Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

i New Look at ASCOT '" r.:l = By Carol Sims Photo by Dan Mahoney =t r.:l GARDENA, Cal., April 11 - Toppq ott an egeD more exciting evening of AMA ~ half-mile nattrack racing !ban the seaU Sj)I1 opener, Mert La wwtll tooled his Harley-Davidson to an impressive Main Event victory at Ascot Park last Friday n1gbt. After winning his beat race and turning back fast qualifier Shorty Seabourne (5OOcc BSA), Eddie Wirth (65Occ BSA) and Dan Haaby (H- D) In the Trophy Dasb, Mart made It a clean sweeP by 1eadIng the 15-lap final wlre-to-wlre, stretching out a full stralgbtaway advantage over Seabourne, last week's winner Haaby, Lloyd Houchins (500cc BSA), Tim Harris (65Occ BSA) and WIrth. Coasting across the line In 7th place w1th a dead engine came Sammy Tanner (500cc Ro~ En11e1d), abead of Jim OdOm, aboard Mert's spare Harley, and Reg Cbosney (65OCc BSA). Lawwtll's spectacular win took on even more slgnltlClUlCe considering that be was operat1ng with the bandlcap of a loose rear axle. (I) Most aggressive Main Event fln1sber was TIm Harris, who pushed the Ray Heasley 650cc BSA trom next-to-last position all the way to 5th - In con!ldent, belIds-up fashion. There were several good two- man battles throughout the event, especially between 5eabourne and Haaby, Tanner and Houchins, then Tanner and Harris. ODe 01 the most Interesting new rldertuner combinations of the year - that of Paul Cooserrlere and drag racer par excellence Millard (Dish) Disharoonserved notice of tblngs to come, altbougb the machine was sidelined by a sticky throttle near the half-way point. After running second to Lawwtll In tbetr beat, Paul got ott to a !lying start III the MaIn, 1eadIng brle!ly down the llKk straight on lap one, then having a little encounter with Seabourne that put him tblrd - and almost Into the wall. UDdeterred, Conserrlere fought back stroncly unttl the tbrottle dl!ficultles forced him out. Buf next Friday will 8001I be here. ,.J Another rider Itching for Friday n1gbt to r,oll around again Is Gene Romero. Althougb be was ouly In contention for 3-1/2 laps of his beat race before a broken battery cable brought the LOYe Bros.' 650cc Trlumpb powerbouse to an abrupt balt, Gene's tigerlsb tactics alone were worth' the price of admission. LeadIng from the start, Romero set a sizzling pace ahead of Seabourne and Wirth. Then Eddie passed Shorty and, when Gene dropped out, continued on for the win. An unsung bero deserving at mucbo credit Is tuner Dick Kelm. Fielding two bikes last year, Dick Is twisting the wrencbes on THREE (count 'em) 500cc BSA singles this season - those of Seabourne, Houchins and Geezer Emick. One bike Is too much for some tuners, but Kelm seems to thrive on all the work Involved, and his machines are performIng admirably - especla1ly when you consider the "lncb baDdlcap" they're now up against. Although several of 1968's top runners have been cODSPlcuous by their absence on the track this year, including high point man Mel Lacher, Daytona winner Cal Rayborn, RalPh WhIte and AI Gunter, the advent 01 40-lncbers appears to be luring some of the ace TT riders to the Ascot oval. Dallas Baker took a whack at It Friday night, BIll Manley has expressed his intentions of competing, and crack tuner Danny Macias Is preparing a Trlumpb for none other than superstar Skip Van Leeuwen. This coming Friday should also see the !lrst appearance or a threecylinder machine on the tamed Gardena halt-mile. John Carter Is slated to ride the unique entry, a BSA whlcb Is now being readied bY Jack Hateley. Castro Caps On Amateurs Runnerup to Dave Aldana'S 4O-IIIcb BSA last week, 650cc