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/125800
... " ATLANTA MILE ATLANTA NATIONAL MILE Atlanta, Georgia september 10,1972 EX MAIN Dave Sehl Rex Beauchamp Don Castro Eddie Mulder Mert Lawwlll Keith Ullcki Doug Sehl Cal Rayborn Ken Roberts Gene Romero John Hately Bart Markel Gary Scott Mark Brelsford Frank Gilespie Jimmy Maness JR MAIN Scott Brelsford BillY Fields Steve Gardner' Ted Poovey Junior Rawls Fred Smith James Houston Steve Dalgarno Bob Bellino Mahlon Turner Wayne Bell Rob Trammell H·D H-D Yam Trl H-D H-D H·D H-D Yam Trl Trl H-D H·D Yam H·D H·D BSA H-D H·D Trl Yam' Yam Trl Tri Tri Tri Tri Yam AMA Grand National Champion for 1972: Mark Brelsford. He's Number Onel Scott Brelsford (84) won the Junior Main to further his position as top Junior of the year as the onlv vellow~later on an allov XR. " Few of the lucky fans who witnessed the inaugural running of the Champion Spark Plug Motorcycle Classic will forget that day last October. Motorcycle Weekly called it "some of the toughest road racing ever seen in this country." Popular Cycling summed it up: "It was the type of racing you had to see to believe - you should have been there, you really.should~' In case you weren't, you've got a second chance on October 1 to see the world's .. longest, toughest, richest road race...The second running of the ChamRion SRark Plug Motorcycle Classic. A blistering 250-mile road race divided into three parts. One hundred and twenty-five miles, followed by a mandatory 45-minute pit stop during which the bikes are literally rebuilt in the pits. Then, a 125-mile fight to the finish. The pit stop simply makes everybody more competitive for the final heat. How competitive? How does half a dozen lead changes per lap sound? Or a final winning margin of four inches? It all happened last year. And believe it or not, things might even be closer this year. Because every hot shoe who can beg, borrow, or steal a ride wants a shot at nearly $100,000 in prize money (plus national AMA championship points). All the great American riders will be there, ' plus a few legendary European names who only come out for the big, big money. They'll be riding some of the meanest machines that ever put two wheels on a . track. The brutal new 750cc "super" bikes that accelerate like a runaway dragster and can top 175 miles per hour. Just close your eyes and picture 80 to 100 of them on the Big O's punishing 3.2 mile road course at once. Unbelievable. And that's just the climax to four full days of constant racing excitement. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, you can watch ten hotly contested preliminary road races, ranging from blazing flat-out five-lap qualifying heats in all three classes to Saturday's 125-mile Expert-Junior Combined Lightweight feature (Kel . Carruthers topped an all-star field last year by four-tenths of a second). Plus four-hours . ,