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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126007
Desert hotline
ORA desert double
By Dale Bro wn
CALI FOR!'\jIA CITY, CAL., SEPT. 6-7
Jami e Avcls finished with an
impressive lead to become the seventh rider to win th e DRA Silver
Cup .
Avcls, riding a 400 Mono ou t
o f 29 Palms Yamaha, was one of
the top three to the bomb and
soon passed Rick Shirey (400
Yam) for the lead . With a healthy lead
at the en d of th e first 13·mile loop,
J amie gain ed 15 to 20 sec o nds on the
remaining four laps of the second
seven-m ile loo p .
Shirey and Go rdon Schmid (4 00
Yam) ran th e rest o f the race in each
other's co mp any ; but behind them, Bill
Conroy (400 CZ) was o n the move. It
took Conroy two loops to m ove past
Dean Mille r (250 Yam), Schmid an d
Shirey.
'
On ce past Shirey, Conroy apparently
thought he was leading and slowed to
maintain his pl ace and finish. Avels was
far enough ahe ad so that Bill saw no
dus t.
" Avels came into the finish with a big
grin and was presented with the $500
trophy which is a perpetual one until
somebody wins it three times in a row.
Conro y ca me into the fini sh,
jumped off th e bike and into a waiting
truck to be driven to Riverside where he
was entered in the S.C.O .R.E. race. It
was th e driv er's unhappy responsibility
to tell Bill th at he hadn 't won, which
must have come as quite a shock.
Mike Johnston (25 0 KTM) passed
Miller on the last loop to nab fifth an d
first 250. Tom Kelly (12 5 Yam) was
right on Johnston's tail for sixth and
first small-bore ,
Sunday w as the Rare Desert
Scrambles , a chance for every o ne to ride
the same co urse . Bob Balentine (400
KTM) had to work on Sa turday, but he
made up for his absenc e by winning
with a five-minute margin over second
place Gordon Sch mid.
As has happened so many ti mes in
the past, TIm Bowman surged into the
lead at the bomb, on ly to blow a h ead
gasket and seize the engine about five
miles out. Balentine led fro m th ere to
the fin ish.
No more CZs for Benny Padi lla . His
·250 broke before the race on Saturday,
so he borrowed a 250 Mono and was '
running second un til it broke. Look for
him to be back on his YZ at the nex t
race.
There was quite a race for third place
on the last lo op , with Dean Miller there
a n d Phil Stumbo (250 CZ) having
moved up from 13th to challenge him.
Stumbo go t by near th e end but
app aren tly go t into some dust as Miller
drew even with him. Then it was a dr ag
ra ce to the ch u te. Miller's margin of
vic tory at th e flag was half the len gth of
his fron t wheel. Miller got first
Ama teu r, Stumbo first 250 Expert.
Tom Kelly fini shed first small-bore
,fo r the second tim e in the two days of
racing, with Exp er t Eric Spaeth (125
Hon) right behin d for a class win.
George Harvey III (4 00 Yam) was
running well until he lost the fr ont
brake ca ble guide and the brake star ted
snagg ing, costing him some skin and a
few positions, th ou gh he did finish
seventh.
About 100 yards of the line , Jamie
Avels ' fo otpeg sna p pe d. lie rode ba ck to
his truck, got a footpeg off another bike
an d st arted the race a fu ll six minu tes
behind th e pack. Slicin g thro ugh the
pack o n cvery loop , he wo rked his way
up to finish eigh th,
Two fast brothers hav e lon g been a
t radi tion in racing, so it was not
surprising to see Roger Mille r leadin g
and win ning the Novice race, riding
brother Dean 's 250 Mono. Dean Kirk
(250 Yam) and Prosperous Shepard
(400 Yam) ended up second and third.
Tony St uart (125 Yam) finished sixth
and Won' his class,'' , ,
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