Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

o IF ROBERT SHOW > :; .., By John Bethea . Tom Rapp, Gary Jones, Brad Lackey, Tim Hart and John DeSoto. What do these five riders have in common? It is this writer's opinion that eacb has nearly a 50-50 chance at an overall win in the Coliseum Inter-AMA Motocross Saturday night, July 8, despile the fact that Joel Robert and Sylvain Geboers top the European entry list. . Why go out on the limb like this since everyone knows Joel, who just recenlly wrapped up the 1972 World 250cc Molocross Championship is the man to beat everywhere he goes? It's simple. Night motocross is different than any other motocross you can find; and Americans have the distin.ct advan tage when it comes to racing under the ligh ts. Examine the facts and see if you, too, .agree that Rapp, Jones, Lackey, Hart or DeSoto have the right to be called "favored". The first and only night motocross to be held in International competi tion, Inter-Am, 1970, at Ascot Park had as first OA Willi Bauer (Germany, Mai). Bu t second was Rich Thorwaldson and ~ w Z W ....J U >- U Wl:lat ~thers say: VIC Wilson: head of Saddleback Park who observed the ten talive laying out the Coliseum course last week: "Anybody who wants to do well there had better be very well prepared. 1t's a spectator track and not a rider track, with its 18-inch deep walerholes. You'd better be water-proofed or you're in for trouble. "And, you'd better have your suspension checked Oul thoroughly before beading onto the lrack. It has vertical-ramp ju mps, or several drop-offs, one as high as six feet. In general, you need good waterproofIng and good bike preparation. 01 Super Joe, shown here displaying his cast. has been released from the hospital. He plans to go over 14 car..s or a separate but equal amount of distance. It will be interesting to see what the Europeans think of him. Or what the Americans think of him. Or what he thinks of the Russians. third was Jim West, both Yanks. in fact, during the second moto, West led for 20 of the 30 minutes. In the entire series that year, the night motocross at Ascot was the closest event to be held, by far. Two days later, at Bay Mare, West was Top American, in at seventh overall, for example. Europeans seldom race nigh t motocross. Because of this, they are not experienced with the differed conditions. S tarts, always importan t, became doubly important on these narrow and tigh t ligh ted courses. Passing is difficult, extremely difficult, without having a tremendous horsepower advantage. It's all rider ability and psychological willpower. When it comes to night motocross, the few Americans who win consistently have it down pat. Tom Rapp has been riding the CMC's weekly gig since its beginning several years back. He's won more than his share, especially in the 250, class. Of late, it has been Tim Hart more than anyone else in this class, but one cannot scratch off his close friend and rival, John DeSoto. John and his Kawasaki teammate, Brad Lackey, are both "Il's going to lake a very aggressive rider to experiment and see how fast you can go over the course. If be goes too slow, a rider will find himself in some awkward situations. It's similar to Lions and Ascot in that it has a few series of jumps where a rider can dear several jumps at once. But, it's all very demanding; a tigh t course with a few straights. Gearing. should be made accordingly; not like a high-speed Saddleback...except for the start. It's a higb speed start, long, but il breaks into a 90-degree left-hand, Oat non-camber turn. Two row starts of 20 riders per row. It's 60 feet wide but it narrows down to 20 reel wide, 25 at the most. "A& to Rapp, Jones, Lackey, Hart and DeSoto's chances? Count me in, too, as saying they can win overall. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at the outcome of this one." Stu Peters: NATIONAL DIGS IN .. with Motorcycle Repair Training heavy with solid basics '" Speed Tuning from the inside out! Metric, tools and equipment ... "hands-on" Bike Shop experience .. , even up-to·date Hi·Performance modifications. If you want real nuts-and·bolts ACTION .. let NATIONAL help you rev up your EARNING POWER in just 4 months. L.A. is MACHINE COUNTRY·· with over 175866 bikes for trail track or touring! Each year cycle sales soar 67.4% -- creating ~ non·stop demand for top wrenches. And here's where NATIONAL's Motorcycle Repair pays off. DeSoto will be in the game if his Kawasaki is. You'll have the know-how to move up in any Cycle Shop. Ready to match the Competition. Don't idle. GET YOURSELF UP ON THE POWER BAND with NATIONAL's all·new Motorcycle Repair. And let MIKE PATTERSON fill you in on the latest facts·· PHONE NOW! (213) 2:1~1.'tttf;1 DAY and EVENING SHOP TRAINING GI BILL APPROVED NATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOLS 4000 SOUTH FIGUEROA at SANTABARBARA AVENUE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90037 co-promotor for lhe CMC, producers of two weekly nigh t rno tocrosses. "Lights, or lack' of them, generally tend to make the tracks short, tight and twisty. But, with the extensive lighting system at the Coliseum, ligbts should be no problem. But, I feel the proper conditions to make the track stand up will be hard to get. Like, the man-made jumps; things like that. And water? They can't run a water truck over the course, only along side it; and how much water will the Coliseum officials allow to be dumped on the track. How are they going to work that? "Now. getting to those riders you men tion. Let's take them one at a time. "Hart. I would count Tim out unless be got some new equipment. If he doesn't, then he doesn't have a chance. He's been baving trouble lately, both with bis bike and with himself. He's got to get it together Ill'S!. "And DeSoto. Well, that 250 is not as bot as the 400. They still have a lot of problems to sort out. He's a charger and that makes him a definite possibility, but it will depend upon the Kawasaki staying together or not. "Then there's Rapp. Tom has been really off tune lately. He just ham't put it together for a long time. But, when he does, he is a tough man to beat. But, he's got to get it together, too. "And Lackey's in the same position as DeSoto, with that 250 Kawasaki. "I'd go with Jones. Gary seems to be putting it together the best of them all lately. Overall, even against Robert, I think Jones has the best potential. At rtight? Well, they race occasionally at rtight in Belgium, and I'm sure Joel has ridden those meetings before, but Robert has the ability to adapt quickly. Still, I'll go with Jones. The start means a lot and since you're in traffic all the time, J ones is going to be a tough one to beat. " * Kelvin FTanks: Lackey and Rapp talk and admire an unidentified fellow's Hot Hat. * * the other half of the CMC co-promoting duo. "A sleeper, and the guy I go with is Bob Hershey. He's gOl the equipment and when he's on, he smokes all of them. He's good in close quarters and that track's going to be tight - about like Lions. He could put it together."

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