Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

aroslav; R ock et Rex supportin g cast based o n his first mo t o performance. He merely wor ked up t o fo ur th pl ace a fte r a medi ocre star t. Apparen t1y th e new star-to- be was just ge tting th e feel of the un familiar st age , for J im West (H us) won that one, cap italizing on the blown tr ans of early leader Bry ar Ho lcomb (Bu l). Jo hn DeSoto (Yam ) and Bill Payn e (Mai ) got between Staten and West in th e first 15 -minute racing. Rex Stat en, Superbowl star, burst to the front on the start o f th e seco nd moto. Gal axies of flashbulbs fo llo we d him ar ound the b owl, acco m pan ied by ec ho ing gasps fro m the gallery as he ex e c u te d 45 -foot l e a p s do w n Grandstand Hi ll an d see med to h an g suspended in the air fo r minute s, on ey eball level with sixth-row seats, crossed-up righ t and le ft before mash ing into the baddest turn of all. It was first-rate motocro ss ridi ng plu s an e xh u b eran ce of sheer talent and tra ining. S t a t e n was cutting mi nut~-and-sixteen-second laps as against Falta's and DeCoster's minute-14 although Superbowl is definitely not a big-bike course. DeSoto valiantly led the pursuers and fed his Superbowl legend by not coming around after awhile. He se ized. West fin ished third to lead Staten in points going into the las t moto . Mota Three. the last act, was serious. Staten had to beat West to win Overall first prize. They both smoked to the head of the pack as soon as the gate opened and nobody else could even get close. Mike Todd (l\lai ) tried for five laps an d Billy C lemen ts gave it all he had the rest of the way, but 94,000 eyes we re riveted on Rex as Jim West's relent less pressure pushed hi m to higher an d high er flig hts. Finally West realized it was Re x' s nigh t and se ttled for a safer. secure second place, eleven seconds behin d. For th e rest of the race, Re x pe rforme d neat stun 15 for h is w avin g fans - an d the eager ca merame n who tried to capt ure every double mi dair c r o ss up and dirt explosion Rex prov ided. You had to be there, it was great, The rep o rters in the pressbox voted Rex Staten most outstan ding rider of th e night . J aroslav Falta ran a close second. By the end of the second lap Bell was still leading, with Marty Smith Second, Rick Bean (Hon) of Edison High third, and Glore, who won his class at the fi rst S.C.O.R.E. Spec tacu lar last year, fourth . In another giant en do (no t the last of the race as the high school Experts sought fame, free boots, some scholarships, and a chance at a Can -Am factory bike before 47,231 cheering fans, not to mention t he tootsie ne xt door). Bean lost it and took Glore with him. Meanwhile Smith and Bell we re dici ng w heel to wheel in a battle that had the fans going wild. Smith p as sed Bell over the giant back straigh t jump in mi d-air, but Bell an d his strong run nin g Elsinore pulled eve n wi th th e fac tory Ho nda bef ore the en d of th e straigh t. Bell actually got the lead b ack be fo re th e fr on t str aight in t he tigh t swervy year-old Honda Factory rider Marry Smith. In the end, it was 17 year-old Honda Factory rider Marty Smith (Point Lorna High) with a substantial lead. It didn't start that way, though. Bill Glore (Hon) from La Mirada High School got an impressive hole shot, only to be out-powered before the end of the first lap by Mike Bell (Ho n) fro m May fair High . (Mike had los t a footpeg and his bike's pipe fell o ut of the head during his qualifying race and he still t ook th ird . His fa ther bu ilds engines fo r Lo ng Beach Ho nda. ) A giant start straight crash t ook out abou t fo ur racers , in cluding Davy Carlson (Hon) fro m Kat ella, Dennis Briggs (Ka w ) from Un iversit y (h is dad bu ilds engines, to o ), Neil Petrillo (£1 Moden a), and Dan Loros (Est ancia) . o ff to a fia ling start, but rocketed to st ardo m in th e eyes of t he biggest mo tocross au dience ever assemb led in t he new world. Few of t he hard- eyed reporters in the pressbox would have voted Rex th e m ost ou tstanding racer in t he section of the track along the pro pits. The Smith/Bell duel took the p air twelve seconds ahead of now thi rd Garry Faulks (Ho n ) from Pacifica High and the rest of the fron t runners, all of whom can be seen co m p e ting in local Expert class races around Southern California on any Sunday. Then Smith made his m ove and poured it on during the fifth lap, blasting his way to first a five , then a seven second cu shion over Bell, who stayed I I secon ds ahead of Fa ulks un til the finish. Smith showed how he go t his factory ride, and Bell showed how badly he wants one, as the crashers and laggers watche d fro m along the trac k o r be hi nd th e pac k. The eig ht lap race wasn' t exactly a b at tl e o f the freshm en , an d th e en ding was no surprise, but it certain ly w as exciting . • Team CZ. Right to left, Falta looks pensive, Velky looks homesick, and DiStefano chows down. At the gate, Belgian Raymond Bove n hunkers down, American Jimmy Wein ert watches the st arter, but Czech Zd enek Ve lk y watches the guy wo rk ing the lever that start moto. 1: U Z lr "' "' > "' U. ~ III Doesn't he look lik e he's go ing to win? You betcha! Results MOTO 1 : 1 . West. 2. DeSoto. 3 . Payne. 4 . Staten. 5 . Serrucs, 6. Cternents, MOTO 2: 1. Staten . 2 . Payne. 3 . West . 4 . Blackwell . 5. Black . 6. Cook. In the last moto of the 1974 Superbowl of Motocross, Roger DeCoster showed his stuff. MOTO 3 : 1. Staten. 2 . West. 3 . Clements . 4 . Todd . 5. Clark. 6 . self. OVERALL (Unofficial) : 1. Rex Staten (Hon) . 2 . Jim West (Hus) . 3. Bill Cle ments (Hus) . 4 . Will iam Payne (Ma i). 5 . Terry Clark (Hus ) . 6 . Mike, Tod d (Mai). 7. Ron Self (Mat). 8 . Gary Serrucs (Hus) . 9 . Mark Blackwell (Mai). 10. Scott Jordan (Bul). z ~ o lr "' fIII 7

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