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/125823
August 28, 1973 Page 24 • lXOll a , • • Three in a row with Pocono By Gary & Joanne Van Voorhis Photos by Boyd Reynolds, Dave Fitzgerald and Van VQorhis LONG POND, PA., AUG. 19 Despite a last lap seizure, a ftrecracker·hot Gary Nixon won the Pocono National road race with almost thirty seconds in hand Nixon seems to live in Victory Cirdl. Reg Pridmore brought his booming BMW home for ninth. to score his third road race win in a row for Kawasaki. Pocono overwhelms you with sheer size, just as Daytona and Talladega do. This year an ex tra mile was added to the course, extending it to 2.8 miles; however the mile they added was nothing but a WFO power straight, hinged in the middle with a relatively slow chicane. It gave some riders problems. Commen t on the track ranged from truly negative to ''let's get out and make the best of it" at Friday's practice with only a few of the detractors warming up by Sunday after two days of rubber had been laid down. The main source of gripes was ·the twisty infield that proved unforgiving to the riders wh 0 ride a ragged edge; and shiny spots that dotted the surface in spots were as slippery as ice. By the time the two Expert Heats were run off dark clouds were hanging over the track and activity resembled a fast action old time movie. It was decided that due to lack of en.trie.s (32 finally ran), it was not necessary to run a Semi and also that the Experts would run ahead of the Juniors to give the race every chance of being run. If there was ever a track that favored sbeer horsepower this year, Pocono had to be it; drafting was almost mandatory to get anywhere and if your motor didn't have it you were the first to know. The first Heat kept the crowd on its feet with the kind of racing that stirs the blood and tells you the Final is going to be one helluva race. DuHamel hole shot and led Nixon into the infield with the two opening up an immediate lead over Cliff Carr" and Ken Roberts. Art Baumann on another Kawasaki missle made up for his slow start by pull· ing into fourth by lap three. Nixon and DuHamel kept at it bre·to-tire, drafting and passing, opening a lead and then losing it. Yvon slipped by Nixon on the last lap in the esses with Nixon pulling up alongside on the banking to take the lead and then lose it in the chicane, only to draft and slingshot by on the front straight, leading DuHamel to the flag with every one cheering... and this was only the heat! Hurley Wilvert led Heat Two from flag to flag with an old familiar face seplrely in second a distance behind but working the hell ou t of the course for every extra foot and extra mile per " hour. It was none o"ther than Calvin Lee Rayborn, giving Kawasaki a scare and putting himself on the front grid row. Troubles plagued Paul Smart as he went down in the chicane and wrinkled himself while Gary Fisher sat in the pits after his ignition went sour on the line as the rest of the sparce field motored on. Ron Grant was third until the trio of Don Castro, Gary Scott and David Aldana played pass-on·by fifteen times in a real battle for third with the final order reading Castro, Scott, Grant and Aldana. The first Junior Heat ran, and ominous clouds appeared. As the first drops of rain fell it looked like it was going to be the stormy weather blues again. The bikes rolled to the grid under threatening skies but, fortunately, that's all they did as the sky cleared at least for the National before the rains came in earnest. The orange and black of Rayborn's HaJlley was all that broke the lime green stripe that stretched across the front row of the grid. Nixon, DuHamel and Hurley Wilvert sandwiched Calvin between themselves and Art Baumann. Cal got away third into the infield behind DuHamel and Nixon, holding off Wilvert until the back straigltt but kept ahead of Baumann, Carr, Grant and Roberts as the long course begin to stretch the field ou L Gary Fisher started in the last grid row but once he reached the banking he pulled out all the stops and passed 14 riders before the end of lap one. The front spots did not change until lap Gary Fisher recovered from his Laguna Seca injuries enough for third.