Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Pierre Karsm a ker s, a soccer veteran . "It 's so exh ilarating : ye t so demand ing. Th ere arc so m an y , m a ny litt le d et ai ls. Mo st of all. it 's a combi nat ion effor t. Yo u and your mo to rc ycle have to w in. Y o u are o ne . " Ka rsm a kcrs. w h o rece ntl y won t h e Canad ia n GP, an d Mart y Smi th wh o defea ted Europeans and Americans alike at th e U.S . 12 5 Grand Prix . are jus t two of the top riders th at will be c o m pe ting in Supcrhowl '75 . HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSH IPS • The DIy Supe rb o w l, the m o st p res t ige ous an d larges t m oto cr oss in t h e nat io n , is ex pectantly awaited each year by enthusiasts nati on wide . Th is year ", I1 be ; hi gh lighted b y th e cro wn ing of th e Na t io nal Sup ercross Cham pi on a n d t he first o f five y ea rs of CB S Spor ts Spectac u la r co vera ge. Mot o cross is o ne of o u r fas te s t gro wi ng sp e c tato r sp ort s an d Oly wisel y m o ved it aw ay fro m the back co u n try w it h it s stifl ing d us t , lo ng t ra ffic lin es , ch e m ica l to ile ts a n d h ot beer t o su cces sfu lly sta ge th e even t in th e L .A. Coliseum . Now fa m ilies ca n co m fo r tab ly w a tch Inte rn ational an d Am eri ca n motocr o ss st ars b las t fro m the start ing ga te to rea ch the two m an wide bo tt leneck firs t turn, c ra sh thro u gh bl inding mud p its, e n d ure th ousand s o f ho n e ja rr in g ruts and fly do wn th e sk i run , a dangerous jump wh ere rid ers cl im b fro m t h e flo o r of t he Co liseum out the p a ra st yl e and race b a c k th ro ugh th e c en te r a rc h to fly to the floor . T he " see th e wh o le co urse" concept w as an ins tant su ccess gro wi ng fro m 27 .76 0 to 4 7 .500 a tt endanc e in just tw o y ears. This y ea r th e Oly Sup c rbowl is ex pec ted to d raw in excess of 60,0 00 a ttendan ce. TI, e Superbow l b egan in 19 72 o n a swe lt er in g even ing, fo llowi ng a co ns idera h ly smoggy da y. California te en age r Mar ty T r ipe s w on the first eve n t a n d back ed it up with a vic tory in the Superb o w l '7 3 . T r ipes fin ish ed th ird la st year heh ind winn er Jaroslav Fa lt a an d m a n y t im es world c ha m p io n Ro ger DeCo st er . T he firs t Sup er h owl was o n e o f II stops o n a tour of N o r th Am eri ca th at p itted Europe 's bes t agai nst the fin est in A merica. Sponso ring Am erican Xlo to rcvcl e Associ ation o ffici a ls rep ort th at th e ser ies d rew a t ota l o f 20 0,00 0 spec ta to rs , attest in g t o the co n tin ually m u sh ro om in g popu la rit y of t hi s rel a t ive ly " ne w" U.S . I sport . , In Europe. wh e re its tradit io n is mu ch o lde r and b e t ter es ta blishe d . single eve nt cro w ds fo r m otoc ro ss h ave ran ged up to the 19 0 ,0 0 0 figu re, in d icat in g th a t it s fascinat ion c o me s from someth in g m or e than m eren ovclt y. Brit ish c rs hav e bee n going at it in o ne fo rm o r anot her since 1 9 ~ 4. \\'hc ll m otocro ss w as bo rn it w as firs t c alle d "scra m bl es". It o ffe red a ne w c o ncep tio n runn ing ov er unimp roved (an d uncl eared ) na tu ral terrain. Moto cr o ss re all y be ga n to h it the h eights o f p opul ar it y immedi at el y fo llo w ing World Wa r II an d b y th e ea rly 1 9 ~() ' s , it alr ea d y b oaste d its p ro fessiona l elemen t riders wh o earne d the ir liv ing so lel y from thi s new offshoot of th e m o to rcy cl e rac ing sp o rt. In Am eri c a , m otocross d id n ' t ta ke firm hold u n t il th e la te 1960 's, sho rt ly a fter the bo o m be gan in fami ly re crcat io nal ridi ng. The In te r-As l A and Trans -A.