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/125794
DE COSTER ON HIS WAY TO CHAMPIONSHIP ~ w Z W ...J U >- U By Strawberry Enterprises Terry Pratt story - Volney Howard photos BEUERN, WEST GERMANY,July 16, 1972 Reigning World Champion Roger DeCoster has won the two most recent 500cc Motocross Grands Prix in England and West Germany bringing his curren t box score to five wins, a ~cond and two non-finishes. DeCoster's total score after eight rounds is 87 points against 54 points for Maico works rider Ake Jonsson who moved into second place after finishing second behind DeCoster botb at the British GP last week and here today in West Germany. Heikki Mikkola was only five po in ts behind DeCoster going in to the British round, but the Finnish Husqvarna rider failed to score points in either Britain or West Germany so he has dropped to third place. World Championship points still remain as elusive as a rainbow for the Americans competiting on the Grand Prix tour this season. However, American Motocross Team Captain Bryan Kenney has twice finished 11th overall - just one position away from scoring that first point. Bob Grossi scored a 12th in his second Grand Prix start in Swi tzerland and Mark Blackwell, who is still fighting bad luck and mechanical breakdowns, has a good chance of putting America in the World Championship table at any of the three remaining meetings. Roger DeCoster's winning ride at the British Grand Prix was marred by a protest that was fIled in behalf of Ake Jonsson stating that DeCoster received "outside as istance" when he stopped on the course to inspect damage to his brake pedal that had been snapped off by a rock. The protest claimed that DeCoster's Suzuki had been held uprigh t and the engine kept running by another person while Roger cleaned mud from behind the broken pedal. DeCoster won the race on overall time after he had tied on points with Ake Jonsson. The protest was dismissed by the club on grounds of insufficient evidence. In the first of two 40 minute heats at the Farleigh Castle course in the West of England, DeCoster· raced for the first half of the moto with Maico factory ace Adolf Weil. DeCoster led the first lap but he momen tarily bogged down in the mud hole and Weil whizzed into the lead on lap seven. Roger quickly made up the 200 yard deficit, but Suzuki's World Champ and the Maico veteran raced toge!.her for several laps before DeCoster retook the lead. Heikki Mikkola started the race in third place and he was all over the track in a wild effort to challenge !.he leaders. Heikki hit a rock and pulled into the pits to straighteo his shift lever. The bearded Finn dropped back to 17th place but he had stormed back to fifth position at the finish. Ake Jonsson suffered a bad start and the wedish Maico team rider had to shuffle !.hrough some tough customers to finish third. It simply wasn't a good day for the Americans. Bryan Kenney was bummed out when his gearbox malfunctioned and he missed all but one lap of practice on Saturday. Mark Blackwell was involved in a nOf\-injury auto accident I I 2), DeCoster pulled out the overall win to further his lead in during his trip from the Swedish lactory and he was still struggling with front forks that never worked righ t since his crash in A ustria in Ap riJ. Kenney finished 26th in the first heat but dropped out of the second. Mark was going well in the first race, but he wen t over the handlebars a couple of times so he had to cool it. BRAKELESS SUZUKI In the second heat it was two times World Champ Bengt Aberg leading a tigh t pack of Grand Prix heroes on the first lap. Aberg, DeCoster, Weil, Paul Friedrichs, Mikkola, Gerrit Wolsink and Jaak Van Velthoven were all banging handlebars and criss-crossing rooster tails for three laps or more before DeCoster moved out to a 200 yard lead. Mikkola was riding wilder than ever, and finally he went down in high fashion when his handlebars hooked a fence post. Aberg also hit a wooden post, and he had to drop out of the race because of the injury to his hand. Then DeCoster hit a hidden rock and snapped off his brake pedal. He stopped to see if it could be straigh tened and he dropped to fifth place. Jaak Van Vel !.hoven, who had passed Adolf Weil, was the I"\ew leader and Ake Jonsson had once again come th rough the pack to move into third place ahead of Cerrit \Volsink. Roger was now blazing around the track without rear brakes. He jammed !.he gearbox lever in to lower gears to slow down the Suzuki, and he came around the sweepers in a broadslide to keep the bike in can tro!. Roger passed Wolsink and raced with Weil for several laps before finally slipping by. < - , , .. > .;~ • --t. '~ o-.:"::~. ~.- ~ ...,,- ..... :-~~-reo< - .... - Roger DeCoster on his way to another motocross world championship for Suzuki and himself in the 500 etass. Meanwhile, Ake had taken the lead away from Van Velt!:loven and !.he big Swede moved his works Maico ahead by more than 20 seconds. So Ake won !.he second heat and Roger resigned himself to third. But the order had been reversed in the first heat so the two riders were tied on pain ts. The tie was broken on overall time as recorded in the timing tower and DeCoster won the British Grand Prix by one second. DRY AND DEUTSCHLAND DUSTY IN One week later, here at the West German Grand Prix, DeCoster's victory today was more clear cut. Roger· led the first lap, bu t Bengt Aberg took over the lead almost immediately and both these super-stars were nying around the hard and dusty track like they were riding rockets. Dutch rider Gerrit Wolsink was jamming in third place, but East German CZ rider Paul Friedrichs was knocking at the door. Freidrichs, a 34 year old past World Champ, was blasting through the dust on a works CZ that was special from the ground up. An awesome crash on the fIrst lap tangled up several bikes and riders. English Husky rider Andy Robercon was crashed by an out of control rider, and Heikki Mikkola smacked into Andy's bike. Willi Bauer, the third member of the Maico works team, wen t over the handlebars and Adolf Weil was held up by the wreckage. Mikkola's chain had come off and by the time he was up and going he was at least half a lap back. Luckless Heikki "J had also bloodied his h and in the fray, so after a few laps he pulled ou t. On the fif!.h lap Ake Jonsson crashed in trying to pass a slower rider so now all the factory Maico riders had a lot of catching up to do. Shortly after the start, Bryan Kenney Jay in 15th place and Mark Blackwell was in 20th. After a few laps of dicing with Bengt Aberg, Roger DeCoster regained the lead and on the next lap in a high speed banked tum Aberg's front wheel popped out of the groove and he came off hard. Bengt was knocked out for a minute so he decided to call it a day. Roger toured home in a breeze ahead of Friedrichs and Wolsink. . But Ake Jonsson had powered .his way from 13th place to fourth after some exciting grip to grip racing with Van Velthoven and British CZ rider John Banks. \ViJli Bauer had dusted himself off and worked up to seventh while steady Bryan Kenney came home 13th. Blackwell, who was wrestling with a baulky gearbox made a Ii ttle progress and finished 17th. LAST LAP SURPRISES DeCoster led the second heat from wire to wire, but there was some exciting racing for all the other positions. Jaak Van Velthoven opened the race in second place behind DeCoster, and Jiri Stodulka, the Czech CZ rider, was third. Wolsink passed S todulka and J iri steadily faded back. Once again Ake Jonsson was z~ '1 I 11 S