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/125714
~~ Who Will Be On What As' Brands Go AII-Oul For The Glory Ride••• with dirt track nationals. Suzuki hires road racers, proven road racers to try and win road races. Ron Grant, Art Baumann, J ody Nicholas and ROIL Pierce. Their names go hand in hand with asphalt. Grant has not raced since last May, due to an injury. Baumann has not raced for months for the same reason. Nicholas has taken time off to become a dirt track threat and Pierce, like Duhamel and White, has become disenchanted with Yarnaha. On paper this is the best team for Daytona. It has depth, experience, proven ability and desire. The drawback is going with only two cylinders and -500cc's. No Suzuki has ever gone the distance and finished up front for the 200 mile grind. . The racers in red are the sentimental favorites of many paying customers. AU are chargers who like to lead from the first lap on if possible. This may be the weakness that other teams will capitalize on. Suzuki will be in Daytona for only one reason. It is worth the price of admission alone to just wateli the small pit crew do their dance whenever they win. Don't overlook this team as they have all the ingredients to pull it off. TRIUMPH . This is the team that many claim is the one to beat at any national event this year. It's loaded with road racing and dirt track experienced riders. Gary Nixon, who many consider the best road racer in the world, may meet Hailwood ten miles off shore and jog into the Speedway just for exercise. Nixon is a great road racer and he can prove it. Now he has others with him on the Triumph team that can give Triumph their third win in Daytona since 1966. Gene Romero is the track record holder at Daytona and finished second to Mann last year. Don Castro now has a total of five road races under his Bell and a reasonable amount of experience to go with his th ird place finish a year ago. Triumph has added Tom Rockwood who has sat- in the front line as an Amateur Ounior) and has finished in the top ten in the 200 in the past. Rockwood has the experience and the ability and will be riding with full factory road race backing for the first time instead of having to rely on what was left over. Triumph has already proven they have the fastest machines on the track at super speedway. Castro and Romero are now more than ready to win. Frosting comes from England's Paul Smart who is the national hero over there. Smart has never been to Daytona and that counts against. He beat Nixon in England last faU and now he will be in Gary's playground. Man for man and maclline for machine Triumph will be tough to beat. A man with a few bucks looking to make more will put his money with the blue and white. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . NOTE: The FIM tias denied Daytona an international sanction, as reported last week. Th is may prevent FIM licensed riders from competing at· Daytona. Watch Cycle News for developments. YAMAHA No official factory team this year but plenty of bucks being spent by headquarters to furnish three dealers with machines and expenses to make the Florida scene. Dealers in San Diego, Bakersfield and Riverside, Calif. are reaping the benefits and why not? The past couple of years the dealer-backed machines have gone faster than those from GHQ. San Diego based Don Vesco has imported Australian Kel Carruthers, the 1969 FIM 250 champion and Daytona combined class winner last year. Kel was one of the most impressive riders to ever compete at Daytona in '70 and was a runaway winner on his 250. Cal Rayborn will also be riding for Vesco in the 100 mile 250cc event and no dealer has enough money to hire Rayborn for Sunday. Mel Dineson in Bakersfield, who had Emde and Rockwood last year, now goes to Daytona with factory dirt tracker Chuck Palmgren. Chuck improved last year from road race to road race but has yet to scare anybody. This could be a good move by Yamaha to keep Chuck in the national point running as all road races pay points in the first twenty positions. England's Rod Gould, the new World's 250 champion, has been farmed out to K&N in Riverside. Their rider, Ralph White, left for Kawasaki and Gould's former tuner, Randy Hall, also left for Kawasaki. It's called musical chairs in other circles. Carruthers and Gould full·time and Rayborn p~-time keep Yamaha in a threatening position but gone are