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
DAVE SEHL SETS SIGHTS ON H-D "DIRT TRACKER" TmE Rayborn had fough t most of the race but Dave Sehl's younger brother, Doug, slipped between Keith and Cal on the last lap to take seven tho While Sehl, Beauchamp and Castro received the plaudits of the crowd, a questioning Mark Brelsford was totally ignored by all bu t his close friends. No champagne, no applause, no forefinger stretched high indicating that he was number one. By everyone's figuring the San Bruno, California, resident had reached the very top of his sport and yet Mark was unsure of that fact. Scott Brelsford asked anyone who appeared to be connected with the event, "Is Mark number one?" He never received. an answer and with darkness fal1ing the Brelsford's van was the last one to leave the litter strewn infield to return to their motel for a night of wondering. A shabby way for a champion to be treated. Monday morning the AMA confirmed that Mark Brelsford is truly this season's Grand National Champion. A belated congrats Mark. JUNIOR With the exception of pressure from fast Junior qualifier Billy Field the Junior program belonged to Scott Brelsford. Field diced with Junior Rawls through the early laps of their heat and went on to take the win while Steve Gamer slipped by Rawls for second spot. The second Junior heat was all Brelsford's as he left his outside pole posi tion to lead all ten laps. Scott held a 12 second lead over Ted Poovey at the Through the turn, Dave Sehl (16) has takim the lead. He then started to stretch it out. by Jack Mangus Photos by Bob Lenk,Jack Mangus and Gary Van Voorhis ATLANTA, GA., Sept. 10, 1972 Candaian Dave Sehl returned to his home away from home and dominated the Atlanta Mile. Seh!, who hadn't won a National this year, led the 25·mile even t from start to finish and only fellow Harley·Davidson factory rider Rex Beauchamp was able to keep him in sight. Beauchamp, who won a non·national race on the one mile-plus track inJune, set fast Expert qualifying time with a 38.59 second lap. Sehl and Gary Scott set second and third fastest times to join Beauchamp as pole position hole holders for the three Expert heats. Beauchamp ran away with the first heat after a battle with Chuck Palmgren. Palmgren had unloaded in practice after officials had moved tires out onto. the groove; he Ilad done a super job to repair the bike for the Ileat only to have a spark plug blowout wllile dueling with Beauchamp. Dave Sehl won the second heat but the real race was for second as Eddie Mulder and Gene Romero took turns drafting one another down the straigh 15. Mulder and Romero went one up on the nonnal drafting procedure as first one and then the other would reach over and grab a band full of leather and pull ...WINNING THE A RANTA MIlE Sharp readers will remember that a close-up of Team Harley was promised for this issue. Nothing could say it better than the orange and black domination of the Atlanta Mile.. The profile of the team is still on. WHILE BRELSFORD CLINCHES NO.1 themselves by. Mulder took the second spot at the end of the 10 laps with Romero taking third ahead of Frank Gillespie. The third and final heat saw Gary Scott and Mark Brelsford put on a furious duel for first. Brelsford and Scott Ilad entered the day's program with the pressure of the national number one plate on their heads. Mark had a substantial lead in poin ts ove.r Scott and needed only a 11 andfuI of points to clinch it. Scott knowing Ile Ilad to finish well to Ilold onto Ilis slim mathematical cllange pressured Brelsford from the start and got the lead when Mark when wide in tum one on the sixth lap. Mark slipped off the groove in turns three and four on the same lap allowing Don Castro to get by. Keith micki pulled even with Brelsford, but at the checkered it was Scott, Castro, Brelsford and Ulicki transferring directly to the Main. Kenny Roberts and Bart Markel fougll t for the number five spot with Markel edging by Roberts at the