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/125591
Two top- notch r iders, BUddy Parr iott and Steve McLaughlin, were competing in the l25 cc class, but both r etired due to mechanical prob lems . Many of you will r ecall a tall blonde rider by the name of Marty Lunde from Redondo Beach who started riding grand pr ix events about four years ago in Callfor nia. Lunde always had the urge to go to Eur ope and try his luck, s o he did. Some favorable comments appeared In the Englis h pr es s about his ablllty, es pecially in the rain. To everyone's surprise, Lunde s howed up Sunday morning with one of thos e sophisticated 125 CR Hondas, I think he was really pr aying for rain, but to his disappointment his machine wouldn't start. Maybe Lunde will stick around for a month or s o and we' ll have a chance to see him perform. Three-Cylinder TR • When the fourth event went to the line - heavweight production - again with the LeMans start, sitting hack about half-way was one of thos e newthree-cylinder aqua Triumphs. The r ider was Butch Langduth, a man who hasn' t been seen around here for almost two years. This was pr obably only the third or fourth road r ace he has ever competed in. Langduth had ridden well In the practice session. He said the Triumph seemed to have everything needed to · win on a cour s e such as River side. However, with the strong entries for this class , no matter how fast the machine was, It would have to go some to win. Fla t out from the start shot Dave Damr on on his little 250cc Suzuki. This was short liVed, as James Chen on his 350Cc Honda took over the lead on lap two. Chen was able to hold the lead for just two laps as, 10 and behold, there came Langduth on the three-cylinder Triumph. The girl who came 10 Rivers ide with Dave Damron gets some shots of Ihe other ri ders In the 100cc class atler Damron has past. Langduth wasn't to hold it for long beca use Chen was fiylng on his Honda. He r ecaptured the lead again in la p five and held It until lap seven. Then it was a see- saw between Chen and Langduth for the next two laps, Butch final ly getting out ahead down the long straightaway to . hold the lead, fini shi ng fi rst overall. In the mea ntime on the 14th lap, Chen got ca ught In some traffic. Mike Lane, who was hovering right · behind him, slipped by, taking firs t In the 350cc class . Dave Da mron who was r unning in the leader lap but finished sixth back, was able to capture fir s t In the 250cc class . The day of the 250cc dominance of the heavyweight production class seems to be at an end. The fifth event was 200cc and 250Cc gr and prix. In the 250cc gr and prix class, Mike Lane from Bakersfield on his Yamaha has domlnated the Callfornla sce ne. A fine road racer whohasn'tpar tic lpated for some time - r eportedly having been in retirement - Buddy Parr iott, als o Yamaha-mounted, f inish ed in second spot. Right behind Parriott ca me Tom Rockwood and John Buckner. The only other machine that had the pleasure of staying In the leader lap was Don Emde on a Suzuki. Fir s t In the 250Cc class and back one lap from the leaders was Dave Damr on of the Ocelot Tea m, also Suzukimounted. The final event of the day was for big thumpers - 350cc, 500cc and Open. If you've been following stock car events or saw the Tlmes- Mirror Grand Prix this year at Riverside, you would have seen a famlllar motorcycl e r ider's name Swede Savage. This weekend at Riverside Tom Rockwood leads lasl year's polnts champ Buddy Parriott, both on Yamaha. The order was reversed later, . Savage was BSA- mounted on one of the new superfast twins . He got off to a good start and led the flfteen lap grand prix event fro m s tar t to finish. The only one who challenged Savage was an old fr iend, Eddie Wirth, also on BSA. But Wir th found the pace too fast for him and unloaded ver y hard on turn nine, destroying a beautiful machine but lucklly only sc raping a little hide off his hands. W irth was abl e to r ide home with his wife In their auto mobll e, but I think he will agr ee that gloves are a necessity in gr and pr ix racing. Finis hing second overall was Reg Pr idmor e out of Power Research on his Nor ton. Right behind was Jerry Winters on that new Harley-Davidson. First In the 350cc class on the leader lap with the other big mac hines was Dave Simmonds on his Kawasaki. The only other 350cc on the leader lap was James Chen on a Honda. (Results on page 26) • Dick Kilgroe on Honda chases Reg Chosney • That's Bulch Landguth winn ing the open on a Triumph Triple, the machine's flrsl race vlclory and l i s fl rsl time out. Behind Is Mike Lane, winner of the 350cc class. He went almosl undefealed this year i n his class.