Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

World Championship Motocross Mikkola and DeCoster rattle bars in France...while Brad edges into the top 10 By Mart in Chr istie GAILLEFONTAIN E, FRANCE,MA Y 5 Finland's in credible Heikk i Mikk ola hurtled th e fact ory 36 0 Husqvarna to two more victo ries in th e French 500 Motocross Grand Prix, giving him the maximum 60 points from the tw o rounds o f this year's World Champi on ship series, and makin g th e swas hb uc kling Scand inavi an th e most likely early seaso n pi ck for this year's titl e. • But h e d idn't w in easi ly. Reign ing Champion Roger DeC oster o f Belgium , on a works Suzuki fill ed with the stoc k TM-400 e ng ine . was br e athin g down h is n ec k to th e flag in bo th mo tos , Al so m ak in g th eir impact o n world class m ot o cro ss th is season . the R uss ian team was high in the run ning . The insane rid ing of 2 1 year-old V ic to r Po p en ko on a fa ctory CZ got him a good third p lace in the se cond rac e t o compliment an eighth in the first . But m an y of the b ig names were struggling o n the horrifical ly rough c ha lk hill sid e of Gai llefontaine , in th e province of Seine Ma ri t ime , ab out 10 0 ki lo meters north of Paris. T he Maico team h ad obvious h andlin g problems. " In 16 years of m ot ocross, " said Ado lf WeiI, " I have never seen su ch a circu it." So lid bou lders and fast, steep hill s took t hei r toll of the d ampin g uni ts, and Weil flo un dered w ith a bent fron t fork in the first race, T h e Yam ah as d idn ' t look too impre ssive either , wit h Jaak va n Vel th ov en see m ing to h a ve lo st th e su pe r-fas t form he showed in pre-season i n te rn a tional clashes . Ake Jonsso n con fessed he just wasn't qui c k e no ug h after the long winter lay off on the continen t: The fac tory team had a few shocks at tech ins p ec tio n, after van Velthoven 's first offering failed to meet t he mini mum 96 kilos (21 I Ibs .) . After a sh ort, franti c interval , h e produced another bike whi ch p assed, but nob ody quit e es ta b lishe d which o ne he eve ntually rode in the GP. Offici ally ligh test o n the scales was th e st o ck p ro d uc tion m onc sh o ck Yamah a o f Dutchman Peter Willem s. It tied on th e legal lim it with Pop enkos im mac ula te ree d-v alve, gas- da m ped CZ. Hea viest , rather sadly, were the British CCMs of S cot J immy Aird and Norman Barrow, at 106 k ilos . Ba rr o w. standi ng in for Baron J oh n Banks (w ho 's down with ch ic ken p ox ), was the bes t fou r-stroke of th e da y with an IXth an d a 19th in the tw o motes. Bengt Abe rg, after a sen sa ti o n al d eb ut in A ust ria on th e Ch ene y B A toured a round w ith him in th e first race, b u t gave up th e struggle against co llapsing suspension, and p ac ked up before the se cond heat began. Fas tes t quali fying ti m e was set by DeCost er , w ith Mikkola fo ur se conds b ehind h im fo llowed by fellow Husqvama teamm at e A rne Kri n g, and Dutch Su zuki pil ot Ge rr it Wo lsin k. Wolsink, hired by Suzuki th is season as DeCoster's b ac k -up man, ha d a tough time of it but man aged to earn hi s w ages by the end o f the da y. A b ig roc k clo uted h im -sq ua re in th e n ose during practice, an d he rode wit h a big bandage coveri ng up the swelling. Aft er tr ying o ut h is uwn bike with the st andard re ar suspe nsion , he borrowed Roger's spare w i t h M a r zo cc hi front forks and gas-a nd-o il rea r shocks for