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/125820
~ PRODUtTION M .... '" RACING ~ ui '" « " MONTEREY, CAL., JULY 28 For quite a few' years large .numbers of loyal race goers have ~ Z packed up their bikes and headed W for the "National". Particularly at ..J en ,.~ U fulI-w'eekend road race even ts, the AMA road goers show up in force, perhaps to take in a little vicarious pleasure. At Laguna Seca, in particular, hordes of Cafe racers swoop arollnd the Monterey Penninsula and up and down the Paci fic Coast Highway. This year, at Laguna Seca, those who settled on the hills had an occasional passing thought about what it would be like to be on the track, got a special treat. A little gap between "the street" and "the racetrack" was filled by Production Class racing. Bikes not unlike those in the parking lot were out racing around Laguna Seca. Production class racing has been around for a number of years and began as the proving ground for "real" racing. When a person wanted to take up road racing, the accepted manner in which to do so was to start on a slower and less expensive street machine and work up. Before long production racing began to come into its own. 'A crop of almost specialist production racers began to grow. As the racers became more serious, so did the bikes and rules were set down to keep a lid on things. While rules varied from "absolutely stock" to "anything you can buy" they generally settled into the ~'what you can't see won't hurt" category. Hence, the bikes running around Laguna Seca were required to remain exteriorly stock. No double disc brakes, stock gas tanks, handlebars mounted in the stock manner, full working lights, stock carburetion and stock exhaust. Inside most anything was okay as long as it was carved from stock. If anything, the AMA rules were more strict than normal. However, the money invested assured that the bikes were rapid. Rest assured, your stocker didn't have a chance. Two classes were. set up for AMA Production racing, a 350 and an Open class. In the 350 class, AMA Novice and Junior riders were allowed to run. The Open was the providence of the J un iors and Experts. Mike Clark has been a production racer, among other things, for quite some time and really showed his heels in the 350 class. Clarke broke to a near 100 yard lead at the Le Mans start (where you run to your bike and kick or electric start it) and steadily ran away from the pack on his 350 Yamaha. Adding excitement to an otherwise shoe-in race was Bob Endicott pushing an Action Fours 350 Honda Four through the pack to second. Endicott's Honda and a lone Harley Sprint, bringing up the rear, made up the four stroke contingency. Kawasakis dappled the middle of the field. At about lap eight another long time So Cal Production racer, Dick Fuller (Yam) nipped the slower Honda of Endicott, and Greg Hornot kept his draft to move by the weary Endicott, too. First Kawasaki came home in fifth, piloted by Allan Enge.!. The Open Production race offered more potential excitement with the likes of Yvon DuHamel and Steve McLaughlin piloting 903 Kawasakis, Reg Pridmore aboard a BMW and a host of others. After the trot across the track to his bike McLaughlin punched the electric starter on his 900 with the throttle wide open. It did not go un til he let up on the gas and DuHamel made away with the lead on his Daytona record winning Kawasaki. It was a fairly easy run away for the French Canadian but local San Franciscan Phil Franks, also on a 903, made surprisingly close pursuit. Inches off Frank's fender were Reg Pridmore (BMW) and Bob Endicott (Honda 500). During the twenty laps these three provided the exciting battle. Both Endicott and Pridmore were aboard slower machines (probably somewhat equivalent) and swapped places continually. Pridmore did a fantastic job on the BMW, occasionally coming through the "cork screw" with both cylinder head and exhaust pipe scraping the ground. Eventually Franks slipped and both Endicott and Pridmore jumped past. Then from way back Steve McLaughlin began to appear. In ten laps he moved through the pac k, past everyone except DuJ:lamel and began to whittle on DuHamel's lead. By the fmOO McLaughlin moved within ten seconds of the maybe slightly accomodating DuHamel. Endicott and Pridmore con tinued tooth and nail down to final lap, when Endicott's engine failed at the "cork screw". Phil Frank was quickly past Endicott, who was coasting down the hill. Endicott coasted down to turn nine and then pushed his bike uphill to the Finish line. Endicott, who had crashed the day before requiring hospitalization, fell down twice pushing his bike up the hill, and then collapsed at the finish line. His extra effort kept him ahead of the journalistic Ducati mounted Cook Neilson and netted him fifth place. The machinery of the Open race provided a bit more variety and inherent interest. Neilson's rapid Ducati looked out of place in Kawasaki land, and, of course, Reg Pridmore's BMW looked more out of place than any. Jerry Green piloted a 750 Laverda twin very skillfully to provide some additional four-stroke twin throbs, and a little further back was a 750 Triumph twin. Bob Bender had a nice looking Norton Production which he scarred somewhat in the "cork screw." The question is, "Where were the other factoriesr' Kawasaki made a nice little impression with their 900·s. Where was a Kenny Roberts 750 Yamaha, or a Paul Smart 750 Suzuki, or for that matter a Cal Rayborn Sportster] If the AMA could get the other factories out with some riders and machinery, Production racing could go over in a very big way. Many people' seemed interested to see a bike like' theirs motoring around Laguna Seca, but what really seemed to exci te them was seeing the ILkes of DuHamel, McLaughlin and Pridmore riding bikes like theirs. Yvon had a not-too-difficult time on his Yoshimuraed Kawasaki 900. RESULTS: Heavyweight PrOduction Race: 1. Vvon DuHamel (Kaw 900cc): 2. Steve McLaughlin (Kaw 900cc); 3. Reg Pridmore (BMW 750cc): 4. Phll Frank (Kaw 900cc); 5. Bob Endicott (Han 500cc); 6. Cook Neilson (Ducati 750cc); 1. John Green (Han 750cc); 8. Art Friedman (Kaw 750cc): 9. Oennis Pegelow (Kaw 150cc); 10. George Miller (Kaw 750cc); 11. Jerry Greene (Laverda 1S0cc): 12. Bill Judkins (Kaw 750cc); 13. Edward Brown (Kaw 750cc): 14. L. Laine (Trl 7S0cc): 15. eob Be.n~er JNor 750cc). Winners time: 27:06.14. Fastest lap; 1m 19.428'5 (86.1mph). Lightweight Production Race: 1. Mike Clarke (Vam); 2. Dick Fuller (Vam); 3. Greg Hornot (Vam); 4. BOb Endicott (Vam): 5. Allan En4)e1 (Kaw); 6. Bruce Lind (Vam); 7. Alan Barbic (Vam): 8. AI Geisler (Kaw); 9. Richard HutChins (Vam); 10. Tom Smith (Vam); 11. Brian Oakes (Vam); 12. Steve Schaefer (Yam); 13. John Haecker (Vam); 14. John Sperry (Suz); 15. Ed Meagor (Vam). Winners time: 14m 31.46s (10 laps), F="astest lap: 1m 26.5245 (79.7mph). the Phil Frank, Bob Endicott and Reg Pridmore provided the excitement here in the corkscrew. Steve McLaughlin provided a few thrills himself, moving through the entire pack for second. Mike Clarke was out of sight of the competition within a half a lap in the 350 race. ...