- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ( C o f l t i f l u e d f r o m page 12)
they said and were they ever right. If
that hill wasn't perpendicular, it will do
until the real thing comes along. That
loop calls on just about every skill a
rid~ can develop. They even found an
off-camber sandwash, if you can believe
that.
The second loop started upwards
almost immediately and kept going up
relentiously for 14 or 20 miles. Up and
up and up. Eventually we got up to
about 7200 feet, someone said, high in
the East slope forests and there we
raced in and out of shadows, ducking
tree limbs and smashing into rocks you
couldn't see because th.ey were in the
shadow. Did you ever pass so close to a
tree that you could smell it as you went
by? Lots of guys were just completely
pysched out. Guys you couldn't catch
in five light years on the desert floor
would pull over and wave you around
up in the trees.
What goes up must come down and
we had a lot of comin' down to do. We
did it all at once on SoCai hill. When
desert veterans try to impress novices
they invariably wind up telling them
about SoCai hill. On SoCai hill you can
lose about 4,000 feet of altitude in
about 1 mile. It's so steep iliat you can't
imagine how the first guy down ever got
the nerve to try it. If it were a ski slope,
it would definitely be for experts only.
Surprisingly, it's not that difficult to
ride down. The sand is very soft and if
you lock your front wheel; you just
push about a ton of it in front of you all
the way down to the bottom. You don't
want to let that bike get away from
you, however, because you wouldn't
stop tumbling until you hit Lancaster.
Once you get down SoCal hill you
feel like you've finished the race and
you're ready for a cold beer, but SoCai
is not finished with you. There's ten
miles left and it's probably the roughest
ten miles of the course, all washboard
and whoop-dee-doos. Those last ten
miles took an incredible toll of riders
and machines. There were so many
broken down bikes and riders that it
was almost like a spectator's gallery
lining the last ten miles.
After it was over they had the turkey
chase. According to the advertisements,
riders would "chase live vicious turkeys
on their bikes". After seeing those poor
turkeys, who wanted nothing more than
a place to hide from the kids who had
been taunting them all day, virtually run
over by a pack of motorcycles, and then
almost torn apart by the scrambling
riders, it seemed like it might be more
sporting to dynamite fish in a washtub.
One rider got sidesaddle on his bike and
literally tackled the turkey from about:
30 mph. Anyway, Morgan, Clark, Baker
and Brooks won the turkeys. Mary
Brooks was eligible because she was the
first girl rider through, but she let her
son Tom chase the bird.
Although I found the turkey chase to
be in somewhat poor taste and
needlessly cruel, I must applaud the
SoCai club for doing their best to make
the race different and interesting. They
laid out the best hare and hound course
that I have been privileged to ride, very
tough and very interesting. They ran the
race well, with good marking,
well-placed checks and lots of facilities
at their camp. Rescue 3 was on hand,
but had a light day.
(Results on page 26)
.
M
European Shorts....
'"
...
'"
0
,...
Special from MOTOR CYCLE, England
'"
...
British Experts Trial was won by Malcolm Rathmell on Bultaco who lost 28 Benelli works rider Renzo Pasolini visited Jawa factory in Czechoslovakia last U
week and discussed riding Jawa four-cylinder 350 next year but no decision until
January. Pasolini fell out with Benelli towards end of season.
New Zealander Ginger Molloy is to race works Suzukis in New Zealand
December-January. He was seventh at Daytona on 4 Kawasaki.
PERCE SIMON TRIAL~, ENGLAND, ov. I, 1970 - Although not the last trials of
the season, this trials virutally decided the British Championship when the
Bultaco-sponsored Sammy Miller failed to gain any points toward the championship.
Sammy Miller has held the championship for the past eleven years and looked a fair
bet to hold it this year as well at the beginning of the Perce Simon Trial, At the end
of the Scott Trial of last week he was tied with his chief adversary, Gordon Farley,
with 86 points each.
.
.
In the first round of this tough trials, Gordon Farley dropped only 7 marks in the
18-section course but Miller never got any farther than Section 3. His ignition failed
and frantic replacement of parts did nothing but sour his disposition. He finally got
to where there was nothing left to replace but the flywheel magneto and he didn't
have the proper puller, so that was out, and so was he. At the finish of the trial,
Farley had lost 21 marks for the win. This puts him in the lead with 106 points to
Miller's 86.
There is one trials left, the Knut, and Miller could theoretically win the
championship on that one, but it is highly improbabl~ that he will because in order
to do so he would have to win the trials while Farley finished worse than tenth. In
view of Farley's consistent performance, (he has scored in 9 out of 9 events) this
seems unlikely.
Wynn, Richter To Merge
LOS ANGELES, CALIF., N.ovember 16, 1970 - Wynn Oil Co. and Roy Richter
Industries have agreed in principle to a merger of their two companies. Crager
lodustries and Bell Toptex, Inc. are owned by Roy Richter. The merger would
involve a stock exchange in the neighborhood of 54.5 million.
Crager is a manufacturer of high quality automotive accessories, while Bell.Toptex
manufactures helmets and other racing apparel. Wynn produces various additives for
fuel., lubricants and cooling systems.
The merger must be approved by the shareholders and directors of both
companies before it can become effeetive.
a SACHS OSSA
Penton - Hodaka - BSA llf?"oJ\.....
.......
Yamaha - Norton
Husqvarna
Parts & Accessories
TRIUMPH SUZUKI
MOTORS
1049 W. Mission. Pomona. Cal.
714-629-8642
e speciaize it Jawa/C-Z,]
2021 Via Burton Anaheim, Calif. 92806
(714) 635-1450
(On State College Blvd.
1 blk. north of Riverside Fwy.1
••
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..
~
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