the Grand Prix, a swap that worked quite well. Moto one A rne Kring (Hus) grabbed the adva ntage in a ragged j u mp over the gate , and blasted ahead down the long bumpy straight, sweeping the broad Iefthan der up to a h illt op hairpin. Bu t b efo re he'd reached the bottom agai n, Mi ~k ola w as by an d started to The two baddest dudes in 500cc motocross went at it this close and this hard in both 45-minute motos of the French Grand Prix. Heikki Mikkola f inished that much ahead of Roger DeCoster both times. pull away while his team m ate contented hi mself with keeping De Coster at ba y. The ex citah le Swede go t a bi t too carr ied away tho ugh, an d drop ped it a fte r th ree lap s, le tting Roger thro ugh. Then, on the very nex t lap , a nother gift ca me to th e Bel gian. Mikkola st all ed his engine in to o ne o f th e tight hairpin turns, and fell , bending h is brak e lever virtually fl at a giain st th e handle ha r. Though the dam age m eant his fron t brake was alm ost use lfss, he was up and in pursuit eve n be fo re Krin g had reach ed h im . And so it w en t, Mikk ol a edgi n g closer e ve ry lap, a nd the t rip le World Cham pion tr ying every th ing he kn ew to keep ahead. With 3 0 ,0 0 0 ro aring Fre n chmen strainin g a t th e fences , the two screeched side by side fo r eig ht lap s, Mi k ko la darting in sid e at ev ery tu rn , wi th DeCo st er closing the door. It wa s on one of the long spec ta cu la r ju m ps over t he hi ll tha t the Finn literally leapt in t o th e lead . T hough DeCoster harrassed with in a bike 's len gth for t he remaining six laps . e a tin g th e gritty dust from th e Husqvarna 's re ar wheel, he n ever quite got in rang e fo r an o the r p ass. Just as fier ce a hattie raged fo r th ird , with Krinll threatened b y wild Czech Ot ak ar T oman (CZ) . T oman had carved his wa y hrutall y through the p ack from e igh th pla ce. ha rgin g bigger m e n aside with a ba n du n. He lo o k Kring, just tw o l a p s from the e n d , after th e uns uspec tin g Swede had set tied down to a to uring pa ce. Un dete rred . Kring' fo ug ht back so furious ly , he rega ined third p lace jus t a few hund red yards from t he n ag in a d ash su wild h e som er saulted p ast th e flag man a nd took third upside d own. After terrib le st art s, the Yamah as fought their wa y up thro ugh th e p ack . Van Vel th oven ca me up fro m 2 0 th t o fift h after som e heavy sk irm ishe s in tr affi c, and Akc J onsson managed to hold onto sev enth . V ictor Popenko tf'a d got hy all o r them at mid-race but after an inevit abl e tumble, trail ed in eig hth. French hope, Serge Bacou - wh o became a works Mai co-supporte d r id er this year after sw it ching from Bultaco was well up ea rly on, but tiredness an d the pace got the better of him, as th ey did in the cond race too . I Moto two Cursing hi mself fo r his ni n th in th e firs t race, Wolsin k p ro mised to d o a bit b e tt er in the second, an d he did , takin g the lead fro m th e ga te. He he ld it Io r th ree lap s, chased by Bau er, before th e flying Fin n ca m e b y both o f the m . Wol sink t ire d and slip ped b ack. DeCos te r foll owed in Mik kol a's wa ke , kee p in g p. c . Bu t th e b ig shoc k WaS Popenko. He sho t int o th ird, nu t so much b ru xh ing the st raw b ales as tryin g to knock . hcm o ver. D oin g eve ry t h ing th e wa y it sho uld n ' t b e d one , even in th e m ovies, Popenko m ira cul ousl y appeared e ver y lap - th