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/125730
It> " .., " c: ~ w Z W ...J U > U Racing Returns to Harris Rancll By Bill Spencer HOLLISTER, CAL., May 31, 1971 AMA scrambles racing returned to the Harris Ranch mo torcycle park hosted by the South County M.C. and the Panoche hills rumbled as n~arly 300 District 36 and 35 riders combined for a day of fast racing on a very dusty facility. The ranch is one of the few remaining parks that caters to the motorcyclist and its layout is beautiful Riders can campout and ride unending miles of trails as well as different tracks. The upper race track was the site for today's racing which saw local favorite Da..e Bellina capture the feature 650 main event. Bellina has a chance to practice here quite often bu t his tired Triumph nearly didn't make it through the 10-lapper. District point leader John Gennai rode a sporty forty for the first time this year an~ nearly gave the class "C" Junior rider II second place berth with a fantastic ride. Bellina led the affair off with new Expert Ron Talbot in hot pursuit. Gennai worked from fifth spot at the onset to second and challenging for first on the third go-round. Gennai handles his 650 as easy as he does his 250 and made a move on Bellina in the fast sweeper. He couldn't hold it though and then proceeded to do the very same on the next corner. . The track was way too dusty for any serious passing and he appeared to have to settle for second. But then he really put on the charge and exiting the last turn they tangled. Gennai was forced wide and when he got back on the gas his cI u tch handle was loose and dangling and very hard to use. From that point he had to settle for second and let Bellina open up a very wide margin for the victory. Tony Gonzalez put on a jet assist for the start of the 650 Junior Main and had no trouble winning over Henry and Raul Sanchez. Hank had a bad start and after squeezing by his brother found too much space between his Triumph and Gonzalez' and settled for the second. Rick Hocking devastated the 500 Expert Main with a thoroughly convincing win aboard a Bandido that stole the show with fantastic slides and super jumps and wheelstands. The race had its troubles getting under way, as many of the m'l-ins did, and it took three times before it was a race. Mike Kenyon brought out Tom Butler's Bandido while Tom is touring the circuit with Mike's brother Allen and young Mike wasn't quite with it this day. In the 250 Jr. Main he tangled with another rider at the start and took a bad spill but gamely got up for another try. His efforts in the 350 Jr. were about the same as he got a late start. After three laps he regained his composure and really started to fly. While trying to pass Rich Weaver on the outside of the fast first turn, he apparently hit his footpeg and wound up in a real tank sJapper that put the handlebars deep in his solar plexis and out of the racing for the day. A real p;ame effort, though: COLISEUM CYCLE MAIL and ORDER ACCESSORY CO. ~'KAWASAKI _ ~ MOTORCYCLES 3958 E. 14th ST., OAKLAND, CAL. (415) 534-5461 94601 In the 250 Expert run Pat Brown led off the very fast pack with his newly redone 200 Bultaco and held the lead "Over Gennai for two laps. Gennai slipped underneath Brown going round the tree turn and was never headed from that point. Rick Hocking elbowed his way around Brown two laps later and the three finished in that order with Craig Fimer and Steve Hernandez rounding out the top five. Gennai extends his lead in District 36 points with this day's activities but will have to keep hard at it as both Mike Renslow andJim Foley return to the.racingscene this week after short injury holidays. (Results on page 28) Vallejo Faces Local Complaints With Fast Show By Dick Sorensen VALLEJO, CAL., May 28, 1971 Being 100 riders down from the normal sign-up, it was looking like we would be out of the Vallejo speedway arena before midnight, and with the nearby trailer courts beginning to complain because of the usual lateness of these races, it was almost guaranteed to be completed early. Practice was stopped at 7 and the races started right on time at 8 p.m. for the enjoyment of less than 500 spectators. It seems at Vallejo that the public address system always works perfectly until the races begin, and then it's either the PA system, the intercom from the track to the announcer's booth, or both go on the blink, too bad. In the 125 Jr/Ex. combined race, Jeff Davidson (Yam) jumped into the lead right from the rubber band start with Larry Drew (Bul) following. These two riders really had it out, neck to neck at every corner and on the 3rd lap Larry got by Jeff going into the infield. The 175 Novice Main was exciting. Mark Dunaway on a Yamaha-Metisse jumped right into the lead and stayed