Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

·rican Motocross In Europe Sometimes the promoters wU1 allow you to practice Ihe day before also because it attracts people to the race. The course was typical of a French circuit with many shoristraightsfollowed by tight corners and another short straight. In all there were 11 of these tight loops, one after the other, then a sweeping grassy dog-leg into Ihe woods and a fast corner (third gear) and onto the main straight. The main straight was also typical of a French meet1ng, being about 250 yards long, and a man-made jump right in the middle. I can't accurately tell YIJD how fast this straight was, but I would guess somewhere near 75 mph. The bikes were completely wrung out at the end of it. :tbe jump could be taken flat out in fourth and It was. Alter wa.lldng the course, and riding some practice we had a big meal and went to bed. The race day was slightly overcast and cool. We awoke to the customary earsp11tt1ng music over the PA system, but . we didn't get up right away because Ihe French races don't slart unW around 1:00. Pnctice was at 11:00, and I could tell right away that braking into the corners was going to be all Important in the race. You had to come out of Ihe corners, and immediately go full-on to the next corner, then severe braking, throw It into the bank and full on again. It was very gruellng because for the 11 sections of corners you had to repeat the process 22 times. There was no real place to catch your breath. Even in the main straight you had to be really on it or someone could gain distance on you. I replace the twist grip and throttle cable, then laid the bike on its side to keep Ihe gear oil from running out, and adjusted Ihe clutch nuts. When I wentou' for Ihe last moto I was determined to place well, not only for peace of mind, but because the higher you place the more money you earn, and I had earned very 11ttle up to this point. Mechanlcal troubles can spell the dUference between soup for dinner or steak. I was flrst to the start 110e and picked the best position. We had four false staris (I caused two), before we were off. I got a perfect slart and led the charge into the flrst hairpin corner. I did not realize how much dUference the non-s11PPing clutch would make and in my exuberance I overshot the first turn. By twenty yards! I got back into it and settled dOWn to the business of trying pass some of the thirteen riders ahead of me. I passed seven and finished sixth. Nilsson won again, and Ihe Germanwassecond.Adsettthird, Montensen fourth, Anderson fifth. I was naturally disappointed by my day but at the trophy presentation something haPpened to 11ft my spirits. The announcer called my name and I walked up to see what they wanted. On the winners podium was Gunnar Nilsson, Fritz Betzlbacher, and Gorden Adsett. The Frenchmen had just set up the TV cameras and they were wait1Dg for me. The announcer was speaking too fast and I could not understand why they wanted me up there. They put me at the base of the podium below the winners, and the cameras rolled. A girl presented the awardS, then she handed me a troPhYl I thought to myself, "Man they made some kind of mistake, but 1'm not going to give the gold back". I held the trophy up and the crowd cheered. I looked at the inscription on the Side and it said: "au ,coureur Ie plus malchanceux". Since no one i know in the racing business speaks French, I thought up some really good 11es to tell about what the inscription says. I decided to tell Ihe truth though, roughly translated into the Eng11sh equivalent, It means 'hard luck trophy' • Hal The exact translation is as follows: "to the competitor with the worst luck". That really to vn deluxe and modern. The thing that stands out like- a sore thumb is the cJeenllness of everything. The cops all wore natty grey uniforms and white gloves. The Rhine river runs right through the center of this city and it 'is crysllll clear and swift flowing. In downtown Geneva we found a hamburger restaurant, and that is when we came to think that Switzerland is truly civl11Zed. From Geneva we followed Lake Leman up to Lausanne where another small misfortune befell us. I turned down a one- way street where the Sign was hidden by tree follage. It was a real pain turning around. The street was too narrow and I bumped a fence a 11ttle. After much sweating and fighting, plus the embarrassment of many people who came out to watch the fun, I got straightened around and pointed in the right direction. That left me tired. Sometime later in the day while cllmbing into the Alps I