Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125750
,... '" ~ w Z W ...J U >- U -Dorsch:- ~inlflly Wins at Ascot "did it, , did itl' Photos by Tim Byers GARDENA, CAL., Oct. IS, 1971 Terry Dorsch had waited a long time for a half-mile win at Ascot Park. Tonight, on the final night of the season, the first-year Expert got his wish as he topped a strong field to· win the 20-lap feature. "I did it, I did it," he happily grinned in the pits. He'd jump out of his chair and sign a few ",U tographs then bounce around the pits trying to wear off the excitement. "I've waited all year for this," and he was off again in another direction. It was indeed a sweet victory for the young Triumph rider. Mel Lacher (Nor) picked off his typically good start and broke to the point on the first lap with Dorsch holding second. J ody Nicholas, a crowd's-favorite to win the Main, held third on the Norton. Keith Mashburn (Yam), who had set fastest qualifying time earlier at 23.07, was having difficulty working through the ranks but third fastest Lloyd Houchins (Tri) wasn't and had, by the second lap, moved into second. ·The front runners diced away for two more laps until Nicholas somehow got into a tank-slapper out of turn two and slid out down the back chute. Miraculously, J ody didn't tumble over-and-over as he should have but instead just slid to a stop in the middle of the track unconscious. This may have saved him very serious injury as he only sustained a hairline fracture on the collarbone. The race was halted at this point while J ody was taken to the hospital and when the race was restarted, Dorsch grabbed the lead from Lacher and was never headed for the duration of the vent. Northern rider Mark Williams (Tri) also took advantage of the restart and. quickly took over third place passing Lacher as Houchins held second but nobody was going to pass the determined Dorsch. One of Texas' up-and-coming stars, Mike Kidd, showed his worth by holding off the late charges of Ron Moore to capture the Junior Main. Danny Kanegae (Tri) had held the lead early but on lap three Kidd had moved to the point. Danny was soon passed by Moore setting ~p the final positions. Soctt Brelsford continued to stretch his streak by rolling up two more wins in the Novice class to bring that total to 20. It is interesting to note that Brelsford's winning heat time of 2:01.81 was almost a second faster than the fastest Expert heat time of 2:02.70, which makes one wonder about the power of that 250cc Yamaha. Next year, Scott reports he'll be teaming up with his brother, Mark, and become Harley-Davidson mounted in the Junior ranks. With Steve Nichols also moving up, this pair should continue the show they've had all season at both here and at Corona Raceway. The only cycle action still scheduled for Ascot Park is the weekly motocross by the CMC on Friday nights, a few European Speedway events, and the normal season-end state championships for nalf miles and TIs planned for sometime next month. (Results on page 28) Vic ••• twood Show. ,In W •• t Co •• t Ar •• AJS works rider Vic Eastwood has arrived from England to ride some Southern California events, including the desert, and will pick up the last leg of the Trans-AMA series on the West Coast. This Saturday, October 30, Eastwood will conduct a free motocross school and will compete against local shoes the following day for a $500 purse. Cycle News will follow Eastwood during his stay and will give readers a complete report on his impressions of the American motocross scene along with an interview of the champion Ivan Shegimasa (56) had a great start but by the time the Novices reached the first turn. Scott Brelsford (84) dove in on the inside as Tom Horton (75) and John Sperry trail. 510 take the lead Coming on strong, Terry Dorsch picked up his first Expert Half-Mile win at Ascot. Dorsch Takes Corona TT Finale Photos by Dan Mahony CORONA, CAL., Oct. 23, 1971 - The AMA pros gathered under the lights for the final time this season and topped off the first year of racing with the last TI of the year. Terry Dorsch closed out his rookie Expert year in good style, winning the 20-lap final over Eddie Wirth and Tom Rockwood. Dorsch and his Ron Bonner tuned Triumph topped the field in time trials before stopping the short-lived winning streak of Mike Haney in the heat race. Haney had cleaned the boards in the previous Corona TI but Dorsch was the man this time. The second big bike heat went to the recuperated Gary Scott as he bested Wirth and Rockwood. It was Scott's lrrst time back at Corona since injuring his hand at the track. For Rockwood, it was his frrst test on the TI track near Riverside. . Haney rode a perfect race in the four rider dash and could not be beaten. Dorsch fell off trying to stop the veteran South Bay TI rider. Scott was second with Wirth third. The 20-lap final, longest yet run at Corona, had Scott out in front the first two laps. The fine Junior still suffers from trying to win all of the races on the first lap and crashed on the third round. This gave Dorsch the lead with Haney, Wirth and Rockwood close behind. Then Haney departed with mechanical troubles on lap eigh t, moving Wirth up to second and Rockwood to third. This is the way they finished. In the meantime, Scott had remounted shortly after his spill and was charging from last place. The fin·al two laps saw him move back in to fourth place, bu t was a half a lap behind the front running three. Wirth also fell off on lap 13 but it was one of those quick off and on type spills that still found him holding second to the finish. Florida's Charlie Seale was on hand for the first time but decided after practice that TI racing California style on the demanding Corona TI !rack was not for him and he called off his entry at the pre-race riders meeting. The Novice class was all Bultaco mounted Steve Nichols. Steve raced through both the heat and final in what may be his last ride as a Novice before he moves up to Junior at the start of the next season. Nichols left the doubtful outcome to e fmal as Dan White Terry Dorsch broke Mike Haney's Corona TT bid with another win. You just can't get more spectacular than Gary Scott does here-and still stay on. and Ron Powell battled all the way for the position. Powell got by in the final turn bu t White took at back as they headed for the finish line. Brother Tom Whi-te was fourth with Larry Gino runnin fifth. J .C. Agajanian is planning some daytime TI events for Corona in the coming months but no dates are definite at this time. Watch Cycle News for exact dates.