Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

1st ANNUAL COACHELLA VALLEY M.C. EUROPEAN 'SCRAMBLES Story and Photos by Dick Wright I, PIONEER TOWN, Cal. Aug. 18 - The Coachella Valley M.C. showedrealclass In staging thetr European Scrambles on the main street of this small desert pioneer town; It was a perfect setting of old-fashioned frame buildings on a main dirt street. At three o'clock there was a real duel In front of the Red Dog Saloon between Larry Bergquist, Bultac o-mounted #4, and J .N. Roberts, #2 on a Husky, with Roberts coming out on top after the dust cleared. The Trall Novices were up first at eight O'clock: which was pretty early for those r iders who helped close the Red Dog Saloon the night before. It was 'a Le Mans start on the main street of' town, and the course went a third of a mile on the dirt, then turned right to a little dropoff onto a half-mile fir e road. Right aga in onto a shor t dint trail, and then a left, brought us down a steep, sandy, s lxty-foot-long hlll- so steep that you couldn't see the bottom of the hill fro m the top, but ending In a deep san dwash which slo wed the r iders down. The first time down was a br eath-stopper; after that you just put It In second gear, kept the bike straight, and coasted down. The course s tayed IIi the~ s'andwaSh for two miles, then made a~' sharp r ight thr ough the boondocks , onto 'a two-rut jeep trail for a mile. A lert"turn led It down a fire road to a mudhole near town. Through the mudhole, then,.a 'rlght on a quarter- mil e, flattrack- typ'e tUrn, and you had made It back onto the main street. Four-and-a-half miles ~of real fun r iding! . With plcturesqua Plone.r Town main street for a background, riders run to their bikes f or L. Mans start of Open Amateur evenL , . . ond Amateur. Jim Sumner s , #578, landed se venth, and was the third Amateur In. , Slam-Bang 250 Novices A large group of the 250 Novices went off next. At the steep hill the first ten got down r eal quick, but after that, all hell broke loosel There were riders fallIng 'allover that hill, som e going end over end, but al l of them got upand were able to r es tart and take off again . Larry Pfutzenreuter, Bultaco - mounted #807x, showed real class and took the win, with Fred SolerOS, #320x, also on a Bultaco, In s ec onir: ' Bill Bragdon, #267mx, r an thlrd,i'~, r • The 250 Amateur go was a wlre- towire r unaway for young Tom Potee t, #4~x, r eally making It on a r ed Bultac o. A BOVE: Much crashing took place on steep hil l, but most got up and rode off, as did thi s 250cc Yamaha Novice. , RIGHT : #23 Gene Dempsey leads #22 Doy re Fields as #2 J.N. Roberts prepares to make his move. Ri ght down Main Street roared til e machi nes f or a thl rd-mlle, then they turned onto a little dlOpoff that led to a half·mlle f1 ~e road. Th l s ri der Is passing In front of the old- time gun shop. The banner dr opped for the Novice trall In second was Tom Muto, #71x, and J . bikes , and all 80 of them took off thr ough Jeffery, #243x, was holding down third. town; Groff Cr owther , #244 on a Zundapp The 250 Exper ts were up next: At the with a hot Sper ex- coated piston (tuned by start, Larry Bergquist, #888x on the Tom Hoyle), was ru nning tenth on the Fe rgus & Gr iffin - tuned Bultaco, was layfir s t lap, but got down to the business at Ing back about third on the straight, but hand and passed them all, taking the lead turn ed it all the way on In fifth gear and the win for a good day' s work. Larry where the straightaway dr opped off In a Cook, #488 on a Yamaha, was second, right tur n, setting up a power slide to and Don Morgan, #523, was third. pick off firs t spot. He came around on The combined Amateur and Expert the .firs t lap In big power slides, In an trail bikes were up next , and the 70 of all-out effort to widen his lead over Mike Patrick, #421x, on a Yamaha. As the the m got away In a clean s tart, with Ji m JackIett , #11 on a Van Tech Hodaka , tak race continued, Bergquist remai ned In Ing the lead . His glory was short-lived, the lead position, with Patrick running as he seized the piston In the s andwash, s econd, and Gary Griffin, #2 on a Buland Wes Anderson Jr., #4 on a Steen taco, working his way up to third. Special Hodaka, took over the lead and Ber gquis t held the lead all the way to held It for two la ps until