Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Gunnady Moisseiev is the new World 250cc Motocross Champion , the fi rst Russian to win since Victor Arbekov d id it in 1965 o n a CZ. The decider: Moisseiev wins on points, Falta on principle! Jim rates no unlucky 13 over theseries. By Martin Christie WOHLEN, SWITZERLAND, AUG. 25 Russian railroading and red -tape won this year's 250cc World Championship in a brutal display of rid i n g t a c t i cs. Gunnady Moisseiev, a 26-year-old cossack, gave KTM their first title with a sho w of sportsmanship that wo uld have shamed IV'dI1 the Terrible. Before the p oi n ts -deci de r, he had on ly to fi nish on t he leaderbo a rd a t th e Swiss debacle; even if on ly rival Jaroslav Fa lta (CZ) won both races. Not content with that, the Russian team was determined the Czech would have no hope at all. After leading the early stages of the first race, Falta was pushed off the track by Moisseiev as he was lapping the Russian. Moisseiev then retired with "suspension trouble." Falta got ba ck on to finish third - a result that meant he could still win the second race and take the crown. But the Russians had hrought in all their ace blockers -includinlt the beserk 21 -year-old Victor Popenko . Despite the fact that he was riding a bike from Falta's own factory ICZ), Popenko rammed the Czech amidships while he was leading the second race. And when even that didn't stop the inc redible Fa lt a - his shirt torn. and a gash in his back bleeding - fro m going on to win, the Russians protested to the international jury that Falta had j umped the gate, ani! the KTM factory said they ha d it on fil m . T hree ho u rs after the racing was over, and while th e CZ ca m p was sti ll popping champagne corks, the jury pen ali zed Falta one fu ll m inute for foul play , an d dr opped hi m d own to eigh th - sixty seconds that cost a crown! Mo re pandem oniu m b ro ke o ut th an wh en the tanks hit Pragu e . J im's Bel gian me ch an ic , Rub io , was for cibly ejecte d after tryi ng to break in to the jury roo m. T he cry wen t u p that the second rac e should be run again - and h alf the rid ers seemed prepared to do it. But it was seve n o'clock at night, and there was noth ing the pa ddock, or the small. shoc ked crowd who had lingered to watch the de ath throes o f ' the drama , co uld do. It should no w be taken t o th e FLI\1 Co ngress in Octo b er . Co ntrary to FIM rules, th ere was no flagman to ca ll a fa lse start at the gate. Instead, a small line in the supplementary regulations warned of the di re penalties of cheating. A ll very unpleasant, and very unsatisfactory. It was another indifferen t meeting for Jim, rounding off a bad season. He retired"in the first race , on lap II, with a partiallyseizing engine. Only bullying from the Bultaco top-brass got Rubio to do any work on the bike for the second race. There, he finis hed an unspectacular seventh, after falling off. Points make him 13th overall in the 250cc class, compared to his sixth last year. Both bike and rider need sorting out: Falta was fastest in timed practice, followed by IIakan Andersson (Yam), Gaston Rahier (S uz), Miros lav Halm (CZ), Torleif Hansen (Kaw) and Harry Everts (Puc) in that order. Heavy rain on seve ral p revious days had cleared, an d mad e th e groun d tacky fo r prac tic e, and ideal for the race. Run n ing a Swiss championship sidecar race o n the same day did n' t help, c utti ng up t he surface an d exposing some nasty stones. T he course features a couple of neat drops, a tig ht section through a ravin e, a nd a tric ky swi tc hback lo op o n t he way past the start again - th at's where all the tr o uble came, as t he riders ha d to bunch an d go t h rough in p roc essio n . First moto Falta took a clean start fro m a sho rt-lived Kawasaki of Olle Pe tt er son , chased ha rd by Everts, Halm , Andersson and Hans Maisch. Moisseiev crashed at the firs t tum an d had difficulty getting goi ng again. Yet, even then, he was noticeably lazy about getting back into the pack. Gaston Rahier , who came down with him, showed what could be done by fighting back up to fifth at the flag. On the sixth lap, a flying Everts pushed the Puch past Falta and began to pull a slight lead, but the Czech didn't loo k too worried. He could comfortably shadow him . Then on lap nine, as they came around to t he sw itchback, there was Moisseiev , touring around o n the insid e. As Falta sw ung out aro und h im, a KTM knocked his front wheel from un d er him, and he went into the ropes. Yet he recovered, and by the time Mo isseiev sk ulke d off on lap 15, Falta ha d mad e up ground again, getting past Hans l\li asch fo r third. The pace at the fr on t was to o quic k for Fa lta to catch t he lea ders before the flag , he finis hed 20 seconds