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/125521
J- i NEXT 3 NATIONALS IN THE WEST ! ~ i:J Z bJ ~ U t; Much more is at stake than just the three remaining wins and the National title. For example, Gary Nixon now has won four Nationals this year and is just one win away from tieing the season record of five held by Bart Markel and Joe Leonard. Gary could well become the first to win six in one season and break the long standing mark• .Another big question mark. Will Nixon become the first rider to bring Triumph its first Grand National title? Yet another, will Mert Lawwill save the day and the year for H-n and bring the title back to California? Perhaps the biggest question of all is, ·Will an out of state rider finally win the S-Miier at .Ascot for the first time in nine years?- Or, -Will an Ascot regular finally win the sacramento miie title for the first time in nine years?· These are just a few highlights behind the scenes for the biggest National month in the history of racing. It is a far cry from ten years ago when California was blessed with only one lonesome National each season. Here is the way we see the coming events: Foil' Mg aafiOlaI III'lfessiOlal races. in a row fw till 1110I11 .f September and once again tile GIlden West will decide wIIo will carry nannber He lext ye., (See San Jose National st.ory elsewhere in this issue). YOU'LL ALWAYS SEE IT FUIST iN CYCLE NEWS "'LE NATIONAL AT ASCOT PARK ON SATURDAY NIGHT, SEPT,IIII. sammy Tanner has won the last three in a row. He's the pre-race favorite, of course, but the ·Flying Flea- has not been having his usual season this year and has more competition than ever before in the nine-year history of the event. Last year Markel won the Main Event the week after the National and Nixon won it the week after that. Both were more than impressive. Nixon, in fact, was the only rider all last season to come from the semi-main and win the final. Gary is bubbling over with confidence and sure he can do the job this year. But Bart won't be on hand for this year's event; he's taking a breather in.Florida for the rest of 'the season. On the local side there are Mel Lacher, Chuck Jone's and Dan Haaby who can also back up Tanner to preserve and keep the title right here in California. None has ever won a National Championship event. Mark down Tanner to again come up with the big effort but count on Nixon being right there to score for the eastern squad. In the Amateur race It's a tossup, due to a rash of recent injuries that have sidelined Jim Odom, Roger Goldthwaite, Phil Todd and several other hot prospects. THE 2H1LE NATIONAL AT SACRAMENTO 0,. SUNDAY AFTERNOON, SEPT, llt11. No rider has ever won this event twice in the nine-year history of the race. Forme f winners such as Roeder,Nixon, Lawwill and Nix will all be there. This is a tough crew to beat and only Tanner appears to be the one who can keep the differentrider-every-year string going. samm~ Is still mad about giving the win to Nix in the final few yards last year and vows to win it this year. We go with Nixon and Nix as the two pre-race favorites with Tanner as the darkhorse. Nixon holds the track record and won the Portland mile earlier this year with a great come-from-behind ride. In the Yellow-plate class, look for Mark Williams to push, as we 11 as Gary Waldo, Jim Rice and Jan Crawford. IHiLE NATIONAL ROAD RACES AT CARLSBAD ON SUIIDAY AFTERNOON,SEPT.MflL Cal Rayborn is the defending champion and double winner in both the250's and the big bikes from '66. Nixon says he will be the double winner this year and it should be a two-rider IBttle in both events be- ins ure agains t a repeat and select a really magnificent Grand Prize for our lucky subscribers to try and win. The Grand Prize. worth about $1 ,'lOO. will be a brand ne w 750cc Norton P-ll dual-purpOse road! scrambles twin! How about that, sports fans? First Prize in the subscriberonly contest is still to be announced. but it will be about a 3 or 'l00 dollar value. Second through 50th prizes wiil be new Cycle News ·Winner· T-shirts for men or women. If you are already a subscriber, just turn to page 24 in this issue and' fill out your entry. Subscribers can send in as many entries as they wish. If you buy your Cycle News at the newsstand or borrow it from a friend. hey. get with it! send in your subscription now and your contest entry along with it. While you are at . it, subscribe for two years at our special low price (only $12) and then you'll be eligible for next year's Machine of Your Dreams Contest as well! THE RUMOR MILL WOULD YOU BELIEVE? tween Rayborn and Nixon. The Carlsbad event pays the largest amount of points to the riders over all other California Nationals and could well decide who will be Number One. Neither Rayborn nor Nixon has ridden at Carlsbad since the National events last year. The largest crowd ever to see a California road race should be 0 n hand when every top road racer in the nation makes his final appearance on the coast this year. The choice to win the .Amateur big bike race will be Art Baumann and his Honda 450, the same machine that won the Indy race last month. Pushing will be Walt.Fultonlll who ret urns to California for the first time since he won the Daytona event last March. The Novices break into the act for the only time during the month and this could be the ·stealer- of the entire meeting. Steve McLaughlin and his Kawasaki, Dave Smith and Arizona's Yogi Mariscal. both on Yamahas, plus Steve Pederson and his Kawasaki are the boys to reckon with in what could be a Trophy Dash all the way. Then there is the giant ten-year veteran from Japan, Fumio Ito. who was recently issued a Novice card by the AMA(?) 150« IIOITOII GUIlD NIlE 'N CJQE NEWS' COIITfST •••That on Wide World of Sports' recent tubing of the Japanese Baseball Championship, at one point the pitcher was named Yamaha, the batter was Suzuki, the catcher was Hondo and the game was being played in Kawasaki Stadium? • •••••••••••••••• ••••That two more District 37 Grand Prix specials are already scheduled, after the success of the first one at Southern California's Bay Mare track? ••••••••••••••••• It's time again, contest-lovers, to wet your pencils and win the -Ma· chine of Your Dreams.· After an unfortunate experience last year with our first M.O.Y.D. Contest, when the winner wanted a popular make worth only $1,000, we decided to ...That sammy Davis Jr. was seen at .Ascot Park watching the motorcycle races on a recen~ .Friday night? ••••••••••••••••• ••••That 250mx at the Dist.37 GP identified in the photo as Badger Maynard, was really Michael Runyard? THIS [S TIM HARR[S, ON THE LEFT, #t21X' EXPERT, ASCOT HALF IOLE RACER, WITH H[S NEW EL CAMINO. 'I'IM HAS RACED PROFESS[ONALLY FOR THREE YEARS. HE JUST LOADS 'ftIAT MOTORCYCLE [N THE BACK THERE AND GOES '1'0 THE RACES EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT. THE OTHER FELLOW IS JIM WOOLWINE. THi: CAR SALESMAN. A SCRAMBLES RIDER. THE FINISH LINE By ROXY ROCKWOOD That's the way things sbape up for the big month of September in Ca.lifomia. No other month or state ca.n riva.l the big four on fou straight weekends. The crystal ball may not be 100% right as a.nytime Califomia has a race the door is wide open. Time aad IIlree IIOre races will tell lIle story. Cycle News will carry all the results, plas the bebiad-the-sceaes materia.l lIlat is not foaad .m aay olller pablicatioa. Aad always lIle S&IIe week dial it 111".81 . JIM HAS BRAND NEW '68 TRUCKS [N STOCK, 'tHE NEW 'UEL CAMINO WILL BE OUT SEPTEMBER 21st, AND OF COURSE LOTS OF NEW CARS TOO. nil WOOLWINE IS AT ROBERT HALL CHEVROLET ~~o~JUNGA (213) 353-3241 ~~:: 353-3226 NEW AIID USED CARS AND TRUm.