Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~CYCLE ~NEWS "AmerIca's #1 weekly motorcycle newspap•• You'll always s.. It FIRST In Cycle News!" LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK I am CTa1g Casper, father of Mike Casper whom you proclaimed to the world as .. Pit racer of the Week" In last week's CYCLE NEWS. You have wrongly judged Mike and I won't rest unW you have corrected your mistake. I tb1nk you should have checked the facts more carefully before prlntlng such a damaging article. This piece of irresponsible journaltsm Is an assasstnatton of Mike's character both on and off the track and I'm sure that If you make a few lnqulrles you'll find that the storylsunfoundedand a gross exaggeration of the truth. Many people who know Mike are quite upset ,with the way In which you have attacked him In this sly story and I think It Is only fair that you make a complete lnvestlgatlon and prlnt your flndings. MIke takes hts racing seriously and approaches It In a mature mannner , He is a mainstay of hts high school football team and any of hts coaches w1ll vouch for his sportsmanship and respect for authority. Pit racing Is something we all abhor and 1 have preacbed to Mike on this subject often. He, has been raised not to be a smart alek and I beUeve that he is lncapable of the fUppant behavior and blatant disregard of safety regulations that your accuse him of in your paper. ' CRAIG CASPER Woodland H1lls, Cal. In our eagerness to catch and crucify a pH racer it looks like Mike Casper has been ,made to bear the s ins of the world. Mike raced an orange Malco for Moto· cross Cycle Sales of Woodland mlls CaL at the last Huntinglon Beach Cycl~ Park motocross. lie won his first moto but the bike quit and he had to push across the line in the second heat. concerned about the adjustment of his bike he rode to what looked like an open area and kicked it through the gears. On his way back to the pits he was stopped by Tony England. son 01 track , owner Don England. and warned about going too last and too close to a spectator. Tony wrote down Mike's riding number and Mike went cooly back to the pits where he stayed. Throughout the day other chaps were observed pit racing and some were stopped and warned. At least one was was on another Maleo. When all the stories 01 the various villans were com' piled that evening. Mike's number came up and he was pinned with all the Incidents. All this has been established in a week 01 phone calls with the Caspers, the track owners and various witnesses. Through the elforts of Mr. Casper and CYCLE I'lIEWS Mike is now reinstated at n.B.C.p. Tony England's warning still stands but Mike is welcome to ride and we're sure that he is the last person you'll see pit racing. _Ed. RAPID TERMINATION I'd Uke to commendate Malcolm Smith of K&N Service as a gentlman above reproach. I recently purchaed a ' 70 Husky Cross for the sole ,purpose of racing motocross. 1 needn't explaln about the warranty, It terminates as you roll the bike Into the back of your truck. After racing at Saddleback the bike was poplng out of first, and loading uP terribly. I took the bike to K&N and Malcolm stated he would fix the bike gratis, as he felt it was a factory fault. Tbe" trite cUche " We service what we sell" Is trulY appUcable with this company. IDLL LELAND ELSINORE ,REASSESSMENT I would like to use the pages of Cycle News to apologize to Mr. Tom Paschal, owner and operator of Elsinore Raceway. Some time ago in a "Voice" letter I . rererred to Mr. Paschal's track as a ' '' death- trap.'' This Is definitely an untrue description of this track. Tbere have never been any fatalities at Elsinnore since It went into operation. Mr Paschal has really Improved his track recently and even the big bikes can have a good run. C.BYERS San Diego, Cal . Publisher•• ••••• ~ .• Charles Clayton Business Manager•.••• Sbaron Clayton General Manager• • • .• • • •• •Tom Culp Advertising Manager•. • ••.Paul Cosner Feature Editor.•••.•••.• Terry Pratt Assistant Editor •..•. •. •. •Ken Half Circulation Manager• •••• Bruce Easley Circulation Assistant•• • '. Eleanor Duke Production Manager• • •• • •• L111 Lak1ch Lab Technician. • • • • • • • • J im Brooks Production Assistant. . • • . Jerry Owen Bookkeeper•• . . . . . . Susan Whitelaw Want Ads. • • . • • . .. . • Jan McCullough PROlECT RIDERS FROM SPECTATORS Your February 10, 1970 cover picture was a dramatic example of the single biggest problem I've seen in motocross. As a rider and spectator my Interest for motocross has gone from the most exciting racing (or any sport) that I've been involved with, to uneasiness, to the point of fear - not for myself, but for the fool who sits on a beach chalr separated by only a plastic ribbon from four or five hundred pounds of man and motorcycle going 50 mph or better on the rear wheel, Inches from him I He couldn't move in time If he had a full minute, which he doesn't. The boy In the picture Is dead If the bike Is going his way. Published weekly exc ept the first and last week of the calendar year by Cycle News. Inc ." Post OUice Box 498, Long Beach. California also publishers of Cycle News East: t~~~~ g~~f?or~::age paid at Long Editorial stories. cart oons . photos, et c. are welco me. W rite for Information, Addressed, stamp ed enve lope assures return of editoria l matter Reprint ing In whole or In part onlY by pe~m1sslon of the publis hers . AdvertIs ing rat es and circulation Information will be sent upon request. SubscrIption: one year 2nd class mall $7.50' pondent Dick Wright should get It on. In the years thalI have read the Cycle News, the desert coverage has never been so good, hts eye witness reports, facts and Novice, Amateur, Expert and tral1 bike finishing Usts are as accurate as possible