Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

*•••**.***•• **********~ .. ' .~ Evel Knievel presents .. . ~NDOOR SHORT tRACK~ ~ motorcycle races a .. a Ocrd.r 21 rhrs. Ii,., Entry Fee $5 .. PLUS ,.. ~, ~ •••••••••••••••••••••••••• ~ ~ .. ~ .. .. ~ .. .. ~ guaranteed $5,000 purse ,.. ,.. ~ ~ '.r'lal~, Ot.,•• C./is... ~ .. .. ~ ,.. .. ~ EVEL KNIEVEL WILL SET A NEW INDOOR It : MOTORCYCLE JUMP R.ECORD OF 14 CARS! : It ~......................... $5 General Admission Tickets available from Tickerron. clo Coliseum. Portland. Ore. ~********* * ,.. ~ .. .. ~ •••****** • .aJa Wins again! All Roads Lead to ~Big 0' Oct. 17. Prepare and beware, the troops are heading for Caljfomia for the seventh and final National AMA road race of the year. The bjg daddy comes around for the first time but has a total purse plus contingency money of more than $100,000. Prepare to see th e factory team riders do battle for the last time this season and beware of all 0 f the seasoned European riders that are heading West for that Yankee gold. Sjx times this year the money and points have been at stake. Three of the six pavement events have been decided on the last lap, or the last tum. Now it is Ontario Motor Speedway's turn to try the 165 mph fmely tuned two, three and four cytinder specials on. the 3.2 mile, 19-tum course that has yet to be touched by anthing but four wbeels in actual racing. Two of the oldest riders in full time competition lead the parade that started last March on the banks Of Daytona Speedway. Dick Mann, who switched from .. Japanese machine last year to a British job this year, and Australian Kel Carru thers, who has ridden everything bu t a Bri tish rig, lead th e hst. Mann set a new 200 mHe record, winning Daytona for the second straight year, riding a BSA Rocket three, Carru th ers fj nished 10th. Then it was onto Road-Atlanta in Georgia for' the first time and Carru thers zipped around the course with ease to win, becoming the first foreign rider to ever win a National. He did it aboard his own version of a Yamaha 350 twin. Mann was second and the rest were nowhere in sigh t. Atlanta was to be the last of the comfortable win margins for quite sometime as the next three in a row, all 100 mile events, were to be the closest national road races ever. The road races that took on dirt track type finishes started at Loudon/Laconia, New Hampshire. Carruthers and Mann were way out in front, having a pleasant Sunday afternoon dice between them in the mountains of New liampshire with everything under control and not really taxing their machines, or each other. Then Mark BrelSford found that his new Harley would indeed run more than just a few laps without breaking and decided to give the two old timers a go in the final few laps. He got going so fast he passed both Mann and Carruthers on the last lap and last tum to win the whole affair - showing Ijttle respect for his elders. Thjs was to be the first and last time a Harley would see the winner's circle, or get anywhere near it in road racing, the rest of the way. The old timers decided they would not fool around with the kjds at Seattle International Raceway in Washington, which was the next stop on the road to Ontario. It was a two rider duel from start to finish. Mann did not let Carruthers set the pace this time and led all the way for one of the few times in his career that dates back to hand shifters and foot clutches, cardboard helmets and knee high lace boots. He tore the Aussie up and won his second national road race with Kel getting his second straight look at a winner's exhaust pipe. Next came another first time event Hare Scrambles Cactus Cats M.C. Adelanto, Calif. Sept. 19, 1971 Trail Ex. Class 1st - Mitch Mayes - BAJA 100 2nd - Jim Sumners - BAJA 100 called Pocono International, located somewhere between Philadelphia and the Atlantic ocean. Mann won again and again it was won in the closing laps. Again Carruthers was second and for the fust time the salty gentlemen of paved speed had company. It was Canadjan Yvon DuHamel on his Kawasaki three. DuHamel is not a new name to American road racing, in fact he had been to every national road race this year but when the crew was not forgetting to take the covers off tl,e carburetors on the starting line, Yvon was forgetting where the comers were. Kawasaki, the HarleyDavidson ~~ oDtpBrformBrs the nation's leader in contingency money, was thinking of posting additional cash to DuHamel if he could just finish without crashing. But then a fourth place at Seattle restored faith and