stopped for fuel. After refuel1ng the next trouble beset us. The starter motor went out. My Mercedes diesel was a taxi cab in its younger days, then it spent two full seasons lrave11ng to Grands Prix all over Europe. Last week the speedo turned around for the fourth time. 400,000 kilometers which is 240,000 miles. I didn't reallY blame it for being tired, because after all It's been through I hook a fourteen foot house trailer, a motorcycle, spare parts, and assorted goodies to it, and expect it to take me through another motocross season, plus c11mb over the Alps. I started via thepepper-tree-mechanic-method so popular In Oklahoma, i.e. short the terminals direct to ground with a screwdriver. Away we went again. We spent the rest of the day In some breathtaking, scenic country. I expected all the Swiss to run around In leather 'shoris, with funny 11ttle hats with a feather stuck in them, climbing boois, a rope over one shoulder, and four wrist watches. I was sorely disappointed 11ke all tourists. They looked just like the other average everyday people we see. We camped one night In the Alps, then next day we went into GermanY at Basel. The autobahn took us north almost to Baden-Baden, then we turned west to- immediately flat. Wh1le changfngtbetire I got my hand in some nettles and it cot swollen. By this time we were takIDg things pretty eaSY because we decided it was not our week. Just a bit later we made a stupid move. I came through a town and as we were leaving Ihe little v1llage I started passing parked cars. I didn't even look over at them. ~ri mentioned it was strange to see so many cars .parked in such a small town. As we came to the end of the parked cars we discovered why they were parked. They were wait1Dg for a train! So there we were, in the wrong lane of a two way road waitlJig for train. None of the Irate Frenchmen would let me pull in, they were downright nasty, actually. In the end we did get in followed closely by what I assume was some very bad language concerning my parentage. We camped for the night just past Metz, France, Cheri made a huge dinner and we ate some del1cious melons we bought In Strasbourg. It after we had gone to bed when the last of our troubles came upon us. We awoke to hear sometbing moving around outside. Since we were in a deserted pull-off, few cars on the road, overcast and very dark outside, we had some cause for alarm. At first we though~ it was justananlmal, but changed our mindS when something knocked our trailer step aside. I got up and peered out through a window but could not see a tbing which was more scary than seeing somet:hing.l got dressed and we 11t the llght, thinking that would probably cause It or him to go away. We llstened quietly for a while then we heard the step move again. That scared us worse and we decided toleave or do something rather than wait. Cheri got dressed and I got a long kitchen knife. Just to give us any possible edge we could get on whoever was out there, I dropped a BelgIan firecracker out Ihe opposite window. These firecrackers go off like a cherry bomb, and sound a lot 11ke the report of a shotgun. After that I opened the door and stepped out followed by Cheri armed with a large bottle. I had to crank up the trailer jacks, and put the butane bottle away before we could leave. Finally we got into the car. SlIdlnl arounilthe berm, Darnell pits himself alalnstthe best European motocrossers. Spectators crowd in from both sides at this tree lined Fretlch Motocross course. . wards Strasbourg, France. We wanted to continue up the autobahn and go to Stutt. gart where the Mercedes factory Is located, and take a tour, but wedecided not to spend the extra gas money, and besides we wanted to rush home (European home that is) to Gent and check our mail. At the border just before Strasbourg I went Into the customs office to get my carnet (a book of tickets to keep track of motorcycles crossing International boundaries) stamped, and I was held up for twenty minutes while the official was checking somebody else he considered suspicious. Customs can be a pain. You don't usuallY have trouble because the actual stamping of the carnet takes only seconds, but if the official is In a bad mood he can hold you up for as long as he wants. I got tired of waiting for the head man behind the desk, so I found another younger official and he took care of· It Instantly. Cheri shopped again 10 Strasbourg, and boughtfood for dinner. AbouUorty miles out of Strasbourg yet another spot of trouble came to us. I saw a Sll}all spring In the road and dodged It. I missed It with the left side but