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/125852
MARCH 23 &24 GREAT BEAR GRAND PRIX AT RIVERSIDE Follow the acti on bot h days w ith broadcast reports A0074 / Brought to you by : House of Suzuki De Anza Hillclimb By Ann A. Powell S UNNYl\IEA D, CAL., MAR. 10 There had been hin ts. promises and threat s th at streakers wo uld be ou t today, b ut the large crowd had to settle for the excit ement of fully clo thed ride rs streaking up the su pe r-fast hill. A heavy overcast kept things moving. No one wan ted to be caught in that deep bowl a t De An za if th e rain s cam e. T he o ne road o ut of th e pa ck is u p a lo ng, st eep hill wit h two ver y shar p hai rpin cu rves. Onl y o nce in the park's history h ad rains fallen while people we re in t he park . T ha t ti me every single veh icle had to be pulled a u t with t he parks big cat, and with a near record crow d today , th at would take plenty of tim e. The threat of rain m ad e today 's clim b even more exciting . Everyone was on the line when his turn came and cooperated to keep t hings going at a m adde ning pace. Since there had been plenty of rain late las t week, th e hill Was faster than usual , with outstanding trac ti o n. First rider of the day to view the top of the hill was Don Wood on a stock 25 0 Yamaha. The smallest bike over came in the seco nd run when Jim Collier on a 175 Yamaha cr est ed. By th e secon d run from the bottom of the 54 0 foo t hill, ne arly every bike from th e 25 0 stockers up had made it over the top. Only the minis, th e 100s, the 125 s and th e 175s had winners so far . It was nearly noon wh en the first round of co m petiti o n was co m ple ted , and th e skies were getting darker by the minute. If this climb was to co me t o a successful fini sh, something drastic would have t o be done. The drast ic me~ure de cided upon was to make the firs t move up at the 250 foot mark! Only the b ikes that had t o pped the hill from th e bottom mark were in con ten tio n, and th ey were being cu t down fas t. Jim Collier, on his 175 , fell by th e way side, but assured himself o f a fi rst place win . T he 25 0 st ockers wer e q uic kly pu t o ut of th e action, wi th Ron Powe ll, o n a 25 0 Su zuki, bei ng th e onl y o ne across the to p. Dou g Hall , on a highly m odified 250 Bu lt aco, and Po well , o n his sa me st ocker, wer e the onl y ones over in th e 250 mod ified class. From th at point o n. bi kes fell left an d righ t. A t the en d of t his second rou nd, th e fiel d had been cut a good deal , but th er e were st ill n o winners in most classes. The sky had cle ared an d th ere was " Corky" Pete rson un-corke d and crested the quick De Anza slope. in term itten t sunshine. but no one was will in g to rel ax , The next move up would also be a big one. This time, th e star ting block was put on th e 35 0 fo o t mark. The 250 classes were put out of c om pet iti o n , with Ron Powell taking first in both the stock and modified classes. Finally , Craig Mock, a 16 year old rider on a 360 Yamaha, was firs t over th e top . and the field was narrowed to seven riders. BANG TEN MOTOCROSS SOCKS REGULAR $2.98 NOW ONLY " 1.50 DIRECT FROM FACTORY WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTOR Send thi s coupon with $1.50 + .50 for postage and handlin g (t otal $2.00 per pair) to L. Bell, P. O. Box 7089, Burbank, Calif. 91510. Name (Print) . Address DISCONTINUED MODEL - Factory conve rte d fro m s ilk sc ree n Hang Ten Feet t o e mbroide red Ha ng Ten Feet 32 " City Size: State MEDIUM 0 LARGE Zip . 0 CASH OR MONEY ORDER ONLY Make Money Order payable to L. Bell SHIPPED SAME DAY ORDER RECEIVED