Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

00 '" ~ c.. ~ 0> .... Don Vesco (Yamaha) . Vesco, tryingfor a AfM ROAD RACE win In the 250 which he has yet to achieve, SIZZLER AT ORANGE COUN.TY Story by Tom Finlay Photos by Dennis Greene A pleasant day emerged from the early ::l morning fog to greet the fans and riders ..., that made their way to beaut1tUl Orange ~ County International Raceway on Sunday, r::l June 2, to be a part of the AFM's stxtb :c: National Road Race this season. After r.l tile usnal morning practice sessions the ...:l heat races to determine grid positions C,) w~e conducted in each class. Flrst main event, the 50 and l00cc combined, was an easy cruise for 100cc winner Jett Pasternak. Mike Lane of Bakersfield was second 100Cc and after a race-long dice, Colin Jones barely nipped Tom Howard for third place 100. Hondamounted Don Dierking held off Tony Nicosia (Suzuki) forfttthoverallandfirst "fttty" class honors. r-: :g "" G #99 Walt Fulton Jr. on his Daytona H·D leads #711 Rei Pri dmore (Norton) belnl pushed by Tony Murphy. overcooked the br ew and dropped the pot. He did r e mount and manage tot1n1sh In ruth place. Meanwhile, WhIte an d Lane were making a 17-mlle Trophy Dash out of what most people consider a rather refined typeofraclng.Onceaga1n, last lap, last turn, and White made his bid. It was the type of finish that would have the crowd of 25,000 fans that would witness a National Road Race in England on their feet screaming. WhIte squeaked over by less than half a wheel to grab the gold for Kawasaki. Lane's sponsor, Mel Dineson, need not feel bad1y . As MIke Is about 16, when he can obtain an AMA pro llcense at 18 he should beapotent1al winner at any AMA 250 National. Dlneson sure knows how to pick 'em, as he sponsored Ron Pierce previously. You remember Pierce, mentioned above In this story . He was the fuzzy-faced kid that beat a whole field of National Numbers a t last year's Carlsbad AMA National. Zap Close Ones Afte r that thr1lllng 250 event, It seemed unfair to 'the spectator s to s ubject them Tbe next two events provided s ome cl ose ac tion. Tbe fi r st was the heavyweight Production, which saw an early lap tussle between Ron Pierce (Suzuki) and Jerry Greene (Brldgestone). Pierce led Into the first turn, but Greene passed to hold the lea d across the line on the first laP . Each lap Pierce would grab the lead down the fast main straight but Greene would work his way close and pass on the last bend. Finally, after much frantic swerving down the straight in an effort to keep Greene out of his draft, Pierce gained the advantage and won overall, as wellas 500cc honors. Greene, a displacement underdog, still had a big lead over the rest in his class and took an easy first In the 350 class. Tbe next race saw a close finish, but for second and third places overall as well as the 125 class. After some first lap sorting out, Reg Pridmore (Bullaco) zapped into the lead and held It to the f1n1sh. Steve McLaughlin and Pete G1ordanengo, both Honda mounted, engaged In some close racing, with G1ordanengo hanging on to a slim lead. On the last lap, In the last turn, McLaughlin made his bid and squeezed Into the lead to nall down second place In the 125cc class. First 175 was Brldgestone pilot Mike Velasco. to a nother, but s om eone forgot to te ll the . riders In the 350-500-100OCc event. Starting In the third row, Ron Grant (500 Suzuki) grabbed the lead a t the first bend. Streaking after him were Reg Pridmor e (Norton) , Tony Murphy (Norton), and Don Vesco (BSA). Vesco forced past Murphy and P ridmore, and began hacking away at Grant's lead. Pridmore pulled Into a seemingly sate third overall, but Walt Fulton was working his Dlytona model Harley-Dlvldson 750 through the fleld. Vesco would lead, and Grant would pass on the Tower bend befor e the finish line. Grant led, and Vesco would charge past up ~ s1ra1ght. Towards the end. Grant had the lead. but Vesco, undaunted by his prang In the 250, slipped past to take the win on the last lap. Final results show Vesco as overall winner and first tooocc . Grant easily won the 500cc class , with Pridmore second but leading the Manx brigade. Fulton earned third overall and second 1000. After a tussle, Jim Chen held off Jerry Greene's stock Brldgestone to win the 350 class on his Honda. Winner Ron Pi erce on his Producti on class 500 Suzuki. BII left hand turn al the end 01 the dral strip stral&h taway. Tbe Lightweight Production f1nal was rather uneventful, but new rider Jonas Israel shot down all but Steve Galbraith to grab second on his 180 Yamaha in the 200 class . Galbraith was on his faithful Bultaco, out of Power Research. Alan Spears took 175 honors on a new 175 Honda (a scram bler yet) and flyweight Gil Robbins held off all the other 100' s on his Yamaha 100 Single. CONGRATULATIONS TO Whi te W ails With the drop of starter Jim Manning's flag, the 250's roared off towards "the hook" at the end of the long straight, Having learned the ropes of the AFM's run-and-bump start rather quickly, Ralph WhIte was first away, followed by Tom Finlay (Yamaha). A ding-dong battle developed between WhIte (Kawasaki), Mike Lane (Yamaha) and track favorite ASCOT PARK EXPERT M AIN EVENT AND TROPHY DASH WI NNER M 31, 1968 AY MEL LACHER H-D ALSO MEMORIAL DAY HILLCLIMB SADDLEBACK PARK MAY 30, 1968 250cc CLASS 1 - Comi ng Events Next up on the road racing calendar Is an AFM National at Vaca Valley Raceway, June 16. June 23 Is marked for the next r oad race at Carlsbad and June 30 will see the return of the action to Oeange County. Mark July 4th as a must at Vaca Valley, the site of the Fttth Annual 250 Mile National Production Road Rac e. As mentioned before, the prize money now being offered at Cal1tornla Road Races has brought a surge of professionalism to this facet of the sport. Tbe last three or four events a t both Orange County and Vacaville have seen real batUes between top ntght riders for the entire distance of the events. Don't miss the next one! See your Cycle News Calendar of Events for details. (Results on page 20) SOUTH COAST TRAIL HEADQUARTERS CLIFF LAMB H-D AND 13-M NATIONAL ILE mCHMOND, VA. MAY ~ , 1. BART MARKEL . 2. DAN HAABY 3. FRED NIX 4. MERT LAWWI LL 5. CAL RAYBORN ~68 H-D H-D H-D H-D H-D 12-MILE NATIONAL READING, PA, MAY 26, 1968 1. BART M ARKEL H-D 2. FRED NIX H-D 5-MILE NATIONAL LIVONIA, M C JUNE 2, 1968 I H. 1. RONNY RALL H-D 2. BART MARKEL H-D The Amateur Class winner of all Three National s won aboard H-D SO . 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