Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

i Hope,own (Continued from page 19) lL o ,... better this year agains the desert girl riders and how fast Jan Ditson was even ,.... on the sections of the track that resumbled more of a road race ~ course...the unfortunate pileup at the Z start of the ladies race with 44 girls on ~ the track, more than ever before but '" ~ nobody was seriously hurt, but Hopetown is definitely not the place to race your first race...the International class on Sunday which paid the overaU winner Preston Petty (Maico) a whopping $1000 and if you ever want to be a frustrated sponsor, have Pres ride for you...he's so relaxed aD the time that the race is on the line and he's still wandering around or sitting down talking while aU the other guys are sitting there having the shivering fits but he stiD gets the job done..•Russ Darnell's European experience reaUy shawing lap times anywhere near that of the lighter 500cc strokers. The trick was to be consisten t, because trying to be fast would get a 650 rider in heaps of trouble at Hopelown. Gene Smith had unloaded early in the race but this hardly thwarted his eventual victory. AI Baker had it wrapped up until a gas line came loose on his Triumph while he waUered in the mud. He got it lit quickly, but not before Smith and Bailey passed him. The pipe-maker from Gardena had worked his way through the whole field (Continued from page '21) for the second·place honors. Smith was quite pleased with his win, particularly because he only races a couple of times a year. SIDE HACKS No sooner had the sidehacks started when they were completely spread out the length of the 2.5·miIe course. The Ralph artd George Whitney team held a slim margin over Wt year's winner Darrel and Ken Meter. Suddenly, the Triumph-Wasp of Ray Hunter and Arnold Jeffords swooped past and built up a good lead. Unfortunately, it's not yet known if they fmished that way. Bay Mare's resident announcer Gary Andrews was on hand providing the local color. Gary does a splendid job covering the races and with the help of the International Racing Radio Crew he was able to keep everyone posted on aU the Iatest developments, as they happened. There is talk of next year's Hopetown being held on two consecu tive weekends, more bikes, more races. Whether or not this is true, there is one thing for certain: Hopetown is on for 1971. (Results on page 32) A"er'hough's -------....:...--..:...------.:.-- (Continued from page 19) u > taking the checkered flag dead last. u Bob Messer ($75) finished second in the .last moto. He had even passed Rice for the lead, but then went down momentarily. The amazing 14-year-old Expert, Marty Tripes, found himself out-classed after finishing second on the Irrst go-'rounel The accumulated points still got him a seventh place and $50. OPEN AMATEUR/EXPERT "Defmitely an endurance run," said Bob Bailey. The big torques weren't turninl! out Enduro before, though, these things are just conveniences; there was plenty of schedule information available. Distances were measured with a front wheel speedo and seemed to be quite accurate, but the timing left something to be desired in precision. I think the watches all corresponded within a minute or two, but for a good enduro they should correspond within seconds. The course was quite well marked with big red arrows and the layout was such that there weren't any serious bottlenecks, which takes quite some doing. From a technical point of view, the placement of the checks could have been better. As it was, aU the checks were at speed change locations, so they were predictable. They were also preceded by easy sections, so that riders could make up the time lost on the hard sections. This tends to give everyone low scores and does not differenciate between those riders who ride consistently over all sections and those whQ are falling behind and then racing to catch up. I hOp'e the .criticisms that I haye offered will be taken in the proper perspective: they are minor faults due to in experience and are farovershadowed by the run's overall excellence. It was the best enduro I've ridden this season. Results will be announced in a couple of weeks, but Ace Shamrock enduro rider Ken Peterson tells me that he won first overall. I always believe everything Ken says, but his 12 year old son Von who was riding with him was shaking his head so I'm not sure this time. Baja ----------------unavaiJable for any post-race assistance; and perhaps most importantly, virtual unconcern for support plane safety. No less than 10 planes were involved in accidents. All were on the ground or landing, and fortunately no' one was injured. However, most, if not aU of these accidents could have been avoided had someone taken the responsibility for regulating the planes. At a so-caUed pilots meeting on the night before the race, Norra officials told the handful of pilots present to "be SACHS. I.S.D.~ Ii: (Continued from page 9) careful" and try to fly on the right side of the road. Why not register and/or limit support planes? Why not establish hard and fast rules for landings, take-offs and patterns? Okay, Norra, it's not your problem. But what about_ next year when insurance rates for planes flying in Mexico are so astronomical that no one will fly support for the race? Or when someone starves or bleeds to death because of total disregard for communications? What then? I.S.D.~ now as, although he ended up second, he was the only rider who knew the true line through the mudhole and along the wash but Petty's Maico was so fast it was just adios for the rest of the class... BiJI Clements on a Husky was going awfully good and Rich Thorwaldson who a lot thought would win the class seemed to be having an off day._Petty getting a bath in champagne after the presentation from a bottle that had been carefully guarded aU afternoon so nobody.could swipe it...the sound of the Watkins Suzuki, there wasn't another bike that sounded that way...and the Cheshire cat grin of Maico's Frank. Cooper as the weekend went along as his bikes kept showing up in the front time after time ...in the 500 Expert class John Hateley coming so close to a good crash that even he shook his head and pulled a face but he didn't go down._catching a whole bunch of Checkers happily sitting on the ground in front of the starting line with the usual remark that there they were, out on the course again before everyone else! ... Duffy Hambl eton of the Viewf'mders walking slowly back to the pits pushing his seized Husky, it was a long walk_.Jim ConnoDy (Greeves) in second behind a flying John Rice until a flat tire pu t him into the pits although he tried gallantly to keep on going but there was just no way he could.•.Bob Messer coming in for the second on another Maico coming in with second adding again to Frank Cooper's smiles_.Bob Bailey riding bo~ys and doing well, on Sunday mounted on his "old Triumph" that still had the tank card on it from the Greenhorn Enduro_.and another National number riding in the Amateur class and before you aU start saying "for shame" it was the only entry he could buy._and a lot of guys made some nice pocket money from selling entires both days, too.. Once again, there will never be a race on the West Coast or maybe even the world that can touch Hopelown in the hearts of California riders although Elsinore is coming pretty dam close. Just the same, Hopetown will always be Hopetown and the Dirt Diggers... weD ... cheers people, you're beautiful! Medal W'lnner.· Medal W'lnner. ~. . 41&.· ~r :.11!" -, ,,- Gene Canady - Silver Max Switzer - Silver 'C; Steve Hurd - Si'ver Bill Uh'- Bronze '-lotl ..: HEIlCULU DtSTIllIlUTI.'. LTD, lIUC...... Av. . . a-. "Ie•• C.lltoml. 104M PUCH MOTORS CORP., 1812 Colorado_Ave., Santa Monica. Ca. 90404

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