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/125795
Dick Mann's win at the Homewood Mile this weekend makes him the only active rider on the National circuit to have won a National in every type of competition on the circuit. * * * WANKEL TRIUMPH: Birmingham Small Arms Company has announced that they are going to start building Wankel engines. They purchased the manufacturing and deyelopment rights from NSU and Wankel for England. They haye been playing with the Wankel for several years. Apparently, they intend to make a motorcycle around it. This would seem to assure something of a future for BSA·Triumph: Superbike of the Future. • • • One of the many stunt jumpers, John Russell, attempted to jump 23 cars on Saturday night at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He hit the 13th car. He is in serious condition with a broken rib and possible brain damage. Sigh. * * * Our production manager's girl friend says that his washing machine honks. You read it first in Cycle News. • • • We noticed while scanning a motorcycle insurance policy application recen t1y , that machines with extended front forks pay $50 more for protection. Seems very wise. How about those machines with no front brakes (a rapidly failing style we have happily observed)? * * * Mike Jackson, Important Person for Norton Villiers, is mixing business with pleasure in Bankok and informs us that "On Any Sunday" t in his wordS. "has really gone down well with the natlyes." He sent us the following item and signed his letter, "Don't shoot till you see the white of their Thais!" • * • If a motorcyclist went riding in the jungle and found himself an awful long way from base, could he consider himself Uout in the bamboo-nies"? * * * GIVE THEM YOU CAN AWAY. Last _ek we offered 1OO'Bike Back Bags to the first 100 people who wrote in and asked for them and who promised to use them. Well, the 100 haye gone quicker than Boris Murray. No more freebies. Now you haye to pay for them. Eyerybody has one. (Well, at least 100 people do.) Now, remember, you people who got them haye to use them .. A lot. • • • Bob Endicott, Southern California road racer of note, has a cat named uWillow" after Willow Springs. * * POOP * ITEM: IMPORTANT The AMA Competition Congress meets October 9 to 12. Howeyer, representatives to it must haye their proposed rule changes submitted by August 15. So if you want to see something in a state other than the one it is presently in, you better get on your district rep right now. • • • QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I wonder how good Agostini really is" - Buzz Baty. * * * Daye Smith (the motoc:rosser) has been inyited by Suzuki to particpate in the testing of the new 400 'Zooki GP deriYatiYes. '" go « ~ w Z W ..J the GP but gOl away almost last in the second and you just can't do that with In ternational-caliber riders in fron t of you. He managed to work his way up to third behind Friedrichs and Jonsson. * * * MATCH RACE: A Belgian promoter has come up with the idea of matching World Motocross Champion Joel Robert against World Road Racing Champion Giacomo Agostini. The plan calls for the two of them to race against each other in motocross, a road race, a Trials and a payement car race (Car race?) or something like that. Joel is reported to like the Idea. Giacomo has, as yet, offered no comment. • • • MAMA MIA, THATSA SPICY MOTORCYCLE: We have recently been made aware of yet another bigh performance entry in the burgeoning 125 market. It's the new Ancillotti Scarab CR 125 Cross, winner of the 1971 Italian and Tuscan championships!! It seems to have all the goodies and, according to the Italian racers, are good-handling "quick moth as ". Six-speed Sachs engine, Cerianis and very light frame. Be the first at your track to one-up everybody with your AnciJlotti; you only need air fare to Italy to pick it up. * * * FUN NY ·I·NEVE R-LOOKED·AT·ITTHAT·WAY D'EPARTMENT: Bonneyille Is the only eyent where the AMA will allow alcohol in the pits. • • • Incidentally, Bonneville is shaping up thusly: Harley isn't going and hoping that the salt isn't right or something. Vesco, Honda, and seven other streamliners from Alaska to Norfolk, Massachusetts will be there. Vesco can go 300 mph and that is the figure to look for. We will have a preview coming along in a week or so. * * * Webster, you According to either "spark arrester" . may spell it arrestor" or "spark • • • In last week's "N ational Papers" column by Bob Read, we noticed a point made that the present National road race courses all have at least one low gear corner and that this should not be. He says that "People want to see the fast go fast, no.t the most talented gear-shifter." This statement met with a great deal of disagreement from the CN staff. Low gear corners require a certain degree of skill and a broad power band, even if they are a little painful to the 350 Yamabas and such. Anybody who saw Calvin working tum nine at Laguna Seca or Gary Fisher playing in turn six will also find this statement a bit con troversiaL ABSOLUTE LATEST: Geboers won the Finnish GP but as a pleasant surprise, Finn * Montesa in an inspired ride. Andersson wu third. That race was Sunday. * * Contary to whet Maureen Lee