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INDIAN DUNES STAGES DOUBLEHEADER Stories by John Grout C Photo by Mick Ryan VALENCIA, CALIF., Jan. 3, 1971 - .!ll On the third day of New Years John ~ w Z ~ ~ U DeSoto latched onto a group of the most unbreakable motocross pros in America at the Indian Dunes Classic, and he displayed all of the gentleness of a bull elephan t turned loose in a crystal factory. In a field which crawled with talent, the only thing that DeSoto was unable to shatter was all of the raucous racket that unloaded out of Chuck Minert's machinery - and that was probably because the big thumper was too far back-trail from the "Flying Hawaiian." While placing his motorcycle into astounding leaps that just teased the hell out of the law of gravity, DeSoto taught motocross to Mike Runyard, Mark Blackwell, Jim Wilson, John Rice, Jim West, Tim Hart, Billy Payne and Tom Rapp, among others. And when it was all over, DeSoto found himself one ,of the highest paid professors in the racing business for his day's work. The three racers who were able to mount the most serious challenge were RUDyard, Rapp and Blackwell, the. 17-year-old tiger who threw his Husky around the slippery course with great audacity. Blackwell, who had blown his engine during an earnest practice session, had to display his talent for the remainder of the day on spare parts and guts. In the first heat for the "big boys", DeSoto gave the large crowd lining the track an idea of just what to expect for the remainder of the motos as he finished in front of Rapp, Runyard and West. Bu t in the second go-round, the "Flying" one tossed the money sack with his name already on .it - smack into the pit trees, and up for grabs. What had happened was this: DeSoto was enjoying a fairly lengthy lead in the opening laps of that second event for the Open equipment, when suddenly Runyard shook looose from the rest of the pack and was closing ground so swifty on DeSoto that it looked for all the world like Silky Sullivan - the eighty-length-from-behind racehorse ••.•.•.•.•....................•.•• · • ·. .· · · .· . CONLEY 250/360 Down Pipes - $49.95 Unbreakable front fender with bracket $19.95 Folding foot pegs $25.95 TIS MOTORS W. sell &I"~~:~() MAleo~h",1 ~ * 1049 W. Mission, Pomona, Cal. 91766 714-629-8642 Dealer Inquiries Invited that was around a few years ago - had fmally convinced his pooh-poohers... ! DeSoto's gas petcock had come loose and every time he put that roaring machinery of his sideways over a jump, his leg would shut off the fuel. Not EVEN DeSoto can win one that way so Runyard zipped on by for the victory, DeSoto 2nd, Rapp 3rd. When the last heat for the pros got to the start line the nuts, bolts and petcocks on DeSoto's bike were tighter than the cap on a jug of glue. And when the green flag flew, spectators got the idea that J ohlmy was angry at something or other. Cutting his second lap at two minutes, one second - about a minute faster than the course record had been - he awed the c.rowd with his fantastic display of total moto savvy: staggering leaps through the blustery wind; caroming from the sides of steep banks; full-lock slides around tight turns. He had it all together; Runyard finished 2nd, Blackwell was 3rd. The Open Senior winner was Bryar Holcomb, scoring one of three grandslams 0 f the afternoon on his new-sponsored Greeves, as he turned back Dick Bevans, Tom Zahnter, Mike Bast (who also had a blown engine) and 25 others. The 250 Senior events were dominated by the super-swift Ricky Shirey, sponsored by Dick Allen's Newhall Yamaha, as Rick Allen's Newhall Yamaha, as Rick exploded for a couple of wins and one 2nd. Wayne Sullivan rode out a grand slam against the Div. B 250 Juniors, as he out-finished Joe Bonello and Bill Stanley. Harry Everets (Puch), the Belgium National Champion, grabbed tne 125 Senior win as he zipped to three hard-fought victories over Bryar Holcomb. Hercules Distributing and the Puch factory brought their two fine riders to this country for the Dunes Classic. Everets and Christian Governeur were a complete show by tnemselves. (Results on page 20) HUSQVARNA AMERICAN .....