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/125808
M ~ '" '" "N r- 0) .,' ; 0 z (/) "7 ;: w Z w oJ U >- U The first vehicle to come screaming over the pass leading into Valle de Trinidad was the 450 Husky of Mickey Quade and Bruce Dunford. Mickey wheelied over the whoop-de-doos in nice f'orm and they finished third. The Tibblin/Nilsson combo proved unbeatable with speed, endurance and a 450 Husky that made it all the way, setting a new record of 19:19 for bikes in the 1000. Not to be outdone, Mike Stacey did it on the 125 Monark that was second in class. Preston Gerber rode the dark half. They must have been running within sight of each other for nearly 400 miles. How strange for the Baja, where it's rare to see another bike racer near you and how comforting to know that there's somebody else out there with you besides the, big monsters that run you over. Fourth scooter to La Pax and first 125 was the DKW with Steve Huro aboard. Eric Jensen, and Hurd, running in fron t due to an early start time bu tit never 100ked'like they would win their class because of the fast guys behind them. Tom Brooks was moving righ t along. Terry Clark on the H-D 125 was the fastest biker in Baja after he got sorted out at CP No. 1_ and started running. Bruce Baron on the 125 Honda was ahead of Clark into CP No.4 and was first 125 at that point. But then came dark and breaking and falls that cost them all time, positions or even a finish and Eric Jensen kept on running to hand over to Steve and rack up another Baja class for the little DKW and fourth motorcycle overall. Despite a major Honda effort, the Baron-Norgaard team was the only one to score in the to!" finishers. Bob Hosford and Mike Haney, both primarily smooth track riders, brought in a 350 twin sponsored by Long Beach Honda as fifth big bike. Gene Fetty finally managed to finish on the Silverthrone-Fetty 250 sometime Thu'rsday afternoon. There was no definitive report on what happened to Gene Cannady or the 350 Honda single that he was to hand off to Max Switzer. 'He was still not located some two days after the start of the race. Dave Mungen~t was out 10 miks past CP No. 1 with ignition trouble in his 250 Honda. At the handoff point in EI Area, way . down the Baja peninsula, Rolf TibbUn gave Gunnar Nilsson the lead of the big bikes and Nilsson went out into the gathering darkness and repassed Parnelli Jones for a while until the monster Bronco got back by him. Imagine a dice with a 350 HP Fork in the dark in the middle of Baja. Gunnar has got some big ones. Terry Clark handed off to Mitch Mayes and Mitch took off from CP No. 6 as fiTst 125 through that point. Tom Brooks on the DKW and Bruce Baron on the Honda were all close to him, with Baron ahead on corrected time. MitCh l:Iien' went and 'gbt btfharil so;',th' of CP No.7 and probably broke his leg. That ended the H-D ligh tweigh t effort. Clark had gone terribly fast. He was second bike through the handoff point, . allead of the Husky of Quade and the Suzuki 400 of Bishop. It's a shame that Mitch was so pumped that he roared off and got off. Meanwhile, Parnelli Jones was running away wi th the race on time. He was 'back ahead of everybody at CP No. 8. Malcolm Smith was fourth vehicle through CP No.6 and continued on in a solo run to La Paz. But it seems that he wasn't on his traditional Husky. He was in a single seat dune buggy. His leg was just",ut of the cast. Amidst the bikes that were sfill running back up the course was a mixed bag of entries; from the first-timers to the old Baja pros. There was a stock Yamaha 360 Enduro ridden by Ray s.weet and Fred Smith from Tennessee. It was out of the race by CP No.2 at Camalu. Larry Wheeler, an entry from Oklahoma, unloaded from his 450 Husky before El Rosario-and was hurt. Earlier in the day, the. leaders had been followed across Baja by a parade of Hondas (The four-strokes mO'stly had a continuous bloc of starting times.): a Lynn Wilson was the onJy lady on a bike; rode down to EI Arca on a 125 Monark. 125 Suzuki from Michigan running way back; and the four Monarks., including a 50cc Monark with Lynn Wilson, the only female' rider, aboard a 125. Long after all the bikts had come through the desert that stretches from the highway 0'1 the east coast of the peninsula to the mountainS. the Patrick/Bowers Yamaha 350 came barrelling down the road sandwiched .between two buggies and a Bronco. Mike Patrick got out of shape over the whoop-de-doos (He was cookin' right along.) and saved it while he continued the chase of the other two wheel machines. That was the last bike we saw running before CP No.2, except for a lone 450 Husky that had seized on the pavemen t and was getting rebuilt with new cylinde.r and piston back at CP No. I. He finally got going ag.ain, too. After twenty to forty hours of agony, speed, concen tration and, perhaps, a little he·althy fear, it stacked up differently for the bikes than many pre-race "experts" had it figured. Nilsson and Tibblin were first bike. of course, and third overall in the 1972 Baja 1000. They were beat in horsepower and money bu t not in courage Ron Bishop and Don Bohannon were second bike and second in the Open class_ Quade and Dunford were third with a very good ride. (Quade h ad turned in an excellellt ride on a 125 Husky in the last Baa 500 and This actually looks like a motorcycle race. Terry Clark started making up time after mechanical set backs before CP No.1. He was the fastest 125 in I ," I ' :- ~ ... ~ i, II I , 'r r Baja when he was running. I • ....