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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125736
.... '" > :; .., ~ w Z W ...J U >- U Photos by Walt Mahony CASTLE ROCK, ORE., July 17,1971 - It took seven long years of waiting and defeat but the Northwest finally got themselves their own National IT Champion at Castle Rock. The seven th annual even t again played to an overflow crowd and a new record purse of S11,000 to the riders. The thousand additional seats brough t in by the host Mt. St. Helens Motorcycle Club were gone long before the official opening of the program at 8:00 p.m. The unique event, run annually on the edge of one of the smallest towns to ever have a motorcycle race of any type, has become the annual California vs. Washington vs. Oregon IT battle. For six long years the capacity crowds have watched their local aces take a thrashing from the Californians in both the National finals for Experts and the Junior final for the second-year pro's. Last year was a crack in the solid California wall when a Junior from Oregon finally won the yellow plate fmal for the fIrst time. Washington-Oregon riders kept trying over the years but the best finish until last Saturday nil(h t by any northwest Castle Rock really packs 'em in - spectators and riders alike. Expert was a second place in 1969. The same rider failed to make the final last year but that same rider came back this year to win it all. Year after year, buried deep in the annual AMA racing annual, is the name Sonny Burres. Most of the time he is listed as the nigh-point IT rider in the nation in non-national events. He is well known in the Northwest but seldom competes in national events, except on the West Coast. Randy Scott (left) and Sonny Burres brought Northerners their first sweep at the the jump" at Castle Rock. "n without The Northwest was ready and waiting this year. Crowd favorite Mark Williams was the fastest qualifier, Burres was second. Both are Oregon riders. Burres has ridden in everyone of the previous laps later and was riding like he was being chased by a freight train. Lap eleven had Aldana's BSA going on one cylinder but he managed to hold on to the lead one more lap before being Te-passed by Burres. Then young John Hateley moved into second on lap 13 and the stage was set for the closest IT fmish in National histroy. Aldana "did his thing" on lap fourteen; going in to tum one he hit the fence full throttle. The machine sailed in to the air and flipped over five times, destroying four hay bales. That's the same tum that he challenged last year. Number 3 again walked away but the machine was a total loss. Burres and Hatdey started to pull away wi th Mann and Williams dueling for a distant third place. Williams finally nailed it down for good on the 23rd lap. The late laps found Jimmy Odom on the move and the final four rounds was a Williams-Odom duel fOT the last spot. six Castle Rock Nationals. Williams is the new ace that never rode as a Novice but was elevated to the Junior class the first time out under the old AMA political setup. As usual, things were so touglt that less than one second separated the fastest Expert from the 36th and last Expert to make the program. Fast was the word and so fast that names such as Skip Van Leeuwen, Dusty Coppage, Bob Bailey and Chuck Palmgren did not go fast enough to even make the heat races. Time trials and Novice races are run on Friday night. It was a night filled with crashes - and an indication of things to come the following night on the short, fast Castle Rock course. The first Expert heat was a battle between Eddie Mulder and Williams. Just as Williams took the lead late in the ra<:-e Al Kenyon crashed. The race was halted and Kenyon walked away - with a broken shoulder. The re-start had Mulder holding on for the win. The second heat was to be a preview of the Main Event. Burres was the close ;---;;------------- IT Nationals do not have close finishes Paul BostrDnl (461 found h-i";'.lf in an awk_rd situation as Frank G~lespie (22) and Terry Dorsch (65RI go around. but this one did. Mulder took the lead on the first lap of th'e 30-1ap feature with the 16 fastest riders. The race was stopped at the end of two laps with Chuck Joyner and Pat" MarTinacci crashing on turn one. Joyner was hospitalized with a broken arm. Before the ambulance left they stepped and picked up Don Emde who had tangled with Eddie Wirth in the semi. Both went down with machines spinning in the air. Emde's knee was severely gashed and bleeding heavily under the skin. The re-start was again Mulder in front but the riders did not complete a lap before Jim Rice went down, taking Mert Lawwill wi th him and in to the wall. Mert has a badly broken wrist. Rice had much of his machine bent but managed to replace enough parts to join the second re-start long after the flag had dropped. The third attempt at running the National final was to be the last but the action was far from over. Burres took 'the lead away from Mulder on lap six. Aldana took the lead fTom Burres two