Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

; Desert Vipel's 0-37 H ~Bakken! a HI g '<:t' By Jim Stewart O'l CUDDY BACK LAKE. CAL.• SEPT. 22 - After more than an hour passed, - l' ... two riders raced into the pits o o WFO, throwing up a blinding dust cloud. Wayne Cook pitted before <:J ..0 o ..... A.C. Bakken, so the 400 Husky of Bakken received the first mark from the home check . But after that, it was A.C.'s tum to fuel, and when he merged back onto the course, the Elsinore of Cook's was there. Side by side, tucked in, and throttles turned to the lock, these two went down pit road, not letting off, even for a wash-out, which put both riders up right . on their front wheel simultaneously. Not far behind was Cordis Brooks and Smokebomb Gaetz. A.C., riding in a T-shirt, had to ride the second loop, as did most . of the other front running Experts, in blinding dust caused by slower Novices which they were lapping. Bakken pulled in to take . th e checkered first, making his 74th o verall win, and added to his point lead in the 400 class . Meanwhile, Cook's Honda 'shredd ed a rear shock bolt and Cordis Brooks started to gain ground on him. Coming into the finish, it looked like a repeat for Cook of his first lap battle with Bakken, only this time he battled with the older of the Brooks brothers. Riding his mono-shoe k Honda the best he could, Wayne got the 250 class win at second overall. Cordis got confused at the finish, and almost went out to ride a third loop, until stopped and pointed in the right direction. Benny Padilla, now seated on a mono-shock Yamaha. had been always behind desert ace Smokebomb Gaetz on the first loo p , but gave Smokebomb a chance to see, firs t hand, how one of the new mono-shockers works in the desert, passing him on the second loop, robbing Gaetz of fourth overall and taking it and third 250 Expert for himself. Smokebomb on his standard suspended 360 Yamaha desert sled let Padilla slip by, but he was the only one, as Gaetz ended up fifth overall second Open Expert. Nevada rider Scott Harden (250 Husky) had been running ninth overall through the pits, but powered into six th overall by the finish. Art Knapp was one of the riders Harden did-in on the second time around the very rough course, fo rcing Art to be co nten t with seventh overall, third Open Expert. Dan Dawson also saw the back end of Harden on the second loop. It seems every time Dawson ' decides to come back out to District 37, he picks up a first overall Amateur. Dropping back from sixth overall through the pits to eighth overall by the finish was nothing to be ashamed of. Tim Ralph is no turkey of an Amateur either, picking up Ohhhhh nooo! Sm'okebo mb Gaetz gets set to eat sand. A.C. Bak ken d id it to the desert fo r his 74th ove rall win . Any t ime Powder Puff Karen Coc h ran wants a free tour of Cycle News ' scen ic Signal Hill off ices, she's more than welcome, he h, heh. • third, while Dave Alden, who finishes in the top five Open Amateurs almost every weekend, hung on to his 400 second 250 Amateur a t 19th overall. Suzuki for fourth. Third in this clas s, was the usual winner Coming through the pits on the first Robert Wadlow , who can be beaten loop, Dean Modessett looked likely to oc casionally, but so far this year not pick up yet another first 175 Ex pert, often. but his Penton h ad different ideas, and Last year at the Desert Vipers' race, took a dive about 10 miles out on the Mike Powers was first 250 Amateur on a second loop. Andy Kirker, coming Montesa. This year he was on a 400 through the pits , was second 175, at Husky and p icked up first 400 Amateur. 11 th overall, but because of Modessett's Dwayne Carter and his street-legal 350 DN F, at the finish he was ninth overall, Honda motored around the rough first 175 Expert. Kirker loo ked to have ' course for second Open Am ateur. Carter the 175 class number one pla te in the not only races his Honda, but rides it to bag for '74. Mike Eckhart of the Desert work on Monday t Glen Vanbuskirk was. Faxes, Ron Holst of the Invaders, and Jeff Kaplan of the Sand Sailors, were the second through fourth survivors in this class. On the first loop, it looked like Terry Raye was going to be first trail bi ke instead of seco nd, which he has been fo r the l~ t . several weeks . But the though t of Wml1ing must have been on h is m ind too much, as he un loaded on the second loo p and ended up second as usual. At leas t this week he wasn't second to Hamill, but he was second to D. Kelsey, who got the job done on a Suzuki. But neither Kelsey or Raye were actually the first trail bikes to finish , as Robert Myers was first trail Amateur, a few places in front of both of them. Larry Roeseler, riding with a maxed-out back, was seen putting his number 1x Harley around the course, keeping in shape for Barstow-to-Vegas, which by then he will be able to ride at his fullest. Danny Williams, of the Dustmakers, was beating most of the Novices at the first of the year, no matter what the cc's, on his small-bore Elsinore. This . weekend, he did the same tg, the other 175 Amateurs . A Rover was leading the Novice class at the bomb, b ut Gary ' J o hns on , who III has not raced since last year, riding o ne U of A.C.'s former Husk ies, was leading ~ through the pi ts, and even more « importantly, at the finish . N.V. Sa uarese a: o th o ugh t it looked like a good weekend a: to finally win the 250 Novice class and Z th is he did at second ove rall Novice. 0 > Evans was third overall Novice, fir~~ '1 75 on his KTM, just ahead of ~~\i Stewart (myoid man), who '.Nas second 250 N Novice 'after un !c,ading an d getting lost. a: One ~~j':-e race, and then it's time for > a: 11:;: 'Ch eck Chase again. After the dust '" this weekend, I think we 'sh o uld all just Igo to the river, put our names in a > hel met ' and draw ou t a winner, the n III continue sucking suds and water skiing. III o But it won't be all that bad, since it is I• o only 150 miles this year. I Result s in Res ults Section. a. ... ::.-" "' ~ "' "' "' 12

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