it must have caught the edge of a tire and shot over to the right side because the rear tire went ~ ~ :c: r..l ..,J U >... U was start. cheered me UP. When I walked back to the caravan Cheri looked up and asked me how much money I made and she sawthe trophy. I tried some of my fancy 11es on her but they didn't seem to work sol told her the truth. She laughed just like I did. We left the race, not very rich but in good humor. We had planned to go across to Switzerland and home through there as a side triP if we could afford it. We decided we could spend the money it would cost and we set out across France towardS Geneva. After passing the night along the road we spent the next day travellng l1ke tourists and snapping pictures along the way. Our route took us through some beautiful country. We went through Limoges, Clermont-Ferrand, then Lyon. We stopped half-way up the flrst range of mountains that lead to the Alps and slept. We arrived In Genevaat12:oo, found a place to park and Cheri and I went shopping. I had to let her shop in Geneva. I mean what the hell, what woman doesn't want to shop In Geneva, Switzerland? I had to keep a tight hold on her in the stores, and I also confiscated all her money before we began to walk around. Geneva is the most beautiful city we have seen. Everything is super ~ ~ a Russ Darnell and his Husqyarna both relax In Iront 01 his camplnl trailer at Ihe site 01 a , French Motocross race. I was really enthused in the flrst race. We 110ed up against the gate which was down with an elastic that shot up infront of you, like the ones they use at speedway meets. I got off to a fair and worked up to third behind Gunnar Nllsson on a 500cc twin Husky, and Fritz Betzlbacher from Germany on a Montesa. We were all dicing for the lead when on Ihe 6th laP, I got a flat tire. I kept going in the hopes that I might be able to fln1sh ahead of someone who dropped out or had mechanlcal failure. Nobody quit and I finished last, but I did finish and the Frenchmen loved that. When they saw my flat they cheered me every laP. It kept me- going. It really means a lot to ride where the fans are on your side and rooting for you. It made me feel very good. Gunnar NIlsson won the flrst leg and Betzlbacher was second. -When we went out to the start of the second legI was all enthused again. Between races I had put on my spare rear wheel, and serviced the bike while Cheri cleaned it and checked the spokes in the front wheel. For us It has to be a family affair. My wife is just as enthuslastic about the motocross scene as I am. Anyway, I pulled up to Ihe start gate and away we went. My clutch started to sl1p and I got involved in Ihe start crash. I did not go down and was qulckJY under way ODce again. The clutch had to be babied most of the race but I was doing pretty well by getting into f1fth position. On the last lap, just as I passed 4 time world champion road racer Hugh Anderson, (who goes quick on motocross too), the throttle cable pulled out of the twist griP. I was unable to fln1sh in that race. Four young French boys startedto push me to get me restarted, and I had a hell of a time convincing them that I was kaput. Nilsson won that leg also, and Gorden Adsett from England on a Husqvarna was second. Betzlbacher was third, Hngh Anderson fourth, and Montensen, the Danish Champion on a sanitary BSA Metisse was f1fth. .,. - It seemed to take hours. Just as we were to pull away I saw a car drive out from behind the large mound of dirt the highway maintenance crew had left, and drive slowly away in the opposite direction. The whole episode scared hell out of. us, and we were shaIdng for some time. I drove about 150 miles more that night, unW I was too tired to go on, then we found a well llghted and occupied roadside rest on the Br11%elles autobahn. . We got about four hours sleep, and went, home in the morning. After all that had haPpened to US home looked good. The whole week's troubles can be laughed away now except for that last night when we had the prowler. Thatwas and is frightening. We have had many adventures up to now in Europe. Some good, ·some not so good but It has been a real experience. We are seeing a lot of Europe, and I am learning how to ride motocross, which is the main reason I came here. Everything else IS secondary to that motive. It wU1 not be too long now before- we are home, to our real hOme that is, Ihe We are reallY looking forward to coming home tbis winter for the Inter-Am races. It has been a hard season of riding here but worth it in every way. U.s. .~

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