there for an easy win. But, there was a lot of action taking place behind him for second. Kel Deener (Bul) got in behind Mark on the start with Ed Jacques (Hon) following. Ed gave Kel no slack for three laps, and then on the third lap, it looked like Kel applied too much brake and Ed ran into him coming out of the sweeper into the infield, which knocked Kel down and Ed went to second. Kel recovered quickly and was back up going in fourth, and was really eating the handlebars trying to regain his second place. He was doing just that with only 50 feet between him and Ed when they took the checkered flag. With only one accident, (Mitch Nunez on a Triumph ran into the cement wall after the checkered flag, but was only shaken up), where the ambulance had to be called, the races were completed at 10:30 p.rn. much to the enjoyment of all concerned. (Results on page 28) ...--------.00 L--------. Hea[ Dispersant Pipes, Barrels, Cases, Brake Hubs. Will nQt wash off Orangevale 0 istriblJtors 9198 Greenback Lane Orangevale, Ca. 95662 (9161988·4725 Stainless Steel Foot Pegs to fit all Bultcicoi' l $10.95 Mail Order APAIR SOil' 'el,o. C,eles 2594 Middlefield Rd. Mt, View, Ca. 94040 415-961-4399 John Gennai closes in on Dan Hughes at Hollister, Calif., on May 31. FOLSOM OPENS WITH THREE TRIAL RACE DATES L.R. McDonald, AMA Commissioner of District 36, bas issued sanctions for three races to be held in Folsom. The races will be held in the Dan Russel Rodeo Arena located in the Folsom City Park. Two Saturday nights in June and one in July will be used as trial dates for the possibility of holding a series throughout the summer. June 12th and 19th along with July 17th will see the Sportsman racers back in action on the short track course after an absence of four years from the track in Folsom. Racing will be conducted in three cycle sizes and three classes of riders. 125cc, 200cc and 250cc bikes will be ridden by Novice, Junior and Expert riders. One of the new rules to be enforced at the Folsom track will be the use of silencers or mu fflers on all of the competing machines. Many of the ra'ce courses throughout the nation are going to the use of these muffling devices to try and cu t down on the noise problems in their communities. Riders are also being required to use a special tire to cut down on the dust problems. McDonald, whose district includes all of Northern Calif. and parts of Western Nevada, expects over 100 riders will be in attendance for the events. At present th ere are over 5,000 registered Sportsman riders in District 36. MOTOCROSS CANCELLED A District 36 motocross, scheduled for June 27 and sponsored by the Dirt· Diggers North M.C., has been cancelled. No makeup date has been set. NORTHERN SPEEDWAY AI Lauer has announced that Class A Speedway will begin on a weekly basis at Sacramento, Calif. 's Cal Expo beginning June 18. The regular Friday night racing card will continue through October at the Horse Show arena. Dave Gifford from England and captain of the Newcastle racing team is entered along with other prominent stars which should make the only Speedway racing in Northern California an instan t success. Motorcycle 'Demonstration' By Bill Spencer More than 1,000 high school students filed into the Monta Vista, Calif. High gym, it was Forum Day, May 9, and a lot of different field trip projects had come to the school. The idea of having the field trips come to the school was created by the students so as to have a lot of different projects set up for the students to select and get into on a deeper level, without having to leave the school grounds and keeping the expense to a minimum. The different guests introduced themselves; one guy was a hypnotist, anothe~ an underwater Scuba guy. Also included was a guy to talk on dope - and two professional motorcycle racers. Rookie Expert Al Kenyon has a couple of sisters going to the school and he was asked to put on a motorcycle demonstration..AI, in turn, asked his friend Mark Brelsford to assist and the National No.7 obliged. When Al introduced himself and his project and then his friend, the gym went into an uproar. As soon as that function was completed, the groups broke up to set up their projects. Even before the two class "c" riders could get their leathers on, the track field was crawling with teenagers, madly anticipating the seminar. What transpired should happen at every school across the nation as both Kenyon·and Brelsford demonstrated the need for safety and motorcycle riding education. They broadslided turns to show how to ride and then told the assembled that it took years to learn how to do it. They extolled the virtues of being quiet and taking it easy on the roadways. All in all, a very well done task iliat hopefully can be spread throughout the country.