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/125679
"m.-==~ fol ~ ~ett«4 FPERLUC"1P051 IPAR A,,'ON fol -J t,) >. t,) On the ttrst of May, Cberl and I left Gent, followed by my mother and father (cb1ef mecban1c), .for the lcmgestextended trip we have made in Europe. We planned to be gone for at least a month from our bome base in Gent BeJg1um. Our ttrst destination was Vannes-StNolf in France for a ~OOCc International event on the third of May. Just after crossing into France from Belgium I bad a flat tlre on my caravan. Mucb to my 8urPr1se, I found that my Nichols Wins Three At OCS By Rlcb Hottman ORANGE COUNTY SPEEDWAY, June 24, 1970- Fourteen_year-old Pb1l McDonald (Yama) stole the show Wednesday night with two Main Event wlns. Pb1l fougbt It out lap by lap with K and N teammate Scott Smith (Yam), 'Nbo f1n1sbed second in both events. Steve Nicbols, sPeCtating in the pits with a fractured collar bone, was all V1c Hannon (Kaw) 1IIleded. V1c was the b1g winner of the night with wlns in the 250cc Sr. T,T., 250cc Sr. Short Track and the 500cc Sr. Short Track. He also took second in the ~OOCc Sr. T.T. behind Jolin Issaccs (Yam) wbo wasn't about to let Hannon make It fOlD' wlns in one evening. Randy Riggs, wIlo bas bad his share of troubles lately at O.C.S., switched to Yamaha and It must have been what was needed as be took the 2~Occ Jr. T.T, Main with Doug Hannon (Bul) a close second. After a one-week pause, Steve Thomas (BSA) and Don W1lIIams (Man) resumed their Wednesday night battle, with Thomas again laldng the wln. The hardest fought race of the night would have to have been between Bill Goff (H-D) and Robby MacEWen (Trl) in the 500cc Jr. Short Track. Both Heat race and Main found Ulese two battling side by side with Goff laIdng the checkered flag by half a bike length. In the 125cc Sr. races, It was Scott Autrey (Yam) and Bob Frauenberger (BuI) figbting It out with Bob laldng the 125cc Sr. T,T. and Scott second. In the 125cc Sr. Short Track things were completely reversed, with Scott laldng the wln and Bob settling for the number two posltion. Greg Wlckam (BuI) had his share 01. trouble in the 250cc Sr. T.T. when be grabbed a llttle too mucb front brake coming into a tight corner and ended uP at the bottom of a rather large pile of riders and motorcycles. With Ideal weather condltions and over 140 entries in both T.T, and Short Track, O.C.S, put together another excellent night of motorcycle races. (Results on page 22) ?'UJM ~.u 1)tI/UIdt Cycle Hews 2499 6erritos Ave. Long ~each, ~alifornia 90806 U.S.A. spare would' not fit as It 18 a dltferent sort of wheel. My dad and I unhitched . the car and went into the nearest city to scrounge uP a new tlre and tube. This proved to be a rather b1g chore as it was a French hoI1day and DOlle 01. the tlre shops were open. We found a gas station who bad a tlre 01. the proper stze and they patched the tube also. Because the statlon bad only one attendant It took two bours to complete the tlre change, as he had to keep running uP front to pump gas. Got going again at about 4:00 in the evening. We arrived at Vannes-St-Nolf on Saturday afternoon and set uP camp. No practice was allowed so we walked the course to look things over. The circuit Is laid out in typical French fashion; Up and down the sides of a valley then across eacb end to the other slde of the valley. The main straJght was grassy and very tat. The straigbt ended in a steep jump which took a lot of braking for, then into a series of sharp curves and sbort straigbts. At the end of this section started the really b1g hills, some of whlcb turned out to be form1dable in the race due to getting all chewed uP, and because of the heaT)' dust. The hills also abounded in rocks which rolled under your tires. On the morning of the race, we were blasted out of bed by the loud music on the PA system. This seems to be common practice, especlaBy in France. Practice was beld in two sessions, and I could tell the track would get worse before it got better. Alter practice there was the normal two or three hour walt, Ulen the presentatlon ceremonies bepn. The riders were introduced one by one and each countries' natlooal anthem was played. I don't