Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

TANKS TAKE co 1 ,.. en N c. ., CANADIAN CHALLENGE CUP By Evan Mower ALDERGROVE, B.C., CANADA, Sept. 5, 1971 - The misty woods around this ~ little farm town came alive witb a roar w Z as the Totem M.C. presented the W Canadian National Motocross ..J (,J Championship on. their new track at > Stampeder Motor Park. Before a crowd (,J estimated at over 4,000, a total of 242 riders from allover Canada, the Western United States, and Alaska competed for over $2500 in prize money and trophies. The Canadians' roughest competition came from the Southern California A.C.E. Racing team which took firsts in three of the eigh t classes on Sunday and went on to win the special Can-Am Challenge Race the following day. The rugged track, about a mile in length, is hacked out of a densely wooded area and is entirely rich topsoil with lots of rocks. There was a heavy rain Saturday nigh t that made the track quite muddy, and with the constant '" Ron Keys of Ontario. winner of the 250 Expert class on his Husky. drizzle during the race, it never quite dried up. Most of the A.C.E. Team thought the track was comparable only to the Mammoth Mountain track. The lOOcc class was dominated by Joe Flores Jr. of Anaheim, Calif. on his Hodaka. Flores took a flTSt lap lead in both the first and second motos, and nobody could come near him. He crashed on the fIrst tum of the third moto, and by the time he could get rolling again, was in last place. Exhibiting some of the best riding of the day, he moved up for a third place ftnish behind Glen McKenzie (Yam) and teammate Tom Hoyle (Hod), and won First Overall. A.C.E. Team member Larry Watkins rode his DKW to victory in the 125cc class. Watkins led all the way to win the tirst moto, but had to battle with teammate Bryar Holcomb. for the top spot in the second. Mechanical problems finally forced Holcomb out of the running, but Watkins had problems of his own. After being hit early in the race, he went nearly the enitre race with no rear brake. Watkins led most of the third moto, but passed the lead to teammate John Rice giving Rice third overall. Ron Matthews of Ontario, Can., took second and th e fourth spot was won by A.C.E. team member Eddie Cole. The lead in the 250 Jr. class was shared by A.C.E. Team members Joel Kyne and Jim MacDonald, both on . CZ's, with first finally taken by Joe Mcintosh of Alberta, Can., on a Husky. Kyne took the fITSt moto and placed second in the last two motos. He was leading the third but finished second after racing the last two laps with a flat rear tire. MacDonald didn't complete all three motos, and third place was won by Barry Woloshyn (Hus). The 250 Sr. class was won by Danny Amor of Surry, C.C., (Gre) in a close duel with A.C.E.'s Jeff Wecker (CZ). Wecker led the flTSt race but fell in the fifth lap finishing third behind Amor and John Huston, of Edmonton, Can., on a CZ. Wecker took first in the final two heats, with Amor taking second. Since both riders had the same number of points, flTSt overall was awarded to Amor, who had the fastest lap time. Seppo Makinen of Ontario took the Open Expert class on his 400 Husky and Bob Mutch of Chilliwack finished second, also on a 400 Husky. The official results listed Rex Turple as winning third, but Rex said it was impossible. Another major scoring error was made earlier when Eddie Cole wasn't listed in the l25cc class winners. A protest was filed and Cole was awarded the fourth place title he had earned. Bruce Lockwood of Juneau, Alaska, overall winner of last year's race, finished eigh th in the Open E"pert class. He and the A.C.E. team hit it off so well that Bruce cancelled his plans to fly back to' Alaska and rode down to Southern California with the team. Fans should be able to see Alaska's number one rider racing at Indian Dunes and some of the other local tracks in the next few weeks. The Bardahl Trophy, awarded to the best rider of the championship, was won by Ron Keys and Seppo Makinen. They were so close together that the Bardahl people decided to call it a tie. . .. .. Monday morning the sun broke John M.y~ ~1lM