Duhamel, Pierce, Emde, Rockwood and White and many wonder if 350cc's is PACER IS PACESETTER IN BAJAI Straight-cut primary drive gears reduce friction, heat by removing side-thrust from crankshaft, contribute to all power·adding equipment. For AT·l. CT·l. DT·l. AT·l really enou~ anymore. Yamaha, without a douht, will reap the wins in the Novice and combined lightweight races if for no other reasons than they will have 90% of the total entries. It could be a different story in the 100 mile Junior and 200 mile national, the one that it is really all about. anyway. HONDA. Saved for last as they are ·the defending champions in the 200, Honda will not have a team of any type at Daytona this year. But the U.S. distnbutor has selected a few choice dealers to supply "kits" to race the fearsome fours. Most of the good riders are already taken and the factory effort is 99%'less vigorous than last year when one out of four of the team' riders made it across the finish line. Neither the select dealers nor the riders are public record at this time and more than one Honda dealer and/or owner is unhappy. Daily prayer services will be conducted at Daytona for all Honda fans from March 8 through 14th. No "Ago", no uPaso", no "Briggo" but Daytona 1971 will be bigger and faster than ever before. The 160 mph barrier will be broken. The average speed of 102 mph for the total distance will be shattered. Three and four cylinder machines came to Daytona for the fIrst time last year and shut out the twins in a flnt time bid. 350, 500, 650 and 750 machines powered by your favorite brand name and ridden by your favorite riders will all be there. The winners will pick up over $40,000 in prize money. The pot will be flavored by contingency cash from Bates, Bell, Buco, Champion, Goodyear, K&K and a host of others. Everybody loves a winner. 1971 DAYTONA SCHEDULE MondaY. March 8 Regisuation for Expert and Amateur Riders; practice during the afternoon. Tueadrf. March 9 8·12 AM and 1-5 PM-Registration for Sportsman, NoviL-e, Amateur '\lid Expert riders. Practice for Novice, Amateur and Expert.. Wedneoday. March 10 8 AM-5 PM-Registration for all classes. 12 Noon-Sportsman Road IlICCS. Admission S2. 8 PM -Short Track at Memorial Stadium for Novices only. Admission S3. Thunday. March 11 9 AM-Start of Alligator National Enduro (100 miles). 8-10 AM -Two qualifying heat races for 80 starting positions in the Novice 76-mile race. 10 AM·J2 Noon-Qualifying heat races for 80 starters in 250 Amateur-Expert combined race. 2·5 PM-Quslifying for Experts and Amateurs over 2.5-mile oval. Fastest flVC get front row positions. Admission S2. Friday. March 12 10 AM-n Noon-Practice for Amateurs and Experts on 3.81-mile oval·and·infield course. 1·5 PM-Registration for Motocross and short track. 3 PM -1 Oo-mile Amateur race over the 3.81-mile course. Admission SS. 8 PM-Short Track for Amateurs and Experts at Memorial Stadium. Admission S3 and (reserved) SS. SMunlaY. March 13 8-9 AM-Motocross practice. 10 AM-Motocross on new Daytona Speedway coune. 3 PM - 100-mile 250cc Expert·Amateur combined race. Admission SS. 8 PM -Short Track for Amateurs and Experts at Memorial Stadium. Admission S3 and (reserved) S5. s.mc-v. M.rch 14 10: 30-11: 30 AM -P=tice for Experts. I PM -Start of "preliminary race activities." 2 PM-30th Annual 2OG-mile Road Race on 3.81-mile oval-and-infield course. Admission S6. FOR RESERVED SEATS write to Daytona International Speedway, Drawer S, Daytona Beach, Fla. 32015 requesting Older Blank. Send stamped, self·addressed envelope. Phone (904) 2S3-6711. • .ala Wins again! 1-24-71 Lost Coyotes M/C European Scrambles l00cc Trail Bike Class First Place - Mitch Mayes Fourth - Jim Sumners Yamaha Enduros. Adjustable fork tripleclamp extends rake for high·speed stability or neutralize steering for c1ose-quarter maneuvering vvork such as trials. Five·position plates give wide range of angles. Iowwa -Patrick -YAMAHA set new l8 hr. 31 min. RfCOIlD in llA.IA using PACER Perlor-. Pn>ducfs Unique fork damping, oil recirculating system is new suspension miracle. Includes S&W dual·rate springs, Teflon bushings. Greatest boon to handling since telescopic forks! Patrick·Bowers use these and other PACER products. PACER CO • • OL.OAT.O .MOU.TIt• • • 17841 E. VAl.LEY BLVD. J CITY of INDUSTRY l-B CALIFORNIA 91745/Telephone Ar.. 2131964-6503 thB lIarlByDavidsoB ODtpBrfOrBlBrS ,.. '" ... M i u. ~ w Z W ..J o > o