behind Andersson, who in turn was just one second behind winner Everts. Seco nd moto Real tension rocked the gate. The crowd was electric, and to a man behind the flying Falta, lIe did jump the gate. but despite his initial advantage, it was pretty clear that no one on earth could have ca ugh t him. A ma n with the title in his sights rides like an inspired demon, "Superbo wl" Ja roslav Falta d eserved the wi n , b ut deservi ng me ans noth ing when Russians talk MX. It 's be rse rk it, and if that doesn 't w ork, crash ' em . a nd Falta was every inch a champ io n. In second spo t was Rabier - t he Suzuki camp co mp lai ning that his firs t race fifth wasn't good en ough. Behi nd him Ever ts, and th e erratic Han sen . Moisseiev lay fifth on the second lap , pressed by Hakan Andersson. But Andersson lasted only one more circuit, when his front brake jammed on, pitching him over the bars unhurt. Mois seiev had to finish third, if Falta was going on to win, but dicing with Hansen , Everts, and soon the determined lIans Maisch left lit tie room for th at. The Russians had another card to play. Popenko was lingering at the back of the field - a position a n d style unusual for the wild man . When Falta came around through th e switchback on lap eight, there he was. set up nicely in Popenko's sigh ts. With a sound of two crashing CZs, Falta was upside down and entangled in the ropes, his bike screaming protest on the ground. and a six-inch gash in his shoulder from Popenkos foot peg. T he crowd su rged forward, r ighti ng the bike and sitting Fa lta back on it. Wit h that team work, he had only lost two p laces - to Everts and Rahier. It too k seven lap s , wi th th e cro wd hysterical an d Fal ta demonic. Rahier stopped with mud-spla ttered goggles, rejoi ng the batt le two places down, b u t a t the fro n t, it was a ll o ver bar t he pr o tes ts. Falta swooped pas t Ever ts so fast he hardly saw him , to finish t he race five seconds clear in t he fi nal laps. Fast challenger Ma isch was ha lted by a loose filler cap, momentarily. And backmarker Popenko, pulled in to join Moisseiev in the p its. Both of them clai med engine troubles of one sort or the other but neither were co nvincing. Popenko's bike was ripped from u nder him by the Czech mechanics, and the bad feeling began to explode. An elated Falta waltzed over the line at 4:30. At 5: 15 the jury meeting was ca lled. And while the paddock went into an uproar, the final farce was drawn out. So Gunnady Moisseiev, the man who never fi nished a race at \Vo hl cn , went home with the honors. The moral of this tale is if you can't join 'em, beat 'em. • ~~ Coast Mota Cycle ® Mot oc ross - Desert 2334 Newport B/Iod.. Costa Mesa. CA 92627 714·645·8008 o New a nd De t i rute tv Different ! F or 2 stroke and some 4 stroke . lorqu~ ~ naste r Spark Plugs Put the Spar k wh e re the acti o n is Results FIRST MOTO: 1. Harry Events (Puc) . 2 . Haka n Andersson (Yam). 3. .Jar os tav Eatta C Z ) . 4. Hans Mlasch (Ma l). 5 . G aston Ra hie r S uz). 6. Pa vel R u le v (KT M). 7 . Miros lay Halm (CZ ) . "3. Sylva in Geboers (S u z) . 9. Kale vl Venkonen ( Hus) . 1 0 . Zdenek Ve lky (C Z ). S E C O ND MOTO: Harry Everts ( Puc). 2 . H an s Maisch ( Ma i). 3 . To r leif H ans e n (K aw ) . 4. Gaston Rah ier ( S u z) . 5. Zde nek Velky f C Z) . 6 . Katevl V e h k o ne n (Hus). 7. Jim Pomeroy (Bul) . 8 . Jaroslav Falta (CZ) . 9. Siegfried Lerner (KTM). 10. Max Gunter (KTMI . FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS, 1. Gunnady Moisselev 145. 2 . Jarostav watta , 139. 3. Harry E ve r t s, 128. 4 . Torleif Hansen, 101. 5 . Gaston Rahler;. 96. 6 . Miroslav Ha lm, 80 . 7. Pavel Rutev, 7':J. 8. Hakan Ander sson , 81. 9. Hans Mlasch, 69. 10. Joel RObert, 58. 11. Sylvain eccers, 53. 12 . Raymond Bo ven, 49. 13. Jim Pomeroy, 41. l c BOOTS Top Gear Bu ckle HlQh Lace Cvcle Acme CowboV Californians top New England Nat"onal Trials The September 1 New England Trials Association round of the U.S. National Trials Series fell to Bultaco works rider Lane Levitt by a score of 24 Y. points to 29 fo r Montesa mounted Steve Darrow. Californian Marland Whaley, also riding a Montesa, o ut -pointed Michigan rider Bob Hopkins (Y a m) for third. Current points lea d er Don Sweet did not ride the event since he was req uired to w~rk fo r t he sponsori ng Rh ody Rovers club as an observer. Rai n fell on the Escoheag, Rhode Islan d si te in the m o rni ng hours leaving t he sections somewhat slick b ut t hey dri ed by th e time the competition began. The consensus of the riders was tha t the event was on a par with the Oregon round and offered a good variety of terra in as well as tigh t organization. Unofficially, this vaults Leavitt into the points lead . 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