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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125829
October 9,1973 Page 40 Roberts leads Combined Wes Cooley scored a long distance victory. It ended at the flag like this; Carruthen leads his teammate. Castro. ONTARIO, CAL., SEPT. 29 Kenny Roberts, the new National champ, has never won a National road race, but he has won most of the Lightweight Combined events. this season. Today he did it again. . This was the last race where the Kawasaki singles had a chance of beating the Yamaha twins because next year the Yamaha 250's will be water cooled. But Kawasaki's chances at Ontario weren't too good because of the long front straight that made their lack of power a significant disadvantage. Things weren't helped any as Art Baumann on one of the two team Bighorns got away fourth from last as Gary Fisher led the pack through the flfst lap. Gary Nixon on 'a Noguchi Yamaha displaced Roberts for second and then took the lead from Fisher. !toberts took the lead at the end of the infield' a while later as Don Castro moved up to second with DuHamel coming along on the only Kawasaki in contention. DuHamel made his move in t1ie infield, taking the lead briefly until the straight came up and the Yamahas went by. Roberts and Castro pulled away from the Kawasaki and Roberts began to open it up a bit on his teammate. Fisher and Kel'Carruthers passed DuHamel to give the Yamaha team the first four places. Nixon, DuHamel, and that amazing rookie, Steve Baker, were still in contention for third, however. Baker slipped by DuHamel on lap five, and Carruthers and Fisher dueled for third. The five rider fight got interesting a few laps later. DuHamel came from the back of the five to lead only to have all four of his companions repass him. Fisher now held third until Nixon took it for a moment. A short while later Nixon retired with a gearbox leak. The duel of the five had brought them to within striking range of Castro in second. Carruthers pulled away from the other three Baker and DuHamel were swapping fifth place about twice a lap and took up the chase, overtaking Castro at about a second per lap. On lap 17 the struggle finally broke up. Fisher pulled away and Baker shook DuHamel. A few laps later Yvon's scooter broke and he was out. A tten tion was turned to the Carruthers-Castro battle as Carruthers caught his teammate and passed him at the end of the front straight, and began to trade the position every few laps, losing in traffic, gaining by slipstreaming. The last lap was a thriller in the last half of the infield, in turn 10, the pair, 'running tigh tly together, came up on a slower rider. Carruthers wen t to one side, Castro the other. Space was very, very' Iitnited for a moment. "We both locked up our brakes and I thou,gh t Kel was going to eat it," said Castro later. Kel didn't eat it. In fact, he emerged in front of Don, 'who pulled along side of him in turn 15, only to lose again in 16. , Kel emerged from turn 19 with just enough ground to keep Castro from slipstreaming by him on their way to the checkered flag, well behind winner Roberts. A ways back Gary Fisher made it 100 percent for the Yamaha team by taking fourth. In the meantime, Steve Baker was having some trouble. His bike quit on the last lap and he ended up pushing across just after Art Baumann, who had started well down, came across the line in seventh behind Jim Dunn in fifth and James Allen in sixth. • Results: 1. Kenny Roberts (Yam); 2. Kel Carruthers (Yam): 3. Don Castro (Yam); 4. Gary Fisher am>; 5. Jim Dunn (Yam); 6. James Allen Yam): 7. Art Baumann (Kaw); 8. Steve Belan [ Yam); 9. C.onrad Utbanowskl (Yam): 10. Ike Devlin (Yam); 11. Dave Smith lVam}; 12. Harry Cone (Vam); 13. Ron Pierce Vam}: 14. Asao Inami (Vam); 15. Alan Sad don Yam); 16. David WatkinS (vam); 17. Bruce [ Ind (Vam); 18. Wade Klllon (Vam); 19. Alan Barbie (Yam); 20. vvon OuHamel (Kaw). 'Time 1,26.56 (86.344 MPH) Cool· Cooley wins Novice ONTARIO, CAL., SEPT. 29 If anyone has the qualifications to be a successful road racer it's Wes Cooley, whose father runs the ACA, a Southern California road racing association of long standing. This year, however, the N()vice class has been dominated mostly by Jay Levingston. Cooley was one of the few riders to break Levingston's Novic.e road face dotnination when he won at Dallas. But today Levingston was absent, and a rustling of hope spread through the Novice class. _ Walt Foster had a bad day beginning with the first heat. He led until he fell in turn 19. He got up to finish sixth, but the win went to Tom Carrol, followed by Bill Peters and Rohn IshnaeI. The second five-lap heat was a runaway for Cooley who had a tremendous lead over Kevin Stafford and Richard Seifried. All the leaders were riding Yamahas. A t this point it ,looked like Cooley's race. But Cooley's engine wasn't running cleanly in tnid-range and he made a poor start. He wasn't as bad off as Foster, however, who was delayed almost a lap before he got running. It was Kevin Stafford who led the flfst lap with Ishnael challenging for the lead. Peters was third followed by Cooley until he took third iIi the 12 through 15 left hand series of turns. As Ishnael opened up a lead on Stafford, Cooley caught Stafford and passed him just before the infield straight, but Stafford s1ipstreamed back into second. On the straights Cooley seemed to be lacking for power slightly. But by lap 5, Cooley had taken over second and was closing on Ishnael. Just as they began to lap slower riders, Cooley too k the lead in turn I 5 , only to lose it again on the straight. Wes was back in to the lead in turn 9 and opened it up '!s IshnaeJ slowed slightly, allowing Stafford to take second. By lap 10 Rohn Ishnael had slipped to fifth as his engine continued to sour, allowing John Sloimine and Richard Seifried to pass him and begin to dice for third. lshnael finally retired a few laps later. As Cooley opened up his lead, Pat Klein and Skip Aksland began to debate the ownership of fifth spot. After a while they were joined by Whitney Blakeslee, the only rider to figure in the race who was riding anything but a Yamaha. Blakeslee rides a Kawasaki Bighorn that was giving back to the Yamahas on the straight most of what it was making up on the infi,e1d. The fifth place contest was finally settled in favor of Klein, but Aksland was dropped to seventh by the late lap charge of Bill Peters to sixth. Blakeslee finished eighth. Cooley, . way out in front, wasn't having any of it. In the closing laps of the race Wes overtook Walt Foster and lapped him. Foster put on a burst of speed and unlapped himself. For a moment it looked as though Wes might be sucked into racing with Foster, but cool Cooley let him go. Cooley's father hung out a pit sign: "I love you-Dad", and Wes took the checkers. • Results: The scrap for second started like this with Roberts (SO) going 1JWttV••• 1. Wes Cooley (Vam); 2. Kevin Stafford (Vam); 3. Richard SelfrHtd \vam); 4. John Solimine (Vam); 5. Pat K ein (vam); 6. William Peters Jr. \Vam); 7. Skip Aksland (Vam); 8. Whitney B akesl. . (Kaw); 9. Robert Hartley (Vam); 10. Ken Botham (Vam); 11. Tommy Bright (Vam); 12. Phil Pascoe (Vam); 13. Rich Chambers (Vam); 14. John Talarico (Vam); 15. Roger Glickman (vam); 16. AI Slocum (Vam); 17. ·Erlc Paloheimo (Vam); 18. Norm FraUo (Vam); 19. Kurt Lentz (Vam); 20. Marty Koop (Vam). TIme 55:45 (Average speed of winner: 82.946 MPH) Kevin Stafford was second.