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/125791
ex> > s .., , ~ w Z W ..J U > U THE KAWASAKI SUPERBIKE INTERNATIONAL AT LAGUNA SECA. The road race that sep ara tes the llien frOIn the sup••• nen.· Make belie ve some one threw a road race and everybody came. Well, just abou t every body . The truth is, July 21 throu gh 23 some of the best rider s in the world will be comi ng to Lagu na Seca in Mon terey for the Kawasaki Supe rbike International. And let's face it, a lot has to do with the total prize fund A bulgi ng $50,OOO! Who 's going to be there ? An all-star cast! America's numb er one conte nder Dick "Buggs" Mann looks at it this way: "It is going to be a 125 mile mad dash with abou t ten guys equa lly capa ble of winning. Scary!" Acco rding to Engl and's Peter Williams who will be on a new "low-boy" chass is Norton, "I have flown over 5,000 miles for this one and inten d to make it pay!" And what does the winn er of the world's richest bike race at Imola, Italy, Engl ishm an Paul Smart, think abou t all this? "The Ame rican s aren' t bad, but give me half a chan ce and I'll cop the whol e fifty grand!" You won't have troub le recog nizin g Paul Smart, eithe r. Big numb er eight will be using his distin ctive . "hang-out" ridin g style on a factory Kawasaki. t out The Euro pean s are tough, but·d on't coun the Ame rican s that quickly, Paul. Especially an Amer. ican star like Cal Rayb orn who will be sadd ling a new alloy Harle y Davi dson and curre ntly hold s the twowhee led land spee d recor d at 265 mph. Cal paid his first visit to Euro pe at Easte r and shatt ered the fans over there by winn ing three races and crack ing two five year old track recor ds, beati ng the cream of European road racers. As world cham p Phil Read puts it, "Tha t blok e is unrea l. I have neve r seen anyo ne as forceful as Cal." Mon terey is goin g to be pack ed with stars . Like two-time world cham pion Kel Carru thers of Australia. He has raced all over the world and will be on a Yamaha factory mach ine as he takes off at Laguna. And right besid e him rubb ing elbow s for position will also be Fren ch-C anad ian Yvon DuH amel . Yvon stand s a little over five feet and weig hs abou t 100 poun ds, yet he'll be wrest ling his three -cyli nder 750 cc Kawasaki aroun d 125 miles of tortu rous Lagu na Seca track. A wild comb inatio n of skill and guts. Thes e boys are brave . They have to be! The two-day even t will start with pract ice on Friday. Then a lightw eight race as a warm-up on Saturday. Plus a "stars of tomorrow" race. On Sund ay there will be a Junior race and two short but spect acula r heat races qualifying the Inter natio nal stars for grid posit ions in the aftern oon 125 miler. So YOll'll be able to see these' ex- citing road racer s roar off the line on three separ ate occassions, not to ment ion an excit ing sideh ack race. All this, and beaut iful Mon terey coun trysid e, too. A great week end for the entir e family. And ~s one fanatic fan says, "I belie ve just bein g there I'll be a part of moto rcycl e history. The track is incre dible ! The surroun dings are breat htaki ng! And the racer s are the heaviest! Who ever misse s it is going to hate them selve s for months!" ~ out and catc h all three gIor.ous days. Friday , July 21 lOam - 5pm Gate: $1 (free with Saturd ay or Sunda y ticket) Practi ce for all classes. Saturd ay, July 22 8am - 9:30a m 10:30 - noon 1 pm 3pm Gate: $3 Practi ce Novice and lightw eight Heat Races Novice 50-mile race Junior-Expert 50-mile Lightw eight race Sunda y, July 23 8am -lOa m 10:30 - noon 1 pm 2 pm 3 pm 7pm Gate: $6 Practi ce Junior and Intern ationa l Heat races Junior 50-mile race Sideh ack race 125 mile Kawasaki Super bike Intern ationa l Award s at Royal Inn, Monte rey (Gate: 3-day combi nation $8.12- 18 year olds $2 Sat., $4 Sun. at Gate only. Military $2 Sat., $4 Sun. at military outlets only. Child ren under 12 free. Parkin g free.) THE COURSE - 1.9 MILES • SMOOTH ASPHALT 30 FT IN WIDTH THE BIG BOYS ON THE BIG BIKES FOR THE BIG M O N R