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/125704
j - ,... Ol M c ~RJCING CARLSBAD, CALIF., Dec. 20, 1970 The road races at Carlsbad reminded all who went of the old 7-Up theme "Wet ~ and Wild". ot only was the track z muddy and puddle strewn but also ~ Mother Nature decided to add to the u confusion by wetting down the whole ~ track with a little more rain. .!l 111 The big winner of the day was John McGillivray who rode \0 three start-tofmish wins. Two of the wins, the Heavyweigh t Production and the 350, 500 and Open race were on his incredibly reliable BSA 3 prepared by Johnny's Motorcycles, and the other was on Mel Denisens 250cc Yamaha, formerly ridden by Don Emde. Mel brought both the 250 and 350 Yamahas down from Bakersfield, bu t a broken clutch housing jammed the gearbox on the 350 retiring it early. Jeff Sperry, who also rides for Deniseh, won the most closely contested race of the day, the Junior Grand Prix, on his 350 Yamaha. He was pressed by Mark Revels on his 250 Yamaha for the entire race. Although Revels never did get past Sperry, the pair was never much more than I5-feet apart during the entire race. All it would have taken was for Sperry to get caught in traffic and the resulu would have read the other way. Also in that race, Richard Feist, who had worked his way up from way back on his Crowell Cycle Norton to third overall, had a connecting rod let go and put gaping holes in his engine on the last lap, thus costing him a well earned placing. The Heavyweight Production race also saw some excitement on the first lap as a car pulled on the track right in front of where the riders would soon be. Quick thinking by other riders in the pits and the flagmen averted what would have been a major collision. When the race was restarted John McGillivray immediately grabbed a huge lead and won handily as he lapped the , - ~ .. . .. majority of the field. McGillivray then. climbed onto the Yamaha, which he had never raced before, and rode a wire to wire victory in the 250 race which was ridden in the rain. It was a good show for the first time out. Jim Damron broke the string of wins Pat Evans had going when he beat the Yamaha rider on his Ocelot. Apparently there was a collision here with Evans going down, but he got right back up and finished a respectable third in the class. Evans had a bad day lightened by his The spectacular J. McGillivray. overall win in the 125, 175, 200' GP race. Although he, too, led the whole race, Steve Froschauer on a 125 Yamaha was hot on the heels of Evans' 200 Yamaha. Steve is consistently one of the fastest private bikes around. The Open GP race was another win for McGillivray. After some early dicing with Dan Hanebrink, in which they collided once, McGillivray stretched out his lead wi th Hanebrin k..finishing second and Steve Mallonee on a 350 Yamaha finishing third. The next road race is scheduled to be in January at Willow Springs. With rain here, maybe it will snow there. (Results on page 42) AFM Moto-Cross Debut Open Jr. G.P. winner was Richard Feist (Norton). By Dave Loop MORGAN l:llLL. CALIF., Dec. 20, 1970 - The American Federation of Motorcyclists' fIrSt motocross in Northern California raced nine divisions, with many of northern Cal's best riders filling the field. The course was like the 1970 Inter-Am layout for a new off-camber hill section that proved to be the undoing of many. 125 class riders came to the mud in droves to get their lumps. Junior riders Bill Scarlett (Bul) and Mike Collins (Rickman) each won their divisions, proving that talent is an adequate substitute for torque. Ron Huffman (Rickman) took 125 Senior over a surprised Bob Grossi (Sachs). Getting top-notch starts made the difference The 250 Junior divisions were taken by Gary Norman (BuI) and Mike Edward (Hus). Early front runner Dave ,Gullett (Oss) was making his bid secure when a plug failure on a steep climb gave him a ON F in the final standings. 250 Senior winner Jim Miller (Bull was chased home by Dan Davies (Bul and his brother Ron Davies (Bul). A&A Motors' Chris CArter (Mai) ,was in the hunt, but was plagued with start trouble and finished well down after a rough first moto. ffis second race style was fast and precise - in keeping with his record. Open Senior saw Bob Grossi (Bus) put on a show that few riders in the U.S. can equal. His abiJjty in mud and sand is perhaps his greatest asset. Dan Stokes (CZ) jumped Grossi in the first moto and held him back until an off-camber descent into deep mud. Stokes couldn't catch Grossi after that, but the two of them stretched out a 30-second lead over third I'lace. In the second moto, Don Malley (CZ) pulled a perfect holeshot on the pack and enjoyed a 75 foot advantage into the first tum, He led easily until Grossi caught and passed him just ahout where he had caugb t and passed Dan Stokes. John Dieu (Hus) eased in behind Grossi and started to apply pressure, but the Santa Cruz kid was really picking up time in uimpossible" sections and could not be caugb t. (Results on page 42) Sammy Miller Retires LONDON, ENGLAND, Dec. 15, 1970 - Sammy Miller, by a long margin the world's greatest triaIs rider, announced his retirement today. In his lengthy career he has won the Scottish Six Days five times, the British ExperU six times, and the Scott seven times. He will continue his association with Bultaco and tend his own groWing business. Miller is quoted by Motor Cycle News as saying, "I made up my mind at the Scottish Six Days in 1969. I knew then that I was not riding as well as I should, but the lack of serious opposition pers~ded me to continue." Gorden Farley, new trials champ, says, "Miller is not over the hill yet, but he is more human now. He can no longer have a bad day and get away with it." Miller is 37.