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October 2, 1973 Page 34 The MasonlHarden Husky going hard. The allrition was atrocious By Alice Rhea Photos by Marcia Holley and Rhea JEAN, NEV., SEPT. 22 Before the race had starte.d Steve Holladay and· Pete Colbert had problems. Five" minutes before the first bike was due to go off the line Holladay discovered his rear tire was flat. Steve and the Yamaha pit crew changed the tire in near record time and Steve charged back to the starting line just in time to be flagged off in tenth place instead of sixth. By lap three the Yamaha should have bttn out of the race. Colbert only had third gear left The winnen relax afterwards. First 125 was the Deek of Cannady and Garner.. when he reached check two and with one and one-half laps to go it is a wonder they didn't fry the clutch on the silty up-hills. It took a long time, 10 hours and 50 minutes, but they finished well within the 12 hour limit and took fifth hike. More grit was diaplayed by Yamaha team Tom Smith and Terry Davis. The only problem they didn't have was flat tires. Tom joked later that they had so much air in their tires that they flattened the rocks. By the end of the first lap the forks had pumped up leaving about an inch of travel and making the team wish there was a little less air in their tires so the ride wouldn't be so rough. The vibration got to the gas tank which split the peteock, allowing as much gas to run down onto the engine as was running into the carburetor. With the tank gushing fuel all over, Smith and Davis were forced to make four stops for gas on the third lap and five on the fourth. Terry took over for the last lap, got about five miles and the chain fell off. He stopped and pu t it hack on, stopped for gas, then stopped to put the chain back on. He stopped for gas again, then for the chain. Only this time the chain was broken. On a rise, Terry spotted two spectators on bikes. Running, waving his arms, he got their attention and their help. They not only had a chainbreaker, they had a whole kit, including eight inches of the correct size chain. And still Smith and Davis came in third bike at 9:18:72 and got a trophy and some money (enough to cover the entry fee, anyway) for their efforts. I guess once people found out that Tom Brooks was entered they figured he would win it. And maybe he and Larry Roeseler could bave beat the cars - they sure were going good for the fIrst lap. But shortly after Roeseler took it out on the second lap, the DKW ate a ring and the team was ou t of the race. A t first glance four laps around the 78-mile course didn't look too difficult. The first section was a fast gravel fireroad running north from jean, right under the railroad tracks and out onto the dry lake where you could go as fast as your hike would carry you, and not a ripple to worry about. But if you weren't in the lead at this point.,You bad to slow down a little or a lot, depending on how fast you feel it is safe to ride when you can't see your handlebars for the dust. More llferoad, still super-fast and slippery and then the first silty bill. The hill was already tom up from pre-running and you needed a good hard run at it to get up_ But a couple of gullies at the base of the hill prevented the riders from getting the necessary run. Low end grunt was the only answer from the llfSt lap, and by the third lap the bill looked like a used race car lot; cars with fried clutches allover the place. . After you cross the freeway there was a lot of pretty desert scenery, but you couldn't see it for the dust. Past check three was what has to be the world's ,longest sand (gravel?) wash winding for miles past Goodsprings and check four. The wash was a real devil if you hadn't pre-nuf', because it is pretty fast and just about the time you get ready to pass a giant boulder jumps into the trail you were going to take. But the worst part was after check fIve. The road was straight, flat and fast. By the time the speeding rider sees the down arrow he is into the gulley, which is straight up and down on the sides and from three to four feet deep. Under the freeway again and there are the pits and the course leading behind jean. That is a fast section, too, but it also has a surprise. In Pop's, the bar-restaurant-service station at jean, there is a picture of a car hitting this surprise. The car is standing straight up on its nose. Danny Davis and Rick Owen (Hus) had teamed together before, winning the Dam 500 last year. It seems to be a good combination as they managed to keep the bike together (more or less) for the full four laps to take second place in the bikes. Rick got off once and Danny dropped it twice and a few miscellaneous pieces were missing when they crossed the finish line, but all in all they had few problems. Coming from his recent second place win at the Ensenada 300, Mark Mason, teamed with Scott Hardin, was favored to win. Both are local boys, not wen known outside of Las Vegas yet, but talen ted and .. determined. The carburetion on the Husky started giving them problems. Mark lmally stopped and changed the main jet and jack johnson; Mark's Ensenada 300 partner who is hobbling around in a cast from that race, flddled with the bike some more and it seemed to run better after that. Mason/Hardin took over the lead and managed to stay in front of th,e c~s for the balance of the race, commg m first bike with only the single seaters of Bobby Ferro (an ex-biker if that is any consolation), Fritz Kroyer (who won the Ensenada 300), and Marv Schmitt lmishing ahead of them on corrected time. SNORE, Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts, isn't a very. old organization, but they are prOfeSS1?nal in t heir approach to racmg. Communications were awfully good, the results were out in time for the trophy presen tarion the following day. Tom Camp, who volunteers his services and those of his helicopter at most of the big races, hauling the injured out to where they can be taken to a hospital by ambulance, became a near-victim himself this weekend when his helicopter crashed near Arden. lfom was uninjured, but the ambulance attendant who was riding with him suffered a broken leg and the helicopter is said to be a total loss. All in all it was a good race for bikes. Tom Smith said he was surprised at how readily the cars would move over to let him by and how none of them played bumper tag with him. SNORE may have a lot more bike entries next year, and that would increase the purse, perhaps enough to make it really worthwhile to haul your bike all the way to Las Vegas to race. At ieast the food is better there than in Mexico. • Results 250, 1. Mark Masonl5colt Harden ·(Husl. 2. Rick OWen/Danny O~yIS (Hus). 3. T0!"1 SmithfTerry Davis (Vam). 4. Bill Oerdlnil8ll1 Grelne, (OKW). 5. Pete Colbert/Steve Hoilaclall (Yam).