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/125568
I I 00 <0 0 ...., By Carol Sims Photos by Denni s Gr eene LACHER SNAGS SIXTH STRAIGHT Novice winner Randy Smith (Suz uki) take s a good long look at Wh itey Lyons' coveted che ckered flag. GARDENA, caur. , July 5 - AIlhuugh /he odd s a gainst winning six s tra i ght Exp ert Main Events a t As cot Park are astronomical, me teor-like Mel Lach er did e xac tly that last Friday nidlt. And to lend e ven more emphasis to his perrormanc e, the San Diego Harley-Davidson s tar accomplishe d /he teat against a rull compl ement of returnees rrom the Na ti onal Cha mpionship ci rcuit - Mert Lawwill , Dan Haaby Gene Romero and Ca l Rayborn - a li mounted on Harleys , too. . - Fighting for tr ansfer spots to Amateur Main are #65r Norm Elledge (T riumph), #80y Jim Rice ~ (BSA), #9 2r Reg Chosney (BSA) and #41 x Bi ll Cody (H- D). t.l Z t.l ..J U ::... U Keen s pectator in te rest greeted the start of the Expert heats . Po int leader DeWayne Keeter (BSA) cut a spraythrowing s wath as he bea t out Haaby in the first preliminary, then L ac h e r stirred up the crowd by turning back Lawwill in the s ec ond . Mel's 5-lap ti me was over a second- and - a - ba1f faster than Keeter'S, and nei ther Clyde Litch (Triumph) nor Rayborn, the oth er heat race winners, could come close to ma tching it. Above; - Lawwill, Li tch, Kruseman, Keeter, While, Holland and Rayborn jockey for Main Event places behind Lache r. Left Smith leads Aldana, Castro , Hansen and the rest of the Novice fina lists to 8-lap victo ry. Never Headed La cher again found the winning groove in the 3- lap Trophy Dash, leading La wwill, Haaby and Kee ter from flag to nag. As the 12-man field new away for the 15- lap final, Lacher's Harley was once more fi r s t into the turn, and there he s tayed throughou t the entir e race , though La wwill - ' s econd all the way - began to clos e s trongly in the later laps. Mert he l d a healthy margin ove r Keeter a t the fini s h, and DeWayn e was well ahead of Litch and Ralp h White (BSA), who fought i t out for fourth . in addition to racking UP three more wins , Lacher has now ta ken ove r the ba1f-mile point lead from Keeter (1018to 986) a nd hold s an eve n grea ter a dvantage ove r tbl r d place BSA rider Chuck Jo nes and fourth place Haaby, Jones unloaded in practice and was unable to compete; Haaby pulled in with mechanical diffi- culties on the s econd lap of the Main. Rockwood Scores Again nard; 6th, R. Krusman, Ventura; 7th, J . Wiley, Ventura; 8th, R. Kelly, Oxnard; 9th, G. Barrato, Oxnard; lOth, P .L. Salazar, Oxnard. The re were also 70 other winners of the numerous merchandise prizes . Th e "Hidden Treasures" that had to be found once the elusive white crosses were located were a clothes pin, 3x5 card, marble, thumb tack, cup cake paper, pipe cl eaner , hair pin , and safety pin. Eve ryone had a ball trying to find each trea sure and then deciding if they really had the r ight tblng. The .. Good Guys" are planning a motorcycle event on the last Sunda y of each month. For informa tion, call or write Honda " Good Guy s ; ? 1032 S. Oxnard BlVd., Oxnard, Cal. OXNAR D, Calif., J une 30 - Motor cycling fun was really on the agenda in Sunday's Treasure Hunt , held at Honda "Good Guys" in Oxnard. The ev ent was very well atte nded. A large spectator group also e njoye d .the family fun eve nt . The Sweeps takes winner was lucky El oy Mollna,from Oxnard. The remai ning 9 trophies were won by; 2nd, M. Mooney, Oxnard; 3rd, ,L .M: Peck, Ventura; 4th , J . O'Grady, Oxnard; 5th, A. Sallnas, Ox- - -- - - I ,.'c,, SCORE VICTORIES AGAIN sf Carlsbad Raceway 6/ 23/68 Is1125 G.P. -ls1115 G.P. lsi and 2nd OVERALL in combined 125 & 115 G.P. I sf Orange County Raceway 6/ 30 /68 I sl125 G.P. lSi OVERALL in 125 & 115 G.P. 4th 250 G.P. on a Greeves Silverstone (Bealing many Yamaha TOI I racers) I lSI 350 - 4th OVERALL in 350 - 500 - Open Race l si Sidecar I I I I I RESULTS ARE PROVEN GET ONE fOR YOUR BIKE I I • GARDNER CARBURETOR U.S. DISTRIBUTOR Power Research 269 Orange Ave., Goleta, Cali f. 93017 - - - ' -- - - ope~'s1:;:~,rl'ass Bea' all 'he Big Bores Elsinore TT 500cc Exper' Class Gary Bailey 360cc Greeves sf Perris TT 7-4-68 250(( Am/Ex Class J ck Holt a fO ROAD RACING - SC AMBLES- MOTO-CRO R R SS I Keith Mashburn's hope s of re taliatio n for last wee k's defeat at the hands of Randy Smith were halted when he parted c ompany from his Yamaha on the fi rst lap of his heat race. Smith proceeded to win the quickes t heat, the once-a - month Novice Trophy Dash (for which Cycle News sponsors the trophy), and the 8-lap green-plate final wire to wire. Dave Aldana took second ahead of Bob Fulton, making it a 1-2- 3 sweep for Suzuki - first of the season . (Results on page 20) Gary Bailey 360cc Greeves I in 4 RACES - 4 WINS in 125 G.P. Class: I Smith' s Suzuki Sizzles Riders Everywhere I GARDNER CARBURETORS • The Ama teu r :vIaln saw three top contenders hit the turf during the first two laps. Heat r ace winners Don Harms(H-D) and Marshall Jenni ngs (BSA) fell In the north turn before completing a single lap, and early leade r Gee zer Emick's hope s slid out from under him in the south turn on, lap 2. Emick quickly remounted and continued, soon catching the pack, but was forced out with engine woes on lap 6. Meanwhile, Tommy Rockwood (Triumph) was buildin g up a nice lead over Jim Rice (BSA), who bad worked his way Six, count 'em , SIX Mai n Events in a row have been s cored by Harley-mount ed Mel Lacher. TREASURE HUNT A TREAT - into runnerup spot ahead of Alex Chinows ki (BSA), Nor m Elledge (Tri umph) and Ji m As hmor e (H-D). Positions r emained vir tually unchanged for the rest of the 10-lapper, an d Roc kwood now holds an even grea ter po int lead ove r Harms (907-700) in season standings. • 250 Greeves Only a Ama' eur ' 0 0 Try and you' ll Buy See Y Dealer our