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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125741
Utsey Joins Ranks of N N 1 ~ w Z W ...J C,) > C,) of the rough Hare Scrambles was Howard Utsey (left). Most of the expected top finishers had troubles, but Howard will take his win anyway. Mike Brooks (above) gets going in fine style. By Ron Schneiders Photos by Ellen Schneiders FOUR CORNERS, CAL., Aug. 22, 1971 - "It was a good course, but I sure wish they'd had another breather or two!" This was the thought of one of the two finishers from a new club called the Rim-Runners (I think), but it was typical of many of the finishers of the very tiring Huntington Beach Hare Scrambles. The non-finishers, including a couple of guys named Thorwaldson and Pfutzenreuter, probably had some even stronger thoughts about the course, but they weren't around when I got in. Actually, it was a pretty neat course. The smokebomb was about 4.5 miles away, at the foot of a small hill. That was 4.5 very rough miles. There was a bush every two feet and every bush contained a watermelon·size rock. Not much fun for the banzai boys. Howard Utsey, riding a Suzuki, was reportedly flIst to the bomb, followed by George Walker on a Kawasaki. Pfutzenretuer was already out and Rick Thorwaldson was running back about 30th, apparently having some kind of mechanical problem. He .~opped out between the flISt and second check. From the bomb the course made a fairly hard right tum and quite a few of \MIN A BELL HELMET OF YOUR CHOICE FROM ENTER NOW • Fill in Entry Blank below COMPLETE.LV. Contest ends mldnlgnt November 30.1971. Winner to be selected by drawing Decem. ber I, 1971. Notification by registered mail. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY List I ntro. $7.95 $9.95 July 25 1st Specify size and diameter of Stinger. August 1 August 1 August 8 4" "PRESTON PETTY Type" Hi-Impact. HI-Rise Front Fender. Black (l yr. 9O'ar.) 12 3/4" shOCkS, Cal-Am' Raceway. California Ascot Park, California 1st 125cc Export August 15 1st $24.95 shaft, 3 1/2" traYel, 78 lb. springs. 1st also available at Intro. prices. DAVE LONGCOR Running Springs, California JERRY oUNIVIN Pierre. South D:Jkota 1st 125cc Export August 15 JIM O'NEAL JIM O'NEAL Fernley. Nevada op.n Class August 15 ALL OTHER MODELS AVA.ILABLE. KONI, GERLING and BETOR shocks JOYCE SOYKA Oak Creek Ranch, California 1st 250cc Senior 1st 50llee Senior August 15 JEFF WRIGHT Indian Dunes, California Powder Puff August 15 S32.00/pr. 'I," DAVE LONGCOR Oxnard, California 1st 250cc Senior MavrlCk MX 11 1 /2" or RUSS AllEN 1st Powder Puff JllYCE SOYKA 1st 125cc Novic. ow.2 DAVE KOLBE August 15 $2.99 4" ASS MX flexible 55.95 hi-rise blac:,k front fender (virtually unbreakable) RICK ZIMMERMAN Cyclesports Park, Texas 1st 25llee Exp.rt August 12 $6.95 $11.95 Crabtree Cycle Park, California 125cc I·m.di.t. 1st 25llee I'm.diatll INTRODUCTORY PRICES J & R SILENCERS INS! ROD DAVIS Chappel Hill, Texas 1st 250cc Junior RUSS AllEN CMe Central Moto-Cross RICKMAN Micro 125 ~ Moto·Cross RICKMAN 250 MX Moto-Cross RICKMAN 250 MX Spans Festival Moto-Cross RICKMAN Micro 125 Melisse RICKMAN Micro 125 Melisse CMe Thursday Nite Moto·X RICKMAN Micro 125 M.tisse Can-Am Moto-Cross lilCKMAN Micro 125 Meli... Moto-Cross RICKMAN 2511 MX RICKMAN 250 MX AMA Moto-Cross RICKMAN 250 MX Hillclimb RICKMANIWesIalce B-V.1vo Moto-Cross RICKMAN Micro 125 M.tisse MOlo-Cross RICKMAN 250 MX .. ,And in the fiercely-fought CAN·AM Series. the Overall Winners in class were: NGK Spark Plugs $1.00 .48 ea. specify EXACT type (limit 3 per customer) AKRONT ALLOY RIMS Specify inch dia., No. spokes & tire size. 16-19 0 ' wh-eels 225/250 tiro 250/300 325/350 tiro 350/400 tiro 21" wheels, Add Sp~cl1y $1a.oo $20.00 $22.00 $24.00 $ 4.00 l~i.':1 make and model of M/C. Prices effective thru Sept. 30, 1971 SHOWROOM, 1420A S. Village Way Santa Ana, Ca. (114) a36·1454 COMPLETE LINE OF ACCESSORIES WRITE FOR DETAILS Customer pays freignt at delivery. California residents - add 5% Sale, Tax. Send check or money order to: THE CYCLE HOUSE Dept. CN P. O. Box 10059 Santa Ana, Ca. 92711 • CONTEST ENTRY BLANK. 1st 1st 250cc Senior 5DDcc Junior BRYAR HOLCOMB TOM SIMPSON RICKMAN 250 MX RICKMANIWesl... 