on race day. He doesn't have a week to figure them out. Walt Mulconery should have read the entire article about N.J. Roberts. He was not In the desert every week last year he had other things to do, "but when he is he is ~e man to beat," Walt should have asked J .N. about It. Is It possible that there is a hang uP between the stunlman and a movie star. If so, the rest of us don't know about It, and you took a heck of a way of tell1ng us about It. ROY PERKINS Sunland Shamrocks yo·c• • ThIs Is all brought home because my best fr iend' s Husky killed one man and lamed two others at Bay Mare and Is now fighting a one million dollar lawsuit. All of this has considerably affected hts Ute because he was one unlucky rider! I'm afraid the sport w1ll be really hurt If there are not proper precautions taken by the clubs to " pr otec t the riders from the spectators" - espec1ally around start/finish areas. The DIrt Diggers did a good job of this at Hopetown. ChaIn Unk fence probably saved some injuries. Bay Mare has a fast start/finish area In some races, even an almost TT type surface. Spectators run back arid forth across the course and are protected by a think plastic ribbon. . , DAVE LARSON Marina Del Rey, Cal. GET IT ON Ref. to Walt Mulconey letter to Voices Feb. 24th issue. ' Anyone who feels . that he can write better desert coverage than our corres- EVERYONE CAN HELP OUT . On Saturday and Sunday, March 7th 8th; the Grlpster Motorcycle Club will be playing host to the largest turnout of spectators to ever witness a motorcycle event in the United States. We are appealing to all the people that w1ll be there to witness our ThIrd Annual Grand Prix, to give us a helping hand. Last year we had a crowd estimated at seventy-five thousand people, we are expecting to top the one-hundred thousand mark this year. With crowds of these proportions, the control of spectators UnIng the course w1ll be a monumental task. You can help us by staying completely off the course and by informing your fellow spectator to do the same. Ee have been fortunate in our past two Grand Prix that no serious injuries have accured to spectators or riders. It Is these past successful events that have assured us of a place to have a Grand Prix this year. We would like to continue sponsoring this event and nEled your cooperation and help GRiPSTERS MOTOCRYCLE CLUB & Cycle News East and National Adver. tlslne InformatIon: ' Thomas C.ulp ••Natlonal Advertlslne Dlr. Cycle News (West), P.O, Box 498, Long Beach, Calif. 90801 (m) 421-1433 L.A. 63&-88" Northern Office 1470 Broadway, Walnut Cr..k Calif. (415) 934-1995 ' Northern Repre.ntatlv"s: L1D Jen.n John Cuthbertson Sinele copy prIce ..•.••••• • 25t LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS Mr. Charles C. Clayton, PubUsher Cycle News Box 498 Long Beach, California Dear Mr. Clayton: Thank you 'Very much for your kind letter of congratulations on Wisconsin's new Motorcycle Outdoor Recreation Program which . Irecently signed into law. Recognizing the recreational preferences of our citizens and providing opprtun1t1es for the sare enjoyment of these pursuits Is a legitimate concern of government. I was happy 'to be able to sign this excellent piece of legislation ' into law. This new MORP program Is another step in our effort to open the natural beauties of Wisconsin to all our citizens and visitors. With the creation of motorcycle trails as well as the advent of snowmobiles, new vistas in enjoyment of natural beauty are being discovered. WARREN P . KNOWLES Governor, Madison, Wis. FOR ONCE I would like to thank the SIedrlders for a great tun day of motocross racing at Huntington Beach on February 22. Tbe events were well run and above all for once the flagman really got with It, Good work, guys. IDLL TOMPKINS Pres. Agoura Valley M.X. Assoc. INCONSISTENCY As long as the CMC Is parading their rules and regulations for riders at the meetings, the organizers should adhere to them too. Tbe event in question Is the disgusting exhibition of a badly run organization at Carlsbad, February 15. In the start of the 2nd moto of the 500cc Experts five rl~er were Involved In a crash. Three of the five riders were sprawled across the track with the wind knocked out of them. Tbe race was not restarted. \\'Pen asked whynot, their explanation was, they _ did not see It until the 2nd lapl in the start of the 250cc Experts one rider fell quickly drew off to the side, but the rest of the riders completed the lap then were stopped, and the race restarted. Why ? Or shouldn't we ask. . KEITH SHAFFER Bell Gardens, Cal. HE DID IT HIMSELF I have enjoyed CYCLE NEWSforthree years but today I was hurt when I saw that you listed my son Gary Landry of New Orleans, La. as Did Not F1n1sh and gave fifth place in the Astrodome short track Amateur final to Darryl Hurst,. Actually It was Hurst who was out and Landry was fifth. You had all the others right, why couldn't you get hts right. He worked hard to get fifth. I'm not asking you to give him anything, he did It himself. He wore a bright yellow suit and was not hard to tell him from the other boy. MRS. NOLAN LANDRY Lake Charles, La. 'CAN'T SAY ENOUGH Team Motocross, Deadman's Point Feb. 8th. I just want to give Thanks to Rescue 3". I was hit by 2 bikes as they crashed at the 'Feb. 8th Deadman's Point Motocross and I wasin their way. It really scared me and when I looked uP here was the Red uniform coming to me and I knew I would be helped. How we all depend on them being at the races and know we all feel better because they are there to help our loved ones racing. I can't say enough, thanks to them. To me, there is no more honest people then the racers of today. C.STEAGALL Victorv1lle, Cal. "ManY

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