his piston got take the win, giVing a cle an sweep of the too hot. Jack Mor gan, #1, also riding an 250cc class es to Bultac o. Patrick took Hodaka , took command at that point , with second, Gr iffin was third , and George Bob Belt, #171, runn ing second on a Zuber, #41 r iding a Yamaha, wor ked his Steen Special. Jeff Wright, #76 on an way thr ough the pack to finis h four th. Eddie Cro well-tuned Hodaka, was holding The 500 and Open class r ider s were third and leadi ng the Amateurs, with given a practi ce lap to check the cour se Dick Wrlgh.t, #9, r ight behind him. out before their races s tarted In 'the On the fifth lap, Terry Cla r k, #395, afternoon, as the course was pretty well who had bee n moving cons istently thr ough wiped out by this time . The sandwash the pack, passed Jeff Wr ight to take over was one comple te lin e of up- and- down thir d spot and first Amateur . On the hoop- dee- docs- a real shock-b uste r . following lap, Ander s on, who had changed Combined Novices pl ugs and started again, moved back Into four th, placing Wright in fif th position. The combined 350- 500- 0pen Novices On the sixth lap, Tom Hoyle, #31, moved were fir s t up. Jim McClurg, #987, a In to take fifth spot . member of the San Bernardino M.C. After nine laps, Morgan pull ed In to - r iding a Maico, ca ught the lead and was take the win, with Belt In se cond, Terry really giving it a go until the race was Clark In third for First Amateur , and black- flagged because of an accident on Wes Anderson In fourth. Tom Hoyle was the cour s e . It was a tough br eak for fifth, an d Jeff Wright took sixth and secMcClurg , as he was dead last off the li ne on the re-start, and never had a chance. Ja ck Lund, #239 on a Triumph, took the lead this time and held it to the fourth lap, when " Whitey," #1580 nahotMalco, took over first spot an d ca rried it to the finis h. He also belongs to the San Bernardino M.C., so their day was not los t. Jack Lund cam e in for second; and the hot Hus ky of Bob Ewing Jr ., #880, swung In for thtrd, after giving the spectators some of the mos t beautlfulfeet- up slides s een on the tur ns in town. Chuck Randman, #893, took four th on a Triumph. The big bike Ama teur s wer e up next. Rick Hal l, #80 on a ver y fast 337cc Honda, gr abbe d .the lead and built It up In a display of fas t s lides and flat-o ut power on the s traightaways. He blasted in for the win with a minute's lead over Sam 'Gardener , #40 on a Triumph, who was also moving real "s trong. Ji m Beres, #854 astride a Bultaco, placed third, and Doug Douglas, #421 was looking good (especially thro ugh the mudhole), to pull in for a solid fourth on his Ducatr.Rodger Sides, #52 on a Triumph, took fifth . Any body' s Race The race we were all waiting for was up next: The combined 500 and Open Expert go, and a chance to see all the top desert riders having at it to se e who would be the top man. , At the s tart, Bergquist, #4 (on a 360 Bultaco this time),' gave out with one of his specialties and took the lead in the first tur n, but on the first lap through' town, Mike Patrick, #7 on the Norton TwIn, was out In front. Bergquist was then running a close second, and J.N. Rober ts, #2 on a 360 Husky, was only five s econds behind In third and really making up time . It was anyone's race with thes e three top r iders doing what they do bes t. In a spectacular s how of fas t r iding, Roberts took the lea d on lap four and went on to take the win. Ber gquist got the second spot , and Pa tric k was thir d. Jim Mar tino, #5 on a Husky, moved up thr ough the mob to take four th, and young AI Baker , #13 on a Tr iumph, was fifth. Winner J.N. Roberts wheelled through mudhole and for the next 50 feet, then set It down Into a spectacula r power slide and shot str aight through t own. The large group of over three hundred r iders and the many spectator s that wer e on hand were really treated to the best des ert ra cing to be had In many moons . After the event there was a buffet supper, followed by the trophy pr esen tations (just to show how much time, effor t, and planning was put Into this r ace meet by the Coac hel la Valley M.C.). The towns people wer e very gracious hos ts , and here' s hoping that this will become an annual event. (Res ults on page 16)

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