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/125533
Mounted on a 650cc BSA, Portland Tire Climb winner Jerry Asquith made It over the top lour times out 01 lour tries lor a perlect record. SIDEWINDERS MUD SCRAMBLES By Diane Sie fert Tom 5t_t of lb. Lobo M.e. heads lor outer spac. on his 441 B5A Vietor. PORTLAND TIRE CLIMB Story and Photos by G. Robert Schwarz A real good rip was bad at the recent Hilltopper M.C. tire climb near Portland, Oregon. The hill is brand-spanking new and about 300 feet from bottom to toP. The day of the event was blessed with temperatures in the mid- 90' s and lots and lots of dust. The hill was so loose, being previously unused, that It was just about like riding up a large mountain of sawdust. In places the dust was nearly six inches deep. This, of course, is comparable to hitting a puddle of water at high speed and It adds absolutely nothing toward improving traction·. • The competitors numbered 74 and the classes were about equally spaced between the 25OCc, 500Cc and Open Class. During the day only six machines made It over the top and these were all 650cc displacement engines or better. Jerry Asquith, of the Mt. Scott Motorcycle Club in Portland, was the only man to put his machine (a 1962 BSA 65OCc) over the top In four out of four attempts. Skill and horsepower were the only combination to make Number One in this extraordinary event. Asquith is a veteran rider of nearly all the tire climbs, hare and hounds runs and enduros held in the Northwest. Second place winner was Richard Clay, National and Canadian hill climbing champion of several years ago, aboard his 1967 HarleyDavidson Sportster. A shortage of mud greeted the riders and spectators who turned out for the 12th annual running of the Sidewinders M.C. Turkey Mud Scrambles at their track in Clackamas, south of Portland, Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 19th, but there was an abundance of good racing. A total of 52 riders signed up for the AMAsanctioned sportsman event. The 175cc moto-cross saw a battle between Suzuki-mounted Darrell Cotton and LeRoy Haven aboard his Kawasaki. Lap after lap these two bad all the stops pulled out trying to zap each other until young Cotton was able to nip by Haven in each of the three runnings of the moto to claim the final victory. But the most exciting races of the day were the Trophy Dashes. In the 250cc class, Jimmy Smith (SUZuki), home on leave from the Marine Corps, battled it out with a Sidewinder veteran, John Taylor, who was riding a CZ. Theywere side by side through most of the turns with Jimmy !lnally pulling It out of the fire by half-a-blke length over John at the checkered flag. In the Open Class dash, another nip and tuck battle emerged between Taylor (riding a bigger CZ) and T.L. Hoglan, on an Ossa, as T.L. held the lead with John on his heels until the last corner when T .L. fell victim to the only mud hole on the course and John sailed home the victor. In the Open B Main, Tom Wood, on his Norton, grabbed off the lead and held onto it for the trophy. BSA-mounted Earl Prettyman really c h a 11 eng e d hard throughout the 8-lap event but was unable to pass the flying Wood. The 250cc A Main was a three-way hassle between Taylor, Hoglan and Jimmy Smith with a lot of lapping of slower riders. Taylor was forced out in the 7th lap by engine trouble after holding the lead and then Smith took over with Hoglan hard on his heels for the remaining 3 laps, but unable to close the gap as Jimmy claimed the victory. The scramble on foot for the two live turkeys saw Bill Snider and Jack Jones emerge triumphant, taking home the birds. The next race scheduled at Sidewinders will be a sportsman mud scrambles, AMA sanctioned, on Sunday, December 17th, at 1 p.m. Veteran Red Rice of the Chain Climbers M.C. crabs a handful 01 Triumph 650 throttle and show s how the blC boy s do It. Just a footnote, here, to our regular Class C summer racing schedule. Sidewinders is prOUd to learn that their track is the home track of the top TT racer in each of the three classes in 1967 - Expert Sonny Burres #69, Amateur Mark Williams 130q, and Novice Ike Reed 107q. We are looking forward to seeing these boys back when our Class C racing starts towards the end of April. (Results on page 16) MOTORCYCLES ,fUH HEttM/i-.J $;,," Authorized Deal.r TRIUMPH • HONDA • BMW SUZUKI • PIREllI TIRES D-A SPUD.SPOIlT MOTOIl OIL USED CYCLES PDrts, S.pplie. & Repain Bank Financing ~ -'1-- • .~ \.~ 283-4277 280-8244 A.M.• , P.M. OPEN FRIDAYS TofU 9 '.M. CLOSED sUNDAYS 6 MONDAYs . ..".. X ~. 417 Eo GARVEY· MONTEREY PARK 4 Blocks Ent 01 G.rliold PROfESSIONAL SHORT TIACK RACING INDOORS af the SAN JOSE County Fairgrounds (Expo Building) San Jose, California fRIDAY Dec. 1st RACES START 8 P.M. SEE YOUR fAVORITE STARS IN ACTION ON THE ASPHALT OVAU Mislakes will happen, and maybe that's how "Tun- Brelpk got his name. il