500 Motisso When you join up with TEAM RICKMAN you're a member of the winning bunch, riding one of the greatest bikes going. Pick your choice from tOOcc, t25, 250, 500 or Open Class. TEAM RICKMAN bikes have what it takes to win at Moto-Cross, TT's, Hare & Hounds, Enduros or what have you. Y.ou'll find your TEAMmates out in front in western deserts, southern swamps and eastern woods. You'll also find a nearby dealer who'll put you on the TEAM. He'll give you full details. If you don't know him, ask for his name and location when you sand off for the $1. pack of "SUPERGOODIES'" with complete info , on the line of RICKMAN bikes, kits and performance equipment, Ceriani suspension and a host of other exciting products. Write: Your Age Name Address City State TYPE CYCLE OWNED zip MODEL CC's 118U the more enterprising riders cut a chunk off the course by not going to the bomb at all, but just intercepting the course abou t five miles down trail. It was fairly rocky to Check "I"; especially jf you got off the trail. Between Checks "1" and "2" we jumped in and Oilt of sandwashes, taking a couple of them several miles, some not more than a few hundred yards. One time, the trail went right up to a sandwash, then turned right very abruptly. There was a great deal of ribbon stretched across the trail. No sooner had we turned right, than we turned left again, dropped a few feet into the wash and crossed it, just making a zig-zag. I looked back to where the guy who decided to straigh ten out the trail would land. Wow! There's a 30 foot cliff waiting for you if you take out the ribbon. A guy could have Evel Knievel's canyon jump faded before Evel ever left the ground. If he survived, that is. Coming into Check "2" we crossed about a mile of dry lake that was just as flat as a billiard table, flat out, chin on the gas tank. As soon as you got onto the dry lake the guys at the check on the other side started waving these great big yellow flags, hoping they could get you slowed down enough so it wouldn't hurt much when'they got run over. Even when you wave back at them it doesn't seem to reassure them. That dry lake was the breather, all one mile of it! It was the only spot of the whole course of over 40 miles where you could rehx a bit. After our "breather" and'Check "2", we went back to hard work, crossing whoop-de-do'd, wash-boarded, rough, rotten trail for 15 miles or so, with quite a few well danger·marked spots along the way. I learned to respect the Huntington Beach danger marks when 1 blasted from a nice sandy trail onto hopeless jumble of rock in the space of about 50 feet. They had a couple of pretty good little rocky hills to keep the novices from getting bored and one single-file rocky downhill that had at least a few novices absolutely panicked. Altogether a really good course, I thought. After weeks of having J.N. and Rich Thorwaldson split· wins, when Number 65 blasted into the finish he was greeted with something like, "Congratulations, you just won first overall...Who are you?" It was none other than Howard B. Utsey, riding a Suzi 400. Following him .in, about a mile behind, was Jerome Ruyica, riding an AJS. Asked to explain his sudden rise to fame, he was heard to mutter, something like, "They handle better." But then again it might have been, ''They gotta be kidding!" Yamaha's desert fox, Mike Patrick was next, third overall and second heavyweight, followed by Bill Saltzman on a Husky. The first uppity amateur to show at the finish line was Rex Leneycle, a Husky 400 rider. He was seventh overall. The first lightweight amateur, not nearly so uppity at nineteenth overall, was Steve Bridge on a 250 Husky.. In between the two first place amateurs were Expert Trailbikers Terry Clark, Mitch Mayes, and Jack Frolich, coming in 13th, 14th and 15th overall, and right together. According to reports, Mitch was ahead at the smokehomb, but Terry had him by the gas check. Terry and Mitch ride Baja's and Jack rides a Hodaka. Brian Bennett, H.D., was the first Amateur Trailbike and Gary Charters was the first novice. Gary rides Hodaka. Other novices are also in the news this week: George Egglestrom not only took lightweight novice, but also the 125 dass novice win on a Bultaco. Second lightweight novice and flISt 250 was Alan Thomas on a Husky. Ken Pasley and David Kerstring were the flISt two heavyweight novices, Ken on a Suzuki 400 and Dave on a Bultaco 360. First girl in was a lightweight novice, Linda Griffing. This was' Huntington's first hare scrambles and it is planned to be an annual event, called the "Wild Hare." This year they drew only about 360 starters (177 finishers) which is rather a shame because their's was certainly one of the better events thrown recently. They had a lot of people flagging out on the course and a lot of special signs warning of danger,' upcoming checks and so on. They were fortunate in that the weather was ..ery I?~e f~r th:is time