Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

348 riders check out the sagebrush flats at the start of High Desert 100. One third of the unsuspecting victims were attacked by a small hill six miles beyond the start and DN F'd. earned victory. Ilerry won the Mini Open race over J ody Gaines, and then scooted his Honda to a second behind the Yamaha of Cory Cantaloupi in the 80 race. Tom is a co m er, look for him in the Expert ranks before too long. • Results in Results Section. Marshall, Jodry and Wilson take over Helvetia By Salle Hilton HELVETIA PARK, CAL., OCT. 19 Charles Marshall (Bul) was the overall winner in the Open Expert class on a ' course that was a little tight for Open bikes. Marshall, not 30 a regular MXer, was one of four who led the first two laps of the first rnoto, but Ted Rogers (Hus) was the leader when it counted, in the last few laps. In the second moto it was Marshall all the way as Rogers charged up through the pack to fall in behind. Brian Jodry (Mo n ), after some trouble at the start, was the last of 23 riders off the line in the 250 Expert first moto, Jodry, not used to running last, at the end of the first lap had moved up seven spots, and took four more on the second lap . By the end of the race he had moved into second right behind Ted Rogers (Hus) who had held the lead all the way and wasn't about to give it up at the end, J odry was more careful in the second moto. Although Mark Hilton (Mon) got the holeshot, it took only a few seconds before Jodry got by him. In a WFO burst of power, Floyd Davis (Suz) overtook first Hilton, then K~ Henry for second. Jodry went home with the overall pay , Henry took second money, Davis third. The first 125 Expert moto was a close finish for first and second after a whole race of battling between Pat Wilson (lion) and Eric McKenna (Hon). Wilson came out second best by a tiny margin. In the second mo to , the hot spot was the figh t for first between Mike Preston (Yam) who managed to hold the lead from holeshot to chec kered flag, Pat Wilson who had come up from mid pack .to join the flight, and Eric ~IcKenna who gave up his second to Wilson. • Results in Results Section. Mother Nature smiles on High Desert 100 By Larry Ulrich BEND, ORE. , OCT. 26 This race is unique, not only to the Northwest, but to the West Coast because the course is 100 miles long. No repeat loops. The Experts don't have to pass slower riders while lapping them; and you get to see a lot of country. A 100 mile course is a lot of work compared to a 30-50 mile loop, so consequently the Cascade MIC throws such an event only once a year. The terrain is varied, starting with sage brush covered flat desert , then up into the pine forests, back down to the starting area, and then off to the North of Highway 20 through culverts used mostly by ca t tl e to avo id traffic ha zards. The North side of the highway consists of sand, rocks, hills and many juniper trees th at can reach out with springy arm-like limbs to jerk you righ t off your bike. In the three mile run to the smoke bomb, Bob Strobel aboard his leading link front end Husky, had the lead with Dale DeMaris hot on his heels. About three miles ' past the smoke bomb, there 's a small hill called Pine Mountain. If you were out trail riding on a Sunday afternoon, you wouldn't give a second thought about it being an obstacle. It was, however, the down fall of many riders, including CZ mounted Dale DeMaris. There was a tremendous traffic ' jam and many riders burned ou t their clutches waiting to get over fallen logs and other little things. Of the 348 riders that started, 218 finished the 100 miles. Of the 130 DNFs, probably 100 were turned back right at this hill. The "High Desert 100" is usually always won in just over or under three hours. Likable Glenn Wiensz of Dallas, Oregon crossed the finish line in two hours and 58 minutes, $100 richer and very happy. Wiensz also garnered many points for the new "Oregon Desert Riders Assn. " points system. Riders kept pouring in, all with grins on their faces. Everybody loved the course and had a great time. Mother Nature had helped out with just the right amount o f rain prior to the race. One rider, Vern McCall, sent in his entry and put his age at 39 vears and II months, hoping the club would put him in the Old-Timers class (over 40). But, the club secretary wouldn't let him have this one month advantage on those old guys and put him in the Open Amateur class. McCall finished a few positions ahead of the first Old Timer. Maybe next time Vern. Five Powder Puffers en tered and four of them finished. They only had to complete the first 50 miles, but this was the worst 50. The four girls should be proud of themselves. Next race will be another Cascade M/C event on November 23, same area, but only a 50 mile course. • Results in Results Section. Do it in the dung at Grants Pass Indoor By Ly nne Diltz GRANTS PASS, ORE., NOV. 8 The Josephine County Fairgrounds covered arena, the bitty short track that's run by the Southern Oregon Motorcycle Association, provides some of the best action on the winter circuit. Like most winter indoors, the covered arena in Grants Pass is a livestock bam and when a rider has to go down, he'd dam well better keep his mouth shut. The rather large crowd of spectators got their money 's worth in the thrills a minute action and some absolutely side-splitting riding by those creaky, old gentlemen on their small machines. This track allows 100ccs as a maximum. The speed is faster than the popular Men's Mini classes, but oh dear, the riding is just the same! Keith Kingslein and Big Jim Miller charged off the line of the first heat and promptly crashed, The second wave was a bit more professional looking. Mike Lawless had his mind set on winning and he shot to a quick lead on the inside, Larry McLane and Don Ragen had quite a go and Mickey Rhodes brought up the rear. Big Jim took the holeshot in the TO but soon faded out - do believe he forgot the gas. In the A Main, he and another old gent tangled handlebars and Big Jim and bike parted company. - His brother Dennis picked up the family banner and took off, but just couldn't do more than third with the likes of Lawless and Mcl.ane ahead of him. I You know the 200 class? The one during which most spectators take a coffee break? Not so this time! W~ called that class a "Comedy of Errors" because that's just what it was every time the 200s got on the track. Dan Hacker made one of those starts that looks like a greenhorn at his first time on a bike, got all the way through tum one before he fell . Stan Atkinson got into number four, liked it so well he decided to stay. On the restart, Atkinson rushed right back to tum four and sat down again, while the rest wobbled to a heat finish. The TO wasn't much better; Lee Gifford and Hacker hooked up in a tum and Ron Stewart went down trying to miss them, leaving last place Atkinson to a first place win. When the A Main rolled around, Hacker took a holeshot but that fourth tum did it to him again. He spun around twice, using his foot as a pivot and if the whole thing wasn 't planned, it was the neatest donut spin we 've seen in a lo ng time. He then tried to make the front straight but wiped out a tire, chased flagmen Wes \\'ord, wiped out another tire, made one more shaky lap and pulled to the center, Ron Stewart found the ground before the race was half over and Atkinson had to settle for second behind a smokin' Lee Gifford. Jeff Cook had a strong lead in the 125 A, but decided to show everyone how to go from first to last in one easy move, That occurred in tum four, and six other riders passed. Cook turned on the gas and made an absolutely fantastic ride back to first, half a lap before the checkered. Younger brother J~ Cook had a first in the B Main, but less than 30 feet from the finish, pulled J~ff's trick, only there wasn't time to recover. The 250s were an overeager bunch. In the very first heat, Brian Peterson, Brett Howard and Wend~lI Diltz found themselves on row two. Mark Detwiler had a good lead but lost it and bike at the same time, John Lawton had the early lead of the second heat then took a header in tum four, leaving Randy Sloan with an easy win. The addition of a class for 360s proved interesting, Fred Faltersack found the short track a bit difficult. He promptly downed it in the heat, hit the wall, recovered and went down again in the main, less than 20 feet from the flag. He jumped up and still managed a third because of the mixed-up field. Jeff Campbell handily won his heat and TO. He ripped off the line for his third try, but a near hi-side slowed him to second ' and bike failure put him clear. o,,-t. _

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