Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

, 00 MEET '" THE RACER ~ os Q., 00 <0 ., '" ., tlC -e ~ trJ Z trJ ..,J U :>.. o by Bill Harmer Mel Lacher , holder of National Number 37 and a top favorl te among tans at Ascot Is a serious, modest, shy man who appears to tlnd It almost pa1ntul to discuss his ' many cyc1lng victories , and woull1 agree to an interview only It his long-time friend and cont1dant, Leonard Andres , could be present. Andres , san I:lego' s Harley- Dav idso n dealer for more than 30 years, who Is one of the country' s top tuners of racing motorcycles, sold Mel his firs t Harley- Olvldson jus t one year after Mel had ridden his first Novice race at the old Cajon speedway at El Ca jon, Califor nia. 'The year was 1962 and the machine he bought was one of former National Champion, Brad Andres' old JlIIlCIng rigs, which Mel s till rides and which Is his only mount. 'The sale of the bike was the beginning of a very close personal relationship with Leonard Andres who has drawn from his many years of experience in cycle r acing, to give advice and mechanical assistance whenever need ed.. According to Andres, however , Mel has performed most of the actua l mechanical upkeep on his motorcycl e. Mel glows with pardonable pride when discus sing or displaying his bike. He keeps It in perfect condition at all times. It Is the same machine tha t Joe Leonard won Laconia with once and Brad Andres twice. Brad also won Watkins Glen onthismach1ne. Asan Amateur Mel took the bike to Olytona in 1963, and pos ted the fastest qual1fy1ng time at the meet, a feat that be repeated as an Expert lLt Olytona in 1964 and again In 1966. Mel, by necessity, has kept his actIvities in his own area since then , racing almost eXclusively at Ascot. Whenasked about road racing, he stated that he llkes It but prefers dirt track. At this point, Mr. Andres Interjected that Mel Is a very capable road racer but Is li mited by his equipment. He owns and maintains his own. 'The factory furnishes parts for the rig but Mel has to buy his own tir es and other things tha t are not available from Harley-OlvidSOn ,and he has to furnish his own transportation to and from the meets. Conditi ons do not permit Mel to invest in modern r oad racing equipment so until there Is a change, he'll have to limit his r acing to local dirt track events . When questio ned about his future in motorcycle racing, Mel allowed that he could do pretty well on the the Na tional circuit It he had a way to tlnance It. Lacher had an excellent season at Ascot last year and finished second in point s tandings . Mr. Andres-opines that had It not been for a ll ttle moto r trou ble, Mel might ver y llkely have been number 1. 'IbIs year, Mel Is again second In poi nts , without even having entered the firs t two programs at As cot. Afte r rnakIng four clean sweeps (heat, TrophY rash and Main) at Ascot, Lacher then won his !1tth heat and Main In a row, and last Friday night It was anoth er clean sweep - heat, rash and SIXTH ~ Eventl Mel takes his motor cycling seriously and llke any dedicated athlete, keeps hi ms elf in perfect physt cal condition. Although of sllght stature (5' 4" tall and 130 lbs.) his arms and shoulders are powerfully bullt and his handshake Is as firm as a blacksmith' S, possibly a result d his hour-and-a half daily workouts in the gym with bar bells and other body bulldlng devices . 10 order to retaln his stamina be does IIOt smoke. Like a great many Californians, Mel bails from the midwest !arm belt and the state of Nebraska but he IIOW claims san Diego as his home town. At 31 years of age, Mel is an ellg1ble bacbelor. HIs m1lltary obligations to Uncle sam are behind him, after ahitch in the army. A senior chemistry major at san Diego State, be wlll graduate next JIIIlll but plans on graduate work to earn further degrees for a future career. He has supported himself and flnanced his education with his prize money from his Ascot winnings. When your reporter wondered wby a man of such obvious talent who was number 2 at Ascot, and number 3 Nationally on dirt tracks, did IIOt have a sponsor, Mr. Andres expla1ned that the big sponsors are mostly