care how many times I have stood under our flag, wh1le they play the "Star Spangled Banner" in all the dltferent countries, I always feel immensely proud of being Amer1can1 It 18 just an outa-slgbt feellng to stand in front of a large crowd of motocross fans, thousands of m1les from your own home, and look uP to see the stars and stripes waving above your head wh1le the national anthem is played. After the dders cleared the presentation area, a band marcbed and played for 15 minutes or so then we were called for the ttrst start. At the start of the ttrst race, I came away from the llne in good positlon and was about 8th or 9th on the ttrst lap. I got into a real battle with Wolfgang Muller wbo 18 West German 500cc Champion, and wh1le we were dlclng we both moved uP a ways. At the f1n1sb he ended uP just in front of me in third position and I got fourth. Joel Queirel of France was ttrst then Chris Horsef1eld, then Muller, me, and just behind me was Jan Jdlansson of Sweden. The day got hotter lU!d botter, and the duSt became very bad. In the second race I fell on one of the bad hills when I got tangled w1tb a rider coming down the hill from an unsuccessfUl cllmb. I developed bad bl1sters from this race, I guess becaUS.e of the heat or something. I f1n1sbed slxtb in that one. First was Horsefield, then QueireI, Jobansson, Nowak, Stanek (Czecb), and then me. It bad been a long bard chase because we were laPPing people, and when the slower riders fell on the hills It was sometimes real d1ff1cuit to avoid them. Before the last leg my cb1ef mechanic (my dad) fixed the sllPplng clutch that bad developed in the second race, and I tried to relax in the shade and get some rest before the last and longest race of the day. I wasn't at all enthused about going out again, espec1ally since my bands were bleeding from the bllsters. Chert taPed me uP real good, and my family gave me a yay-yay go-get-um pep talk about the fame and fortune that a walted me in the land of motocross 11 I would just put on my belmet, stagger out to my Husky and charge into the fray. So now, all charged uP, I ran to the door, tore It off the hinges, and charged off, only to return seconds later because I' forgot . '-1 l • -.J .. SO L'BEL";iu,:~ " ';>. ~r ' my goggles! At the start I came away again in a good position, and was lying about 6th on the ttrst lap. Lap after lap I inched closer to the riders just abead and when they bad trouble or I was quick enough I would pass one. On about the tenth lap my bands were aching from the bUsters, but l1ke my dad said, "You've got all week to beal uPl" At about that same time a very embarrassing tblng happened; the z1pper in the front of my leathers hroke, and I mell., the whole ztpper, from toP to bottoml It was very uncomfortable also, as I had to ride sort of leaning forward in a crouch. I caught Muller on a had hill and got by Just before the f1n1sb. That pass put me in third for that race, and fourth overall for the day. My famlly takes all the credit for that race. as they say It was the pep talk that dld It, but 1f the truth were known, I was just going extra fast so I could get flnlshed and fix my zipper! RUSS DARNELL A.M.X.T, Captain p.O. Box 3276 Hollywood, Callf. Shown with contingency' prizes after June 6 & 7 Ponderosa Hare Scrambles are: Bardahl and Fast distributor Bill Pattison, Open class McHal helmet winner Tom Brooks, Trai I class helmet winner Jerry Hill. Open class helmet' winner Tom Clodt, and Greyhounds M.C. Pres. Jack Ross. McHal will again award their new full face coverage helmets to the top two day riders at the July 4 & 5 Hare SCrambles. Bardahl VBA racing oi I and Fast fuel additive will be given to the first 12 in each class Sunday. - Tom Willis Phol0. neDalesman Is Coming. SIGN LANGUAGE IS OUT ~ BELCOM <~_' . I IS INI I ·CYCLE J~~Every Friday Night IIELCOIII 2,'" IIlJIT laLIIE·1ll111 fOlE, ~""t ... kG' 'IIH' ""HSIUOIIHD ·::,~""~,·:t~:f::'!U .1tIlSTEl1 ~ h ..d Ch.(k. Ill. O. O' Pw.(ha •• O,d•• 10 Spa,' Sy.I..... 1"(. 6.9 N. hach SI. Da,'a..a ha(h. '10 3101. Pha... '0•• 1.U.l0'1 DEAlE'S USE lfnEtI1fA,C MOTOR flp. I •• odd 4'" Sal•• To. What's a Combo-Cross MOTO-PRIX? Southern California's finest dirt track!