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/125608
Novice Cbamplon H.ry Con. won with beautiful Texas sl)'le. before rains came. N.well Dickie (34) N....II leads Grand Champ Nilon In th. 250Cc Classic got 15th, Nilon 31st. almost perpindlcular on the windy bank. Stretch.d out like so many buzzing beeUe.. the road racers lun Htlmet spoilers were tried by Floyd Emde, Jr. Vlrg Davenport (right) and 100 1111. , . . . Champion Ron Muir Is flanked by second place 3rd Ray H.mpstead (number 2) In victory Ian.. or In the 76"",lle chase. lleaufortGrant of N.wYork dices closely with another Novice competit JOO MILE AMATEUR Photo by Dennis Greene DA YTONA BEACH, March 14 - The Yamaha 350Cc has definite ly got the right combina tion of handling , brakes, power ••• and riders to domina te Daytona AMA road racing. 29-year -old Ron Muir, of Dowell, lll. absolut ely whistled away from the field on one at the 100 mile Amateu r Road Race. Pre-rac e favorite on another Yamaha was fast qualifie r Frank Camilli eri, who had lapped the oval at 134.831 mph, dropped out on the first lap, leaving the gold and glory to second fast qualifie r Muir, who had turned 134.308 . Another Yam my with George Russell aboard, held third place until he ran out of gas on the final laP. Muir bu1lt such a comman ding lead that he took a 17-seco nd gas stop and st111 bettered the Amateu r record set last year on a Honda by over two miles per hour! Muir average 96.1 mph for 27 laPs of the 3.81 mile circuit. Amazin gly, official s in victory lane discove red a 4" spike punctur ed clear through both sidewal ls in Ron's rear tire! Muir col1ecte d $800 prize money as his share of the $3,000 purse. Second place Virgil Davenp ort of Irving, Texas, riding a Triump h, got $450. Third place Ray Hampst ead, riding a Matchie ss, won $300 and Russell got $200 for his 4th place finish. Duhamel, entering the bank, about to become se""ral hundred dollars richer. .p. NOVICE CONE CRACKS AVERAGE 93 Teenag er Harry Cone of Shecma n, Texas, won the AMA 76-mlle Novice Road Race champio nship at Daytona Beach March 15 with a record average of 93.530 mph on his Yamaha . Eight riders shared the laP lead. In the first circuit it was Gary Fisher, a second place finisher in the Wednes day SportSmen races, leading the pack. On laP three, Yamaha 's Randy Johnson of Washington, D.C. took over the lead, but Fisher got it back, closely followed by Rusty Bradley of Dallas on a Kawasaki. The first four places changed rapldiy as a woman' s mind. Rusty Bradiey had the lead, then Cone, then Bradiey got off in the fast left-han d sweepe r while back in the lead. On laP six Don Holling sworth, last year's winner, challeng ed for the lead. Johnson someho w slipped into the lead at the halfway point, riding like it was a trophy dash, building a tremend ous lead, but Cone ate it up in the turns, regaine d the lead and didn't look back. Holling sworth's engine blew, and with It the hopes of the defendin g Texas champ. At the checker , Cone was 36 seconds ahead of second place Johnson . Cone, who works in his father's Yamaha store, collecte d $550 of the $2,000 purse for the field of 80 starters . Actual distanc e of the race was 78.71 miles, as the first ·lap was run over the 2.5 mile speedwa y track and the next 20 laps were on the 3.81 mUe road-tr ack course. (Result s on page 20) Above: Second In the 250cc Classic, Ron Pierce of Bakersfield, Calif., carrying the new Yamaha team colors to glory. Below: 250cc Sportsman class winner Gary McGoron from Miami, Fla.