interested in riders who make the National Champlon- ship events, and Mel llmits his races to local atfaIrs. It was our SUPP05ltion that his school sched~prevented him from competing in other"Veas but Mel stated that the only big raee during the school calendar would be Olytona and It he could fly there and back, It wouldn't a1!ect his education. So It appears that the only thing that Is keeping one of the country' s most talented motorcycle racers from atta1n1ng high National r ecognition, Is the . lack of a sponsor. In this .wrlter ' s opinion, Mel Is a r eal winne r and someone Is mi ssing a lot of National pr estige and publ1city by not geW ng this boy on a r ider's contract. EL TORO, Callf., J une 28 - 'IbIs week' s racing at Or ange County Speedway drew a s urprising turnout of riders as well as spe cta tor s, considering the very cloudy, r ain- threa teni ng we a the s , The 100cc cl ass was a repeat of the week before, with Ooy i)lvls tro m La Mesa making a clean sweep of the rash and Main on that very hot and ver y special r eed valve- engined Hodaka of Mit'S Motors in La Mesa. Now the 250cc was quite a diffe r ent story with little Mike Lane taking the first heat, this time riding a Bultaco, Randy Ellis nabh1ng the s econd heat on the Morgan Motor s Honda, and the third heat was won by ac e T ,T , r ider Russ Robins on on a Suzuki TM mota-cr os s mac hine. 'The dash was a real surprise going to Lane, who halls from Bakersfield, after a nip and tuck ba.ttle with Randy. Ellis Edges Barker 'The Main saw Ellis take the lead on the 3rd lap and hold It from then on, staving off a late-lap charge by Earl Barker from La Mesa on a Kawasak1 who shows much promise. Bad luck fo; Anaheim'S John Hoffard who got a good start but fell 10 the 5th lap. Two-time Main event winner Stan Rogers got 3rd. Ed McGregor, who was really dogg1ng It last week on account of a sore leg, was doing much better this week and finIshed 4th. Mike Lane, whose engine blew Just as he crossed the finish llne of the rash had to scratch the Main Event, for tough luck award of the week. (Results on pace 20) lOAD II.EIS HOI' By Bill Harmer iNTENsiFIED ==== i! E5i: i i i E HODAKAS by CROWELL Order yoI&' custom set up com- petition HODAKA NOW! Glrllng shocks - Extended Front Forks 1'- Front wIIeel - Bobby·J" AlrC le..e.. Choice 01 Tires - Crowell Port Job Number P late - Ski d Plat. Crowell Tu ned P ipe - Fork Brac e 10427 Prairie, Inglewood Phone (2J 673-5562 3) to ORANGE COUNTY SPEEDWA BASH Y .01l1HlJ .EETlIIG , • SAN DIEGO, Calif., July I - Under the direction of president Ed Folkes, the san Diego Road Riders Ass'n, held Its monthly meeting at 8 p.m. at the SUvergate Savings Community Hall in National City. 'The main topi c under discussion was the annual Motorcycle Dealers-Road Riders Ass'n Run planned for September 8. 'The offer of the five principal dealers in the San Diego County area, to pay for half the cost of the food for each rider who signs in at their particular agency, was contemplated and It was decided to offer a tropby for the dealer who signs up the most riders. Jimmy Stewart, sales representative of Andres HarleyOlvldson, got a big laugh when he announced that he would do everything he could to promote the run but when riders came in to sign up, be would tell them that he was out of entry blanks and send them to the Honda dealer, down the street. But knowing Jim, It's our guess that the Andres agency wlll definitely be In contention for the trophY. 'The entry fee was set at $2.50 which will permit a more generous awarding of trophies. Destination of the run Is class1t1ed but the co mmittee chairman, Bob Ward, announc ed that the r e would not be a field large enough to per mit Field Events . 'There wlll be a great many trophies for bike judging, club, uniforms, etc. As It Is a oneday event, no automobile en tries are to be permitted In the competition. Clubs represented at the meeting were: Singing Wheels, Road Cruisers, Mary's Men, Vista Travellers and Terrapins. Members of the Pac1t1c Coasters, who do not belong to the Association at the present time, were also on hand . c

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