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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125712
AMA NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS (after Houston) ~ w Z W ...J U > U '1. 18 Jim Odom (Tri/8ull 2.3 Oave Aldana (8SA) 3.38 Oallas Baker (BSA/Ossal 4. 43r John Hateley (Tri) 5.4 Oick Mann (BSA) 6.7 Mark Brelsford (H·D) 6.31 Skip Van Leeuwen (Trn 7.84 Charlie Chapple (Yaml 8. 19 Keith Mashburn (Yam) 8. 54 Dave Hansen (Tri I 9. 1 Gene Romero (Tril 9. 34e Rex Beauchamp (H·D) 10.2 Jim Rice (BSA) 122 101 89 86 82 74 74 67 61 61 56 56 52 By Don Woods Photos by Woods and Bob Lenk HOUSTON, TEX., Jan. 29, 1971 Vcnerable Dick Mann, after trailing a hoodoooed Jim Odom for 19 of 20 laps, tonight won the TT National Championship race at Houston's Astrodome. The largest IT crowd of 24,800 saw the most exciting race ever held in the dome stadium. With 91 Expert (iders and 102 Juniors entered for the event, the list of non-qualifiers looked like a who's who of racing. Odom showed he was ready to do business as he immediately jumped into the lead in the first heat of the night. Skip Van Leeuwen, Jim Rice, and first year Expert Dom Emde ail chased after the flying Fremont, California rider only to follow him across the finish line. The second Expert heat was a surprise as rookie John Hateley took the lead and kept it f,or the whole distance. Dave Aldana and Dave Hansen took second and third spots. The third heat was a repeat of the first two as the winner took the lead on the first lap and went on to win. It was Mann, as he just walked away from everyone. It was still an exciting heat, though, as the race for second, third and fourth was in doubt until the finish. Paul Bostrom, Dan Haaby and Dusty Coppage were mixing it up like the ingredients of a tossed salad. Bostrom edged out Haaby and Coppage for the number two spot. The Junior riders put on an exciting show of their own with Mike Kidd and Gary Scott riding their Bultacos to the two heat victories. The Expert consolation race transferred three riders to the final. Dallas Baker and Coppage ran the whole four lap event in the first and second spots. National Champion Gene Romero, who had made the program as an alternate. got into the feature the hard way as he edged out Chuck Palmgren for the final position in the feature. Scott jumped into the lead immediately in the Junior final jind never had any trouble keeping his margin for the whole distance. On the fifth lap, Kidd passed second placer Loyal Penn only to fall off his bike going into the next comer. Roger Ring took third ahead of Bill Dutcher. The National got under way with Odom getting an immediate lead off the line. Mann got right in behind him and the two proceeded to pull 'away from the field. On the third lap, Rice, trying to work his way through the traffic, fell in the right-hander after the jump but lost only two positions as he hurriedly remounted his machine. Mann tried to go around Odom at about the halfway mark and had his hands full. The two scorching riders bumped together several times as Mann got around only to have Odom dial on more speed from only he knows where and take the lead back. Mann could never get by again but stayed right on his rear wheel until the lirst comer of the last lap. At this point, the strain of the hard-fought race told on Odom's machine as the spokes in the rear wheel hroke and pulled out the hub and threw the chain off. Mann motored around for the win with the acoustics in the Astrodome going apart with the roaring of the crowd, some cheering, some ohhing for the disappointed Odom. Skip Van Leeuwen went almost unnoticed as he crossed the line to take the second spot head of a hard-eharging Aldana. As Mann was being interviewed in front of the crowd, with the checkered flag draped over him, Odom walked up and Dick handed him the flag. It was a beautiful gesture and only a man such as Dick Mann, 'who has experienced years of both victory and defeat, could have made Jim feel any better at the time. (Results on page 18) Although this was only a "boat race" set up to tease the appetites of the short track croWd, it was a taste of things to come in next year's Astrodome TT, and a pleasant reminder of what the action was like on Friday night. The winner and 1st National Champion. Dick Mann (BSA). Gary Scott, Jr. TT champion, for Ontario Suzuki. Jim Rice drops it as the pack motors on by.