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/125990
[; II1I:I • II1I:I ...:I t -c- ~.-/ l!') r-- .. 0') ' .-< r-- . N ;;... :';l ~ Barry Sheene explains the wo rk ings of th e Suz uki road racer to Pete r Starr. Also in Starr's new film is Giacomo Agostini, seen here d isplaying It alian charm. lwo new films -- - Get set to SlaW -ing motocross and road raCing By Charles Clayton Peter St arr Prod uctio ns sho wed us two new do cumentaries o f mot orcycle sport tha t you will soo n get to see on TV . Eac h is 23 mi nutes long, to fit in to co mmerical half-hou r slo ts. The first is " Cha m p ion Spark Plug Mo torcycle Cla ssic ," or "Ont ario Ro ad 22 Race," finan ced by th e m a nd Dat sun a nd U.S. Suzu ki I\lot or Co . It sta rs Gene Romero, Kenny Roberts , an d Barry Sheene . You ge t a view of t he bi g, wid e Natio nal Ch ampionship roadie-oh th at o n ly t he sc re en can show - b ird 's-e ye shots from a hel icopter, a racer's-e ye .views fro m the speeding bike, inside th e ra ce r 's mind b e t w ee n ra ce s - as well as the traditional newsreel footage o f thrills and spills and ch ampagn e glo ry . The slow motion scenes set to organ music by a m e m be r of the Nitty Gri tt y Dirt Band make it all seem so romantic. But shouldn't t hat pavement c hase be acco m pa n ied by the Ni tt y Gri tty Bitume n Band? The Dirt Band, appropriately, also lays down the track on Starr's latest fea ture, called "To be a Motocross Champion," or "The :' Iarty Sm ith Story. " It is all about the 17-year-o ld high school student who wins S30,OOO a year raci n g fo r the Honda Wo rks Motocross Team, On a budget provided by Ame rican Honda a nd Pen n zo il, Starr really shows what he can do with 16 mm film in this m o vie. We watch Mart y play-racing in the desert, me et h is m o m and dad a nd his high school teach ers. I\IX coach Ro lf Tibblin te lls what makes Ma rt y so good (ath le t ic tale nt ) a nd Ho nda Racin g Ma nager De nnis Blan to n explains why Marty is so gre at (co nse rva tive in te llige nce seldo m seen in a 17-year-ol d ). T his re viewer won 't predict how we ll " Mo toc ro ss Ch ampion" a nd " Cham p io n Classic" will play in Peo ria , wh e re fe w , if a ny , hi gh sch ool te achers work in Ha wa iian shirts a nd p ub-she ll necklaces lik e :'Iart y's do, b ut th e fil m s he lp a lot to fill t wo g- ps in th e a ud io -visua l a library of m o t orcy cle spo rt and t he • p eo p le wh o ex cel at it. S.C.O.R.E. big Sal Fish, p reside n t of S.C.a.R.E , In t ernat ional. has announce d the " Valvo line Iron :'I an " perpetual trophy. " Besides 5500 and t he sheer est eem a nd ho nor co n nec t ed wit h the award. the ph ysi cal make-up of thc t ro p hy is the wildest and gre ates t I have ever scc n, " Fish sta led t ha t the awa rd " is som ething the Preside nt o f t he Un ite d States wo uld be p roud t o have in his de n ." Parts o f t he trop h y are m ad e out of steel re presen ting t he st ren gt h a nd en d urance o f th e rider. In addi tio n t o the purse and con t ingencies, th e perpetual tro ph y will be given to th e ove ra ll bike wi n ne r if he has sing u larly rid den t he en tire " AC-Delco Baja 5 0 0" o f f-road race wh ich will be h eldju ne 13 in Ense nada, o n th e Baja Pen insul a. Th e race is ac tually 3 9 0 m iles in leng th with a hal f ho ur m andatory downtime in Cama lu, The award will be given a t only th e tw o S.C. 0 , R.E , Baja ra ces wh ich will also include the " AC-Delco Baja 1000, " Oc t o be r 3 D-No vem ber 1 an d will b displayed a t s.c.a. R.E . headqua rters a nd the Valvo line m ain office in Ashland, Ke nt uck y , 11,e ride r's na me will be engraved on th e han d so m e twin t rop h ies for the wo rld 10 re call th ai he is trul y an " Iro n Man ." Besides the purse th ere is ne arl y $3 0 ,0 0 0 in bike co n tinge ncy mo nies. . · S.C.a . R. E. off-ro ad even t s have t h ree bike clas ses: 125 cc, 250cc and 25 1cc and ove r. Fo r entry in form ation , co n tac t s.c,a, R. E. In te rna tiona l, 270 1 East Anahei m Street, Wilmington . California 90744, (2 13) 4 37 -0466. AC-Delco Baja 500 contingencies Champion Spa rk PIUgs AC Spark Plugs 1st in eaeh etass 2nd in eaeh elass $200 , .100 Over a ll wi nn er .500 Total $1.400 1st in each elass $200 2n d i n each class •. • • . . . . . . . . . • . .100 Over all w inne r • • . . . . . . • • • • . • . • . •500 Total $1.400 Diamond Chain Adran Tires ,$250 $250 $1,000 1st in eaeh class Total 1st 25 f in ishers on Adran T i res receive a free replaceme nt . 1st in eaeh class Total Ame rican Honda Gumout (Chain Lube ) 1st in eaeh class Overall rno torev c le Total Bonu s - 1st in each class Overall moto rcycle Total $1 ,000 1,000 $4 ,000 $6,000 Bell Helme t 1st in each class Overall moto rcycle Total Electro Helmets 1st in each class Overall motoreyele Total 1st in each class Total $100 $300 $100 $100 $400 2nd in eac h class $2 00 Total 1st in each class 1st Ove rall if m oto rcycle 1st in each c lass Overall motorcycle 100 , $700 Bilstein (ICH 36 mm ) Bi lst ein s if no p o in t wi nner 50 $750 $300 $100 50 100 $550 Husqvarna Int. Training CenterlTeam Husky 1st in each c lass 1 st in ea ch class S250 or S50 to 1st f i nishers with 36 mm Sl00 Hooker Exhaust $100 200 $500 Bell Ray (engine oil) Total $100 $300 Gumout (car b cleaner! American J awa (CZI Overall motorcycle Total , Total $5 00 $1.500 Inst ant Mexico Insura nce 1st in eac h class $100 Total $300 I - '1 I I I I !