceal anything from them, be It rumor, opinion or crystal-clear facts. COOLIES COLUMN By Wes Cooley One thing I can't understand. is that with all the excellent talent in Daytona, why didn't one of the local manufacturers who sponsored many riders at Daytona have the good sense to contract for Buddy Parriott to participate on one of their machines? Needless to say, Buddy, Without a doubt. is probably on~ of the best road racers ~n the cOWltry, and he is just as good on a lightweIght as on a bIg bore. ThiS was proven again at the recent Willow Springs Road races by.his lightweight win in the 125cc class on a Bultaco as well as his 500cc win on a Norton Twin. It just doesn't make sense that this kind of talent is overlooked. Another rider I feel has been doing recognize the talent of Walt Fulton W, an excellent job and would have done even though he has never been a • big well at Daytona. at least far bet ter than gun. in the AMA, but is an excellent many of the sponsored riders, is Steve road racer. He has had all of his trainMcLaughlin on his 250cc Kawasaki. ing and experience on the west coast racing with the two road racing organi: ot course, steve would not have quallzations here. Maybe some of the execufied for expert, but he probably would tives of the other sponsoring manulachave won the 250cc Novice event. turers will take a lesson from this young We could go on to some extent, namman's achievements. Do they really ing other top qualified road racers who want to win with experienced riders, or have gained their experience in SOuthern do they want to have the prestige of California, either with the ACA or the' AFM, who could have probably gone out having name riders participating on their equipment? and beat the pants off some of the top professional riders who were chosen. It's just too bad that the sponsoring manufacturers don't realize some of the talent that is available. , "Iiloray" For Harley-D Of course, these boys don't get all the publicity the others do. but we've seen it in the past. and I'm sure some of you have read it in this newspaper. where various top professional racers have participated in our local events and been thoroughly thrashed, not just once, but repeatedly. I've often wondered, do the manufacturers really want to win these races or do they have some kind of contest between them to see who can hire the most popular or most publicized rider who might be excellent in dirt events or halt mile, but have never had any experience in road racing? At least we can say that one manufacturer, and this is hard to say but Harley-Davidson was smart enoudt !? GQEEN !-lOR N I B 66 G t-ee~~ I~' 't" (tF Ke Ste,.1-A (!/vf, w.-"s) ~ ~ ~ lo:l ...:l ~ U

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