Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

AFM MID-SEASON ROA DRACE NATIONAL 00 , ~ .... Art Baumann (2) and Jod)' Nicho las (58) lead the 250CC GP cla ss at the start with Nicholas A:e ttlnA: to the checkered fl aA: fi rst and Baumann second. By Tom Finlay Photos by Dennis Greene . ORANGE CO. INT 'L. RACEWAY, June 30 - A warm June day greeted riders and spectators who turned out for the ninth AFM championship road race held so far this season. The attendance was definitely showing an upswing, and the fans were well r ewarded by a fin e day ' s raclng. The $500 purse being paid by the Ra ceway to the GP classes has seemingly brought out the desire on the part of the competitors at these events to present a first class »rofesslonal program . The efforts by those dedicating free time to the Los Angeles Chapter of !he AFM, without whos e help the r unning of these events would be im pos s ibl e , s hould also be praised a t this time. On with the s howl Something New ... • A new or der of running the program was tried with the fi r s t race. The 50cc GP bikes were flagged off, and after a short pause, a second flag waved off the entire lightwelgbt field. Made for some Interesting racing, but no one was catchIng 11 Ron erant. Grant was showcas1ng a seldom seen, In this country, Suzuld factory 50cc works twin. 10 ( ?) speeds and all. He was heard down-shifting seyen times going Into the Tower Bend. First non-works 50 home was Don DierkIng, second In class, followed by Dan Osborne, riding Honda and Ilal- Vampire respectively. In the Llgbtwe1gbt Production field, Jonas Israel (180 Yamaha) carried off first overall and first 20Occ. First 175 was Chris Moore (Bridgestone), first 125 home went to Steve Froschauer (Yamaha), and the large l00cc class was bagged by Yamaha mounted Rick Blake. Second event was the also new combined 100-125-175 race. Leaping Into a first lap lead, Honda mounted Dave Allee soon had pre-race favorite Reg Pridmore nipping at his wheels; Pridmore gained the advantage and salled home as first overall and 125 class winner on hi s Power Research Bultaco. Allee won the 175 and third overall was Pete Glorda.neng'D (Honda 125) . Making his first appearance at an AFM event In a while was second 175 Ralph LeClercq(Ducatl). First 100, and a long way from the rest of his class, was Yamaha-Angel mounted Jeff Pasternak. ~ic:bolas Benefit George Kerker and his new Norton "Commando' stormed to a flrst In the Heavy Producti on race. The fast 250 was a nip an d luck battle be twe en Laconia 250 winner Art Ba umann an d !'iavy flier Jody Nicho las. After a bit of dicing , Yamaha- mounted Nich olas began to dra w a way . Baumann, also on Yamaha, was a long distance from thlrd plac e Barry Provisor. Provisor was hotly pursued by Ernie Caes ar, whose fourth place was the best showing i n a while by a Greeves. Next up was the Heavyweight Production which saw the Orange County production regulars get snake bi te fr om George Kerker 's Norton Commando 750. Second Open home was Roland Pagan. 500 class went to Honda r ider P e te Gior dan engo. Honda alsocol lected the 350 prize, going to Dave Allee. With the strong showing of the new Honda models, i t is a pi ty that Am er ican Honda has turned ' their back on r acing In this country. Fir s t 250 was an unusually high placing, fifth overall, going to Ken Edmondson and Suzuki. Grant Grinds The heavyweight 350-500-1000 Main was rated a toss-up between Ron Grant and Don Vesco. It looked that way for a while, but Grant (Suzuki) began to stretch It out and cruised home first overall and 500 class winner . Vesco took an easy 1000cc class win on his 654 BSA. Second 1000 home was BSA.-mounted Greg Kearne y. An early favorite, Jody Nicholas, was trying to move up on the leaders when he slid off going Into Tower Bend. Jody was shaken up and received a severe laceration on his left leg, but appeared otherwise to be all right. A shock win In the 350 class went to Ernie Caesar, Kawasak, r iding for Power Research. In all, a day of good, hard riding. Next slated AFM events are July 21 at Carlsbad, with $200 guaranteed, and back to Orange County on Aug. 4.As most of the superstars will be back at the AMA National at Indy, this is the time for you private entries to come out and take home some cash. (Results on page 20) Jod)' Nicholas (58) trying to take fell ow Yamaha pilot "Scolly" (15) on the out si de. Jod)' Nicholas In great form! Jonas Isra el making It on his 180 Yamaha. I . 1~i : .:. BILL KRAUSE'S LARGE ST PARTS & ~:2h. I/ /I/ /I HI Ii /1 /1,1" " " " AC CESSORIE SDE . PT HONDA !~/YAMAHA IN THE SOUTHLAN D Super-fast 2SOCC Expert GP riders negoUate tum at end of straightaway. l lS7 S. LA !R EA CIt Cr nt lol r y • BMW ROll Grant 0 SOCC Suzuki factory machine. Yamaha·angel rider Jeff Pasternak copped flrst100cc G.P. ""9lrwoocl • _ 671-0406 • GRE EVES . 611.50lS • M OT O·B ET A

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