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/125526
.atchles_aun..d DIck Japw of PartlMd, 0.......d troph, clrl uurls NewcOlllbe alblre Dick's first place troph, al the end of the crind, VANTAGE CROSS-COUNTRY Slory & Photos b.l' Vic Ebbutt Five hUDcked forty-Dine riders from Washington, Oregon, IdUo, Mont&n& and Cana.d& took pan in the gre&&est. wildest. CroSS-COUDUy r&ce in the history of the Northwest, Sunday, September 24. The event was held in the heat of the desert on a well-laid out 51-mile course alongside the Columbia River, 17 miles south of Vantage, Washington. The race, sponsored by the Everett Motorcycle Club, consisted of two laps (or 102 miles) of sand, sagebrush, shale and rocks for the male riders and 30 miles for the Powder Puff contingent. Ably assisted by 26 members and 12 jeeps of the Seattle Jeep Club, this event was run with nearly split-second precision due to the presence of great numbers of club members which assured plenty of helP at slgn- up, start, finish, and at all check points. The assistance of the Jeep Club cannot be measured, only appreclated, as they hauled out stalled machines, aided riders and this photographer and helped with traffic control at the two highway crossings. Split-Second Timing Scheduled to start at 10: 00 a.m., the smoke bomb from the Air Forcewentotr at precisely that time and all riders, handlebar to handlebar for a dlstance of a half- mUe, roared a way toward the first obstacle, a long uphill sandy wash which left at least 70 machines out of action. At the top of the hill the men were greeted by miles of sand dunes, sagebrush and gullies, then finally came to the comparative ease of a power line road. Next was a highway crossing for the riders and then along the river to the finish line, their sixth check, a glass of water and the whole darn trip to be repeated. Dick Jagow of portland finished first (on his 500cc Matchless) in his class and first overall with a spectacular time of two hours and 13 mlnutes. Fifteen seconds behind Jagow was Husqvarnamounted George Wise of seattle and 16 seconds behind Jagow was Fredolf Johnson, Sr., of seattle on a BSA. The race between Wise and Johnson down the long, straight homestretch was nothing short of fantastic. Elbow to elbow, they jockeyed back and forth the whole two and a half mile stretch with Wise hitting t!>n finish line less than a bike length in til" leau. Girls, Too Of the 1:0 contestants in the powder Puff class, only five finished with lovely Pat Rogers of Seattle on her 250 Husqvarna reaching the finish line well in front of her nearest competitor, Darlene Rathsen of Yakima, on a Bridgestone 90. The second runner-up to Pat was Diane Scott of Spokane on a 250cc Greeves and in fourth was Henrietta Nabor of Renton, also riding a 250cc Greeves. The 250cc class found the largest percentage of fini~hers with 48 across the finish line, led by Jim LaPlante on a Bultaco, from Pullman, washington.second place was taken by Roy Burke, Greeves dealer from Portland. Bill Vermllye, also on a Greeves, from seattle, took third. Another addition to the credit side of the ledger was the reception of the motorcycle crowd at Vantage. The mayor of this community, Thomas M. Stockdale. sought out this correspondent and made it very clear that our group was more than welcome in Vantage any time. The mayor also asked for a copy of this article for publication in the newspaper. The first cClltlncent of the Ihooderine herd be&lns tile 1 Englishman Initiated Monte Stone, one of England's top road-racers and now a resident of Washington, was initiated into the realm of cross-country racing with his share of woes. Riding a big Matchless In the Open Class, he completed the first lap running in sixth place, but bogged down in the sand previously described at the start of the course as he headed around again. The large Union Jack on his jacket was ringing wet with perspiration as he let some air out of his rear tire to gain traction. However, he let too much air out and suffered a flat tire, so he rode the tire flat until it was shredded, then another five miles on the rim until his rear hub froze. It was a long. long walk home. Welcome to the fraternity, Monte. i repeat, this cross-country race was the largest participant event ever held in the Northwest and it can be classified only as an unqualified success. The 93 trophy winners who finished the grueling course and the 456 racers who did not will testifY to thi s fact. (Results on page 16) Heartbreak Is a brak.. chain" (0a1,'3 rI