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/125658
)ugh Chuck Palmgren strived mightily, It appeared his new Yamaha 650 needed more sorting out for serious TT work. Here Sonny Burres (69) 5 him a tough "'" to hoe. Burres hasy switched from Norton to Triumph for the '70 season. Rice's teammate Dave Aldana loped ong in fifth behind Dusty while the third ember of the Wreckmg Crew, Wichita's en Pressgrove laid it downand retired. len came Mulder on his Montesa and a uch-improved Jim Odom (Trf) followed , Sonny: Burres (Tri) and the only U"ley-Davidson in the Ilneup, with Mark ~elsfor d aboard. . 3ehind Brelsford, Dick Mann, on an exer-Am 405cc Husky donated by the tributor, tried to decide Whether to t- track or motocross the thIng. and re Hansen brought up the rear. ::ax-ller. heat race happenings had seen ne Romero left at the gate in netural en the flag flew and Larry Wilburn got iterpunched, but not seriously. Mann had made the main the hard way, nabbing second behind Aldana in the mt, Dan Haaby dropped out of the ni early. Mann really rode a show in I 4-lapper, sometimes wheelying for :ds in a gallant attempt to pass Allao He'd had no ttme to make lmprovents on the Husky "1 just got it and nted it orange," Mann grinned. But he I count on a first class ride for Daya, for it was just learned that Dick nn will pilot one of the factorymsored Honda Fours in March. Win lose. this could do more for Honda's :ing image (and sales) than a team of ke Hail woods. Spiffy Jimmy Rice (24) proved once again that clothes do make the man. Attired In his flashy new BSA Team leather. the lanky Westerner sped the Birmingham Twins to yet another Championship. Close behind Is Eddie Mulder (the hippy Beau Brummell). Out of 200 riders who ttme-trialed, 90 were Amateurs. Tod Sloan led the llst and also his heat race. through four restarts. But it was Terry Dorsch who took the Amateur tttle chase. Sloan tangled with Blll Dutcher's Bultaco when they diced for Dorsch's lead in lap two of the final and Dutcher got the worst of it. Then Sloan and aggressive Chuck Joyner and Wayne Hosaka all tangled up in bad turn three letting John Hateley into second place. Dorsch never looked back, stretching his advantage steadllY to the checkered flag. Murren Beats Mauger & Briggs For $500 After the National TI program a hastily-Scheduled match race took to the short track oval. with $500 to the winner. Reigning World Champion speedwayartist Ivan Muager and Barry Briggs. 4time world champ, as well as runner up in the latest standings, took on Neil Keen. Ken Pressgrove and Jlm McMurren. the top U.S. short track stars as anapetizer for the next night's short track championship. Briggs, pilottng a Yamaha 250 twin in one of his own "Easy Rider" speedway frames, leaped to the lead followed by McMurren (H-D) and Keen. Keen dropped out after two laps and Jim took Briggs on the third circuit. At the checker Eddie Muld. squirreled his Montesa to an early lead but the two-stroke gave away too many cc's. Briggs was closing fast, but you could almost see those 500 American bucks go winging away in his mind's eye.Mauger finished a distant third and Pressgrove a fourth. (Results on page 19) BSA,H.D Win Season Openers Almost, Dick, almost. Bugs Mann (2) led the Short Track Final for 18 laps on his haulln' Ossa but couldn't keep Mert Lawwlll (1) from claiming Harley's first win of the year. - . Id Speedway Champ Ivan Mauger of New Zealand suffellld the lll1atlon of finishing deadlast In hi. Initial A.M.A. Championpouting. black flag came out after Gene o got offand broke an arm. Earller Markel crashed and snapped a lOne. New Expert Ken Pressgrove sald "ouch" when another rider tl into his ankle during the previous TT . Ken went ahead and rode a lxhibition short track race before og that the ankle was broken. ti Champion Ivan Mauger put on his Kawasaki suit and gamely took on • short trackers. But he ran dead the hard mini track. "It felt like even have a rear tire on" Mauger led after. y Briggs, four-time World Speediampton and runnerup to Mauger in last year's contests, returned to Houston with a Yamaha, fitted a rear Plrelli instead of a speedway tire and won his heat race. Another rider crowbarred him into the haybales on the Semi's first laP. But Briggs is learning. Bultaco mounted Tod Sloan captured the 10-lap Amateur short track Final. leading all the way. He was followed by the Bul of Chuck Joyner and David Lawson's Kawasaki. Local boy Darryl Hurt of Houston won an Amateur heat and finished fltth on his Ossa. Attendance was 27,880 for a total of 43,981 tickets sold in the two night's racing. (Results on page 19) One Burrito that won't be flying for awhile Is Gene Romlro (116). The Trlu~h "big gun" fell early In the Short Track Final, breaking his arm and thereby weakening Triumph's chance. for regalnlnlthe coveted #1 plate. Here he cha.s fellow CoII. fornlan Steve Scolt (15) and Is In turn chased by Yamaha 's Mr. Haaby.