•............................... * PUMfREY BULTACO f'e fea. * *** Rider of the Week Steve Markowitz Distributed by MecHnternatiooal 4190 Palm Ave" La Mesa, Calif, 92103 132IL_IUW~ CALIf.1114II1I-CII1 21819 Sher",an Way Canoga Park (213) 887-7696 WANTED: DIRT RIDERS free .1 Boofs 2 & 4 strokers, competition club now forming at Maywood ' Honcla, 6101 S. Atlantic in Maywood. Next meeting Jan. 21st. 7:00 PM free coffee &, doughnuts. ores with purchase of new CZ $75.00 value South Bay Motorcycles 213 S. p.e.H., Redondo '(213) 379-3344 cyclesports park $ 3.50admission $ 250advance kids under 12 free! ! 25 bikes per class so enternow..$5.oo $600 purse JAN.31 st $600purse TOP u.s. MOTO-X STARS JOHN DeSOTO & DICK BURLESON 250cC EXPERT FEATURE & 250-0PEN JR. motocross VALENCIA, CAL., Jan. I, 1971 - A three-day sand scrambles exploded into the biggest weekend of motorcycle racing ever held at Indian Dunes Park. Palm Springs weather again prevailed as 200 scalp-hunting racers gathered on a track which had been meticulously manicured by event promoters Ernie Alexander and George Conrad. This time the course was bone-dry and rocket-fast. In a combined Open Am-Ex-Novice go, the seasoned Gene Fetty tangled with the. throttle-stretching Johnny Rice, and Rice ended the day with more troubles than a cowboy on a burred bronc. Rice went down in one tum so hard that t/lq ground got hurt. He was so far behind the rest of the troops at the starts that it would have been luckier if his engine had blown. But good riders are good, because they've learned to float in a rising tide without water wings. Rice wouldn't have quit if he had had an attack of appendicitis. By the time he got that big dude of his in fifth gear, the racers that he wen t smo king past must have thought they were still in low. Responsible for smooth and rapid victories in both the 125 and 250 Am-Ex. slugfests was a whirlwind named Dave Rodgers. Wayne Cook trounced the l00cc Novice bunch. While Jeff "The Wrecker" Wecker continued his "Dunes" win streak as he punctured the balloons of 36 swift 125 novices. A field which contained 52 eager 250 novices, tugged, grunted and wrestled their machinery around the course for the better part of an hour, and when it was going into the books as a final, most of them wouldn't have been able to spot their leader - Bill Barker - with a 60-power telescope. (Results on page 20) HRA Starts '71- MI By Gary Schmythe HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF., Jan. 3, 1971 - Snow capped mountains to the east and south, a bright blue sky, brilliant sunshine and a wind cold enough to send a polar bear in search of his long-johns was the setting for the opening of H.R.A.'s 1971 motocross season. The 100 Novice was protested, so check the results to see how it was resolved. The 125 Novice found Ray Lopez holding his Rickman in front of B. McDougal and pu tting on a real show doing it. G. Messick and Chuck Justice fough t for the third and fourth spots. The combined 100 and 125 Expert was a real slam-bang affair with Randy Meyers (Bul) edging out John Townsend for the win and John McRoberts going for third. Another of those combined affairs was the 250 and Open Expert, here Danny Hockie worked his way up through the pack on his finely tuned Ossa to win. G.- Young, Marshall Jennings and Gary. Wells, all Husky mounted, did their thing for the next three slots. Ray Lopez drew_ three of a kind on that screaming Maico in the 250 Novice for his second overall win of the day. Dick Bensen took second and Martin Chokany third. Open Novice's Tim Uschyk (Hus), and R. Remelin (Hus) staged a real battle of it. Uschyk took the win with Remelin second. Third went to Bob Madden (C-Z). H.R.A. has set the month of January aside as motocross month with motos to be run every Sunday. (Results on page 20) for tickets and info: cyclesports Inc. 2121 HAROLD HOUSTON, TEXAS 77006 ph.(713) 523-3741