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...... Page 26 September 11, 1973 If pill II',," III n.h· 1l1'~'I'Il' fur run ... It·"r" hllw tu fix II rur Ilrufit! ('Ull you un;u:'lI1t' II hd(\'r ,",'1I\ 1III'arll "!Ill!" llvin!.:? Anil IlIlIlak,: II ,'\"t'll II\.'th'f, thl' l'iI,\ is I.:n·~ll wh..rllt'r you dllN'Sl'1o 111 a 1',\ 1'1.. ,hllli fl,r Sllrn,~IlW .,1S!' 'II' 11,'('1111' "I work slar! YOUI' 0\\'11 ('ydl' rt'llll'r hUSlfH':'."l. No\', lhallkslll Nut'th /\nwri,'llll,lh,'!'t,'l' a ,1st, "a~y W;I:-' 10 1.:,'\ lh\' tnlllllm:yoll 111"\'11 ... It.' hllm,· In ~'uur sl"u,' 'inw. Nil 111'\'1110 quit Sl'tH",I'lr .\ OUI' Joh. I-:~I't'rls show :'1111 s!t·".hy.Sll'III'"pr:-. Ih1l1l: frllm mlnor'tulll"UPS III m:lj"r Ilvt'rhllUI:-l. .. Andersson. the new world 250 champ. won at home, Swedz"sh 250 GP to the Swedes By John Huetter ULRICEHAMN, SWEDEN, AUG. 19 With almost everybody still muttering and shaking their heads over the indignities and conditions at the Russian Grand Prix, the oUaIity For Champions ~ked By Senice!! ~R.-cEfR ~~ & Qu4/ity Motorcycle Accessories BOX-u. Torrance,Ca. •8(213)320-92&O (714) 894-2623 ~.NTON. MONARK. .. TYRAN sales - Service - Parts - Accessories 0& R Cycles 7181 Westminster A\fe. Westminster, Calif. 92683 ; ~;-~-:-,- -1 • :. Has C.omplete Lines Of Penton - ..1 CZ-lndi.Jn GlOW. Gth SI. (Box 879) Corona, CA 91720 .... (714) 737-7134. ..& 4423' 2 Rowt.:lnd Avenue El Monle. Calli 91731 (213) 445-6793 mood even in reserved, quie t Sweden was one of comparative uproar and laughter. Everything in racing is relative. The Americans and Belgians fell on their ~eads the night before trying'to do vertical push-ups laughinp; uncontrollably the whole time. But the Swedes... well, the Swedes were really pumped. They all wanted to win before the home crowd and they all had their own very good reasons. It was Hakan Andersson's first appearance in his home. country as World -Champion. Thorhef Hansen was coming off his high-flying third overall in Russia and wanted more points. And Ulricehamn is Uno Palm's hometown and home track. His re-worked Puch and determined ride in Finland surprised many observers and he couldn't look like a loser in front of his friends and neighbors_ Their reasons must have been valid because that's the way they finished. It was a Swedish 1-2-3 sweep for Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Puch, in that order. The announcer got as emotional as Swedish announcers ever get (not very) and the crowd obviously was pleased. Also, none of the three Swedes had ever looked better all the rest of the season. In time trials on Saturday, Thorlief Hansen was quickest with a berm-busting 2:34. Hakan was next with a 2:36 and won most of the practice starts. Everybody else turned tim~s. over 2:38 to qualify for start posItion. Uno Palm circulated briefly in practice just to see where the berms had actually built up - to get familiar again. He knew the turns already. Joel Robert practiced more than usual, and Sylvain Geboers seemed to be coming back on form on his factory RH Suzuki. Tit<: riders were hauled aroulJd the course in tractor-drawn wagons to be presented to the crowd with World Champ Hakan in front in an old horse-drawn carriage.· Hakan looked nervous in the bac k of the old buggy as the horse pranced spiritedly, and the organizers kicked Jim Pomeroy out of the tractor cab when he tried to drive it. Then the Swedish ,!river got the tractor stuck on an uphill and all the GP riders jumped out and pushed. The formalities were over atld 35 two-stroke engines barked and crackled up to the starting gate facing 50 meters of green grass. Harry Everts (Puc) sbowed he wasn't playing around in practicing his starts as he pulled a IO-meter lead into the s~cond. comer. Then at the top of the fIrst hJIl was a wild crash with spinning legs, wheels, and riders that caught abou t a third of the following pack_ Jim Pomeroy (Bul) had ·gotten away about tent~ and· avoided the melee. The wiry BelgIan, Everts kept the lead until the second lap when Hakan went in to first and started to pull away a few feet. On lap three, Thorlief passed Everts, going after ftllow Swede Andersson with a vengeance. Uno Palm (Puc) was in fourth. just a few meters behind Puch teammate Everts. Pomeroy started dicing wi th frequen t nemesis J aroslav F aI ta (CZ) and by rap fIVe passed him to move into ninth. A surp'!sing Sylvain Geboers (Suz), still working up his strength in his shattered leg, moved up to fifth about this time passing Master Adolf in the process_ Th~ old ~orm was definitelY visible on some of hiS faster laps, but he was not going all out all the time. Behind him were Mikkola, Ponieroy and Falta - all carving deep ru Is in the soft dirt berms. Hakan and