'
~
!@
~
w
d
>
U
Graham leads MX Showdown
By Janet West
FRIENDSWOOD, TEX., April 18, 1971
- The mo tocross race of the day at
Cloverfield was the 250cc Experts. Greg
Graham (CZ) had a fIrst place cinched,
-jake De Boe was in for a sure second,
and Robbie Esterlein was tied with
Mark York for third. Esterlein grabbed a
beautiful start, leading into the fIrst
turn and led for two and a half laps
when York, second, came out of an
S-tum and edged his Ossa around
Esterlein.
Following suit, De Boe cranked his
CZ past as well, as did Graham. This did
not deter Esteriein, however; he turned
the Husky's throttle harder to play
catch-up. Two laps remained, however,
and he just didn't make it. Graham's
bike had lots-fire and he was forced to
drop back. De Boe had other plans
though, and 30 feet before the finish he
spurred on his CZ to take th e win over
York.
Another good race came in the
second heat of the Open Expert class.
Brian Fox (CZ) rode a tremendous race
holding off Graham, riding a new 400cc
Suzuki. However, in overall poin ts
Graham managed first, and Fox second.
Mike Murski made a good showing as his
Greeves, well-suited for the mud,
allowed him to collect a tbird.
Adding a bit of excitement to the
day was the unsinkable Robi Holbert,
who, to say the le~t, sunk. In the 125cc
Experts, he crashed. But, he still had the
Open Expert to try.
Luck wasn't there either as he
,overshot a berm, lost control and
flipped over the handlebars into the
mud. His spirits weren't dampened as he
cranked his bike back up and tried to
regain his lost lead. Riding a bit too
hard on a slippery track he crashed
again, p'lowing through the mud and
weeds like a bulldozer. The 400cc
Husky, with mud, weeds, and bushes
were clinging to all parts of the bike,
looked as though it had been decked
out for a camouflage operation when it
waS rolled back into the pits.
Curt, Brennan showed his love for
motocross. During the second heat of
Open Experts, he suffered a broken
knee but insisted on staying at the track
to see the outcome. When the last moto
was finished, a stretcher came for Curt;
loaded him up and carried him off to
the ambulance.. If everyone loves
motocross as much as Curt does, it
defInitely would be the number one
American spectator sport!
(Results on page 24)
uenaPark
YAMAHA
.
SALES - PARTS
. SERVICES
OPEN 7 DAYS 8-7
_.
world
scene
s~way_
'--.--
"
By Peter WhIte
RUSSIAN
TACTICS
ICE
SPEEDWAY
Star Russian speedway and ice track
racer, Gab Kadirov, won his fourth
World Ice Speedway Championship at
Inzell, West Germany, last month.
In' sub-zero temperatures, Kadirov,
popularly known in the West as the
"Russian BeatIe" because of his
mop-top hair sty.le, was beaten only
once in the two day championship - by
fellow countryman and current Soviet
lee Champion, Vladintir Zibrov.
The Russian virtually won his title in
his fIrst ride on the first day. He met the
fastest practice riders, Berndt Homfeldt,
Kurt Westlund, and Hasse Holmqvist, all
of Sweden. Homfeldt led from the start
after Kadiroy missed the gate. After a
lap Westlund moved ahead but on the
fmal circuit Kadirov treated the 16,000
crowd to an amazing spectacle.
In a full throttle attempt he blasted
around the snow barrier on the last
comer to pass Westlund and win by 20
yards. A truly brilliant ride by the
Russian.
Former dirt track speedway World
Finalist and lee Racing World Champion
Boris Samorodov, acted as trainer to the
Russian contingent and did his job so
well that the Hammer and Sickle boys
claimed fIve of the fIrst six places!
Host country Weit Germany had
high hopes that their star ice man, Hans
Siegl, wo'uld claim the winner's crown
but he crashed and badly cut a knee.
Sweden had hoped for at least two
places in the first six but rising dirt
tracker Conny Samuelsson was run over
by hard riding Russian, Alexander
"King of Crash" Tscherbakov, in
practice and had to have 17 stitches in
his rear end and then Kurt Westlund was
gored in th e middle of a turn by the
same Russian and put out of action.
These accidents put the breeze up the
rest of the Swedes, especially Hasse
Holmqvist, and they did not attempt
any further resistance to the Russian
challenge.
Holmqvist, who fInished equal fourth
witb Englishman Nigel Boocock in the
1969 World Final at Wembley, London
(dirt track), said after the meeting that
the Westlund incident had fInished him
with ice racing: Had he not lost heart he
would have finished in' the top three.
Many of the meeting, who gave the
Russians a big shocks, was young
Miroslav Spinka, from Czechoslovakia.
He fInished third.
British riders did not figure amongst
the top ten placegetters but that's
harclIy surprising considering their
extremely limited ice racing experience.
Second Division league star Andy Ross,
who finished fifth last year, was
expected to throw out a reasonable sort
of a challenge but the difference in
conditions between ice track and dirt
speedway is phenomenal.
First problem to ..contend with is, of
course, the intense cold which is a
necessity for ice racing. Riders'
temperatures while racing have been
£1 Paso MX Tracie Reopens
By Dane Askins
ANTHONY, TEX., April 18, 1971 With the opening of two motocross
tracks and a half-mile oval adjacent to
the La Laguna circuit it looks as though
the Western Texas-Southern New
Mexico area will have a full summer of
racing.
The wide, fast track at El Paso, Tex.,
had some very exciting racing, especially
in the 250 Expert class. John Foster and
David Peterson (Ossa) each picked up a
fIrst and a second. in the fIrst two
motos. In the tie-breaker Foster claimed
fIrst with Peterson a close second. Bill
Wight (CZ) picked off third.
Dennis Spencer (Penton-mounted)
IELSOI'S ./e IEPA'.
