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/125554
r FIRST MOTO- CROSS By John Shedd The f i r s t mota-cross held March Z4 at the new Saddleback Park was sponsored by the California Mota-Cross Club, and it produced plenty of mixed and varied opinions. The ci r cuit Is la1d out In such a way that It r emaln ds one of an ancient outdoor thea ter with the spectators s itting on the hillside watchi ng the gladiator s below. Fr om the spec tator' s viewpoint, It is without a doubt the best bike cours e of any kind in the L.A. arena, excl uding Ascot, because almost the entire cour se Is visible fr om the spectators' area and the pit area. Another favorable aspect Is the Ir vine Park location . It couldn't be better. The cour s e Its elf is located alo ngs ide Santiago Blvd. It is so clos e to the road that many Sunday dr ivers pulled over to take a look. There are almost no level sections In the circuit except for the starting area. You are either going uphill or downhill. The track was originally la1d out by Belgium's Joel Rober t, s imply by r iding over It on his bike , but prior to Sunday's meet, its surface bad become hard packed so It was plowed up. ThIs however, turned out not to be a good idea. The numerous rocks that were turned up as a result made It very difficult to ride out of the hard, narrow gr oove . The groove widened as the day wore on, but the fast course cover ed with loose rock and powder fine sand on the adobe base allowed few competitors to ride over their heads without taking a spill. Top Talent If the riding talent which turned outtor the event is any Indication of things to come, moto- cr os s will prog r es s by leaps and bounds unt1lit becomes number one. Many desert and scrambles rider s are giving moto-cross a try and finding It's " the only way to fiy. " The 250 Expert event was not only loaded with top rider s , but every finishIng pos iti on was hoUy contested In both motos . Desert ace Steve Hurd, on his Kawasaki, leaped into the lead, with B111 Silverthorn (Husqvarna), Ray McCarty (Yamaha) and Pres ton Pe tty (Suzuki) In single file and pus hing hard. Petty began closing It up and took over third from McCarty. Husky jockies Gunnar Lindstrom and Lars Larson both got bad s tarts, but they wer e soon picking off rider s one by one and moving up. Hurd los t It coming out of a sharp downhill hairpin, and Silver thorn moved into the lead followed by Petty. By the time Hurd got back under way, he was fifth and Lars on was snapping at his heels. Larson was closing fast, and in no time, he had moved up to third behind Silverthorn and Petty who were really dicing . Petty had his problems , and Silver thorn managed to pull away only to find Larson In second and pushing hard . Larson al most s queezed by, but Silverthorn held him off and took the nag with Larson on his tall and Undstrom In for third. In the second moto It was Larson s hooting out In front, with Silver thor n again In second, Lindstrom third and Petty fourth. Petty Immediately took a spill and Hurd moved into fourth position. On the second lap, Lindstrom pulled around Silverthorn and closed up on Larson . From here on, it was a close duel to the fini sh, but Lindstrom was determined to take the win and finally managed to get by Larson and do just that. Silver thorn took the class win with a time of 14.35 , bettering Lindstrom's time by nineteen seconds. Juniors Fast, Too · The 500 Junior race was al so a hotly contested event. Bultaco r iders Bob Kulek and John Maynard were out for their Sunday duel. It was a nip and tuck battle between the two 360cc E1Bandidos, and It was Kulek who brought his in to seize the gold. The 500 Expert event was the doozle of the day. The unbelievable Chuck "Feets" Mlner t zapped his 441 Victor out in the lead, with the li kes of J. N. Rober ts , Gunnar Lindstrom , Ron Nels on and Lars Larson playing catch-U p. Minert and Beezer wer e really walli ng. Gunnar moved up and bumped J .N. back to third, but for every inch he gai ned on Minert, he fought for, tooth and nail. Montesa-mounted Ron Nelson moved up thr ough the pack and passed Huskymounted J .N. for third. Lindstrom was finally able to wheel his Husky alo ngs ide Minert on a tight left- bander and Mlnert lost the gr oove and had to leave the cour se. Lindstrom pulled Into the lead and took the win . It was agatn Miner! who won the drag race In the s econd moto with Nelson and U ndstrom pur sui ng. Lindstrom scoo ted by Nelson for second, but Minert was way out in fr ont and planning to stay there. Lindstrom f1nally ca ught up and .made his bid. He again pulled alongside hoping to take over the groove, but this time, he had to take to the boonles , and Mlner t plowed on ahead to take the win. Since there wer e only two motos, the winner was judged by the time , and Lindstrom bested Mlner t by 30 s econds. The Cal1for nla Mota-C r oss Club turned Saddleba ck's fir st mota- cr os s Into a smashing success. They are also doing a jam -up good job of promoting motocross In Southern Cal1fornla, and their membership is open to persons interested In any aspect of mota- cr os s racing . Their meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m, at the Poplar Playground on Pepper Street In Los Angeles . Their next event will be the professional AFM-sponsored National Moto- Cr oss on April 21st on an all new Carlsbad course, so any prospective new membe r's will have a chance to join up before the big one. (Results on pa ge 16) -_ ... .. - . . Photos '.- John Shedd and ; . _~ . ~ Bill PeUigrew .. .."" . ... ....... , ~ ~ , The 2S0cc Expe rt eyenl was fi lled with top talent and each mota hotly contested. Here 's Husqyarna·mounled Bill Silyerthorn, who took the oyerall class win, determ ined by time. Second place went to Gunnar Lindstrom, al so an a Hus ky. PROVEN America's finest Racing Lubricant. ADDZIP ADDITIVES 1433 First Street, Escalon, Calif. 95320