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/125656
Surprise Winners At Ascot Team Race - - t- - . . . I--. ~Iii Photo and Story by John Shedd GARDENA, CAL. Jan. 25, 1970 - The Bailey brothers started the motocross at Ascot this Sunday with a very unusual event, a passenger race. Riders had to pack double for twenty minutes of motocross with the passenger driving for at least one lap. Riders and passengers dashed for their machines as the Le Mans start set oft the action. Gary Bailey and passenger Wally Gordon took the lead at the start with Walt Axtbelm and passenger Tim Hart close behind. Jim Wilson and passenger Bob Kulek moved up fast and took over the lead from Bailey and Kulek, Bailey stalled for a moment and the team of Spann and Foster moved in to second. Almost every team made the change over on the last lap. Kulek brought Wilson'S Greeves in for the win, and Hart carried Axtbelm for quite a ride as he caught and almost passed Foster Boots pound the clay as th. start of th. Ascot Team rae. gels und.rway. Motocross rld.rs have to be In good shape butth.y don't v.ry oft.n practlc. sprinting. and Spann as they powered down the last few feet of dirt for the flag. The team race also had a Le Mans start, and Bruce Baron who only moments before had great difficulty getting his machine to start was first off the line with his CZ. Baron held on to the lead for the first lap but then Greeves mounted Jim Wilson roared by to take the lead. Tim Hart was back in the pack but soon pulled up to bump Baron for second place. Both Wilson and Hart were in the 500cc class so Baron was stul first 25Occ. Farther back Gary Bailey had his Sachs in the first 125cc spot, with John Rice also Sachs mounted close behind. This palr gave more than a few big bike riders trouble before the grueling three hours were over. Wilson had problems so he pitted and teammate John Siebrant took over, but Tim Hart had already moved his Mon- tesa into the lead and Tim was really moving. Siebrant did a good job of holding on to second place but he could not cut the minute and a half lead Hart had. As Wilson came back into the action he cut very little from Hart's lead until Hart crashed. Then it was Tim's teammate John Tuddrblum who had the job of trying to catch the seemingly unreachable Jim Wilson. Soon after Hart came back in Wilson turned it over to Siebrant, but Hart was too close and he took the lead. With the race at about the half way mark Tim Hart who had driven a beautiful race crashed and sustained a broken nose which put him out for the day and meant that Tuddrblum would have to go the remalnlng hour and a half with no relief, and Wilson had moved back into the lead. With Wilson in the lead it looked like things had settled down to a lap by lap grind. Although this type of race is very dlfficult to follow everyone was quite sure that Jim Wilson was the leader and that Bruce Baron was first place 25Occ. Jim Wilson was first to roar past the flag, but when the lap sheets were tallied - Guess who won the Ascot team motocross. Steve Hurd who was very uncolorfully dressed had managed to complete two more laps than Wilson. Hurds plain appearance and unspectacular riding style went unnoticed but his lucky number 7 caught the lap scorer's eye every lap. Hurds partner was Blll Brokaw, who also did little to attract attention but did a lot of fast moving. The lap sheets also fooled the many people who had Bruce Baron figured for the win in the 250cc class, because the records showed that it was the team of Poky Sanderson and Larry Burns who YIZOR· YU is full of technical advances. It sets a new standard for Inotorcycling. Yizor-Yu - Vizor-Vuwill fit any helmet, including the Bell Star. (Snaps come with the visor) For further informali on, call or write: SAFETY REFLEX INC. 3366 Acacia San Bernardino, California Telephone C1l41 883-6118 and ask for Alan Lewis DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED i s available in THREE COLORS Wh ite Black In te r na tiona l O range ONLY $6.95