DeCoster sco~es again at
Mud-laden Gennan 500 GP
U
..
Maico. Ake jonsson's Yamaha waS
butchered up. The shock mounts were
beaten up so the shocks couId be
moun ted forward like the new Maico's.
The frame was chopped in to, the motor
was moved forward till it barely cleared
the fron t tire then the gap was filled in
and welded. Really a crude job, but it
worked. Yamaha had the old style
frame, the new frame, and the Ake
butchered job. Yamaha had new carbon
copy Maico forks, too. Ake tried the
German Maico forks and then the
Yamaha jobs. He said the Yamaha jobs
were better so he used them for the
race.
John Banks had a lap that was one'
second better than Willi Bauer. This was
all to change on Sunday. The rock hard
course with its quarter mile paved
se~tion was to change, as it rained all
night, into a muddy skating rink for
r--------------,r
.
I
I Please accept the enclosed dona-I
to the 48th I
Ition for $
I'SDT.
Send my souvenir
sponsor l
John Banks set fast time on Saturday on the rock hard course. but
'Sunday's rain did him no good.
Sunday's race. Willi Bauer set fast time,
Jonsson second, DeCoster third and
Banks down to seven tho
The race program had Number 35
and Number 36 as Brad Lackey and Jim
Pomeroy, as starters. Many people were
asking where were the Americans. They
didn't show. Maybe they were put down
just to draw a bigger crowd?
One thing for sure, the crowd got
we t. On the start of moto one Roger
DeCoster jumped to the lead at the first
turn with Willi Bauer second and Adolf
Wei! third. Banks got run into by a
Russian, almost lost it, and faded way
back. Lap one saw DeCoster leading,
Bauer on his tail, Aberg third, Weil
forth, Jonsson fifth, and Schutz six.th.
This is how it stayed till the fifth lap
when Weil's Maico expired. Banks was
up to seventh now and closing fast.
On lap Seven Bank's BSA was faster
down the straight than Vanyelthoven's
Yarnaha and he pulled righ t up to Jack's
rear wheel, but mud in the eyes nearly
stopped him.
Mud in the eyes was the word of the
day, taking out many a big name. Banks
went out on lap 11 blinded. Bauer took
DeCoste.r, Jonsson took Hammargren,
and so lt went to the end. Bauer first,
DeCoster second, Jonsson third,
Hammargren fourth, Van Velthoven
fifth. Many riders were so caked with
~ud you couldn't ten what they were
ndmg, much less their number.
Moto Two saw Adolf Wei! take the
lead on the start with Bauer second and
DeCoster third. Wei!, a 250 rider who
couldn't score anyway, let Bauer go by
to take the lead. Hammargren held
fourth, and Stodulka fifth. Things
stayed the same for awhile, except for
the rain. It came down harder. By now,
riders were stopping on the start finish
line blinded. Many had to be led by the
hand to the Red Cross ten t. Conditions
were really bad. Only the first few riders
had numbers you couId read. The rest
were just guessed. Then the big let down
for the Germans came, Willi Bauer
pulled in, blinded by the mud. Many
other riders stopped before the finish to
push across when the winner crossed.
Vic Eastwood's 500 AJS was one of
them. Adolf Wei! really turned it on and
took the win with a big lead over
DeCoster who slowed down on the last
lap. Maico won both motos and
DeCoster took the win. Ake Jonsson
was second, with Chris Hammargren
third.
Tommie G. Lafon.
Isticker to:
I
1
I "eme
I
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'::ad:i':di':r.=-: - - - - - - - - - - - - ..
IdlY
I
,:::.':::.'-=-e------::,"';p,--------L
.J
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West 01 MissISSIDP'
:::I
110 E. Santa Anita Ave.
:::I
BUf~nk,
Ca. 91502
HERMOSA CYCLE SBPPLY
Motorcycle Parts-Accessories
305 Pacific Coast Hwy
Hermosa Beach, Calif. 90254
213-376-7571
Hand
Washable
Stay
Solt
Othman Distributing Co.
18227 Ludlow St.
Northridge, Ca. 91324
• Riding
• Racing
• Street
GLOVES
Dealer Inquiries Invited
(2131 363-6230
jiM FisltbACk's
fAMAIIA~ JDrrJ).\J\J).\ ~
(714) 822-2252
9008 Sierra Ave., Fontana, Ca.
Ake Jonsson may ride a Yamaha this year but he Iikesto make it as much like a Maico as possible. Forks
shocks. and engine placement are very familiar.
•