Il~ it;' t\qn~, winning two firsts in ~~e three h88~ ~n-~m challenge. Eddie Cole eyeballs teammate Larry Watkins during Can-Am challenge race. through the clouds during practice and stayed around for most of the day. An occasional sprinkle kept the track moist, and it didn't start getting dusty until late in the day. The Main Events of the day were the Can-Am Challenge race and the Can-Am Old Timers Challenge race with a full field of supporting motos to give the teams a break. The Canadian team for the Can-Am Challenge consisted of seven riders, each the top qualifier in his class in the Totem Invitational Series, held by the Totem M.C. The American team was made up of the top winners in each class of six race Can-Am Qualifying series held at Indian Dunes Motorcycle Park in Valencia, Calif. Ernie Alexander of A.C.E. (Alexander-Conrad Enterprises, race promoters at Indian Dunes) paid all expenses for the eight rider team to come up to Canada. The team was also sponsored by Torco Oil, California Helmets, John R. Leathers, J.C. Distributors, and Indian Dunes. In addition to the winning riders on the team, a few other local riders made the trip at their own expense. The Old Timers race got under way with a four rider American team racing a five rider Canadian team. Th e Americans were Tom Hoyle on a 100 Hodaks, Ed Poore on a 250 Bultaco, Don Withers on a 400 Husky, and Dick Foulan on a 200 Maico. The Canadians were Dick Shannon on a 380 CZ, Dave Wildman on a 450 Ducati, Rex Turple on a 400 Husky, Ridi Zacsko on a 360 CZ, and Vern Am or. Although the Americans put up a valiant effort, the Canadians were just too strong for them and went on to win the trophy. The Canadian team for the Can-Am challenge was made up with Glen MacKenzie in the 100cc class, Joe Mcintosh in the 125 Jr., Led Szmek in 125 Ex~ Robbin Dawe in 250 Jr., Bob Underhill in 250 Ex., Henry Comeloen in Open Jr., and John Maynard in Open Ex. The American team saw some last minute changes as John Rice, billed by the Canadians as the world's oldest teenager, took a bad tumble off his 400 Maico and was rushed off to the hospital. He was not seriously hurt, and after a checkup at the local hospital, John R. dragged his bruised body back to the track to cheer his teammates on_ In the first moto,- Henry Comeloen took the lead until into the fifth lap when he was passed by John Maynard. Maynard held the lead for two laps and was overtaken by Bob Underhill who won the first heat. Jeff Wecker placed second and Maynard and Comelsen placed third and fourth. The second moto was led all the way by Maynard. Finishing second was Underhill with Joe Flores right on his heels on his hot Hodaka. The Americans took third through sixth places, eighth and ninth, and 12th place, evening the score somewhat. Terry Bilton, running sixth, must have been anxious for the heat to end. He got off his bike a little early and he and the bike bounced the last 50 feet to the finish line. Still laughing and joking with his teammates, he was loaded into the ambulance with multiple fractures of the coUarbone. Maynard had the third moto all the way with Tom Simpson right behind. Underhill was third with Wecker, Flores, Watkins and Cole holding fourth Jbrougb. seventh. Jim MacDonald Jook Joel Kyne, second overall winner in the 250 Jr. class, puts his CZ through the paces at Aldergrove. over for Bilton on a big Maico and fmished 10th. The judges were still figuring as a tense crowd gathered around the finish line. Finally it was announced, the Americans had won the trophy they came 1300 miles to get. The trophy and a bottle of Canadian whiskey were given to team captain Joe Flores Jr., and a jubilant American team carried Ernie Alexander, the man who made it all possible, back to the pit area for some celebrating. The Canadian team will be visiting Indian Dunes sometime in March to try to win back the perpetual trophy. Ernie has also made an open challenge tha t his team will beat any other similar team, no matter where they come from, and you know., he just might be right. (Results on page 32)

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