tells you the name of the Island is the Isle of Man - not Mann. That is the National Champ. • • • The new bigger-than-360 Yamaha dirt machines will be bere and enduring the rigors of test by the Yamaha team riders. * * * What long bair blonde racer was preparing a bar-b-que last week only to have it flare up and ignite his curly locks? There was more damage to his pride than anything else, as he now has a crew cu t. Yes sports fans, Bobby Hosford's Bell Star fits a lot loose ow. * * * Was talking to Rick Woods at the Grand Opening celebrations of his n_ employer, Premier Yamaha In Huntington Beach. What does he intend to do for the rest of his life? In part, he Intends to go from the two wheel riding to four wheel driying. Rick has had offers to driye racing cars' and believes that he will accept one. • • • That $4,000 cash purse motocross at Escape Country promises to be the first of many depending on acceptance by the riders. Jim Robinson and Earl Gross of Escape Country said that if warranted by response, the purse on the following races will be upped significant1y. * * * Loyal George Truesdale The Third, BMW freak, world trayeler and all around good guy, wants to pass on a bargain to the three or four road rider readers of Cycle News: Vetter Fairing Co. is closing out Its stock of Phantom fairings for only $100 per. Send Loyal $100 and the make and model of your ,road bike to Vetter Fairing Co., Box 927, Rantoul, III. 61866 and you won't haye to digeSt bugs anymore. If you don't believe us, call him at (217) 892·2600. . • * • The AMA-1ianctioned Mile National Dirt Track Championship originally scheduled for Arlington Park, lllinois, on September 9, will now be held September 10 at Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta, Georgia, on a one-mile track. The change of sites 'is due to the refusal of the Arlington town council to Kahlevi Vehkonen arne in second on a works .ROAO RACE (5) 1. Gene Romero • 2. Cal Royborn . 3. Gary Fisher • 4. Vvon DuHamel 5. Kenny ROberts 6. Don Emde •• 7. Ket Carruthers 8. Ray Hempstead 9. Dick Mann •• 10. Oo.e Smith .• 11. Mark Brelsford 12.·Gary Scott . 13. Fred Guttner 14. Gary Nixon • 15. Eddie Mulder • HALF-MILE (5) 1. Mark Brelsford 2. Chuck Palmgren 3. Gary Scott . . 10. Larry Oorr .. 4. Mert Lawwill • 5. Gene Romero 6. Dave Settl " 7. Jim Rice • • • 8. Don Castro •. 9. Cal Rayborn • 11. Rex Beauchamp 12. Frank Gillespie 13. Kenny Roberts 14. Dick Mann Doug Sehl •• Mike Kldd •• .500 .460 .370 .330 .240 .220 .200 .140 .125 .119 .113 .100 80 60 60 60 1. Jim Rice •.•••..•.••••••.•••••••307 2. Dick Mann •.•....••••••••••••• .25.2 3. Mark Brelsford .240 4. Kenny ROberts •••••••••.•.••••• .220 5. Rex BeauChamp 183 6. Chuck Palmgren ••••••••••••••••• 141 7. Gene Romero •••••••••••••••••••110 8. Mike Kldd •...•.••••••••••••••••80 9. ca.. SOhI •••••••••••• _ ••••••••••68 10. Keith Mashburn ••••••••.•••••••••60 11. Charles seale ••••••••••••••••••••50 12. Bart Markel ••••.••••••••••••••••50 13. John Hateley ••••••••••••••••••••44 14. Don Castro •••.••••••••••••.•••• ~31 15. Mark WIlliams ••••••••••••••••••••30 Doug Sohl 30 TT (3) 1. Gary Scott. • • 2. Mark Brelsford 3. John Hateley • 4. Jim Rice • • • 5. Eddie Mulder • 6. Mark Williams 7. Kenny Roberts 8. Dave Aldana • 9. Dick Mann •. 10. Chuck Joyner 11. Cal Rayborn • 12. Frank Gillesple 13. Dave Hansen • 14. Terry Dorsch . . • 15. SkiP Van Leeuwen SHORT TRACK (1) 1. Kenny Roberts 2. Mike Kldd • • • 3. Dave Hansen • • 4. Gary Scott •• • 5. Eddie Mulder • • 6. Gary Landry • • 7. Chuck Palmgren 8. Tad Sloan 9. Ronnie Rail • 10. Carl LeBlanc • 11. Bart Markel 12.• Robert E. Lee * Mark Blackwell, who has been campaigning the SOO GPs this year under Rolf Tibblin's coaching, has been creating a yery fayorable impression on observers of the MX scene in Europe. Mark's "sincerity" and modesty as an American motocross competitor haye earned him and the US. some friends amongst the International set. • • • CHAMPION AGAIN: He ended up in second but it was good enough to clinch the 500cc Motocross World Championship for Roger DeCoster. Paul Friedrichs, the East German CZ ace and former World Champion, beat DeCoster at the East German Grand Prix, putting his intimate knowledge of the course to good use, but DeCoster's second overall makes him unbeatable, with two rounds still remaining on the circuit. Even if Jonsson's protest oyer the British GP is upheld, DeCoster will still have the 500 world crown. That makes it two in a row for Roger and Suzuki. Bengt Aberg and Heiki Mikkola brought their super-trick lightweight 360 factory Huskys in third and fourth overall. • ~Co.ter -.actually WaD the ,rtnt .Jeg of ,430 _333 .305 .2700 .190 :188 .176 .154 .150 .138 .132 .112 • 94 · 66 · 64 MILE (3) • • • * ~ U * * * The Editor rides a commie bike! And that's the truth. Second Division Speedway racer, Jim Dancause, suffered a severely broken leg racing at Ventura recently. Cards and letters will reach Jim through 13302 Buena Way, Garden Grove, Cal. 92643 and would be appreciated. * U issue a permit for the event. "If I'd known you were dding that old hawg, you'd never have caught me." .330 .260 .250 .200 .160 .130 .121 .120 96 80 58 56 50 45 35 .150 .120 .100 • 80 · 60 • 50 .40 30 20 15 10 .9