Trlumpb-mounted Don Castro reversed the order 01 Amateur MaIn Event standings bis second time out. Aldana shaded Castro's qualitying time by 1/100tb of a second, and was a mite quicker In winning bis beat race than Don was, but Castro snatched the lead at the start of the lo-lap final and despite all Dave could do - which . Paul ConllrTl... (9r) had Ill. horsepower Friday nl",,, but lI.. t La_III had lIlat exira measure. was plenty _ clung to !lrst place for the full route. ThIrd went to Terry Donaher and his mellow (500ee) Velo, abead of Don Dudek (65Occ Trlumpb), Bob Fulton (H-D), Ron Splllman (65Occ Trlumpb) and Stan Hlll on a 4o-Incb BSA, Keith Mashburn, top Novice In the nation last year, was once again plagued by problems. This tlmebe tumbled from his 350cc Yamaha on the last laP of the MaIn, fortunately without Injury. Ellis Upsets Novices The new !Ield of !1edg11ng Novice rlders continued their crowd-pleasing ways, with sevenll upsets _ some literal _ along the path. Randy Ellis, who didn't even make the 8-lap final a week ago, scored the big win for the 250ee terrors, Bultaco mounted. And lastw8\!k's winner, Don Emde, couldn't get bis Suzuki started for his heat race _ thus missing the sbow altogether. Freddie Edwards, secODd III the se&SOI1 opener. un'oaded from his Yamaha while !lgbting Phil Htnk1e (SUZuki) for the same spot this time out. Hinkle was half-a~stralgbtaway behind Ellis at the checker, chased by John Lindberg (H-D), Dave Lenar (BSA) and Rick Talbot (H-D). yet another racing Palmgren-Dennis, younger brother of Larry and Cbuek made bis second Ascot appearance on a Yamaha and wound up 7th behind Bultaco rider Allen Kenyon. Class A speedway star John Hateley also made his Novice debut, aboard a Suzuki. He was looking good, too - relaxed and styllsb - unttl the machine began to slow noticeably. John eventually !In1sbed 8th, and upon inspection of the bike, cracked cylinder beads were found to be the culprits. Triumph-mounted GeorgeR08Cbrounded out the eager field. There's more or the same every Frlday nlgbt until NOYember, so make a date to enjoy eacb week's action-packed Ascot sbow - you can't top the competition anywhere. (Results 011" page 20) WINNER OF 18 OF 23 NATIONAL CH MPIONSHIPS IN '68 WINNER Ascot half-mile Opener Expert Main Event 1st Dan Habby 2nd Merf Lawwill Trophy Dash Mert Lawwill SEE THE WINNINGEST HARLEY-DAVIDSON LINE 1EUfL0ft1l IHLEIlIOlI .ft.1IE P ...UL·S HARLEY-llAVIDSON. INC. 1(\211 S. LAKEWOOO BLVD. HARLEY-llAVlDSClN OF INGLEWOOD INC 801 N. LA BREA "'VE. ' • SKIP FORDYCE HARLEY-llAVIOSClN SALES ST. IUIIIAIIK PELTON'S HARLEY-DAVIDSON 1403 W. BURBANK BLVD. LOllI lEACH HARLEY·QAVloeoN oF LONG BE...CH 3850 LONG BEACH BLVD. EL CAJOII HARLEY-llAVIDSClN CO. OF EL CAJa-l 1121 EL CAJON BLVD. FVUEIIT1llI HARLEY-llAVIOSClN OF FULLERTON, INC. 537·... W. V... LENCI... OR. U.TA I+-D OF LOMIT.... INC. 2212 P ...C. ~ST HWY DCUIISIIE HARLEY-llAVlDSClN OF OCEANSIDE 218 VI'" DEL MONTE s. PASAIIEIlA E. CHUBBUCK HARLEY-oAVloeoN 1381 E. W... LNIJT ST. _'4TH. SAil IEUAIlIIIIO VEIITIIRA D"'LE'S MODERN CYCLE HARLEY-D"'VIDSON 471 S. -e- ST. SAIl DlElID SAN DIEGO HARLEY-llAVIDSClN ll29 INOI... ST. co, HAALEY~OAVI()S()l\,l OF VENTURA COUNTY 77 WEST MAIN ..lmER INC. SAllTA AU HARLEY-llA VI 060N KlTQRS 501 EAST FOURTH ST. POIIDIIA SO. SAil GABRIEL H...RLEY·DAVIDSON IN POMONA LAIDLAW'S HARLEY-D...VIDSON S"'LES B3S1 E. GARVEY BLYO. 1241 W. HOLT "'VE. TA" T... FT HARLEY-o...VIDSON SALES 31 B HARRISON ST. WHITTIER HARLEY~AVIOSC':l" SALES 12630 E. IlHITTIER BLVD. Boollls 12 - 85 Cycle World Shew April 24 - 21 So, Califomia Harley-Davidson Dealers Association

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