line. Dick Mann chose the outside pole for the Expert Semi that saw DiXie'sJimmy Maness lead the first lap with Dick Mann, Gary Nixon and Bart Markel close bebind. Bugs took the lead on the second lap only to drop ou t of the race on lap four after his wiring connectot vibrated apart. Laps four through ten produced the heaviest racing of the day as Maness, Markel, Nixon, Kenny Roberts and John Hately passed and repassed one another. Roberts finally put it all tegether to take the win with Maness, Hately and Markel taking the next three spots to transfer to the Main. Beauchamp, on the pole by virtue of Ilis fast heat time of 6.29 elected the outside pole for the 25 lap main. Dave Sehl grabbed the lead in tum one with Brelsford and Beauchamp fighting for second directly bel1ind Ilim. As the field came by the start/f"mish line at the end of the second lap it was apparent .that Brelsford's face shield was coated with more than the normal red Georgia dirt and Mark backed completely off thepace in tum two. A small crack in Sehls oil tank was Brelsford's downfall. He rejoined the race but had lost over a lap and while waiting saw that Gary Scott Ilad put a f"mn Ilold on third place. Sehl continued to stretch his lead over runnerup Beauchamp who Ilad opened up a similar lead over Scott. Castro and Mulder were running wheel to wheel bellind Scott and on the ten th lap Castro moved up to challenge Scott. The Scon-Castro duel for third continued until Gary slowed on the nineteenth lap with a sour engine. Scott continued to run but began losing positions as first Mulder and then Lawwill got by. Scott saw his chance to stay in the points battle completely disappear when he dropped out on the white flag lap. Sehl took the checkered flag with a straightaway lead over Beauchamp, and Castro took the show position a similar distance behind Rex with Eddie Mulder taking fourth to tum in his best performance since the season opener in Houston. Mert Lawwill copped the fifth spot ahead of Keith Uliciki. U\icki and Cal checkered and had started to lap slower riders on the white flag lap. Mahlon Turner took third over Bob Bellino. The Final Junior heat was the most heated as Jim Houston, Fred Smith, Rob Trammel and Wayne Bell raced wheel to wheel. Houston took the lead on the seventh leap after Smith slipped off the groove in tum one and held on for the win. The 14 lap Junior Main started off as a tIlree row affair as Smith, Gardner, Trammell, Rawls and Turner were all caugh t jumping the flag and were moved back to the penalty line. Brelsford, on the pole as a result of having fast heat time, and field raced in to tum one side by side and stayed on each other, with Brelsford leading laps one through five. On the sixth lap Field passed Scott on the back straight. Brelsford got him going back into tum two, only to go Iligh in three and four, giving tile lead back to Field. Brelsford took the lead for good on lap eigh t and held on to it to the end. Field f"mished seconds down ahead of Steve Gardner who tdged out Ted Poovey after a race long dice. The Atlanta Mile win was Scott Brelsford's sixth Junior National win of a year that saw the Brelsfords f"mish on top of their respective classes. NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS Unofficial September 10, 1972 1 . Mark Brelsford 2. Gary Scott 3. 4. 5. 6. 1299 945 Gene Romero Kenny ROberts Chuck Palmgren DicK Mann 7. Jim Rice 8. Cal Rayborn 877 870 791 776 767 660 10. Dave Sehl 11. Rex Beauchamp 12. Don Castro 13. Yvon DuHamel 14. John Hateley 15. Eddie Mulder 16. Gary Fisher 17.MikeKidd 18. Mark Williams 19. Don Emde 20. Frank GilleSpie 21. Gary Nixon 22. Kel Carruthers 23. Ray Hempstead 24. Larry Darr 25. Dave Aldana 26. Dave Hansen 27. Barry Gera&d 28. Dave smith 29. Doug Sehl 30. Bart Markel 31. Keith Mashburn 596 506 441 420 416 391 332 273 213 189 187 186 176 169 164 164 156 150 138 135 134 123 9. Mert Lawwill ~~: ~~"nn~l:r~::es 34. Terry Dorsch 35. Darryl Hurst * Grand National Champ 600 i~2 101 100