ough ea c h despe ra te, wil d to ur promised tu b e the last. Defying the laws of gravity a nd c hance. he stayed o n - so me how! DeCos ter held him uff, b u t the young Ru ssian I'ought ba ck griml y, and the two t an gled elbow to elbow at every turn . When they d id touch, good and solid , Popcnko ca m e o ut worse. with a health y b o ot from Ro ge r to help him o n hi s w a y. The Russian remou n ted, s tra igh te ned h is ba rs, and carri ed on. still th ird, despite a crac ked exh aust p ip e wh ich e ven tu ally sh attered , losing t he wh ol e.ilencer o n the last lap . He c rus sed th e lin e w ith the CZ sounding lik e a diesel truck. Meanwhile , up front, th e serious b usiness o f so r ting o ut this yea r's 500 World Champion ca rried u n - like a replay of the first race . Like a game of ca t and mouse. DeCo s te r roared up to the Husqvarna's exha us t p ipe , Mikkol a pa r ried h im off. And tho ugh , a t ti mes, the S uzuki 's fr ont wheel must h ave trim med the knobby on Mik k ol a 's rear, th e dyna mi c Finn held a b ik e 's length on Roger a t th e flag. Wol sin k , though tired, clung to hi s fourt h, a nd then foll owed a p rocessio n w i th Willi Bau er (Mai ) and van Ve l t h o ve n due ling a t an almost gen tlem an ly pace . T he Yamaha came o u t b ett er a l th e fin ish . Adolf Wei l foll owed hi s teammate home for sixth. , Arne Kring, having tired himself o u t with hi s fir st race c ha rge. co u ld never quit e ge t to gri ps with th e leaders agai n , li e did please himself by winnin g sume ea rly battles with Hacou and Belgian J ean .!'aul Mingels on the factory 3 6 0cc Bultaco. Ake Jonsson retired m iserably a t half distan ce with a nat rear tire. But probably havi n g m o st to be p leas ed wi th , d esp it e the terrible st ate of t he track, w as e ve r-c hee rfu l Brad La ckey. R id in g in Euro pe " j us t fo r th e experie nce," an d n ow living te mpora rily in Belgium , Brad broug h t th e fac t ory lIusk y home in ninth pl ace afte r a t enth in th e fir st race , pu t tin g h imsel f in th e ga m e win n in g so m e World Cha m p ionsh ip p oin ts. • Results MO T a 1 : 1. Helkki Mi k kola ( H us ) F i n , 2 . R oger De Cost er (Su z ) B e lg . 3 . Arne KrlOg (Hu s) Swe d . 4 . O taka r To ma n (CZ ) CSS R . 5 . J aak van v ef tnoven (Yam ) aeis . 6 . WJlli Bauer ( ~ a i) W . G er . 1.,Ake Jon sso n ( Y am) s we c . 8. Vi c tor Po o e n k o ( e Z) USS R. 9 . Ge rn t W o l Sl nk (SUZ ) N eth . 1 0 . Bra d La ckey (Hus ) U SA. M O T O 2 : 1. He,kkl Mikkola (H US) FlO . 2 . Roger DeC o st er (SU l) Be19. 3 . V ictor Pcp enk o (CZ ) U SS R . 4 . Ge rnt W OI SlO k (SUZ) . N et h . 5. Jaak van Vett nove n (Va m) 8e 19 6 . . Wil li Ba ue r (Ma l ) W . G e r . 7. A dolf Weil ( Mail W . Ger . 8 . Arne KrlOq ( H Ui ) Sw ed . 9 . Brad Lackey (H us) U SA . 10. Ana tol i Bot c hkov IC Z) USSR. WORLD CH AMP IO NSHIP STA NDI NGS A FTE R F R E NC H GP (4 ra c es) : 1. H el k k l Mikkola 6 0 c ts. 2 . Wi ll i Baue r 3 0 . 3 . A dol f Well 28 . 4 . Ro ge r D eCoster 26 . 5 . A rn e K ung 21. 6 . Gerrtt WO ISlO k 19 . 1. Bengt Aberg 16 . 8 . Ot ak a r Toman 16 . 9 . Ake Jonsson 15 . 10. Jaak van veunoven 1 3 ; 11 . VIctO r Pcpenko 13 ; 12. Bra d Lackey and Arne LIndfors 3 . Latest Russian berserker Viktor Popenko bounced his CZ off the straw bales to hold off DeCoster but was way off line for the next COrner and R o ge r zapped him, . •

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