Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Ascoy·AMA················.. half-mile opener: Fire and rain - By Bob F, Read GA RDENA, CAL., APR. 4 For th e first time in 18 years the annual April opening professional ha lf-mile race of the season at Ascot was ra ined ou t. T he cast o f Experts includ ed Na t io na l point le ad er, Mark Williams from Orego n and last year's two top rookies o n the Na tional circu it . Rick Ho ck ing a nd Han k Scott. Ve t era n riders such as Mert Lawwill and T om Ro ck wo o d were also re ady to go a fter inj uri es fro m th e '74 se as o n. Ore gon 's Diane Co x was also ente red and p rep ared to co m pe te in her firs t half-mil e as a n Exp ert. So was last year's nu mber o ne Ju nior, Ro o ki e Skip Ak sland , TIme trials found La wwill , using o ne of h is new ly designed fra mes fo r the firs t tim e, ta kin g fast ti me ho nors wi th a 22 :6 2. Dan n y Hockie was second an d roo kie Akslan d showed th at he is ready , cloc kin g th ir d best ti me . Ch uck So de rstrom . a second year Juni or let his experience payoff fo r him and t oo k top Ju n ior t im e tri a l honors. But last year's hi gh poin t Novice, Dan ~ lcWh orter '-was a close second. The first indications o f ano the r wild and w o ol y season came in p ra ctice wh en starter AI Min tz caug h t a flying rock sq ua re o n th e no se, rig h t be tween the ey es. The ro c k be came a missile wh e n it flew off t he rear wheel o f o ne of the machines during practice . TIle No vices opened wi th Vince Mead winnin g hi s heat race with t he fastest five laps ever recorded by a Novice on opening night . Recen t Regional IT winner, T ed Davids on, also wo n his h eat race as di d lit tle Gord y Kidd, Paul An derso n, Rick y Graham, Sam Mat hews and T erry G rin e r. Ba ke rs fiel d 's Kirby Shropshire b ro ugh t o u t a new 11-0 water c oo led co nver te d T ad rac er fo r o first tim e half-m ile racing bu t he fa iled to gain a tra nsfe r fro m t he hea t to the fina l. Sode rst ro m won th e ope ning J u n ior heat race wit h J im Wright ho lding on f or se c on d ove r late -c har gin g Pat G ut h rie wh o w as ridi ng th e o ld Do n Em de BSA . Mik e Thomsen , up fro m the Novice ra n ks, t u rn ed in wh a t m ay ran k as th e m ost imp ressive ride of the rai n-shorte ned ni gh t. Mik e cam e fro m way ba ck in th e ear ly lap s of th e second Junior heat to go o n for the win, passing six ride rs in th ree lap s. Mc Wh orte r. the ea rly leader, held on for seco nd ove r seco nd year J un ior , Chris Smi t h and Chuck Miller . TIle th ird of four J u n io r he ats proved to be t he las t race of the n ight d ue to a n accident an d th e la ter rai n . Ari zona's ~I ark Mitshcele j umped in fro nt b ut on ap three se co nd y ea r J un ior , Ron robe", Bakersfield. lo st co n t ro l o f hi s achine o n t he front straigh ta way a nd lit th e "..all. As Tobey's m ach in e bounced it fell in ro n t o f th ird year J un ior, T o m War ren . V arren a nd his m ach ine went fly in g l o w n t h e track . passing ove r the tar t / finish line in m id -air. 111en T obey 's Friu rnph b urs t int o a ball o f to tal flame . V arren's machine h ad t h e e n t ire fro nt nd b ro ken off by th e tim e it cam e to a t op . Both rid e rs were ta ken to the as p ital. T obey was later tra nsferred to he VC LA b u rn ce n te r for severe bu rns 'n h is le gs. Warren was tra nsferr ed to l arbor Gen er al Ho sp it al in Ca rso n wi th ead injuries. Shortly af te r both ambulances left he trac k the rain started to fall . Refer ee nu b Kellam waited o ve r h alf an ho ur efo re d eci d in g t o call the ra ce . T he u rse fr om t he huge cro wd will n ot be a ns ferr ed ove r to this co m ing Frid ay ight w h ic h is ro und two o f the seven 'rid ay n igh t series this season . • N o resu lts . 6 Great New Performance Motorcycle Tires That Will Do The Job For YOU ••• At Realistic Prices! The N740 A Great Motocross Tire wi th deep d irt-biting lug s ond supe r self-c1eo ning feo rore s. A G reet Mudd e r! The N74 1 T Quality or ig ina l equ ipment . op type rep locement tire thot will main ta in new -b ike performan ce on your mach ine. The N751 L king for 0 lo w profile high oo The N752 Sup er co rner in g performance perf or ma nce tire ? This is the roo d tire. It GOES- it STOPSit HANDLES- on wet or d ry roods. T une-up your bike's roo d o ne. 80 series profile- smoo th. coo l running-plenty of tro ction gr ips for supe r hondling o n wet or dry roo ds. Go modern with the 751. The N742 This is the fomous knobby desig n thot fe ot ure s 0 d e e p · cleoted troctio n treod pollern with molded -in rim p rotectors . A first-clc ss enduro tire, ma nners. The N753 Here is the o riginal equ ipmen t- type rep lo cement rib tire with the moder n wide r pro file to to ke od vontoge of d isc b ro kes. Riders : See Your Beck/Arnley Dealer Soon . 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