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/125572
M ike managed to get his Mcntesa aeross the fi ni sh line I n front of Jerry 's Kawa saki sponsored Black's Cy cle Sale, In both the " A" Main and Dash . These boys not only batUe for fi rst place In each r ace but have a real close contest going for the high point season trophy In their class . Mike now holds th e lead with 190 points while Jerry and Dwane Francisco each hav e 160, so It' s going to be Inter esting to see who com es out on top, I t only tak es one race to change i t . Frit z' Tum Mike Thompson (1301) followed clesely by Jerry Bergquist (971) In the Sunny Valley 250cc "A" Main Event. Mike went on to take the iOld. Story and Photos by Virginia Copeland GRA NTS PASS, o r e., July 14 - Sunny Valley Speedway open ed the pit gates to 78 r iders on Sunday, with a couple of them from as far away as San Jose, California. Lance Anderson of San Jose and Bob Grossi of Santa Cruz were both qulte pleased with the way the races were run up here due to th e fact that everyone entered got to run a MaIn Event for atrophy. Grossi who had been plagued with bad luck all weeke nd gave the crowd a real thrill when he won the wheel-walklng contest with a injured knee. He went the length of the straightaway and part way around the corner before he looped his bike. Good show Bob, we really enjoyed It. Bob didn't get all the glory however, as L anc e took home gold from both the Saturday night races sponsored by the Rogue Valley Riders In Grants Pass, and the Sunday races. These are a couple of real good riders and show real sportsmanship, we enjoyed having them and will be looking forward to the day they can return. Now down to some serious racing. Dwane Franci sco of Medford, rld1ng a Kawasaki out of his own shop , " Out F r ont," took both . the Trophy Dash and , A " Main In the 100 class without much trouble. John Soy of Eureka, Calif. was back in the winner's ci r cl e again this week taking the " A" Maln on his Bultaco. He was leadipg the Dash when he lost a chain and had to do some beautiful riding to keep from crashing. cavey Russell of Grants Pass was just behind John and went on to win th e 200 Trophy Dash on the Kawasaki sponsored by Wally's Kawasaki Sales . The Kids class saw little Randy Johnson of Medford on a Bultaco take home the trophy In the Trophy Dash . Rick Ziegler of Cr esc ent City, Calif. was put back to the second llne because he kept creeping, but he stul came through the pack to win the " A" Maln on his Yamaha. Rand y Johnson led It till the last lap when Rick caught him and barely beal him to the f inish llne. Taklng a close third was John Renfro of Prospect r iding a Moto-Beta. Jerry Bergquist of Crescent City, Calif. and Mike Thompson of Eureka, Calif. are havtng a ball batulng backand forth this year In the 250 class, and this race was no d1fferent. They were both r ight out there In front swapping leads and riding for all they were worth, but ThIs week i t was F ritz Espy' S turn to win th e Open Class . A ll sea son long it's see med llke F ri tz wins one week and Bob Vaughn the next. F ritz, fr om Grants Pass riding a Bultaco sponsor ed by Pollock's Marina, can undoubte dly lay that bi ke down the lowest of anyone I know. Th e T rophy Dash was Fritz' all the way with Bob r i ght behind. The "A" Main had some excitement right off the lIne as Vaughn was f orced to leave the track 10 keep from hitting anoth er bike. L ance A nderson, of San Jose, Calif. ridIng a BSA for Cycle Mart, got the lead fo llowed by F ritz and Joe Duncan of Cr escent Ci ty , Calif. on a Triumph. It took F r i tz two laps but he finally got around Lance to grab first place and hold It all the way to th e finish. MeanWhile, back I n the pack, Bob was back In the race and passing like nobody 's bus t- ness. He took third place away from Joe on the fifth lap and went after Lance but Lance got acr oss the llne first leaving Bob In third. The Sweepstakes race saw Dwane ( The Mouse) Francisco roar Into the lead and hold It till th e last lap when he slld out. Dwane, r ld1ng a 100cc Kawasaki, started a lltUe better than a quarter-lap ahead of th e 650 class but Vaughn and Espy had come through the 250's and the 200 ' s and were really closing the gap , It would have been a close race to the finI sh if Dwane had finished; instead Bob went on to win on his Tri umph sponsored by F r ed For d Cy cle. Th e pri ze fo r this race was a 2-pull-drawer tool chest donated by Bud Thrasher of Ma c's T ools . After the Sweepstakes r un It was time f or the winner s to collect th ei r trophies and pretty 16- year- old Connie Davis of Springfi eld, Ore. was on hand to gi v e the m out. We wish to send our heartfelt sympathy to Wally Coburn of Glendale, Or e. who broke his leg i n an unfortunate accident Sunday . Wally will be out of th e races for the rest of this season but we sincer ely hope he wi ll be there watching as soon as he Is able. Wally, owner of the Kawasaki shop in Grants Pass, would enjoy any of you r iders dropping around to see him and chew the fat a bit. Get well soon Wally, we'll be l ooking fo r ward to seeIng y ou. ( Resul ts appeared last week) Cigar-chomping Fritz Espy sli d 10 wins In Open Cla ss Tr ophy Dash and "A" Main. GR TR25W Trophy 250 A brand new Triumph for 1968, in the popul ar 250 range. This powerfu l 4-stroke package with the ruggedness of the big T rophy machines handles with cat- l ike ease, on road and tai l al ike. New sty le tank, has upswept exhaus t. Offers top performance to expert and beginn i ng rid ers al ike who want somethi ng really new. ~ ~ '" ... ~. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ :<: ~ ..J U G