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/125642
OTHING TO ART 8AUMANN~ ~ l1(j ~ l1(j .,J u >-. u TI.... wh•• ls are fast.r than two when It's Hummer and Gulbran.on t.alll.d up on their The H·D ric wlla lull s.cond fast.r than the solu In on. of the 125 clas.... ---- •••Into the path at T.xas rider Vlrell Dav.nport who cho•• the crash wall. Vlrell'. prlm.y ca.. was lunched '0 his racine .xpadltlon Irom T.xas was .nded lor Ih. day. fore and' were able to put into play all their experience from prior events. . AMA National winner Art Baumann bad considerable competition with Jody Nicholas out of the Navy and able to devote his full time to road racing. Baumann prevailed however taldng first overall on a 500cc SuzuJd running against the open class Harley-Davldsons, Triumphs, BSA's and all the other mounts. Fortunately the level at racing was so high, it made uP in part for the delay in getting into the racetrack. There was a lack of communication between the control tower and the rent-a-cop on the gate. There were additional delays once the racing got under way. GaPs in the entertainment were fllled by drag racing exhlbltions which them&elves dragged out and made for a long day. Headlights would have been nice on the sidecars. The gathering dusk was no· handicap for the dominators in the hack class. Rulon Gulbranson and Dean Hummer did their famous run away from the pack trick. (Results on page 20) ••••••• 11' ... ..- ! Ralph (15) White ,.ad. . a croup of G.P. rid.,. throueh the Orane. County chlca... Lawwill Nails- State The third heat, won by Shorty Seabourne over Sammy Tanner, was just off -the old record but was the closest heat race trom start to finlsh. Lawwill then went to work in the Trophy Dash and defeated Seabourne, Chinowskl and Aldana. The tlme just missed a 1963 record. Mert said after the event that he did get into trouble once or twice and took the long way around on a cOuPle of turns. The ten Experts then lined uP for the 20 lap flnal. It was Lawwill all the way in a repeat run from his Ascot Natlonal win a month ago. He again broke his own track record and has now lowered the mark by over SEVEN SECONDS the last two times out! / Mert and his Dud Perldns HarleyDavldson remain as the only combin&tioo to win the National and State titles at Ascot two years in a row. Chinows/d came on late to overtake and pas,lf' Romero for second place. SeaboID'De outlasted Dan Haaby for a distant fourth. _II. Championship~ It was a Lawwill show with no questions asked except, "Why does H-D want to glve uP on the old sidevalve 750's? They get faster with age." While Lawwill was playing it big in the Expert class Dave Aldana was doing the same ynth his BSA in the Amateur divisions. "Kid-Crash" set a new one lap time trlal record then came back to break the five lap heat race tlme that was set back in 1966. Along the way he found time to jump the starter once and get set back to the penalty •line and stlll win the race. The flnal was Dave's last 0Y&1 race as an Amateur. He made it a good one but could not break the record set by the late Geezer Emick in '68. Keith Mashburn did the chaslng for second place with Don Castro holding off Tacoma's Squire Tomasi for third. They all move to the Expert class next year. The West's top three Novice riders did battle for the last time on the 250' s with Jolin Hateley putting it on Freddie L.lYln.. no doubt as to who own. A.cot Park, M.rt La_III chare's his side valv. H-D to a Stat. Champlon.hlp win. Showlne the .am. slyl. h. u..d In wlnnlne the Alcol a Mile National M.rt shatt••d recordl and has cl.v••d .1V.n .econds off the track record In hi. last two tim.. out. Edwards and Don Emde once again. HateJey was fresh from his Friday night TT win so there is little dOuble as to who is the best professional Novice in the land this season. Before the 20 lap Stale Championship Expert Flnal a spec1al match race was setuP with former world speedway champion Barry Briggs and his spec1al Yamaha 250Cc twin. He challenged Hateley, Edwards and Emde on their AMA type 250's. The event was for four laps. The three AMA Idds really put it on Barry and ran away rlgbt from the start. On lap two the kids turned in a whopping 23:35, the tastest one lap ever turned by a 250Cc machlne at Ascot. Hateley edged Emde with Edwards a close third and Brlggs a dlstant, very distant, fourth. An extra award went into the Expert Flnal. Sonny Emick, wife of the late. Geezer ~mick, has started an annual award that will now yearly go to the first year. Expert that places the hlghest 111, the state flnal. Only two first year Experts made the tlnal, Chlnows/d and Mark Brelsford. Chlnows/d woo the new Bell Star helmet and carry-bile willi room to spare as Brelsford found the going tougher than on the National circult and was the last rider running at the tlnlsb. A fine DeW award in memory of a tine first year ElCPeI't wbo will r1de DO more. HaJr m1le racing resums in 111'10 the .first weekeDd in April. The last AMA race of the year is the TT at Ascot tb1s FridaY nlgbt. This 0118 18 also tor the state title.