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CMC C.rl...... .- Winning is Everything ---...,.......,---......""""...,...------..;;; > :; ... ~ w Z W ..J (.) > (.) ...and down the hill. By Andre Ney CARLSBAD, CAL., June 25, 1972 CMC motocross started off at 10 a.m. this morning. Some of the roughest competition was on this just under two mile circuit. The Carlsbad course is quite natural and very welI main tained. The spricklers ran alI night so the track was well-soaked by race time. The race was run backwards on the west course. This made the steep dropoffs in to even hrder hills. The berms were well worn going in to the hairpin turns giving real speed for the hotshoes. Dear AMXT followers, Typical of many international motocrosses in France, La Sequiniere offered a full day of festivities. The participan ts in the afternoon program included three American riders, Bryan Kenney and two Californians: John Barclay and Michael McQueen. Many spectators came with the hope that the McQueen advertised was Steve himself, but Michael proved almost as rewarding with his flashy red, white and blue shirt and fulI brush moustache. After alI he could be a distant cousin! To open the festivities after morning practice, alI the riders wheelied down the highway to the nearest town halI on, their knobby-tired machines. This was an attention getting device to induce the townspeople to attend the race. Once gathered on the central square, riders and organizers clinked aperitif glasses to the afternoon ahead. After a two and a half hour lunch break, the next item on the program was rider 'introduction. To begin, two self-conscious toddlers were pushed to the front of the rider line-up on mini-bikes for a demonstration of France's three year-old motocross potential. Next a Salvation Army-type band started up, and the riders were led to their respective flags. . Personal introductions listing each rider's accomplishments, a round of handshakes with the big shots, and the riders were ready to stand at atten tion under a hot sun while the volunteer musicians struggled . through seven national anthems. Although professionalism in the presentation, the afternoon was turned in to a spectacle of top quality racing. The track was primarily a test of how well you could maneuver tigh t corners and avoid sharp rocks. During practice many of the riders were madly mounting old rear tires to accommodate the rough conditions. There were at I Some highlights included Mike Anderson (CZ) starting out with a 20 seconds lead to win the 500 Ex..eert moto. In the second, D. Sherman (CZ) got the early lead and I)eld it until the third lap .when Mike shot by in a short straight and then stretched out his lead. A class surprise was Chuck Minert on his BSA 500 who moved the big thumper like a greased pig and kept everyone else back to take third. The bigger bikes showed they could go, but the real riding of the day was seen in the smal1er classes. In the 125 Inter" Bob Maxwell (BuI), led the first IT least five flats during the 'course of the afternoon. ' , The strongest rider Of the day was Jan Johansson although several slight problems added up to handicapped day. As a result Christoph Specht, a German Maico super, bettered the Swede two heats ou t of three. The second heat was Specht's undoing: a bent brake pedal slowed him down just enough to lose -the overaI1 win to Johansson. Gordon Adesett, England, and Wolfgang MulIer, Germany, ranked third and fourth in front of AMXT captain Kenney .. It looks like we're back in the groove now. Bryan', hand has finally settled into a permanent bend, the Maico is fast, and the AMXT can be looking forward to an improved season. The other two Americans, Barclay and McQueen fmished out of the top ten. Barclay, whose style improves with every race, couldn't keep his Husky upright. A·colIapsed swing arm bushing kep t hi' morale righ t down on the ground. M. McQueen was obviously not accustomed to European circu~t,; a couple of severe endoes sidelined him for several laps. Nevertheless he pushed himself to keep going and finish each heat. Through the grapevine, we hear that Mark BlackwelI has had some unfortunate run-ins. Two fifty dolIar traffic fines, one blown-up Mercedes, and in Switzerland the sole of his boot felI off as he was passing a lead rider, enough hassles for a year in just two weeks! With three weeks break before the next round of GP's, we alI split for international events in different corners of Europe. We will be meeting Mark soon to plan our next assault on the GP scene. For now that's about it. Ciaco, Hot Shoe,June 15 moto, but not uncontested. Greg Poole (BuI) stayed right on his tail and never let up. Dale Baughan (Yam) was in the battle for a while. A crash on the fll'St tum of the 125 Jr. (Division II) took ou t four bikes, bu t that didn't slow the rest. For the fll'St two laps they stayed pretty tight, and then started to string out a little. The 100. had the wildest racing of alI as Ed Connors on a Honda grabbed the lead on the first moto and never gave it up. He waltzed his way through all three motos for the overall. The real battles were for second. In the fll'St moto, M. _ Pario (Yam) battled with T. Gildea Ric). In the second, Carlos Deluz Yam) grabbed second and held it despite h'eavy pressure from Pario. Pario got Deluz just before the fmish line on the first lap. The same thing happened again in the next lap. The problem turned out to be Deluz' rear brake; it was locking up. On the fourth lap he gave in to Pario and R. Glass (Hod) who had been waiting for someone to make a wrong move. CMC riders do figh t and ride hard in alI classes. AlI the riders that came off or laid it down will testify to that. l ., '. ' ~~ 'JI..... ~ '" .,1',.. . ; . '. . ':-::~~ "::'~ ~ :... ,:. ,.... ~ '.:' ::'J:'. : .,. j . , ; ..... But FeelS Minert and his 500 BSA just keep on chu911in' through. CMC Ascot By Greg Owen GARDENA, CAL., June 21, 1972 The riders and spectators were greeted upon arrival toiligh t, by massive course changes which included widening. and the addition and subtraction of various jumps and turns. CMC regular John Volkman has finally found the spotlight. Volkman put away the 125 Expert class with two firsts and a second. His only defeat came from Mike Garrett who is riding one of the sub-I80 lb. Monarks that have just arrived on the scene. _ Ossa factory rider, Dave Pessy, scorea another 250 class victory. Third place Bob Hosford was another person who was mounted on an interesting scooter. Hosford rides a four-valve Honda which really gets it on. Second 250 and first Open Expert was everyone's favorite rider, Tim Hart. I t is an interesting not that Tim borrowed a Junior's bike to win the Open class. Another Maico made the top three. This machine was ridden by Mike Cram. Bob Messer was able to sneak some Czechslovakian machinery in to round out the top three.