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/125566
co t ing max use of the superior traction he was soon lapping slower riders and before 100 miles had passed he had got around all ' but the second, third and fourth place men twice. " I was really worried about some of my competition," Cal said at the finish. From where we sat, he didn't look too scared. Some,distance behind the leader, banging on and hanging on, came Gary Nixon, whose tuner Cliff Guild seems to have found another horse or two in the Triumph stable. Gary duelled with Yvon DuHamel's Yamaha until the FrenchCana dian r e ti red for reasons undisclos ed, putilng Nixon In 2nd, challenged closely by Jody Nicholas on another Yamaha 360. And, working up the hard way thr ough the middle of the pack came Dick Mann on a BSA twin, the oniy one we've seen hold its power edge throughout a race lllO-MlLE NATIONAL - Continued from Page 1 '" c, Two Triumphs - one from the west and one from the east. California's Dusty Coppaee (32) takes the Inside line, Nat'l No. I Gary Nixon traverses a sllehtly wider path. .... I "J Above: Pre-race tIre preparations Involve National No. 10, Nell Keen. Lelt: #4 Bart Markel suffered mechanical problems, retired from lOO·mller and slipped to 3rd In Narl points. ,,,, San Francisco 's Art Baumann (3) eets check· er for 250cc 7Somller, paced 8 out of 10 Y.. maha swup. Smillne Cal Rayborn, with checkered f1ae and Championship trophy, receIves coneratulatlons on his win. • -. Suzukl·mounted Ron Grant (10) leads 250cc winner Art Baumann at this point. Grant eventually wound up 4th In small bike event. Knee-out cernerl ng sl yl e of 250cc Yamaha·mounted #88 Andreas Georgeades from Canada. Fo,", lowl ne are #11 Don Vesco and #5 Yvon DuHamel, also on Yamahas. with Doug Libby of Detroit's Yamaha threatening to take it away, but never abl e to. It was a repea t of the t:nytona Novice victory for Hollingsworth, who will be the man to beat in any future Novice road race contests. Also on Saturday, Art Baumann of California led off a Yamaha sweep of the 250 combined Amateur- Expert 75- mller • First year Expert Baumann modes tly credits his motorcycle, immaculately prepared by the men at Yamaha 's Montebello, California headquarters, for his win. " It never missed a beat: 'says Ar t. Nearly every body rides their motorcycles to the Laconia event. Earl and Dot Robinson rode their 74's all the way from Detro it , throu gh rainstorms and hicktown speed traps, and Charlie and Jane Miller rode theirs up from New Jersey, among others. Sunday dawned clear and war m after a brief rain Saturday night which washed the racing surface clear. The artillery of cherrybombs in the campfires of the Massachusetts Hell 's Angels gave way to the healthy POP I of racing Harleys shifting on the hill button. Cal Rayborn laid his claim on the course by leading his heat race all the way. And In the second Expert Heat it was a thr ee way slug-out for fir s t among Mer t La wwill, Bart Markel and Skip Van Leeuwen. Skip Is turning out to be a mighty trlplethreat racer on the hot-dog trail, with impres s ive perfor mances in flattrack and now road races besides his formidable wins In TT's. He scuffed his pegs on both sides and wore away one mega- phone gathering a hea t race third against the two rapid Har ley- Davtdsons, Jody Nicholas' gas cap flew open and he got a fac e- full of raw gas to earn the Expert get - off record of the meet. Jody parted company with his mot o rcy cle three times. RunnIng close ly , H·D ri der Dan Haaby (22) chal le nges the Tr iumph of Gary Nixon (1). Nixon was 2nd In 100·mller; Haaby took 81h. Amateur 60-Miler Mike Sponseller, #99 of Phoenix, Arizona riding a Triumph was the moral victor of the Amateur class. Mike had about a 45- second lead and looked cer tai n to lap second pla ce Ron Pierc e, whos e Yamaha was not chiming perfectly, when gr emli ns struck in the late laps, causin g the Triumph to misfire. Sponseller coasted In a disgusted 6th place while Pierce got going again to take the win in 53 min., 45 seconds for the 60 mile go. (Ed. Note: Pierce' S bike was la ter pretested, found to be UNDERSIZE D, and disqualified, giving the win to Harleymounted Art Ninci of Kansa s City, Mo.) Artful Agression - The Big One Photographers and flag men stationed themselves around the course for the start of the 100- mile featur e. Rayborn flew into the first tur n at the point of a wedge of snarling, buzzrng and popping motorcycles, all eager to do the slim young Californian in. Cal si ts his HarleyDavidson in an almost prone, drags ter pos ition . He fling s it quickly and with cons ummate s kill from case to case , turning it on a second before anyone else and leaving it on a s econd longer. Mak- Star·studded leather s of Gary Nixon (1 ) brlehtened up the 250CC show. Fellow Yamaha rider Yvon DuHamel ( 5) eventually wound up 3rd.