Thorlief started stretching out a formidable lead over Everts and Palm after abou t 12 minu IeS as they eng"ged in their own private duel The two Puchs, in third and fourth, seemed about even in motor with neither rider having a horsepower advantage to rely on. At abou t the same elapsed time in to the first moto, Pomeroy's special neat-o super.trick one·off shocks started to fade. As they went, so did Jim - back to tenth as Pavel Rulev (KTV) and Falta went by him. Only Thorlief had Hakan in sigh t as the new champ once again demonstrated he can ride any kind of motocross track. But ftinsen wasn't quitting. Palm finally got by Everts after a 20-minute chase, using his intimate knowledge of the course to keep the power on a little longer through a corner. (Uno Palm was one of the very few riders .who could pass on comers on the surprisingly narrow course that had only one line through most turns.) He made it a 1·2-3 Swedish sweep out front in the first moto. Jim was definitely having handling problems while the Russian and the Czech. just ahead of him engaged in some motocross politics. Kalevi Vehkonen (Mon) went past Pomeroy and Heikki Mikkola· dropped ou t after 30 minutes of worryit;lg Adolf Weil severely. And 'so it went for the next 10 minutes. Hakan was never threatened during that time and won with about 20 ~con.ds . over Thorlief Hansen, thereby convmcmgly confirming his World Uno Palm kn_ the track by heart. Champion status. The third Swede was Uno Palm, then Everts, Weil,· Geboers, Ru)ev, Falta, Vehkonen and Pomeroy. Pomeroy's shocks were changed again between motos simultaneously changing the handling characteristics of the Pursang for the third time that day. But Pavel Rulev, back in action after losing his KTM ride for a week, wanted to improve I)is overall points and started out to do it by getting around the corner first in moto two. Thorlief Hansen and Hakan Andersson were close behind him. The front three buffeted and bounced away I with Geboers fourth and Weil fifth. By lap three, Hakan had somehow dropped back to eighth and Thorlief had the lead, looking for his first overall Grand Prix. win of ~e season. Rulev crashed, putting Sylvam Geboers temporarily in second, and Pomeroy had failed to sign.U:ican t1y improve his poor get-away posItion. It was to prove Jim's most disappoin ting show ever. After 10 minutes, Hakan had worked back up to fourth. Uno Palm was also on the move after an indifferent start Jim could not get dialed in. He wa~ ove rshooting turns and then compensating too much, coming in to~ slow and losing momentum around the' sof~ berm~ that demanded power-on racmg. It Just wasn't working for him. U~heard of for Jim Pomeroy in Grand Pnx, he was actually making slow progress around the track. After 25 minu tes of inconsis tency which saw blazing fast laps alternate with compound errors, Jim pulled off disgusted with his own performance ' or lack thereof. Out front, Thorlief was really wingin' it as he got the sign that Hakan had moved in to second. Palm started pushing Adolf Weil hard and forced a classic inside comer pass on the wise Genoan. (It does help- to know the course.) Thorlief started to tire from his own breakneck pace· and Hakan closed the gap. He finally took the lead .with about 12 minutes left in the moto as he kept the throttle on over the front jump that sent bikes nearly vertical for t 0-12 feet above the ground. Andersson's trick Yamaha hit hard, the rear end straightened out, and he was gone Mikkola· repeated the stunt a few lap~. later as he literally flew over Uno Palm's head to take third away from him as the Husky's suspension compressed to the absolu te limit. . Thorlief was going wild trying to recapture the lead from Andersson. Off the bike, through the berms on the front wheel - his pit crew signalled "More Gas!" on the straight and Thorlief pointed at his throttle hand with his left index finger indicating that the Kaw was already to the stops. But it was no use_ Hakan had the leisure to nod at the timekeepers and look at the crowd for the last four laps. With two laps left, Adolf was two bike lengths behind Uno Palm. Then he left the throttle on at the end of the straight and, spraying dirt, took fourth on the last lap. Uno's fifth was still good for third overall in front of the home crowd. • Results World ChamPionship Motocross: 1. Hakan Andersson (Yam), Swed. 1·1. 2. Thorlle' Hansen (Kaw). Swed •• 2·2_ 3. Uno Palm (Puc) SWed •• 3·5.4. Adolf Well (Mai), W Ger 5-4" 5. Helkki Mikkola (Hus), Fin. -3: G. SYI.al'; Geboers (SUZ), 8elg. 6-6. '7. Pavel Rule.... IKTM), USSR, 7:7. 8. Harry E.erts (PUC) Be19" 4-. 9. Antonln Baboro.sky (CZ)' CSSt<.. -8. 10. Jarosla. Falta (CZ) CSSR 8-' (Jim ..omeroy (BUI), USA, 13th o ••rall)' .