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/125557
DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE l A FULL FIELD OF HALF- MILERS DID! Eddie Mulder, riding a Har ley for the first time on the half -mile and looking good, got his ·usual fantastic s tart In the Trophy Dash, but Haaby soon gobbled him up and went on .to gather the gold and the glory . • At the start of the Main, Haaby and Nicholson were first into the turn, Haaby on the outside , Nicholson on the pole , ahead of Mulder and Lawwtll , Dan nosed in, clipped Nicholson's front wheel and down went Jim - in front of the roaring pack. Everyone missed him except Paul Conserriere, who caught the downed Triumph's front wheel and went tumbling . 10 ~L ap F ir st tum of the E xpert Main E vent at San Jose finds #22 Dan Haaby (H-D) in front wi th #28 Ji m Nicho lson (Tri umph) directly behi nd him. Seconds l ater, Haaby and Ni cho lson banged wheel s, Nich olso n hi t the deck and so di d Paul Conserrlere . Eventual winner on the restart was Haaby. wllh #18 Mert Lawwlll (H- D) 2nd. Others visib le are #20r El liott Schul tz ( RE), #46z Mi ke Ya m (Tri umph), #32 Du sty Coppage (Trium ph) and #12 E ddi e Mul der (H- D). Sto ry by Carol Sims · Photo by William Cla rk Over 150 flattrack specialists from all parts of California showed up in San Jose on Sunday, April 21, to partake of the spirited happenings on the Fairgrounds half-mile dirt track. Promoted by Bob Barkhimer, therace meet was originally slated as a $900 flat purse event, with $500 guaranteed to the Expert Main Event winner. Last-minute negotiations between the promoter and the riders resulted in a 40%of the gate purse being paid, which totaled $2l07. In addition, local dealers chipped in another $170 to be divided between winners of the Novice and Amateur Mains - $120for the Novice cla ss, $70 for the Amateur . Spills and Chills Innumerable spills marred the day's dusty events but no serious Injuries resulted . The combination offirst- race-ofthe-season eagerness and a hard, slick, narrow groove track produced most of the mishaps. First to hit the dirt was new National Number 77, Jimmy adorn. During prac- tice, Jim's Triumph jumped the fence coming onto the front straightaway, taking out 20 feet of railing and badly damaging the machine . Although uninjured himself, adorn retired for the day after quick repairs to his bike couldn't undo the tweaking it had received. The races got underway with the first of eight Novice heats producing the day's most spectacular spill. On the first lap Jerry Clark (175 Bridgestone) was run ning second into turn two when a needle cage let go, and the engine quit in a big broadsltde, Jerry hadn't come to a stop when Ian MacLac hlan crashed head-on into the Bridgestone. Ian and bike sailed through the ai r and. hit a third r ider . McLac hlan's mac hine was a total washout, engine and all, but the riders were able to walk away . The twelve -man Novice Main was made up of winners from each of the eight heats, plus the second place man of the fastest four heats . Stockton's Eldon Hinkle, Suzuki mounted, took the quickes t heat , won the Tr ophy Dash, and then made it a clean sweep by winning the Main Event and a total of about $200. Rice Roars Jim Rice, who missed making Expert by only a few points in •67, was determined to repeat las t year's win in the Amateur class . In his heat race, the Palo Alto BSA rider was s ent to the third row for creeping forward on the line, but still managed to come through the pack and take second. He then wonthe yellow plate Trophy Dash and followed up with a come-from-behind victory in the 10lap Main Event ahead of Royal Enfield mounted Bob Self. Experts Galore Three twelve-man Expert heat races sorted out the starting lineup for the scheduled l5 -lap Main Event. The first four men from each heat transferred to the big one. Winners of the 6-lap preUminary even ts were Mert Lawwill (H- D), Ji m Nicholson (Triumph) and Dan Haaby (H-D), leaving 24 disappointed Experts, . including many National Numbers, sitting in the pits at Main Event time. 15-Lapper After a rather confused black-flagging, the race was halted and restarted. Both downed riders were able to reenter. Twice the field lined up to go, twice the front row crept forward and starter Chuck Guluizzo finally sent Eddie Mulder to row three . With Mulder headIng for the rear and Nicholson looking back to see where Eddie was , the race was started! This time San Francisco's Lawwill slid into the first turn ahead of Culver City' s Haaby and led the close-running field for three laps. Then Dan pushed past his fellow Harley rider and the South vs, North front-runners held their positions for the remainder of the r ace , stretching out their lead over Elliott Schullz(RE); Dick Hardmeyer (Triumph) and DeWayne Keeter (BSA) . Although announced and scheduled in the program as a 15-lap Main Event, the riders r eceived the one-tap-to-go flag at the end of nine laps. The checkered flag went to Haaby on lap ten, Afterward, none of the AMA officials had an answer to the question of why the r ace was shortened, but, irregardless, everyone had a full day of competition. And In addition to his $500 vlc toryearnings , Haaby took home the bea utiful and unique Larry Headricks trophy . Headricks, former top-fhgnt flattracker, was on hand for the ceremonies, and the day'S events were fittingly dedicated to him. (Res ults on page 16) CLEAN SWEEP WITH THE BOLD .WORLD OF BSA SAN JOSE V2 MILE fLAT TRACK JIM RICE TAKES TROPHY DASH AND AMATEUR MAIN EVENT ABOARD BSA SEE THEM AT YOUR BOLD WORLD DEALER TODAY! ioin the BOLD WORLD of ""SA for '68 -"HA Western 2745 E. Huntin ton Drive, Duarte, California 91010 Ph (21 359·9271 3)