the Canadian came in for a well deserved third at Pocono after running over one of his pit men during a gas stop. The sixth and most recent road race was the fast and treach.erous Talladega. DuHamel, who finished 19th there a year ago, put it all together to win and destroy the 200 mile record. After four years of trying Kawasaki had their firs' national win and the French-Canadian, who doubles in snowmobiles in the winter, became the fourth rider to win a national road race this year. Mann was second and everybody continues to ask, "Won't that BSA ever break?" It appears that the answer is no as Dick has compiled the greatest high finish average in road racing history. How can one argue with three firsts, two seconds and a third in six times to the line.!! The long pull anel many laps of chasing Mann, Brelsford and DuHamel had taken a tiring toll of Carruthers by the time he got to Talladega. His wife was now serving in the pit crew and flashing signals to her famous husband. She gave him a come-in-for-gas signal early in the race. And then Ijke so many women, she changed her mind. But KeJ, being the obedient husband, zoomed into the pits, only to be told to forget the whole thing and get back out there and catch those bloody blokes. He finished 12th, the funhest down the list of h is en tire American two year career. AMA rules do not allow violence in the pits, especially between husband and wife. Next is Ontario and over 100 grand, plus one hundred bucks per lap to the lap leader on each of the 78 rounds. Also at stake is the Grand National title and who will carry the number one plate next year... unless somebody changes the number system again. Ontario will have another first. When the race is half over everybody will stop for forty-five minutes and change everything but their underwear if they don't run out of time. 1t migh t be th e answer for the longer road races over 100 mHes. At least it's worth a try and try they will with well over 100 riders expected to show up to help or hinder Dick Mann, Gene Romero and Jim Rice decide who will be top gun for 1971. The next twist to road racing may be what has been lacking for so long. . Daytona has generally been a great race for the first one hundred miles. Then the gas stops fouled up the riders, officials and fans. Ontario will feature a "Halftime" just like all professional football and basketball games. The $25-mHtion layout will also feature road races for Novices and Juniors, plus a combined lightweight road race for Experts and Juniors and a motocross for the pros on a new dirt course that is being built in the green infield. If you don't like what you are seeing on Friday, Saturday or Sunday you can always step up to one or both of the air conditioned bars that will be going full blast from the 13th through the 17th. After the sun goes down on each of the day's events a Rock band plus a radio show, ala Daytona style, will take over - just in case you are still thirsty. If you can make it to the \larkjng lot after all of the racing and indoor festivities, you will find a motorcycl~ show, with all the new '72 models featured inside a new portable facility. ext week a rundown, team by team and rider by rider. Non-D • • trucllv. T • • tlng • Fr• • 111 Come up to Jim Meyer and ..y Hmagnefluxing" and watch him choke. "It's something we're trying to get away from. If you wanl a Pepsi you don't ask for a ·Coke'. ,. In order to set the record straight. Jim Meyer and Associates, a group of industrial metallurgical consultants, will be at the Ontario race (what Ontario race, you say? Oh. come now.) with literally hundreds of doUars of rreebieli. WOTking with the 'uresco Corporation and Universal Finishing Machines, lnc.) Meyer and his crew will give {Tee magnetic particle inspectioll (lhe real mime for umagnefiuxing'") and tlourescenl penetrant inspection for aU contestants a.t the OMS events. A cleaning tank :uuI. glass bead bl.ster will also be available for the same price. The reason for this is simple: potential safety hazards and stress-part failure often can not be detected and the processes. known as Hnon-d(StI'Uctive testing") are soon going to -be the last word in serious motorcycle competition. Meyers will make for safa. racing and hopes to gain future customers. F or one not familiar with the logistics if magnetic particle inspe<=tion, Oourcsc:ent penetrant inspection. and peening techniques, a wealth of information aw.uts. .... N .go Q. .... en u o ~ w Z W ..J () > ()

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