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/125669
2 OUT OF 3 FOR BASTS AT A.V. By Mike Capalite LANCASTER, CALIF. April 26 - The racing Bast tamily was In greattorm tor the second ru nning ot Class " A" speedwaycompetition Sunday at Antelope Valley tairgrounds, as Harlan Bast Joined his nephew, Steve, In the winner's circle. Their dominance ot the main events, however, was marr ed by an inj ur y to Steve, when he cr as hed In the scratch Main. The Individual Challenge race was not only a contes t between two riders but also a battle ot racing teams, as Sonny Nutter ot the Great Bear Racing Tea m and Bill Cody ot the USA Rac ing Team wer e pa ir ed oft on the li ne. This was one of the most exciting races ot the day as the two were very evenly matched, with t irst one of them and then the other taking the lead. With one lap to go and it was ~ still anybodys r ace . Cody bobbled com- ill Ing out of the corner and Nutter took the c'E lead and carried it across the line, '" despite a gallant effort by Cody to get § back In contention. ~ In the Handicap heats, Bast and Woods swept the field and moved on to do it In .E;' separate Semi's, while Jim Ashworth made a very spectacular showing In wIn- ,g ning the first handicap heat, with Sonny '" L ....::_ _=..:iL -'=Nutter copping the fourth one. Speed way riders pack In tlghl allhe A. V. Fairgrounds . By virtue of. winning the Best Pairs Challenge race last week, Rick Woods , riding for South Bay Cycle, and Larry Helnselman, riding for the Greal Bear Racing Team, were the challenged team. They were up agalnst brothers Bruce and Greg Haserot, who won the toss and elected to take the pole positions. Off the line it was Woods In the lead, with Greg Haserot In second, followed by Larry Helnselman and then Bruce Haserot. Rick tried 10 hold Greg back unW Larry could get by him, but Larry couldn 't seem to tlnd the right combination • . With two laps .to go, Br uce went down in the cor ner , leaving Greg to carry the battle. Coming around the track and seeing that Bruce had retired, Woods poured it on and took the !lag. The second division Main Eve nt was all Harlan Bast's, as he took the lead at the start and hel d it all the way, despite attempted bids by second place finisher Gus Lauer. Moving up behind Lauer was Jim Doron tor a third . Having tallen down In the Semi, last week's Handicap MaIn winner, Bill Cody, had to settle tor a r ide In the handicap . consolation. He lett no doubt as to his riding ability, taking home the win tor the USA racing team . The HandicapMain Event had the crowd on the edge of their seats, as r ivals Woods and Bast were matched together The surface at Lancasler has Improved greatly and full lock s lides are alwa ys In slyle. tor the tirst time. Larry Shaw, starting .s =- ""- -.....;...- r -'" ..J trom the 20-yard line, took over the lead with Bast, Woods and Nutter back on the titty yard lin e. Into the tirs t corner, it was Bast taking the inside and Woods on the outside, Woods came down t r om the high groove to take Steve on the Inside, when Steve bobbled a little comin g outot the corner and had to shut down tor a second to regain control. Woods also had to shut down to avoi d a coll1sion, and both Steve and Rick suddenly had the field In tront ot them to pass. As they started to move up and pass riders, Bast 's eemed to be pulling away trom Woods coming out of the corners. With one lap to go. Steve took the lead away tr om Shaw, and Rick dropped Into third and tried to move Into second. But Larry kept the slot to the checkered tlag. Alter the Scratch Consolation, which Jim Gr esha m won with Stu Morley finishIng s econd. the riders lined up tor the last race ot the day. the Scratch MaIn Event. It was Ri ck Woods. Terry Graham, Steve Bast and local Lancaster rider, Ron Miller . Up went the starting gate, and Woods shot Into the corner with Bast right behind him . As they ca me out ot the corner, Rick got a good dr ive , while Steve dritted Into so me of the loos e surface thrown out by the previous race. This gave Rick a decent lead Into the next corner. and ( Conti nued on page 10) Q~a~.'t P ROF ESS IO N AL MOLDED THERMOPLASTIC HELMETS TOMORROW'S HElMETS TODAY! MADE FROM THE WONDER MATERIAL USED BY OUR ASTRONAUTS IN THEIR SAFETY HELMETS AND IN THE NEW BOEING. 747 IN OVER 2500 PLACES FOR LIGHTNESS AND STRENGTH . THREE SOLID COLORS (ILACK, YELLOW. WHm) • ASK FOR GRANT AT YOUR DEALER. SEVEN METALFLAKE DESIGNS (THI AME lCAN, THI lUll. GOUl , SILVIa, l . 0lIAH0E. lED. IlUlj