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/125609
.... .... . ~ Q., Squirt lit 'lie Ocefln Sa.dlale, Oregol Runs 'e. Ragged Above: The flag is down and OH! I hope that engine will start on the first kick! Insert Overall winner, Larry Brooks, on a 250 Yamaha follows Richard Webb through chickpoint #3. lIell1 Grlmln on his IOOcc Hodaka tOok lst place in his class with 5 laps. By G. Robert Schwarz How old is '''too old" to ride competition? I doubt you'll ever get a straight answer from anyone. However, the Sand Scrambles, hosted by the Lobo Motorcycle Club at Sandlake, Oregon, March 9th, was an extremely interesting display of how a duffer (rider over 40 years old) Uterally snowed under a host of younger eager beavers, most of whom took one look at the course and said, , It's too tough and I ain't agonna ride". Well over 100 riders showed up for the Sand Scrambles at the coast which was basking under beautiful skies. Sand conditions were good and oh, so soft.. The course was about 3 miles around. Over hall was in the soft stuff while the remainder was hard beach sand, cobblestone, creeks, mud, buried logs and other debris. Unfortunately, riders had tile opportunity to preview the course and see what lay ahead. For various r~DS about 50% (including some name riders) decided to watch us Idiots compete rather than participate. The results for those who did ride was really amazing. Classes ranged from 0 to 25OCc; 250450cc and the open class. With three check points on the 3 mile course all riders rode as hard as they could (or dared) for one full hour. The winners were determined by how many laps were ridden during the time limit. in case of a tie, the clock time as they arrived at the last check was the deciding factor. At I p.m. from a dead engine start, 49 riders sprinted on foot to their machines and squirted off for a I-hour duel in the soft sand. Within several hundred yard the track narrowed into a soft, farily steep uphill grade. On top of the grade the course snaked through bunch grass that was really lumpy with sand and not at all properly spaced for fast riding. Thenright smack dab into a shallow bowl of soft stuff. Sand literally f1lled the air as riders gave their machines full bore treatment to find the elusive traction fluff. To th1s point on the course (3/8 of a mile) there were already several breakdowns within the first lap. From there to the first one mile check the course levelled off to an almost straight shot over the top of a long, roll1ng sanddune. The bikes with a lot of R's backed up with a little horsepower and, encouraged at the beginning with a little foot power, they were soon planing on top of the sand and getting into the higher gears. Some were even pulling 4th gear and screeching along the skyline at nearly 60 mph. After a few laps, these "freeway" sections turned into "doomsville" for several riders. It seems that when a rider goes parallel to the soft sand ruts, it causes the bike to fishtail rather violently. Naturally, when the rear wheel passes the front wheel and both become anchored in the sand, the rider goes over the high side and all forward motion ceases rather abruptly. (Even with a Spokane Sets the Pace ByOliverP.Nerdworth SPOKANE, WASH., March 23 - Twentyfour hundred miles is a long way to travel, but Gary Bailey made it worth his while by winning three out of four classes in the $1,500-purse moto cross-scrambles put on by Darrel Triber, famous Spokane racer-dealer. Bailey, sponsor,ed br Nicholson Motors and Torsten Hallman, (Penton) went home $600 richer for his weekend's efforts. "It's the most money I ever won," said he. Bob Kopp, winner of the open Class, was the hometown favorite. Brother Norm Kopp beat Bailey once in a 125cc Moto to take second place on his Sachs. Dick Jagow and Mike Clark were Bailey'S competition in the 500 class, Clark again took runner-up in the 250 motos. e tr:: Bailey caught one rock, inadvertantly ...< thrown up by a leading bike, in the solar lE plexus and, as he later told It, "I had to ride hall a lap with the wind knocked out 0 of me .." ~ Bailey set altitude records winning 3 classes (Results on page 20) 0.. on Greeves and Penton eycles. a~~'::~iPe~~:~a ~~~;~~:~~ ~ In the back stretch Bill Toman juices his 650 Triumph around the Inside of,Jlmmy Gustin's 250 Ducatl. helmet, one can easily get well jolted when bailing off - I know!) From checkpoint one, the course changed direction and headed toward the ocean over another 3/4 mile section of fullbore soft stuff. Then down a corkscrew sand canyon and UP a slope of fluffy sand that was impossible unless you had momentum. Down a hill and onto the beach into checkPoint two. After check two was a straight shot down the beach over cobblestone for about 5/8 of a mile. Take a hard, high speed left and bounce over a submerged log buried in the sand and back into a short section of the soft sand. Like gangbusters the course dove into hard, wet clay, soft sand again, a creek, hard clay that was goooooreasy and then hard sand all the way into checkPoint three. Then we did It allover again. Would you believe that the overall winner was a middle-aged man(notquite a Duffer Rider) by the name of Larry Triumph Returns To Bonneville $25,000 in prize money is being offered by Triumph/East and Triumph/West during the Annual Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Bonneville, Utah. The events will be held in conjunction with the Annual SCTA Speed Week (Southern California Timing Association) and the AMA. Entry fees for each record run must be paid in accordance with . SCTA rules. Inspection will be on August 16, 1969, the speed trials will run from August 1723, under the direction of AMA official, Earl Flanders, who will be the Referee. The prizes are open to any person wishing to enter a three-cylinder, 75OCc, Triumph Trident in one or more of the 16 classes open to 750cc motorcycles. The Triumph prize money will be allocated as follows: A. $1250 for each record established by a Triumph entry and officially standIng and recognized by the AMA at the end of Speed Week. This amount of Brooks, riding a 250 Yamaha, who pulled one more lap than the second place winner. Also, would you believe that the th1rd place winner was a veteran by the name of Roy Burke (who claims to be only 49 years 0Id),pressinga350Ducati. Also, would you believe that a 100Cc machine made It 5 laps around the grueling course. The course was so interesting you almost didn't know what to expect next. Fifteen out of 49 bikes finished the one hour run. You might think that riding in the sand would be a cherry (naughty word) run, but it was not. Wben it was all over and done with, 1 ached from head to toe. RESULTS: Overall Winner: Larry Brooks, 250 Yamaha (10 laps), Open Class: 1st Jim Hoflman, 650 Tri(8laPs), 250-450 class: 1st Bob Mills, 250 Greeves (9 laps), 2nd Roy Burke, 350 Ducati (8 laps), 3rd Don Schaberg 360 Malco (8 laps), 4th John Bellstein 360 Husqvarna (8 laps). 200 class: 1st Keith Grimin 100 Hodaka (5 laps). money will be paid for records established in each of the 16 classes, including fully-streamlined motorcycles. B. $2500 bonus will be paid for the fastest overall speed record attained by any Triumph motorcycle entered during Speed Week, except for fUllystreamlined classes. The contest is open to anybody in the country. Rules and regulations concerning the 16 classes may be obtained by contacting your Triumph dealer, who will also supply entry blanks to all prospective contestants. Bell Offers $8,400 To AMA Pros Bell Helmets of Long Beach, Calif., makers of what many consider to be the best head protection on the market, have further sweetened the lure of their product for professional racers by putting up $7,400 in contingency prize money to winners and runners-up in AMA National Championship races. in addition, the Grand Nation Champion will receive '1,000 from Bell if he wears their favorite hat throughout the season.