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/126026
.******** *****************••• Desert hotline When,a look like aWin. you ride like aWinner. P.O. Box 62148 VI'\Ilnl. Beoc:h. VI'\Ilni. 23462 Prec ision m anufactured w ith a new space age roller to resist wea r under ext reme use. Has a dua l funct ion: spr ing lo ade d roller keeps cna tn taut and ttle ang le o f t h e mount acts as a cha in gu ide and prevents mud or bru sh f ro m ~~~~~:rI~~~~e:~t~~?;~~ttolerances & higher test springs than any on the market. Use d by the best ex perts. emer's *Roller w ith 29.000 RPM 1"1 191"1 sp ee d bear ings available as optional. Models ayailable SUZuk i KTM - ... Vamaha - Honda - Kawasa ki - Husky - CZPenton - Malec - Bultaco 821.95 CfZ+.=D; Forinf o MOT ORCYCL ES ~® 8 PARTS ~ dT),i COMPLETE _u .... PISTONS MACHINE SHOP,REPAIR a SERVICEON AL L MAKES (714) 630-5720 e well EnGineering 8 SUPDly oJJJ 114 0- & N . Kraemer _ AnaheIm Co_92806 QaE (7 14\ R94 -7623 KTM & Rupp Fun Machines Sales Servi ce Parts Accessories D&RCycles 12 Balentine undefeated in '76 Da winnah! Bob Balentine checks t o see if his head's on st raight for the camer a, unwitting ly revealing t he secret of his win streak. His KTM steers it self! co ntact: 8423 Rosemead Blvd. Pica Rivera, CA 90660 213·869-7346 Dealer & Dist. in quiries inv ite d CE- Heat h Hibbard, up in the air over finishing second overall, 7181 Westminster Ave. W estminster. CA 9268 3 By Dale Bro wn CALI FORNIA CITY , CAL ., JAN. II Bob Balen tin e hasn 't lost a race since th e first weekend in December and he sta rted DRA's 1976 points season with yet another runaway win. Combined with his 1975 to tals , this gives Balen tine 12 wins in 14 starts, the other two bein g a second pl ace, desp ite a bro ken collarbo ne on the last loop an d a third in a team rac e. Bob is the only one to ear n the DRA black plate which will be given to any rider with six overall win s. Dave Wood (Yam) jum ped ou t in front as th e ra cers lef t the line, bu t he hadn't qui te m ade it to th e bomb b efore he seiz ed, giving the lead to Balen tine (4 00 KTM ). That was Wood's first DNF in his racing career. co mp iled a Balentin e . h ad sever al-minu te lead by the end of the first 30- m ile loo p. Novice Shawn Underwood (400 Yam) held second, clo sely pursued by Ru sty Sanderson (250 Bul). Allen Meek (175 KTM ) was leading the Am ateu rs at fourth , followed by Heath Hib bard (4 00 Yam). Tom Kelly ( 125 Yam) had wo rke d his way up fro m a five-kic k start to a posi tion ju st he hind fellow In vader Doug Winchell (2 50 Suz) who w as sixth. Balen tin e was stretching out his lead somewhere on th e next tour of the course, wh ile Sanderson moved pas t to n ab second. U n d e r woo d Unfortunately Un derwood 's brilliant ride came to an end somewhere after tha t, moving everyone up. Tom Kelly's chain had alr ead y co me off several time s, but he st ill moved to wit hin sight of Meek before he d isco vered the problem. A ro ck had ben t the chain gu ide and the misaligned chain had worn out th e sprock et, so Kelly o p te d for a Dl"'F. Balentine 's nearly flawless ride was given a sharp jolt on a downhill fireroad near the end of the loop. Travelling about 80 m.p.h ., Bob collided with a rider he was lapping and who had acciden tally swerved righ t in to his path. Both wen t tumbling head over heels, bu t other than some painful bruises, nei ther was hurt. It turned ou t that the rider wa s an old friend of Balentine's and they ende d up joking wryly about th e inc iden t later in the pits. Bob still finished with a handy lead, making it his sec ond win in as many weekends this year . In addition to the usual $12 5 in prize money, Balen tine also will collect SI 5 from Malcolm