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/125633
The Bonneville Scene By Dan Zeman BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS, UTAH, Aug. 17 - 23. Unlike last year's ratned out event, 'Speed Week '69 was a very big success and the salt was perfect. Not a drOP of ra1n fell during the week-long event. Instead, the sun shined bright, pushing the temperature well over 100 degrees. This didn't seem to bother anybody. Lots of cbap stick, ta.nn1ng 011, a pair of sun glasses and a hat took care of most of the heat. This year's speed trtals was the 21st annual event and In all those years there was never as much motorcycle action as there was this week. As a matter of fact, the bike entrIes surpassed the car entrIes. Jo1n1ng the 200 mph club thIs year 15 Gary RIchards and Don Vesco. Don has been In the club for some time now, but thIs 15 the first time he dId It on two wheels. Don's machine Is a twin englne Yamaha, and displaces 696.7 cubic centImeters. This machine Is the first twostroke to pass the 200 mph mark. Don was a1m1ng for 250 mph (The absolute motorcycle record Is 245). A delay In the arrival of h1s speclal land speed record tIres held h1m back for a few days and forced him to settle for a 214.026 mph. Don says next year he will be ready and hopes to do It then. 'Gary RIchards rode the RIchards and Holtan 750Cc TrIumph Streamllner to a record and fastest bike of the meet with a 221.742 mph. Rlchards' power plant Is a vertIcal twin, punched out and stroked to 75OCcs. Gary sald the machine handled beautIful. All that flaWless workmanshIp and design pays off. Of all the stock classes, the 750Cc class was the most popular. There were a dozen or so bikes competIng for several records. TIm Durkee was the first to break the 125.108 mph record. TIm turned a 131.435 on Dick Moulders' Norton. TIme and Dick were outnumbered by about 10 to 1, but their determinatIon never gave out. They worked their speed up to 133 mph on their stock machine, but that st1U wasn't quite enough. Joe BaIter and Triumph of Detroit took the record with a 137.407 on a TrIumPh Trident. BaIter and two of hIs buddies (Early and Lackey) took a total of eight records In the 750Cc DivisIon. Art and Joy Houston also took a few In that dIv1s1on. They toot five on their blown Triumph 3. Art's greatest victory was the APS-AB-750 record In whclh he tamed a 151.407 mph. Leo Pa)'lle broke the PS-A-3000 record. Leo turned a 196.512, smashing the old record by more than 40 mph. Leo was the tb1rd fastest bike on the sale this year. Leo went well over 200 mph on a trial run, but couldn't quill' pi the bike to run that fast for a record. Leo's bike Is a stock trained Sportster, fitted with a taJring and runs on fuel. Gouch and Clark had the tastestfaired Triumpb. Jet1 Gouch bullt the frame himself. Jet! says he bailt It for performance and not beautY. He proved hIs handlwort by turD1DC a 169.331. A Triumph 3 cy11Dder powers thIs machIne. Bert Mum'o was back on the saltap1n thIs year. Bert makes the trip every year all the way trom InvercargtU, New Zealand. Bert, now 70 years old, holds the S-A 1000 record of 183.586. He set thIs record back In 1967 and is trying to raise It up a few miles per hour. Bert's best speed this year was 181.26. Bert says that he will be back next year with h1s old 1Ddlan Stream11ner and maybe then he will gain a few mph towards his goal of 200. Ron Grant broke 6 records on a 250 and 500 Suzuld. Ron took the PS-C 500, PS-A-.500 and 250, the 5OOPS-C-250and the PS-A 250 Class. Charlie Cash took the A.C. 250 Class on a Suzukl, and Darrel Packard took the A.A. 50 on a SuzuJd, maldng the SuzuId the top record breaking 2-stroke. Darrel also took the A-AG 50 record. 