Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Lynn Wilson (47) wasn't accepted by tho Harpor Valley PTA but all the desert rldors lhlnk sho's aroat. Horo sho shows her prowess on hor Hodaka. Frank Morcan (6) tools lhrouch lhe tlcht trail IInod by bushes and j oshua troes to lake a wollearnod 4th In tho lrallblko class. SHAMROCKS CALIF. STATE .CHAMPIONSHIP HARE & HOUND Story and Photos by Dick Wr ight MOJAVE , c al., Sept . 8 - It was truly a championship course: One hundred mUes of rough Mojave Des er t territory, with steep uphills, rugged downhllls, and fast, choppy trails through the sage brush. At the end of the long, hot race, Mike Patrick, #7 on a Norton Twin, was crowned the new State Champ, t:a.ldng the overall win in one hour an d 45 minutes over a large fi eld of 580 riders. Larry Bergquist, #888x on a bright red Bultaco, pulled off the 250Cc Championship, and a new champ emerged in the 100cc class - young Dean Goldsmith, #39 on a Harley-Davidson, who turned the cour s e in one hour and 56 minutes, just 11 minutes under the OPen Class winner. The starting area was in tight, bushy Red Rock Canyon territory, 17 miles' north of Mojave, and at the drop of the banner at 9:00 a.m, sharp, the combined Open and 250cc classes took off for the ' smoke bomb, two mUes out. Leading at the bomb was ole pro "Smokebomb" #39 John Gaetz (Triumph) . Following were Jerry Johnson, Novice #695, Al Baker #13, P atric k #7, and Bergquist, #888x. Gaetz was still in the lead about ten miles out , but as the pa ck approached a little clearing in the bushy trail, Pa trick made his mov e on the outside, swept past the fr ont runner, and dove in for a solid lead . At ch eck point 3, two-thirds through the fi rst of the two loops , Patrick had a two-minute lead, foll owed by Phil Bowers #139x, who had taken ove r second on a 250 Yamaha, an d Bergquis t, now third. Coming into the pits at the end of the fi r s t loop, P a trick s ill! had the edge, but J .N. Roberts had moved up to s econd, flanked by Bergquist, Bowers , Baker, and Bill Messer , #129x on a 250cc Bultaco. Ooan Goldsmith led tho trallblko class at the smokobomb, nevor rollnqul shod lho load and fln lshod 43rd oyorall with a 30-mlnuto handicap. Just proyos what a 100cc blko can do whon forcod to co all tho way• Something must be said about the r ide of Tom Poteet, #45x: His throille cable broke on the second loop , but he managed to hold on to it in his right hand turning the power on and off. When h~ came to the big sandy uPhill, there were 25 r iders lying allover it; ' with one hand on the bars, and the other holding the bare cable, he threaded hi s way up and over the hill, and came in to fi nish. #139 Phil Bowors rodo a heady, conslstont racoandf1nlshod4th oyorall ona 250ccYamaha. NOWly-crowned Stato Champion Mlko Patrick (Norton) could not be denlod this day. Fast and smooth, ho novor mado a mlstako. After the quick check and gas stop, Robe r ts was able to pass Patrick In an all-out effort, bui couldn't widen his short lead, and in open territory 20 miles before the finis h, Patrick was within 15 feet of Roberts. They went uP the sandy, 200-yard-Iong hill side by side, and diced back and forth unill Roberts collapsed his rings in a flat-out drag with Pa trick on a two-rut trail. Patrick came in with five minutes to spare; Bergquist was second, foll owed by Roberts, and Bowers. Messer was fifth, Baker sixth. Al Rogers, #118, an old desert hound who comes out of the hills for the big races , pulled in s eventh on a Triumph ahead of Ossa-mounted Bill Friant. Sixteenth place Bob Kulek, #37x, was first 250 Amateur in, and Don Houser, #191, was the first Ope n Amateur in, placing 18th on the list. Trailing them were Steve Holladay #714 and David Baker #53, both up-and-coming Amateurs. WINNERS GO WITH·BELL MERT LAWWILL WINNER: 11 Mile National Championship salinas, Calif., sept. 8th E L® HELMETS ·A A A L V IL BEAT DEALERS EVERYWHERE Trail Bikes The 180 trail bikes left the line thirty minutes after the bi g bikes, and at the smoke bomb fast-charging Dean Goldsmith, #39, had a 1OO-foot lead on the sleeved-down Harley-Davidson tuned by Dave Ekins and Jack Krtzman, in a solid second spot was #11 Jim Jacklett (Hodaka), followed by Jack Froelich, Wes Anderson Jr. #4, Jack Morgan #1, and Frank Morgan #6. The trail bikes were to go the full two loops of the hundred- mile course, so they were off for a to ugh go at it. At Check #3, Goldsmith was still in the lead and went down the hill like a shot. As he got t o the bottom, Jack Morgan pulled into the chec k and took off again, after the leader. Wes Anderson Jr. was in third position. Com ing into the pits on the first lap, Goldsmith had a s i z a b I e lead over second-man Anderson. He had traveled the first loop only five minutes slower than Patrick in the Open Class, and was now running uP around 50th overall and still going strong. Frank Morgan, #6, and Terry Clark, #395 on a Hodaka followed through the pits. Half-way around the second loop, young Terry Clark was able to pass Frank Morgan to take over third spot. As they came to the big hill, sill! covered with the big bikes, Goldsmith gave it everything he had, but still had to push it uP the last fifty feet (as did all of the trail . bikes, with some of the riders able to run faste r than others). Edd ie Crowell, #92 on a Hodaka, in fifth, ran uP thathill real fast for a tired-out old man, but he had to, because the old desert bound Bob McLaughlin, #45 on a Sachs, was right behind him. At the finish, Goldsmith sailed in for the win, losing only eleven minutes on Patrick's time, and finishing 43rd overall with a 30-minute handicap. Anderson, on the S,S. Hodaka, was second,followed by Clark, Morgan, Crowell, and Me Laughlin. The first Novice was Jim West, #128, and behind him came Eric Jensen #7 and Jerome Johnson #74. F or ty - fif th place Rose Martino, #16 ana Hodaka, was the first girl In. Clark and Goldsmith , both young tigers, said that the 100-mile gr ind wasn't too bad, but even they wished that those two big hills hadn't been there. Consens us of opinion in the pits was, "Now thal l've fin ished, it was O.K., but I hope we don' t have to go that far again for a little while." It was indeed a championshi p cours e - and 'it took a champ to finish It. (Results on page 20) #2:

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