Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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THE JIM RICE BENEFIT HALF-MILE J .. !ll C> '" 0.. N .... ~ en . 0. rn rn ;: w Z W ..J U >U CANOGA PARK SUZUKI OUT prices aTe so low we can't advertise them. SUZUKI * MOTO GUZZI 7633 Winnetka Ave. Canoga Park, Ca. 91306 L.. " '· 9 --Il· WHAT PRICE SAFETY? ..::. It's Cheap When You Buy The Best From Jim Dayis Motosporl Shin "",auk Elbowpads •.... Chest protectors .. Shoulde!" pzKts .. Mooth gua«ts ••••• Knee plKh • And lot5 more available . SOLO BY BETTER CYCLE STORES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, CHECK WIn! YOUR LOCAL DEALER, JIM DAVIS, &ox 1002, Bl,lrba,.. C"ifomia 91505 new & us ESO SPEEDW ~,Y HIKES l.A.P. P.G.'s& • edsCycles ~ 1 uB S. Fallb \/1,lln Uk, Caill. 1);"0:'8 714) /28-duJB OUCATI '1fI ea-tlene't SPORTCYCLE li10nttSa H@OAKA MAICO . Jim Rice (24) heads out the Expert Main on lap 3 over Dave Hansen . by Bill Spencer SAN JOSE, f;AL., S~pt. 4, 1972 - Jim Rice is synonymous with winner at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Just to .prove it again, he won his tenth half-mile after four years. The only man th'at can say that he h as beaten Rice here with any consistency is Gene Romero who has won the last two half mile Nationals. Other than that, Rice owns the whole thing. For this Labor Day Annual, it was much the same as it has been for the past three years. Lots of Novices, a fair share of National numbers and an afternoon of great racing. ' The action started with nine Novice qualifying rounds as Mike Renslow set the pace for the nearly 100 riders. Only Ascot Novice pain t leader, John Gennai, could keep up with him. Those two were over four seconds faster in their heats than the rest of the crew. To keep the crowd in suspense, Rick Hocking brought his Schwerma Yamaha into the picture by winning his heat with the fast time. As it turned out, Renslow had changed tires from the qualifying but the slow down in time brought him back to the Goodyear and for the Main, it was all his way. The process of getting to the Main was a lengthy one but it does give the Novice a chance to run, as well as the hotshoes a chance to demonstrate their ability. Doug Schwerma, with the big swelling chest, was telling all of the greatness of these young riders as the first four were all riding his frames; the first three, r,iding twins and fourth, Bruce Hanlon, riding Jim Odom's short trac k single. So when Renslow came in the winner by three seconds over Hocking and then Gennai, no one was too surprised. It might have been a little different at the 7241 Orangethorpa BU.n11 Park, CA 90621 IE!i:I ~ ~ MEANS MONARK e. lalso Penton Maico) 17141 521-2420 ~1fI~O~ 6dim BUfW( BYE-PRODUCTS 15170 Raymer5t YanNuys, Ca (213) 780-1168 125 Carabela MX $&99°0 100cc Steen's $39900 .. 125 Montesa MX $729 00 Moto-X Boots $3750 . 7219 Westminster Ave. Westminster (71'4) 893-7057 Open Fri. Nite Till 9:00 (:"f:':~~ .-a & :JiPl ~ISHBA~K.gh··· • • • :. Yama : Triumph It : of Fontana : S.,.s '.r's S.n;e. : DKW. HODKA. BMW _ 9008 Sierra Ave. _ - Fontana. Calif. (714) 822-2252 - . .. - It It • • It end if Pat Hennen hadn't nearly high-sided Gennai on the third lap. Gennai was backing off early in to the turns and Hennen on the Mt. View Auto Stereo Bullaco, wasn't and so when Pat dove under Gennai he had to back it way down to avoid putting the two of them in to the fence. In the Junior ranks, the whole day was centered around Jim Crenshaw and his Red Line Norton. Crenshaw had spent much of his year just getting the motor and his mind set on the race scene bu t with two trips East on the big circuit, he is in fine shape and won his heat with fast time, the Main by a straigh t. With the Ascot National being on Sunday during the day, some of these Northern groove track, or blue groove, riders will fare better than the sliders than run the night stuff. Fallowing behind Crenshaw was Tom Horton, with Larry Gino holding back Tom White and Gary Lozano keeping his Yamaha together for fifth. The track wasjn very good shape and the only problem came from guys getting wide and crashing. John Ogilvie did just that and took Pat McCaul with him while Mike O'Brien spent much of the day doing overly large slides out in the marbles. The Expert affair was fairly cut and dried. All comers made it to the starting line with the exception of Bob Scally who lost his primary chain and spent the day in the stands mumbling abou t the goodies he blew up. For the rest of Photos by Jim Hayes the sbow, it was Rice with a touch of Hansen, AI Kenyon and the Bostrom brothers. Rice won the first heat over Ron Moore who was runniilg quite well. Al Kenyon rode Kris Bakke's Triumph to the win in the second heat and with just a sligh tly slower time, it looked like Al might be in the hunt for a win today. But his luck being what it is, Al wound up on the third row with three other troops and it was Dave Hansen the leader going into the first comer for the 15-lapper. Hansen held it for two laps and then Rice took command and went onto a fo'ur second margin of victory. Paul Bostrom came off the back line to give Hansen a challenge for second after going by brother Dave at the halfway point. As Paul went by on the front straight, he looked over, smiled and waved, then dropped it in to the first tum. These brother acts are really neat to watch. Dave Bostrom held up fourth with Moore getting by Kenyon at the end for fifth. Al had other problems. Just before the start of the Main, the gas tank bolt broke at the frame and super tape had to do the mend job. He was told to keep his knee together and gas 'it. While he did just that, he did it too soon and had to work from the back. This race will serve as the warm-up for ' the Race of Champions, coming October 22. No report of any jumpers entering but one never knows and with ABC on the scene...well anyway, Oct. 22, Race of Champions at San Jose.