\lA Seri es in re cent years w e re wha t m otorc ycl e o ffic ials an d in dustry spokesmen see as j us t th e firs t signs of a tremendo us ups urgc in m o to cro ss popula rity. "The re 's re ally no thi ng' quite like i t. " exp lains form er America n Cham pi on 36 '" Th re e hundred six ty h igh schoo l st u den ts fro m th rough o ut sou th e rn Cali fo rnia w ill race over th e Ol y Supe rb owl o f M o t o cro ss course Fr iday , J ul y 18 a t th e Los An ge les Co lise u m in the Co lise u m High Sch o o l Mot o cro ss Cha m pions hi p s. Cham pionship s in all di visions bu t o ne , the 12 5 cc Expert div isio n . will hc sett led Friday . w it h the 125("c fin al bei n g hel d o ve r until an in te rm issio n runn ing during th e Ol y Sup e rbowl, July 19. Hi gh Sch o o l rid ers have b ee n qua lifyi ng fo r th e Co liseu m c ha m p io ns h ip s fo r t he past four m onths, a nd co m pe t it io n is e xpec te d t o b e fie rce . La st y e ar in th e Co lise u m, a b rie f cha m p io nshi p ra ce a mo n g hi gh sch o o lers was he ld b etwee n he at s in th e Supe rbow l a n d w as w on b y San Diego 's (P t . Lorna High ) :\Iar t y Sm i th, n o w a top p ro fessiona l an d a co ntende r in this yea r 's Supe rbowl aga inst to p Am erican and Europ ean st ars . " So me fe lt t h at last y e ar's hi gh sc hoo l ra c ing was m ore exc it ing an d s t irring th an eve n tha t de mo ns tr ated b y th e world's to p pros," me e t di rec to r Da n Skah ill sa id, " An d fro m th e quality of raci n g we sa w a t the qua lify ing eve n ts, I wo u ld n' t be surp rised to se c th em do it aga in." Studen ts q ua lified in san cti o n ed m e et s at su ch track s as In dian Dun es, OC I R, Ca rl sbad In terna ti ona l Ra ce way , Coron a Raceway , Va lley Cycle Par k, Sad d leb ac k Par k an d Asco t. The Friday n igh t Co liseum High Sch o o l Mot oc ro ss c h am p io nsh ips is the large s t high scho o l c o m pe ti tio n eve r pl ann ed . TJCketinfo Ad van ce t ick e ts are curre n tly o n sale at Lib e rt y . Mutu al . Il'allic h 's an d Ticke tro n outle ts. Als o. a specia l " Dats u n S ave s" discount tick et packag e fo r bo th Frida y 's Hi gh Sc hoo l m o to cr o ss c ha m pio ns h ips and th e Oly S u pe r b o wl o f M o t o cro ss is ava i lablc at p ar t ic i p a t in g So u thern Cal ifo rni a Datsun De ale rs eve rywhe re. Re served scat s fo r -Sa turday a re 5 7, w ith \'1 1' a nd Pit Sea ts a t S J O, wi th chi ld re n u nde r 12 at half p rice . Frida y ge ne ral ad m iss io n tick e ts arc S5.5 0. The specia l "Datsu n Saves" dis co unt is 2 0%, the S 15.~() tic ket va lue for S 13 . Tic ke ts are a lso availa b le from the Sp or ts Arena tic ket officc. .:\I oto ram a in l Io llywo od and at Sunshin e Yam ah a in Orange Coun t y ,

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