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/125549
Tr oj an Raceway I s a traffl c· stopper, vis ible
from the Lon g Beach Freeway Just SDUth of
Firestone BI vd.
Fast acti on I s the keynote of ACA-sanc tlon ed short track racing at T ro Jan Speedway I n South
Gat.. Calif. Here the Bultacos of Mike Boal ( 27) and Larry Tay lor (35x) have a go.
,
SOUTH GATE PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS
Jumping right along In the 100cc cl ass the se
days I s Honda-mounted J immy Raymond (18).
SOUTH GATE LIGHTWEIGHT
AND SHORT TRACK
rr
By Mike Capallie
T he battl e of the Bul s apln , this tl . . bet ween Danny Jones (29X) and Paul Coberly
(78x).
Consistent trophy Iaker In different classes
on dlffer..t makes of machi nes, here Gary
Bai ley ..es for another 250 class wi n,
Greeves DlDlInle d.
WIth the weather st11l being reluctant
to co-operate, Trojan Raceway was able
to have their second event of the 1968
season. One fine advantage of this track
Is Its fine draining abilities whereby It
can rain all week and If It clears up that
day, It's possible to race that nig ht .
There was some question Friday evening,
February 16, as the first heat race was
to get under way. It s tarted to sprinkle
but It was decided to go ahead and try to
run off as many events as possible. ThIs
was no small task since this was the first
night of running a complete TI program
backed up by a complete short track
program, but the rain was short lived
and the races proceeded without further
moisture although the track was Just
right at race time for getting a terrific
bite.
As the TT program runs off first, the
100Cc class was once more dominated
by Gary Bailey and his hot Hodaka . He
cleaned up his heat, the Trophy Dash
and the lCOcc main event with his nearest competitor being Ken Lee on a Yamaha who stayed right on Gary's rear
wheel through the heat and Dash. But
Ken was aced out In the later part of the
MaIn Event by a young up-and-coming
rider named Dale Hopkins on a Hodaka;
keep an eye on this boy. So the Main
Event finished Bailey, Hopkins and Lee
with Jim 0' Neal on a Bultaco and Lloyd
Quintard on a Kawasaki coming In for
fourth and fifth.
It looked like It would be a Gary
BaIley sweep In the 250 TI as the first
hea t got under way with Gary taking a big
lead on his Nicholson-sponsored
Greeves, when out of the pack and taking
Gary somewhat by surprise , ca me a
first-time South Gate rider - Eric Olesen on a Bultaco, Eric leaped around
Gary and kept the lead for the remainder
of the heat.
In the main event, Bailey was ready
for him and after taklng the lead, Gary
made sure that there wouldn't be a hole
for Olesen to slip by him, but Eric was
right there the entire race waiting for
Gary to make the one little mistake
which he never did make as he went on
to win with Eric taklng second. They
were followed across for the checker ed
flag by Lanny Jones on a Bultaco an d
Larry Verdoorn on a Bultaco,
Afte r a short Intermission In whic h lo
remove the brake operating system from:
thei r mach ines, most of the same riders
were back for the short track eve nt. As
Bailey declines to run In the short track,
this left the lOOcc class wide open for
Ken Lee and he walked away with both
his heat and the Main Even t. Second and
third in the Main went to Jim 0' Neal
and Lloyd Qu1ntard.
The 250cc short track was abo ut the
same; since Gary had not entered this
one either, the way was wide open for
Eric Olesen to clean his heat and the
MaIn. Lanny Jones did a hard job of
riding to come In for second place while
third place went to Paul Cobe r ly. Paul
has to be about the most enthusiastic
rider we have seen In a long time. He
had signed up for both the TI and the
Short Track, but his machine broke down
In practice, s o Inste ad of Just calling It
quits , he loaded up his truck, drove all
the way to Torrance, got another motorcycle and mad e It back In time to get a
third place In the short track Main .
Weather permitting, they wll1 be running every Friday until April with the
double program , so come on out some
Fr iday night .
(Results on page 16)
On..hundred div is i on is closely contended as wi tness this cornering by the Hodakas of Mike
une (80) and Gary Bai ley (169) and the Honda of J immy Raymond ( 18).
THE TWO-WHEELER