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/125666
.... KENT, WASH. Apr il 5, 1970 - Ron Grant, r iding a factory' 500cc Twin Suzuki, captured the second AMA National road race of the s eason here Sunday, covertna the sllck, wet 125 miles a t speeds averagtng nearly 90 miles per hour. Yvon DuHa mel, on a 350cc Twin Yamaha, nailed down the second spot, and two ti me National Cham pion, Gary Nixon, dr ove his works 750cc, OHV, Triumph thr ee banger Into third. . All In all, It was Suzuki' s day, as Grant was engaged In a 36 lap, whee l to wheel duel with factory teammate and last year's Sear's Point winner, Ar t Baumann. The first 3 positions fr om the pole were all Suzuki' s, and for near ly 15 laps the powerful, but 11ght twins were running I, 2 and 3. Describing the r ace aft erwards, Grant said, "My bigges t pr oblem was Ar t (Baumann). 1 was going as fas t as I could, but he was s till ther e. " And was he eve r ther e. At spe eds near the 160 mph mark, Gran t and Baumann were literally s ide by s ide down the s iralghta ways and through the curves and esses , Grant would get a couple of foot advan tage , then Baumann would do the same. The duo was at leas t one- half a lap ahead of the neares t competitor, when, on the fortieth lap, Grant made his gas s top, Baumann , now, was In the lead, but coming out of the esses appro aching the back straightaway, the Br isbane, Calif. ace miscued and unloaded on the grass . Within seconds, however, he was bac k up, . s till holding down the number one spot. One of ihe best two·man races of the day was thi s one between Nalional Number Nine, Gary Nixon (Triumph), and Yvon DuHamel (Yama ginning, but, in an act of togetherness, worked their way up to the number two and three spots. " ~._~_* ~V, Suzuki team Captain Ron Grant, relaxes before his winning ride. Grant, the Suzuki tea m captain, lost just three places during his pi t s top, and was running close behind third place Yvon DuHamel, who, along with Nixon and Baumann wer e still s cheduled to take on gas. On the 42nd lap, Baumann did It again, only a hundred feet or so fr om the s i te of the first mishap. After the race, he said that broken faring - the end product of the first spill - had hindered his braking blllty, causing this cos tly second sUP. Baumann was up again and running, but Gary Nixon had taken the lead, and the Suzuki had to pit for gas. Grant was moving UP, and Nixon still hadn't stopped for petrol. From that point on, It was just a matter of time. Nixon and DuHamel pitted, and Cool- Hand Grant breezed across the lln e for the wave of the checkers. DuHamel, capitalizing on avery fast pit stop, manage d to ace .out Nixon In the race for second. Surprise fourth place finisher was rookie Expert, Dave Aldana. With Daytona the only other road race under his belt, Aldana sho wed contin ual Impr ovement from a below average heat race and a mediocre main event s ta r t. One each succeeding lap, last year's high point Amate ur dis played growing confidence, not to mention incr easing sp eed. Gene "Bwrlto' Romero displays the slyle that was good enough for a seventh place fi nish at Sunday's event. Ro mero's Triumph "TRIDENT' , was the mach ine registering the fastest qualifying lime a the Daytona 200. Cal Rayborn - described offhandedly by Grantas " wor ld' s best road racer", and who won the Ughtwelg divi sion on Saturday :" was forced out of the race In fourth lap when his new 750cc twin Over Head Val machine ble w. Harley-Davidson teammates, Bart kel, Mark Brelsfor d also had mechanical d1fficultle leaving National Cham pion Mert Lawwlll to carry factory's colors Into a 13th place finish. Suzuki managed to place three riders In the top te and only Jody Nicholas' bad spill In the 24th lap kept fourth rider out of that grouping. Nicholas was third at the time, and was all alone on the cruve com