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/125790
F,l l ,... N Cll .> :; .., '" ;: w Z W ..J U > U .. ". • Three Harleys. The two factory riders, Dave 5ehl and Mert Lawwill, made the Main. DeWayne Keeter, a privateer, didn't. Clara Fairgrounds. Romero, who won his first National of the 1971 season here, did it again. today by. rolling into second place on the first lap and passing Keith Mashburn to take over the lead on lap two. The only time Gene looked back from-then on was to check ou t the distance between his Triumph and the Yamaha of Chuck Palmgren. Position changes were few after the initial few tours, but once the parade began, it was still an exciting race. By lap 10, the first seven riders were equal-distance from each other (about 20 yards each) with Romero I~ading, Palmgren second, Jim Rice third, Dave Sehl fourth, Mert Lawwill fifth, Mark Brelsford sixth and Gary Scott seventh. Both Brelsford and Scott were really the riders to watch. Both got stuffed into the Semi after a rough scramble in the first Expert heat which saw Lawwill, Rice and Rex Beauchamp transfer directly to the Main. In that Semi, Scott broke off an early charge by AI Kenyon and began to open up a lead of safe distance. But Marl< also skipped up through the frontrunners and took ou t ' after the rookie. The pace was so far that when Scott collected the checkered, it was nearly three seconds faster than the fastest Heat. Being the Semi, however, it was good only for a second row start for the fast duo. In the Main, the pair got stuck in the middle of the pack and it was Brelsford's experience that gave him the opportunities to move through the ranks, picking them off slowly but methodically. Larry Gino injured his foot two nights earlier but turned around to take fourth anyway. "I just couldn't get by those Harleys," Scott "later' said. "I just couldn't get by." As the Main closed down to the final few laps, Brelsford moved in on Rice, -got in underneath him, and moved out after Palmgren, who was making a late-race bid after Romero. But Gene, who won his heat going away, would have no part of that and began pulling away when he picked up the checkered and the eighth National of his career. Young Scott managed to pass LawwiIl to take sixth. Terry Dorsch (Tri), Race of Champions' winner here last fall, ran eigh th all the way and held off Kenny Roberts (Yam) in tl}e process, getting back at his heat race defeat. Harley's Cal Rayborn and Rex Beauchamp sandwiched'Y·amaha's Keith Mashburn in the last three slots. All 12 riders added to their points total, making the scramble for the. Grand National Championship really tight. Brelsford's third continues to hold him on top at 732 with Gary Scott still second at 612. But Romero is closing in fast at 597, having passed Roberts now at 581. Rice; who has attended only four N~tiona1s all season, winning two and finishing fourth in the other two, currently ranks a solid fifth in the standings with a definite shot at more as the circuit now heads north to Oregon and Washington the nex t two weekends, before returning to California and the Laguna Seca 125-Mile Road Race. While the Expert National was in doubt up to the point Romero took the flag, the Junior Final was never in doubt as Scott Brelsford (H-D) won by devastating his heat and Main Event foes. S,wtt, who qualifying time of 26.58, betters Lawwill's (ast Expert time of 26.61, won by more than a straigh taway after Pat McCaul (BSA) blew an engine while running second. This gave Texan Jim' Rawls (BSA) the breathing room to take second. Tom White pushed his Triumph in to third aftei a tough battle during the 14-Lap Main. The West Coast's top Junior half-miler, Larry Gino, challenged early, but midway through the race missed a shift in tum four and accidentally hit the kill switch, dropping him from third to seven tho He gobbled up lost ground and banged into fourth place right at the wire, acing out Jon Ogelvie, also Triumph-mounted. Yamaha-mounted Joe Brown finished out the first half. TOP QUALIFIERS-SAN JOSE HALF-MILE 15 EXPERTS 1 Mert Lawwlll H·D 26.61 2' Keith Mashburn Yam 26.67 3' Dave Sehl H-D 26.70 Gary Scott Tr:i 26.79 5 Cal Rayborn H·D 26.79 6' Kenny Roberts Yam 26.86 7' Jim Rice BSA 26.92 Chuck Palmgren Yam 26.93 9. Terry Dorsch Trl 26.95 10 Don Castro Trl 26.97 11' Gene Romero Trl 27.02 12: AI Kenyon BSA 27.0S 13 Frank Gillespie Nor 27.09 14' Dave Hansen Trl 27.11 15: Paul Bostrom Trl 27.19 New record; old record 27.10 set by Frank Gillespie, 1971. 4: S: 5 JUNIORS 1. Scott Brelsford 2. Steve Nichols 3. Larry Gino 4. Jim Rawls 5. Pat McCaul H-D Trl TrJ BSA BSA 26.58 26.74 26.92 27.07 27.11 Jim Rice lays it over into turn three in practice. We"'have to say it's practice because the flagman happens to be the announcer, Roxy Rockwood.