Ron Tolley (79) "'ows bow ho I ...... 90cc Amateur class win at Taft II.C. scrallblas" Fred
Gropry (118) flnl ...... IOcond, Gary Bovans (197) was fifth.
ANN AL TAFT SeRA BLES
SWry by SIan Co Ifee
Pbotos by Harry Gbent
The oldest contiquous scrambles event
in California (any arguments?) was
staged once agaln at the demanding
Maricopa track by the Taft M.C. on
OCt. 22.
Atter eleven stratght years you would
think that some of the luster would rub
ott, but this year proved to be just as
popular as past events. The Maricopa
track bas probably created more controversy than any other track In the san
joaquin Valley. Riders either hate it or
tab It tbelr favorite. There is no other
scrambles track In existence that commands so mucb concentration. It 15 extremelY tight and otttimes very slick. At
tbe end of tbe long stratgbt is the trickIest one-elgbty turn you ever saw. The
inside of the turn Is bard and slick,
while the outside is a good tratntng
ground for those wbo favor the European
moto-cross bag. There is a small groove
rlgbt In the middle, though, and those
who were fortunate enougb to find it,
picked up ground on their competition
in spades.
Once you get out of the first turn, all
you have to do Is flop your scooter to the
rlgbt for a couple of pops and then jump
back to the left for a sbort burst to another right-bander. A small jump provides some excitementlor the spectators
and then you just make it around a tigbt
one eighty to tbe right, another one back
to the lelt and follow the sweeper to its
rather abrupt end and you're back on the
stralgbt agaln. All of this bas been
crammed Into sllgbtIy over five-eighths
of a mile and there Is lItUe time for
relaxation. rl you want to outride someone, go to Marlcopa; if you want to outrun them, try another track.
The past couple of years good twofifty riders like steve Scott and Joey
Brown have provided most of tbe action;
this year was no exception. The fastest
man of the day was a young rider from
Mendota In Central Ca1Ilornta, TO
