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/125711
!CMC Found Lost In The Fog ~ By John Bethea POMONA, CAL., Jan. 24, 1971 - If you go looking for Calude Osteen's Bike Park on a local map, don't bother, because you won't be able to see it it's covered by a dense fog. At least it was today for the initial running of the Steen's CMC Motocross series here. Delayed until the first tum could be sighted from the start line, the first race finally got its rubber-band start at 11 :30. This delay resulted in CMC heads Stu Peters and Kelvin Franks to reduce the number of motos from three to two, but allowed more laps per moto for each class. The course was changed a great deal from the first MX race held here last Dec. 6. The new tour contained a steep embankment which dropped onto a dirt road, crossed it and over the edge. This "jump" caused a great deal of excitement during the day for the spectators and constan t bone-shattering and shock-splattering headaches for the capacity 340 riders. No less than six individuals required medical aid when they miscalculated the jump and flipped their machines after landing on the front wheel. Only one, however, sustained anything serious and that was a broken leg, it was unofficially reported. The most spectacular of these spills was the last one, occurring in the second moto of the 500 Intermediates. Rick Norris and Bob Brown were nip and tuck most of the way with Norris figh ting to hold the lead. Dicing away, the pair had sped to nearly a 200-yard advantage over the rest of the pack as they neared the jump on the next to last lap. Off the road and into the air went Norris with Brown quickly following. Pressured, Norris made that fatal mistake he landed almost perpendicular to the ground and on his front wheel. He was immediately thrown from his CZ and laid motionless on the ground, not really hurt but stunned. Meanwhile, his bike continued to do endos, landing on the front wheel and then the rear and back and forth, until it finally came to a halt at the base of the slope. Brown wasn't just sightseeing while this was going on. Having taken the jump only a second after Norris, he was faced with first avoiding the fallen rider and then avoid the bouncing bike. Bobbing and weaving, he fmally dropped his Maico at the base of the hill, either by accident or on purpose. The lead these two held when the mishap occurrred was enough to spare for Brown, who recovered nicely, hopped back on his Maico and went on to win the moto. Billy Clements was the most consistant racer for the day as he Billy Clements does a wheelie the hard way. Even with this waste of power, the Husky rider still won all four motos he raced in with power to spare. time, too, the freeway will be open aU the way, and, hopefully, the fog will have lifted. (Results on page 12) In the tightest moto of the day, F. Carlisi (92) just barely squeeked across the wire ahead of Rick Norris (38A). His effort took so much speed that he had to slide out as he couldn't maneuver the turn. Smiling as he got up, he happily said, "I got him," and looks to the flagman for confirmation ...he nodded. PUCH WINS powered his Husky to a pair of wins in both the 250 and 500cc Expert divisions. The CMC limited the entries, all post, to 340, "and still had to send back 300 more,;' reported Peters. "You just can't please everybody. Last race at Carlsbad, people complained because we had so many entries that the motos were reduced as well as the number of laps. Now, mothers are mad at us because their son was refused. And, now, it's this fog." Osteen, the park's owner, was on hand to start the first race. He maneuvered the rubber-band starl quite nicely, 100. But, that mass of man and machine which immediately sped toward him would probably given Walter O'Malley a heart attack. Despite the fog and bitter cold, the races were great. The series pic ks up again on Feb. 14 at Carlsbad and then returns here again on the 28th. Next No need to look, there's nobody there. J. Robertson powered to two moto wins in the 500 Jr. class to win overall. SACHS HUSKY parts & accessories BMW Specialties 411 West Whittier Blvd. Montebello, Galif. 90640 (213) 724-9474 "The most effective lubricants of our time" e CMC Motocross Saddleback, Jan. 17,1971 125cc Senior Class 1st Harry Everts - PUCH 2nd Chris Gouverneur - PUCH HUSQVARNA Distributed by Med-Imernational 4190 Palm Ave., La Mesa, Calif. 92103 ethe specialty--Jawa/C-Z'J specialze machines. COMING ON STRONG Puch Dis!. Co. 9825 Mason Chatsworth, Ca. 91311 (213) 882-8860 C The Bike Shop 2021 Via Burton Anaheim, Calif. 92806 (714) 635-1450 IOn State College Blvd. 1 blk. north of RiverSide FwvJ HRLubricants 7340 Florence Ave. Downey. Ca. 90240 Dealer inquiries invited l2lce • 17Scc •• 118 or call . • DUCO'SSo. St..sanl Aft. MOTORCYCLES 1U' S.b ArIa. C.I. tzlfJ7 (714) 541·. . . r,eili, C••sf H.,,,. 2073 ••. P.ellie Cout HWJ. Lomlt•• C•• PII: (n3) 326-3818 Open 7 days