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/125860
C'J >ro ~ By Bob Read Gardena, Cal., May 10 Rookie Rick Hocking is the fifth rider in six weeks of pro ·racing at Ascot to capture the fifteen-lap Expert final. The victory was also the first for a Yamaha-powered machine at the Gardena oval this season. Hocking, a privateer, also clocked fast time over Gene Romero, Mert Lawwill and eight other Expert riders who were in the select 22 seoond bracket. Then Hocking lost for the only time during the program when he and fellow rookie John Gennai raced it out in the heat race with Gennai winning by bare inches. . The second heat was a near repeat of the first when Tom Rockwood and Romero battled from start to finish with Rockwood wrapping it up on the last lap. The lead changed five times. The third heat fo und Lawwill fourth with one ' Iap to go . At that point the previous week's main event winner puJIed to the pits and was out for the res t of the night. Ron Moore, always tough in the five-tappers, turned back Tom Horton and Eddie Wirth in another close even t, Hocking came on strong for the second time in the Trophy Dash, getting the jump on Romero and Ro ckwood at the start and holding it to the finish. Paul Conserriere was fourth after turning in his best time trial effort in over two years. The Expert final found second-year Expert Tom Horton putting on his best ride in an attempt to win for the first ti me. Horton held off Moore and Hocking fo r the first ten laps. Hocking m oved to second over Moore at the end of seven laps, then powered past Horton for the lead on lap 10. Ro me ro, sixth at the end of the first two laps, rode th e o utside groove up to th ird place by lap 10 . Then it w as a Ho rton-R omero d uel to th e finish fo r second place wit h Horton losing the spot three times to the ve teran before coming back and taking second away fr om Ro m ero fo r the second straight week by less than a foot at the fi nish line. . Ascot also came up wi th a new first -time winner in the Junior class as Triumph mounted Alex Jorgenson of Gary Ton da (Yam) got wide-eyed and won th e J unior Main at So uth Bay , beating Skip Aksland . Stockton put together his best ride yet and won a wire-to-wire victory in the 10 lap yellow plate final over point leader Skip Aksland. Jorgy. Aksland, John Allison and Bruce Hanlon were all heat race winners. In th e Hanlon heat. Gary Bevans went down hard. st ar ting a four rider chain-reaction spill on the north turn. Three of the four riders were able t o return for the restart. Elbert Turner had his Novi ce main event win streak stopped at three. T urne r w a s chasing leader Dan McWhorter in the final when he hit the south ·t urn too hot and crashed. McWhorter. the point leader after si.x weeks of racing, went on to score his second main event win of the year. Fri day night's race was the final tuneup for this coming Friday night's AMA Region al half-mile at Ascot which wi ll post the largest non-national purse of the season. ND Sparkplug Company and Cycle News are offering co ntingency m on ey . • Results EX FIN AL : 1 . Rick HOCking (Vam). 2. Tom Horton (Vam}. 3. Gene Romero (Yam). 4 . John Ge nnai (HoD). 5. R0r:' Moore l'tr l). 6 . Tom Rockwood (Trl) . 7 . E ddie Wirth Trl).8. Tom Wh ite (Trl). 9. Pat McCaUl (Yam) . 10. John Hateley (Vam). The Hock ing - .Gennai Thing - the beat goes on. Hocking's tum th is ti me, bu t Gennai won the heat. 12 Mert Lawwill always seems t o have t he fastest, lightest best-handling Harley·Davidson on th e ovals. Ron Moore lifts up his Triumph as Gene Romero lays down his Ya maha.