78 mph is prettY good for a 50cc machine. The old record stood at 63 mph. There were well over 100 various types of motorcycles entered this year and next year looks even more excItIng. W1ll two strokes take over the Motorcycle Land Speed Record? lt has stood at 245 tor the past 3 years. As always, next year's Bonnev1lle meet will be InterestIng to see develop. (Resnlts on page 20) 'klltil' O' '.,e 16 &r1 CO) Ascot's Best In Two Years? By Dewitt Thuett THE BEST RACE IN TWO YEARS!! That's what the exhausted fans at Ascot were saying after the matn event FrIday night. It could well be as It had everythIng going for It to make It a Promoter's dream. For the past five weeks It has been rookie Tom Rockwood and verteran Mel Lacher puttIng on shows that are hard to rival. Rockwood 15 the first year expert teenager who rIdes the BSA 500 whlle Lacher Is the salty Pro on the H-D 750. Mel Is also ·1ast year's point champIon and winner of more Ascot races In '68 than any other rider. The showdown In the tlnal built up thIs way. Lacher and Rockwood were onetwo In time trlals, each rider won hIs heat race. The first meeting came In the Dash with Lacher beatIng Tom by less than three lengths. Lacher became the fIrst rider thIs year to win the Dash three straight times. Lacher was again off to one of hIs near perfect starts In the fInal. Paul Conserriere beat Rockwood to the turn for second and the race was on. Before Rockwood and hIs Dick Kelm speclal could 'Tlove into second, Lacher had a straightaway lead. It looked lIIte a repeat from the week before. Somewr.} and somehow, before too many people realized whatllappened Tom had cut the distance down to less than ten lengths. Then It was five, then two, and finally the two rIders were running sIde by sIde. The flnal seven laps saw the Rookie and the Pro swapping the lead no less than eight times! It was always Lacher on the outside, Rockwood on the InsIde. Tom drove under Lacher for the last time on the South turn of the flna1 lap with a super drive and Lacher finally appeared readY to settle for second. It was the second time In three weeks that Rockwood has defeated Lacher on A ,tudy In sly II'. An H~ rider hook. lhe clay with his -Ihoe whll. number 51 il slldlne on 0,' pOIIl. lock. In a row- yet. Emde appears to be able over Lacher In the expert class with Edwards In front of Emde by only 75 and ready thIs Friday to change aU of that. The smooth and surprIsingly polished polnts. Both class championshIps should be decIded on the flna1 night In October. tlrst year rider seldom mJssedaperfect For September and October Ascot will run off the 11ne and to the front. However, again have the returning locals who have In the hea: race he took a back seat to been on the NatIonal circuit, plus the Edwards who appears to come UP with the big one more often In the heat race than many out of state riders who wlll be In In the main event. Freddie topped Don In the West for the three nationals In a close one but chl:sed and lost In the California durlng September • (Results on page 21) flna1 once again as Emde again closed the polnt gap. Two separate poInt races are tIghter than a newly arrived Scotsman. Seabourne now holds a mere 35 points lead OnlyBULTACO Steve's Bultaco Op.n 6 days a wllk Mon. & Fri. 9--' othlrs 9-6 7627 Van Nuys Blvd. - Van Nuy" Cal. (213) 180-&300 Splcialized Triumph - Honda Rlpairs • CUltom Racine. Enein," Machin. Work· Miliss. Kill Cyl. Borine • Hud Po,line MIKE BURKE Motorcycle Specialties 1517. Raymer 51. Van NUyl, Cal. 9140i Tllepllolll (2\3) 7'~77' Wallin' ..,.dlIy Edwards nips Chuck H..,t on the In.ld•• the flna1 round of the 15 lap maIn event. When the checkered flac came out there were less than a dozen people st1U sittIng. The rest were on theIr feet, Ye111nc, cheert.nc and wavIng. A maIn event that has. to rank as the best,- or one of the best ever at Ascot or any other half mile. Not to be overlooked was another duel going for tb1rd place back down the track between SbortY Seabourne and another rookie, Dave SmIth. Each rider came Into the flna1 as come-from-behlnd SemI matn event winners. Both started In the back row for the feature. At the finish 11ne It was Seabourne the point leader by half a length over SmIth. Ralph WhIte rounded out the first fIve. The NovIce class now has at least fIve rIders that are capable of w1nntng. Ted Longwtlh and Chuck Hart have come on to now give Don Emde, Freddie Eelwards and John Hateley some company and it should be a crowd scene the rest of the season on the basIs of the show turned In by the fIrst year pros Friday. For the second time thIs year Emde has run hIs ma1n event win streak to four straight. No novice has ever won five Youth and ••perl.ne. sldl by side. DESERT SET UP SCRAMBLES