Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

M 8. :. o ... en ",' .. E. VJ ~ w Z w .... > U U Rich Thorwaldson chases J.N. Roberts. Thorwaldson won. By Ron Schneiders ADELANTO, CAL~F., A't~!,2~r 197~ The Dusters" M.C., a' - newly reorganized club consisting rnllJnly;.of novices, hosted a. liare scrambles near Adelanto this week. In a mighty battle among Experts Rich Thorwaldson, J.N. Roberts, Whitey Martino, and Tom Poteet, Thorwaldson and Poteet came in fIrst and second, while Martino and Roberts didn't come in af all. This isn't really news because Thorwaldson, Roberts and Martino have been trading wins all y~, while Poteet is just waiting for them to make a mistake sometime when his Bul is holding t,?gether. What is new is that Gary Davies, a Novice, riding a Yamaha 125, came in 11 th overall, .according to- John Trani, chief scorekeeper of the race. (Please remember that results are not official until published by the club. Missed checks sometimes alter results.) First Amateur was David Trib, riding in the 250 class. In the. trailbike class, 1'erry Clark won 'while K. A. ·Buekspanjotsecond. Mitch Mayes was third. Jack, Morgan, who seemed last week to have broken his losing streak, failed to fInish. Those who elected to come ou t to the race the night. before had an unexp'ected treat. Th~ were high enough to see the lights of the midnight enduro riders ma·king kinq of a giant serpantine below them. It was very pretty, so I was told (1. was one of the ligh ts, so I didn't see it). The weather on Sunday was also pretty, sunny and warm but not too hot. There were a few problems with the race itself. Some riders felt that the race was inadequately marked both for guidance and danger. I rode the course andieltthat marking was quite adequate for guidance but -must agree that danger marking left something to be desired. There were plenty 'of danger marks, but it seemed like'most of them were in the wrong spots. One condition which was particularly bad was a barb wire fence that ran much to~ close to the course and was inadequately marked as well. One rider was seriously hurt when he ran into the fence. He lost a large chunk of ~~ . The other major criticism was that the course was too short. This came from every rider 1 talked to. The fellow who laid out the course insists that it was 36 miles long. I rode it and I he's not one of the Rams. he's a desert racer. Things are getting rough out there. Lots of Poka Dots being chased by a Shamrock. don't think so but 1 didn't measure it. My estimate was more like 25 miles. Take your choice. The course was quite fast, choppy and dusty, but without any real distinguishing features. A number of riders thought it was a real fun course to ride. Both of the problems stem from inexperience. The Dusters are not wanting for enthusiasm and the ability to work. There waJ! ample evidence of this. I wasn't even in the race and I had to fight off eager checkers who were going to mark my tank card no matter what and get me on my way. I think everyone who even knew a Duster was out there Sunday and working. They were also much more cooperative about producing results than most desert clubs, which is muchly appreciated. Since there are only ten active club members,. each must do a couple jobs, and I must emphasize again that everything that could be accomplished by hard work and enthusiasm was. But some things require knowledge and experience and this was lacking. The Duster's race drew 550 entrants and was started almost on time, a hopeful sign. With the enthusiasm that they have already demonstrated and the experience they have gained in this race to guide them, I'm sure their next effort will be an unqualifIed success. (Results on page 26)

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