Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125986
Gremlins grip Banzai blazers as dark horses tally score By John Ulrich O NT ARIO . CAL. • AP R. 20 Six hours is a ver y lon g ti m e to race a m otorcycle, and a l ot of strange thi ngs can happen in th at time. The AFM's six-h our pro duction race proved that, wi th - Iarge chunk s of the $5,600 prize and con ti ngency money going to unlikely bookie choices. Things wen t badly for a num ber of very hot teams right fro m the start. Scott Clo ug h and Bo b Tigert teamed up on Bo b 's Ha rry Hu nt Ya maha and we re the lo gical choice fo r winnin g th e 350 class . But their bike started p inging three laps out. and they lost ano t her three timi ng it . Then Scott ra n out of gas, and later go t a flat tire . Meanwhile , Willie Hardin an d Dale McCreary wen t round and rou nd, without making a mistake or having a problem. They won the class . David Aldana , te amed with Mike Parriott, crashed . It took 12 laps to get their 900 Kaw ro llin g aga in . Bob En d ico tt and Pa t Evan s' Z- I broke its cran k. Reg Pridmore and Coo k Ne ilson 's BMW led a lot, lost th e effect ive use o f tw o gea rs, crashed under Cook's gu ida nce , pitt e d to replace grou nd-t h ro ugh ro cker box co vers 20 minutes fro m t he fini sh, and broke a few laps lat er. Han sen 's bla zing Lane Team Weil/Keith Co de Laverda go t a flat tire, Ron Pierce and Pat La&aJ1 's BMW had a whole rash o f troubles th at put oil all ov er their rear t ire. and th e John MacDonal d /P at Beacome/Lee Fleming Z-I threw a valve shim through the cam co ve r. Miles Ru sst eusher (BMW) fell o ff while leading, Wally Karpynec and Whitney Blak es lee 's Su zuki X-6 lost its throttle and front brake asse mbly bolt whe n Wall y crashed on some else 's gas slick. So Wally rode arou nd tugging the throttle cab le wit h his left hand. T h e brake assem bly fe ll off and dang led by th e ca b le as he tried to br ake for turn 10, so he came in and fixed it . Out again , the entire rear half of the left muffler feli off. Th en th e bike sprung a gas leak. In sp it e o f it all, they won th e 250 class hours later. All th e while , some pe ople's races were goi n g as planned. Ed Un ini and Jeff Steele put to gether a second overal l, first 75 0 with a flawless ride aboard a trouble free Pear ce of L.A. Honda. J ohn Weed and Fred Walt i did th e same in the 5 00 cla ss , fifth overall , on - ge t this - a Su zuki ro tary. Tony Murphy and Norman Frajo foll owed th em in with ano ther RE-5 to sweep t he 500 class. Th e th in gs wer e abso lut ely terrifying to watch wiggle thro ugh h igh -sp ee d turns, but n ever missed a beat. "They last ," sai d Walti . Another all-t im e great wiggler was Co ok Neils on on Pridmore 's B:-IW. It must have heen the magic Cy d e magazine touch th at tu rned the big B~ IW in t o a wiggle worm, b ecause it didn't seem to wobble all th e way from halfway do wn th e straight through tum five for Reg. Co ok didn 't back off much, though . The best ride, $4 8 5 worth in straight pri ze m on ey alone, belonged to Martin Carney an d Ro ger llagie I on an . absolutely stock Z-I , comple te wit h Dunlop F6B and K87 tires. There vasn't any oil at all showing in the rankcase viewi ng windo w when they inished, but th ere wasn 't anyo ne in ron t of them, either. Sm ooth riding nd "no h assles" won their race. atu rday : Some serious rac ing for 'li th pract ice in termingled t he six-hour W ..lS Mark Donohue, A.J. Foyt, Don Garlits, Dan Gumey, Graham Hill, Roger Penske, Richard Petty, Kenny Roberts, Johnny Rutherford, Jackie Stewart and Bobby Unser, when you join the .:-. GOOD/fEAR Motor Sports Clue Those eleven racing superstars are members and Adviso rs of the Goodyear Mo tor Sports Club. an exc it inq new natio na l clu b devoted to the entire field of motor spo rts . T his one-of-a-kind club ha s been des igned for both par ticipant s and fans byTh eGoodyear Tire & Rubber Company . It takes ad van tag e o f Goodyear's un ique inv o lvement in all form s of motor sports to help en thusiasts ge t on the " insid e" and keep up wit h all the fas t-pa ced mo to r sports deve lop me nts . Jo in the Sup erstars by joi ning the Club . As yo ur Boa rd of Ad viso rs, they' lI be contribu ting tim e and know ledge to g ive yo u an insider' s pe rspective o n mo tor spo rts . Their inv olvement is o nly o ne of many mem ber benefits. ( Mem ber benefits shown be low). To [o m the Good year Mo tor Sp o rts Clu b till oul coupon , cl ip and ma ti toda y . If co upon is mi ssin g wnte to : Goodyea r Motor Sports Club. PO Bo x 4 28 , Tarryt own . New Yo rk 10591 . Ph on e : 91 4-631·5308 r---------------, I ANNUAL FULL I MEMBE RSHIP 1 I w it h Special " Charler" Oiscounl t hrough ' .. You r offic ial Club cap . a mo tor sports st atus sym bol. May 31. 1975 5100 0 o ANNUAL FUU MEM BERSHIP (effe ctive June 1. 197 5) ANNUAL ASSOCIA TE MEMBE RSHIP Available to Immedlal e ram,~ '" Full"""'''''' only Assoc: Member receves Dub Cap. Card. three Clt,b Decals and Club Compound prNlleges 5 00 5 I I I 5 00 3 (First person ) 5 1500 . lEach add 'I pe rson) Chec k o r mo ney or der -payable to GOody ea r Moto r Sports Club [1 Master Ch arge D BankArneric ard 0 Ca rle Bl anc he LJ Diner . Clu b n Send Inlo rm alion Kit AFRI D'S UFE. FOR$2.25. $2.25. the averagecost of a cab rid e. could save vour fri end's life. • Your friend has a drinking prob lem. But it' s nothing compared to his driving probl em. Every tim e he drives drunk. he's riski ng his life and the innocent lives of others. Every tim e may be the last tim e. . Spend a few dollars. Send him home in a cab. Tha t's all. If you can't do that. drive him vourself. Or let him sleep on your couch. • We're not aski ng you to be a doctor or a cop. We're simply asking you to be a human being. I DR UNK DRI VER A -2 I BOX 2345 I ROCKVlLLE.I\1ARYLA D 208 52 I I want to save a friend 's life. I Tell me w hat else I can do. I ~l y nam e is I Add ress I Cit L_·v _ Sta te Z ip _ ~ ft WHEN APROBlEM DRINKER DRIVES, IT'S YOUR PROBlEM. TRANSPORTATIO~ )i u s DEPARTMEI\lT OF N ATIO NAL HIGHWAY TRAFFI C SAFETY AO'-t1N1S I RATI ON 19