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/125821
. By Gary Van Voorhis Photos by Bob Lenk N 1 ..... '" PEORIA, ILL., AUG. 5 '" Peoria has always been hot (temperaturewise), but then so is hell; that's what the 25 lap IT National was for some of the en l: w riders, yet for others it was heaven. Winner Mert Lawwill and place and show riders Ken Roberts and Dick Mann fall into the heaven category, while Jim Rice, Dave Aldana and Scott Brelsford would agree that for them Peoria was hell. The first few iaps of practice saw Norton rider, Dave Aldana, attempt to break distance records over the improved Peoria jump, going higher, further and neater than any of the other riders there and, in the process, almost busting his butt while attempting a graceful landing and getoff at the same time. Aldana thought tJie soaring was fine, but the other riders didn't agree enter one road grader and various othe,r pieces of equipment; exit nearly one foot of dirt off the top of the jump. The result was to keep most of the riders from orbiting, while Aldana kept up his search for greater heights. A short, sweltering time later time trials commenced, and when the 44 riders were through the year old track record (29:61), held jointly by Harley riders Jim Rice (BSA then) and Mert Lawwill, had been rewritten by the Yamaha of Ken Roberts with a smooth 29:56 on a (supposedly) slower track. z W ..J U > U Heats Peoria TT to Mert! Aldana (13) went the farthest over the jump and crashed the most, but Mert (71 was the man smiling the biggest in Victory Cirde. Aldana had motor problems. Roberts proceeded to win Heat one but it was not as easy as one might have expected. The main competition came from a hard charging Scott Brelsford and Dick Mann who kept Roberts on the throttle constantly. AI Koenyon and Terry Dorsch waged a battle for Eourth, with the nod to Kenyon at the flag. Jim Rice took Heat two by the largest margin of victory of the four Heats over Gary Scott and Dave Sehl. Scott ran third for the initial nine laps, then powered in to second on the only lap that really counts. Rex Beauchamp led the first lap of Heat three, followed closely by Mert Lawwill, but it turned out to be a short moment of glory Eor Rex, as Aldana'did a ground-sky belly-up performance and brough t ou t the red flag. Three cheers for David and his imitation of Aldana doing an "Aldana." The restart found Aldana going banzai again in a fu tile attempt to catch a fleet Lawwill. Randy Scott finished third, while Rex Beauchamp, in fourth, found himself on the way to the Semi. Castle Rock IT National winner Chuck Joyner held off a persistent Don 'Castro for the win in Heat four. Eddie Wirth and Chuck Palmgren staged a ten lap duel for third, with Palmgren edging out Wirth at the flag. We now switch to the motor maid review, cop complete, with long distance award, etc., following by a