Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

HANG TEN U.S.G.P. PREVIEW his year t he Hang T en United States Moto-Cross G ra nd Prix is th e sixth round in th e Wo rld Mo to -Cro ss Championship fo r th e 5 00cc machines and co mes at a stage in t he cham pio nshi p wh en th e battle fo r t he title is very close b et w een l a st year's Cham pio n, Heik ki Mikkola a n d t he man h e toppled from the t hr o ne, Ro ge r De Coster. Last year 40,000 peo ple saw Ge rritt Wo ls i nk ,' a d e nt i s t fr om H oll and , lit e rally crash over t he fi nis h line to take the o ve rall win agai nst a fiel d of to p rid e rs fro m t hir tee n nati on s. Th e H an g Te n U ni te d S t at e s Mot a- Cro ss Gra nd Prix is one a f o nly 12 Gran ds Prix t his year to co unt fo r the pr est igious cha m p io nship of t he world an d it t ak es pla ce in Ame ric a fo r th e . third year. 19 7 3 was th e fir st y ear th at the Hang Te n Unit ed St ates Gran d Prix co unted f or p oint s i n th e Wor ld Champio nsh ip and it was t he fir st time t hat A merica had ever ho ste d a race o f th is sta t u re. People qu ick ly rea lized th at this wa s ver y differ ent fro m th e average m ot a- c r o s s r a c e. Pr e ci ou s Wo rld Cha mpio nsh ip po int s arc at stake an d th e racing is very h ard and dose with the t op r ider s in t he worl d giving eve ryt hi ng th ey' ve go t t o im prove t heir cha m pio nship s tan d ings. The G ran d Prix is sa nc tio ned un der i nterna tio na l m ot o rcy cl e ru les by t he Fed e ra ti on Int ern a tionale Mo to cyclist e ( F.I. M.) a nd the America n Mot o rcycle A s s o ci a ti on (A . M.A.) a nd as it is America's o nly World Cha m pionship 500cc G .P., it is observed ve ry close ly by i ts m o r e ex pe rie nced Euro pea n co un te rpa rts. An F. I. M. re presen ta tive, Mo nsieu r C ha rles Dillen , travels every year fro m Belgium to officially obser ve th e running a t t nt Gra nd Pri x. M, Dillen has ca lled th e Hang T en Gr and Prix t he be st organized Gra nd Prix he has ever a tte n de d, so wi t h th e s e so rt of c o m p li me n ts b eing paid , t he fu t u re look s go od for th e Hang T en Gr and Prix and World Cham pio nshi p Mot a- Cro ss in Am erica . The HA NG T EN UN ITE D ST ATE S GRAND PRIX is th e o nly chan ce that American fa ns have to see th is class of Wor ld Ch amp ionsh ip Motocro ss racing and t h e y c om e from al l ove r the country a nd E uro pe by chart er plan e , ca r, motorcycl e and by fo ot to see th e world's best motocross ride rs from 14 n ation s b attl e it o u t un de r' th e Cali fo rn ia su n. They know there is no other raci ng like Grand Pri x ra cing when Champio nsh ip po ints are at sta ke . I This year, the HANG TEN UN ITED STATES G RAND PR IX promises to be the best yet, and with t he pot e nt ial of a c lo se c hampionship battle, America n fans should See some of the best racing yet seen on these shores. h e battle for this year's World 500cc Moto cross Championship is so close foll owing a double win by Belgiu m's Roger De Coster in Fia la nd l a s t week t hat the chief pro t ago n ists face an unwanted 10 ,0 0 0 m ile t rip into R ussia before t hey cross th e Atlantic fo r the American rou nd of t he series, the H ANG TEN UN ITE D STATES G RAND PR IX at Carlsba d Raceway , Califo rnia . Earlier in t he season D e Cos ter ( Wor l d Cha m p io n thr e e t im e s in s uccess io n in 19 7 1/ 2/ 3 ) and the man w h o d ep o sed h im last ye ar , Heikk i Mi kk ol a of F inland, had de cided to b oy c ott th e Ru s sian r ound of t h e Cha m pio nsh ip along with a numb er of o t her to p-liners. Now , h ow ever, the battle betw een t hese t wo h as ha tt ed up to th e exte nt t ha t neith er really da re take the cha nce of l e a ving t he R ussian ro un d out of t heir sched ule eve n th o ugh it means a l on g t r ek into t he Sovie t Unio n fo r relati vely little reward . In Fi nland last we ek De Cos ter wo n bo th of the 45 minu t e po in ts races with Mikko la second in eac h . Th us, t he Fi n n ret ains h is Cham pio nshi p lead wit h 76 po int s but De Coster, after lang uish in g in fou