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/125525
... "" .. '" .Q C U o W~ile the rest of the riders were closing ont the month of September last Friday night, Novice Rick Durkee was cracking the track record book with a loud bang. For the past two weeks Durkee and his Sumki have been making all o( the Novice, all of the Amateur and many of the ExPert riders look like maybe they have on the wmng number plates. cept two of the three Expert heats. CHIlli back wltb a IIMC art.r a mantb of reo cuperaUon 111I11I a TT accIdent, Pbll Todd Will tb. Aataleur Main Event. The second year Novice, who found the winning comb1nat1on of late, again was the fastest rider on the track in the five-lap heat races for all events ex- MEN WHO KNOW MOTORCYQfS SELL MONTfSA TRACY SAYLOR 17 years amotorcycle rider, Tracy also flies his own plane, enjoys waterskiing, motorcycle riding and other athletic hobbies. If you want to talk motorcycles, talk to Tracy Saylor. Tracy sell s Mellesas al International Motorcycle Co., 7233 Canoga Park, California. Telephone (213) 346-3700. Durkee was so busy changing the track record book that many forgot that Dan . Haa.by and PhU Todd won the Exper~ and Amateur Main Events. The Ring-Ding KId broke his own track record on the way to his fourth straight heat race win in both the one and five-lap departments. He was three seconds faster than the second fastest NovIce heat and seven seconds quicker thaD the two remal.n1ng outings for beginners. For the second straight week Durkee posted a faster f1ve-1ap time than that of any of the three Amateur big bike beat winners and then pulled the surprise of the season by topping the five-lap time turned in by Expert heat winner sammy Tanner. The Durk really got steamed IlP for the eight-lap final and broke his own one lap record no less thaD four times before again lowering the main event time by about FOUR SECONal!! IDs new one-lap trip mark for a 250 now stands at a s1zzl1ng 23: 48. It was a Durkee-SUZuki show in the f1na1 and the young lad now has won nine straight without a loss. The last time he lost a race at Ascot was on sept. 1st. MeanwhUe, Phil Todd returned to action after missing the entire month due to a 1T sp1ll and walked away with the Amateur Main Event. This Is not unusual for Todd to be a winner but wbat was unusual was the fact that a rider by the name of Joe Brown won his heat race and finished second to Todd in the f1nal. There ls nothing unusual about the name of Brown but it Is unusual when this same Brown can ride Ascot for the first time and blow off the many, many Amateurs who have been around all season. The main reason for the surprise Is that it was only Brown's second time on a big bike half-mlier andhls second time without brakes. Three different riders tried to take second away from him but it was no go for Joe who started half mile racing two weeks ago at Tulare. Haaby scored the sweep In the expert class to again stretch the pointlead over Mel Lacher. Shorty seabourne, bidding for his third straight Main Event win, never saw the front spot and was zapped in the heat race by Lacher and the dash by Haaby. In the final Shorty was trying but had to pull to the pits with engine troubles for one of the few times this year. He Is still tied with Hsaby and Tanner as the only three rider s to put two Main Event wins in a row together this year. Things are tough at Ascot In the Expert class. Hsaby now has 28 wins on the season at Ascot as he bids for his first point championship after f1n1shing second to Tanner the past two seasons. This weekend the half-mUers share the spotlight with the 1T riders on saturday night. Durkee looks to extend his win streak to twelve straight as the novice boys also run a dash this time around. (Results on page 16) ~. Pbotos by Dennis Greene 011I HaabJ (22) made It 28 wins for III. seuon to stretch his Ascot point Iud oy.r II•• Udler. H... h. acc.pts Tropfly Dash conpatulatlans Irom (l to R) GIfJ Bray, tunw of hIs speedJ BSA, a lowly b1k1nl-elad Troplly Girl, and AI IIlntz, always tb.,. to lend a belpl8clla" ,.,.,.__,.,.,".,.,.,."-,.,.,.,.-,.,.'",.,.,.'.,.'.,111.,.·.'.'.'.·.'.%'.·.'.'.'.·.·.·.w.·.·.·.'.·.·r..·.'.·.·." THE FINISH LINE By Roxy Rockwood Nixon and Triumph finally did it and a new champ, bike and rider, Is crowned In AMA national circles. The behlnd-the-scenes 1n-flghtlng prior to the last National at Okle City last Sunday could challenge old 007 for a paperback thr1ller. H-D and Triumph both wanted that number one spot more than ever and the politics that went 1nto the race could f11l a book. W1ll have to write about that sometime. The Nationals are all over. now until racing under the roof in Houston next February and then the mad whirl starts all over again. The west coast will host the same big ones next year except that Tulare will be gone and Santa Rosa mile will be added. Nixon can go horne now and let his broken hand heel. George Roeder, who has been trying for 15 years to win the title, can go back to the farm and get ready for next year. It was another late try for George and another near miss. 350 Debate He Is going to have to hurry If he is ever going to win it as the AMA still says they are going to lower the limit to 350Cc after next season. Then too, he may be the only rider around to ride the 350' s from the way the talk Is going. It Is an odd set of circumstances regarding the 350 rule. The committee voted this far fetched rule In for '69 a couple of years back without asldng anybody If they were for it. Now some of the committee Is asldng riders and tuners to write letters to the annual meeting this year If they do not favor the change. The riders are wondering why they have to write letters saying they are against It when nobody asked them In the first place. Better write the letters, men, before somebody gets the Idea to lower the limit to 250's. With the 350 rule only one short season away there has yet to be a 350 of any brand show up that can get out of Its own way on a dirt track. Word has It in the Midwest that another new 500 association Is ready to move in when and If the AMA Is bllDd enough to try and cram th1s one down the throats of the riders and fans. The same could well happen in the West as none of the promoters are for the drop to the ring-dings out this way. either. The annual National Committee Meeting Is next month and it will be InterestIng to see just how much time and effort will be devoted to the situation that nobody wants, or Is ready for. Somebody must want it as It was voted In two years ago. There are also a lot of loose answers regarding the new AMA Congress thatls supposed to replace the present committee. Can you Imagine more thaD sixty motorcycle people agreeing on anything? Oklahoma pulled a Ca11fornialast week at their first national. Only two Olde's entered and they finished one-two. Nixon sUll calls the land-rush state his home and Nix Is there when he is not beating the bushes. It was Freddie's second National win this year and his third for the record book. All three are on the dirt ovals. Special attraction this coming saturday night during the Ascot TT show. The Sidehack riders w1ll put on a special exhibition race on the TT track. The first time it has been tried at Ascot and only the second time in the area since 1959. Evel Knlevel Is back snapping his garters over cars once again. The wheel fiattner has recovered from his latest miss and jumped 16 four wheelers up In the Northwest recently. He now says his Grand Canyon affair will take place next Labor Day Instead of the 4th of July. Corne on Evel, you said It, now let's see you do it. If he can watt until Christmas there will be five feet of snow at the bottom to cushion the fall.