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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125735
KENT: ..... 0> Photos by David Swift KENT, WASH., July 10-11, 1971 Dick Mann and Kel Carruthers picked ~ up where they left off at Loudon and w now their battle is 200 miles long. For Z all but the intial laps, both of the most ~ evenly-matched riders to ever hit an ~ American road race course dueled o. fairing-to-fairing until Carruthers, with half a lap to go, suffered a clunk in the transmission and gave Mann four seconds of checkered flag. Yvon DuHamel was the leader on the first lap. Cal Rayborn, who screamed in ~ 100 MIL.ES OF Last year's winner at Seattle International Raceway, Ron Grant, was the only Suzuki to DN F (out of four), his machine breaking in the middle of the race. He was able to stand on the sidelines to watch the record he set last year become obliterated by some four miles per hour. Mark Brelsford, narrowly escaping disaster in Saturday's rainy Junior-Expert event, fought with Romero before settling back to fifth, only to have Walt Fulton, Jr., snatch that away from him in the last five laps. Gary Nixon was one of the fJrst to retire when he lost an oil line and stuck a throttle slide on lap 10. Mert Lawwill exploded in the heat and had to scratch the National completely. Dick Mann, sitting precariously at the top of the standings, now has two road race wins this year with a second and a third. Carruthers has one win, two seconds, and a tenth. Both of these .records far exceeds the consistency of anyone else on the road racing circuit. AMA NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS (100 or more points) his earlier heat, beat DuHamel coming into the drag-strip straightaway and led for two laps. At that point, Mann took over and Carruthers slipped behind Mann. From then on it was a two-man show. The leaders changed places no less than 39 times during the 46-lap lOO-miler, but ironically Carruthers was . never in the lead at the line. He came within a foot or so several times, but Kel could maintain maximum speed only by drafting Mann's sharp Beeza. Rayborn and Don Emde remained in striking distance during the first dozen laps but soon moved out of contention. Rayborn was passed on lap 26 and blew ten laps later, allowing Emde to take third unchallenged. Emde was the only rider besides Carruthers and Mann to !iRish all 46 laps. Gene Romero, who won this year's 'Championship by constency, displayed more of the same by taking fourth although he was lapped by the leaders. ---... 1. DickMann 2. Gene Romero 3.Jim Rice 4.JimOdom 5. Kd Carruthers 6. Mark Brelsford 7. Dave Aldana 8. Don Emde 9. Dave Sehl 10. Don Castro 11. .T..hn Hateley 12. l>ave Smith 13.'Walt Fulton 14. Bart Markel 15. Ronnie Rall 16. Keith Mashburn 17. Ediie Mulder 18. Chuck Palmgren 19. Tom Rockwood 20. Ralph White 21. Jody Nicholas 22. Dave Hansen 23. Robert Winters Rex Beauchamp BSA Tri BSA Yam Yam H-D BSA BSA H-D Tri Tri 538 506 420 309' 293 278 262 25'9 250 235 218 I4w 194 Kaw 151 H-D 149 Tri 144 Yam 135 Tn 130 Yam 120 Tri 114 Kaw 111 Suz/NorllO Tri 107 Kaw 105 H-D 105 "A 6,lffr." .i',s ,.ti' '" CD' IS." to •• a 'Oil wa, '.r., 1.1." .. Dki M••• John Green won the SO-mile Novice-Junior Lightweight event on his self-owned. self·tuned Yamaha. One friend helps him with some of the ..,.,rk; the bike is immaculate. Gene Romero, while not spectacular roadracer, makes up for it in perserverance, which is what the Grand National Championship is all about. .Mann's best year was in 1964 when he won three road races and a TT. So far this year he has won a TT and two road races. With three left in the season, it looks as if this will be BUggs' best year yet. Carruthers scored his ninth and tenth straight victory in the Junior-Expert Lightweight 50-miler Saturday in his heat and the Main, continuing a streak that started at Daytona '70. His strategy was the same; move up front, pour it on, and finish easy. Kel built up an lI-second lead over teammate Cal Rayborn but let it dwindle to five seconds by the end of the race. Dick Hammer returned to professional racing for the first time in two years to finish a distant third aboard a Yoshirnura Honda 350. The entire race was run in the rain but only three fell off. Mike Lane Bouncing Bob happily salutes Buggs. experienced the first of a series of weekend heartbreaks by going down, and Mark Brelsford took an award-winning spill coming out of a high-speed sweeper. It had suddenly Dick Mann enters the last turn before the straightaway. well over the century mark and inches from the guardrail. Ca' Rayborn {14l had just been passed and would later blow his engine. Don Emde 1251 finished third and was the only finisher not to be lapped by I':el Carruthers 1731 and Mann.