rt h p lace beca use o f a string of bad luck , has narrowed t he gap a nd sits in second wit h a 57 poi nt ta lly. I n thi rd is a fo rmer wi nner of the H A N G TEN G RAN D PRI X , Ak e J o nsso n . Th e Sw ed e has had a dismal co u ple of seaso ns since h is Carlsbad win late in 19 72 bu t 1975 see ms to be h is comeback year. He was a st ro ng thi rd o verall in Finland a nd now sits third in Cha m pionsh ip sta ndi ngs w it h 4 8 point s. At a ny Cha m pio ns hi p eve n t there ar e _ t wo s e p arate races, each ca rryi ng 15 p o ints fo r th e w inn er. So th e margin betw e en Mi k k ol a , D e Cos t e r and J o n s s o n is a s l i m o n e i n de ed .. . partic u larly as th ey all list Carlsbad as o ne of their fav orit e tr ack s o n th e en tire Ch am pio nshi p tri al. T hances o f a " ho me" win in t he A merica n round of the Wo rld 500 c c M ot a- C r o s s C ha m pio ns h i p, TH E HAN G T EN U N I TE D STAT ES G RA N 0 I' R I X, ar e be tter th an eve r C Worl d Champion , He ikki Mikkol a, hopes t o extend h is p resen t lead at Car lsb ad . before , desp it e foreign o ppositio n from t h e to p co ntesta n ts in curre nt world title sta ndings. A Ir e ad y ent ere d fo r th e Hang Te n Classic are World Cham pio n, Heikk i Mikk ol a of F inl and from the Hu sq varna fact o ry te am, p lus th e man fro m whom he wr ested t he t itl e last ye ar, Belgium's Su zuki -m ount ed t ri p le w orld tit le holder . Rog er De Coster. Add to th at. las t ye ar's w inner, Dutchman G errit Wol sink , a no t he r ace Sw ed e , Arne Kr ing, Bult acos ex-w or ld c hamp, Bengt Aberg a nd a hunch more of Euro pe's best. Even so • . exp er ie n c ed mo t o-c ro ss journal ist s are read y to put mon ey o n a hom e win a nd th e fav ori te for t h e ho no r i s A m cr ica ns leadi ng Cha m p ions h ip h op e , Br a d Lack ey . Brad hails fro m P in ol e in No rt hern California a nd fo r three yea rs has forsak en h ig mon ey in CARLSBAD RA.CEIAY HOI TO GET THERE To los Anqetes VISTA t he St at e s to chase his Cha m pions hi p dr e a m o n t h e i n co rnpa rably-t ough er Euro pea n G ra nd Prix tra il. He rides fo r the Hu sqvarna fac to ry an d i s cu rre n t ly se ve n t h in the Cham pio nshi p sta ndi ngs. Brad has tw ice won the "Best Americ an " awa rd in th e HA NG TE N UN IT ED STATES GRAND P RI X a nd actu all y led th e event in the fie rce ly-com petit ive o pe ni ng laps of the 19 73 eve nt. Th is tim e he aim s to lead t he rac e all t he wa y t o t he che cke re d flag . " I' m due for a Grand Prix win soo n" says Brad , who re cen tl y beat all comers in a Fren ch international race " and th is is the o ne I want t o win mo st of all". Probably t he top fav orit e a mo ng the o the r A mer ican rid ers to bre ak th e E o ro pea n st ra ngle ho ld o n th e race is ac t ua l ly a D ut chm an . . . Pi e rre Kar sm aker s, who em igrate d her e from Holl an d t h ree years ago afte r racin g in th e U S A with a visi ti ng Ilusqv arn a facto ry t eam! Pie rre was t he ce nter of co nt roversy at Ca rlsbad last ye a r wh er. h e won t he " Best A merica n" awa rd desp it e his Dutch ci tizenship. But Pierre says " 1 live her e in ,Missio n Viejo , Califo rnia , I race here, have an A me rica n racing lice nse an d o ly visit Euro pe for vacatio ns .. .as fa r as I am co ncer n e d I a m a n A me rica n race r n ow" , Th e American M ot or c y cl e Association t hi nk so too , fo r Pierre has fu I f ille d t he necessary re s id en c e (Continued on page 34) OCEANSIDE TICKET INFO Pacific Ocean l ACOSTA COU NT RY CLUB Advance t icke t s are currently on sale at Liberty , Mutual and Ti ck et ron outlets, so . buy now and save dollars with t h e special ad va nce prices o f $7 for adults and $5 for ju niors (6 - 16). Children under five are free, of course . Don't worry, however, if you can't organ ise you r ti c kets in ad van c e. There's plenty of room fo r everyone. Pr ices on t h e d ay a re $8 fo r adults a n d $6 for j uni o rs. .. .fo r th e ONLY Am e r ican ro u nd in the Wo rld 500cc Moto-Cross Champio nsh ip . 31

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