.... _
Sales
0'7'......
,..
PAR:rS
Service
2362 3rd St. Riverside. Ca.
Mail Order Service (714) 686-3383
made a sweep of the 100 Experts
winning all three motos. But, Bo Jones
and his Harley Baja were rarely more
than a few feet behind taking runner-up.
After a late start in the intial moto
Larry Comey re-adjusted quickly to win
the remaining pair for a class win in the
125 Experts. Tom Wahler won the first
moto but a hard fall in the second
reshaped his handlebars and slipped him
to second overall.
The track, wide for safe passing, had
good spectator viewing. The new
owners, Harvey Latther and Sam Streep,
promise that the track will again be in
excellent condition for the next race,
May 9.
(Results on page 24)
Husqvarna Penton
loeiers Sales & Seniee
662' A" ..,ic,8ell,C•.
(213)581.3983
MXE
DISCOUNT TO STUDENT &
COMPETITION CARD HOLDERS
P.O. Box 1205
Torrance. Calif. 90505
iai1ii"~ (213) 326-7737
7872 ORANGETHORPE
TEMP.
522-1041
EUROPEAN STYLE
SH-If,... fro.
MOTOCROSS SH I RTS
PHONE NO.
Check One
Red
Check One
Yellow
Green
fOI YOU 101 BELIEVEIS
--~--
."
38
40
42
44
46
NEW "MOLL V-BLUE" chain lube and a
new 2 cycle oil. They're worth waiting
48
for.
Check or Money
Calif.
Wallingsford
1st
Nov.
MODESETT chamber & Silencer.
Ask Brent or anyone who runs
this set up & they will tell you it
works.
[ORSTEN HALLMA~~~J
RACING INC. ~~.
(714) 460-6234
(714) 460-1402
MOTU I..ORTS CO.
1274 East Colorada Blv
Pasadena. &aUf. 9110&
Buzzards Hare Scrambles.
Brent
EUROPEAN DATE CHANGES
A variation has been made to the list
of dates of big European speedway
meeting for 1971.
The European Final of the World
Championship, scheduled for Wembley
stadium,. London, will be held on
Saturday, August 21 and NOT August
28 as previously advised. The meeting
will commence at 7 p.m. and will be the
penultimate stage before the World
Championship Final itself.
There has been no change in
arrangemen ts for the World Final and
this will still be staged in Gothenburg,
SWEDEN, on Friday, September 10,
1971.
U.S. D ist. for T relleborg Motocross
tires. Torsten Hallman special
design leathers & racing equipment.
Check the resu Its of Apri 14th,
Overall on a Yamaha AT1 running a
measured at "25-30 degrees C. below
zero!! Not everyone has the stamina to
stand such cold, naturally, and many
fall by the wayside because of this
factor.
In East Germany most meetings are
staged on normal speedway tracks,. Hot
water is sprayed onto the snow and ice
covered track and snow is packed
against the safety fence to act as a
padding. Speed normally is between
6-65 mph.
The biggest single factory in ice
racing, however, is the danger. It's hard
to imagine anything more dangerous
than Class HA", or even Class "e" for
that matter, on dirt but ice speedway
certainly tops it in no mean fashion.
Imagine falling and being run over by a
wheel full of sharpened steel spkes!
Ridin!\, technique varies considerably.
In ice racing a rider doesn't broadslide·
at all. Both wheels have to be in line all
the way. The steering damper is
tightened so hard that it is very hard to
steer - like riding a bicycle with the
forks locked.
Said one British dirt track exponent.
who gave the ice a whirl: "The throttle
has to be shut off going into a bend. In
speedway it can be tU':Jled on goin,g into
a corner - bu t not on ice. It must be
turn~ on half-way round the bend.
"Gating too, is different. Too much
throttle and the back wheel spins as the
spikes cut into the ice. Not enough
throttle and the front wheel rears up.
''The idea is to get first and keep the
front wheel about six inches above the
ice and run on the back wheel only. The
front wheel should be kept off the ice
until the first tum.
"F or a rider in front it is relatively
easy, but it is really hard work to pass
from behind.
"Snow is -banked against the safety
fence and if you hit it you are nearly
covered in a great shower. It's quite
hard, but soon breaks if you hit it with
the handlebars or any other part of the
bike.
''The inside line is purple. It is
painted in indelible pain t about six to
nine inches wide. Heaped behind it is
four or fIve inches of snow. You are
allowed to put your knee over the line
but if both wheels go over you are
disqualifIed.
"Y ou have to have a piece of rubber
~ car tyre usually - strapped to your
knee because you have the knee on the
ice a lot of the time.. Most riders also
have a piece of rubber on the toe as the
leg trails behind. The Russians wrap it
around their shins too, as quite a lot of
ice is thrown back and when it hits you
on the shins and' ankles it is a bit
painful."
~~\ (imichrome
~h
"
1£
_ ,:::l.._ /$hines SUddenly
111:
11 .
.
Simiehro... is a honey
eCleanS quick as a bunny
OMPEnnON Tube Sl
CHEMICALS Can U.45
713 Estes Str..t
Iowa Falls. Iowa 50126
For deal.er info. write or call: 5345
Timken St.• La M.... Cal. 92041.
.
.. MAleC .
.
Most Powerful .
-II
-II
-II
-II
-II
all
!!t
:z:
W.st of Mississippi
COOPER MOTORS
110 E. Santa Anita Ave.
. BII'bank, Ca. 91502
:I
!!:
•
ft
DUNSTALL
Norton-Triumph-BSA-Honda
Wholesale - retail - also lTt8il order
LETS KEEP IT aUIET!
SUZUKI CITY
728 So. Lalilrea Il1JIewood, Calif. 90301
213)
1 674,1431
'
