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/125849
"Foreign Legion" of asphalt scratchers headed for Daytona Last year, Fi nn J arno Saarinen, then 250 road racin g Wo rld Champion , became the f irst non-Am er ican to w in Daytona. He did it on a TZ 350 Yamaha. He was la t er tragically killed at Monza. Agostini leads the charge The late Jarno Saarinen last year became the first foreign rider to ever win the Daytona 200. Many others have tried and failed and the 19 74 vers ion could find the title again go ing across the water on March l Oth , Close to two dozen inter- national entries will be on hand, backed up by fo ur o r five plane loads of fans from coun tr ies throughout Europe. Heading the list is one of the all time greats in World Road Racing, Veteran Dick Man n has wo n Day tona twice o n two d iffer ent brands : Honda an d BSA. He w ill be making h is firs t appearance on a two-stroke, an other of the fast TZ150A Yamaha , t uned by Don Ves co . It is de fi nitely not past Bu gs to do it again. Giacomo Agostini, who has he ld o ne ti tle o r another every year in Europe since 1966. T he thirteen year road racing veteran has been riding one of a kind han d built MV Agusra's for nearly ten years b ut has never raced in A merica due to the ru le that requires two hundred machines that are all a like from the factory. Now, "Ago" has jumped over to Yamaha and Yamaha has taken one of a kind fu ll blown Grand Prix bikes and built two hundred . The timing is right for the World's Champion to make his American debut. Ago heads up the Yamaha team entry that will also .include, Teuvo Lansivuori, the Finnish rider who was a close frie nd and teammate to Saarinen . Also on the team w ill be o ne or two j ap an ese riders who, like Ago, will be raci ng in America for the first ti me. The Italian Ace has over eig hty road racing wins to his credit but will have his work cut out for hi m from the start of Daytona Week, March 4, to the checkered flag late on the afternoon of the lOth. If there ever was a marked man, it's Ago. Italy will also send Guido Mandracci and Walter Villa, two excellent riders who have long been over-shadowed by Agostini and his former equipmen t. Both will ride Suzuki and a win by either co uld make them the new national cycle racing hero in their home . co un try . It's possible that Mandracci and Villa have been waiting longer than the American fans for this opportunity. Sweden is sending Kent An dersso n, a top runne r in the FIM 125cc class the past few years and cu rrent 125 World Champion . jack Findlay, a par t time Aussie w ho spends time in Italy , will also be back. Findlay was a kingpin in last year's Isle of Man Race and has fou n d new horsepower. England is represen ted by tw o time Daytona po le sitter, Paul Sma rt and hi s br o t h er -in- law , first- ti me r, Barry Sheene, Both will be Suzuki-mo un led. Pe ter Williams ret urns from the United Kingdom aboard a factory Norton, the same Norton that set new records at the Isle of Man last year and won the race on the thirty-seve n mile pe r lap course . Two other Englishmen t hat bear wat ch ing .are Mick Grant and Ch arles Mortimer. Gran t finished eighth last yea r o n a scrubby looking selfsponsored Yamaha and is back wi t h m uch better equip ment this ti me. Mortimer is classed as one of the m ost underrated in England and gets a chance to show his stuff against this gathering of the most tal ented rid ers in the world. Two new n am es from japan crop up, Masahiro Wada and Hideo Kan ay a. Wada is n o t really new and has raced a few AMA National. in th e past b u t Kan ay a is a firs t ti me American race entry . All of the foreign legio n will either be ridi ng the new Yamaha 700's or the Suzuki 750 's except Wada, who will ride a Kaw asaki 750. T hree years ago Smar t became th e first rider to take the Day ton a pole posit ion in ti me trials ab oard a Tri ump h Tri dent, T wo years ago he co uld n't ge t his Kaw asaki run ning, starti ng at the back of t he field and pulling in a fter only one lap. Last y ear he put h is Su zuki o n th e p ole and t hen ran off the course o n t he first lap on the new tum on th e backstretch . T he ne xt race a fter Day tona, Dallas, he won it a ll. Yamaha h as a big gap in th eir efforts this year with the dea th of Saarine n and t he r e t i r e m e n t of Aussie , Kel Carruthers, the riders that finished one-two a t Day ton a in '73 . The 19 74 version of the Daytona 200 will again be another true test of American versus International riders. AMA style or FIM style , the best man and the best machin e does not always win but all are on the track lo ng eno ugh to prove a pain 1. • This year the man to beat c ou ld we ll be Wo rld Champ io n Giacomo Agostini. He has switched fro m MV to Yamaha and w ill be aboard one of the mind·blowing T Z7 50 A's . 15..