Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.. N i' £>. ... '" N N :> a Z ~ This was the decider. The last moto for the International class and Mikkola (10) was ahead on points. DeCoster (17) has the inside line on the first turn and Jonsson (27) is in the lead. by John Huetter PHOENIX, ARIZ., Nov. 12, 1972 Arizona is mostly high, dry desert and mountain so, of course, it rained. Not a sprinkle, but a monsoon. Tonential downpours and high winds lashed Arizona Cycle Park aU afternoon Saturday and 011 into night. And the water trUck' continued to pour H-two-O on the track. Roger DeCoster noticed it and so diIt we. Very curious. Just befOl'C tbe promoter chewed his ~malIs to the wrist, tbe precipitation stopped, revoealinj a track that was scattered with water and covered with a layer of muddy, soft soil. The conditions for EUl'opean-style DIOtocross bad been let. Most of the overseas riders liked it, even though they didn't care too much for learning the turns during practice with both dasses on the course at the same time. Somethinc like a hundred bikes at once. 500 InterAationai After tbe Hrst International moto, it looked like conditions for a re·run of Ake Johsson's now habitual winning performance had been set. Ake got a good start and after his usual bout with DeCoster, Mikkola and, to a leger extent, the Yamaha Team of Hammargren and Van Veltltooven won the rU'St moto. The fast Film was dose to him at tbe end with 500cc World Champ DeCoster third. The European Yamaha riden seem to come OD stroag ., toward the end of a moto and did it for a four-five placing; Hamm~, the Swede, ahead of Van Velthoven, the Belgian super-teener who looks like an eighth-grader. The next rider across the line was also the fust American; Brad Lackey on the untiring Kawasaki. The series seemed to have devolved to ti)e usual formula. S tart writing Ake's name on the winner's check. Then came Moto Two. Off the ,tart, it was again Jonsson foUowed by DeCoster, Arne Kring and Mikkola. AU four of these superstars started touring the track about a bike length apart at speeds that moved the quartet way out in froat of tbe rest of the pack. Then Mikkola started to work. J 0I1S50Il couJdu't shake off any of his pursuers but Mikkola managed a series of smooth passes about a lap or two apart that soon had him running about wheel-to-tank with Jonsson. The two went bouncing around the still-muddy course at speeds that, for anybody else but a handful of riders, were completely berserk and out of control. Then a very smooth outside pass in a twisty section put Mikkola into the lead. He started to build a sligh t cushion and once he had it, kept it. DeCoster seemed to come alive this moto and also got past Jonsson. He started to chase the Finn but could not dose at the end 0 f the half bour. POOl' Jimmy Weinert. He and Gary Jones were having a nasale, circulating ' DeCoster (,37) chooses a moist inside line to lap Churavy during his chase of Mikkola and Jonsson in the second moto. Track condition was natural. What do International MX stars talk about before a moto? And we didn't even know Brad spoke Finnish. tiseyerance I!ays Off for Semics ... . . . -" . . -ThiS is'the ba' «r~ ;'rlat decided the Winner In ..,.' Support c1ass~rSemi'dI. "':;1. • , the 'l~ll ,,'1. gpl'p~.t 'DeFeo in the final 250 moto ailer'.,~ o~g._h~"""baitle, ' . , Ii . ,),""". ) - within a bike length of each other and maybe a third of a lap behind Bradley, who was again rust Yank running. Then the chain eame off Weinert', bike. He got it back on and started to move again and then lost it again. Jones kept on moving (or his best fmish of th( day: tenth to Brad's seventh and second American. Weinert ended up pushing his bike up tbe hill to the finish in company with Tim Hart, who had earlier lost his expansion chamber. Moto Two belonged to Mikkola. He never seemed to be in trouble and had the lead in points going into the fmal round. A. the International class lined up for the decider, the sun started peeking out at more ftequent intervals. That and the' cool breeze we« drying the track into a nice, deep loam which built up into useable, solid benns. There was still lots of standing water. This was it, for all the marbles. Mikkola had three points; Jonsson, four; DeCoster, five. N.obody gave the World Champ much hope so long as either the Swede or the Finn stayed ruDDing, however. At tile gate arop, It was DeCoder into the first turn with a very dean start on his fa9otoed iDside line. But within two lar-.J- and Mikkola Ja.t both passed b.ia. They went in that order for lIIIOdIcr few ~ of tbc 1.2 -.ile ~ dIaa ........aIIbelI tile 1e3d. paning Ate drwtetialDy over a jump. Cbeen went up &om all invohed CNWcI. Heikki hid . . JaIl fQI: qu1ee & wIliIe thea-· ~ - • (" J J.,.... t , "

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