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/126045
1NORTHERN DATEUNE s t (.0 r-... 0') .-l Off t he Le Mans sta rt, ea ger race rs du st up the Mammoth Lakes scene ry. Inset : Larry Roesele r, unmasked in the winner's circle, manages a d irty grin . - Roeseler romps Mammoth By Jon Marshall MAMMOTH LAK ES , CA L. , MAY 2 Th e weath er in th e Sierras is always unpredictab le, so putting on a m ot orcycle race in .early sp ring is ' some times risky. In Mammoth Lak es last week, a warm breezy day was the setting for the third annual Mamm oth Grand Prix . ' Rid ers, spe ctators, .... 34 weather and o rganization came to gether as the shotgun wen t o ff at Sh ad y Rest Park to start the race. Th e Mammoth G rand Prix is a 200 mile race which consists o f ten 20 -mil e laps. T he cou rse is laid o u t on logging roads which t wist through pines and sagebrush wi th a 2000 ft. difference in elevation at vari ous poin ts. The dirt is powdery - pumice which will take virt ually no w ater when dry underneath so the race is held as soon as snow melt permits. Even so , a lo ader was used to cut t hrough the snow banks at higher elevations, while water trucks worked on th e lower portions of the co urse. In the Expert class, Chris Carter o n a Ya maha 400 ju mp ed ou t to an early lead with Larry Roeseler on a Husky 25 0 co ming u p in the se cond lap in to second pl ace .. Dave Lapraick o n a Can -Am 250 and Bruce J ones on a KTM 250 fou ght it o u t for th ird and fourth place, until th e fift h lap when things began to change. Roeseler began m ovin g up o n Carter, cu tt in g his one-m in u te lead. Roeseler, being the desert hand th at he is, n ever le t up , ca tc h in g Carter o n the six t h lap. Lapraick was ' force d o ut of con te n tio n on th e fif t h lap with a flat an d Richard . Buttner on a Husky 400 ca me up t o take on th e fight with Bru ce J ones ,fo r th ird pl ace. Buttner passed him in th e six t h lap and stayed. Fif th p lace was a su rp ris e , Wes Nort on on a Yam aha 12 5! On a co urse ,averaging 50 mph with a t least five m iles of stra igh taway. Robert Haynes o n a Yamaha 4 0 0 ran a steady ra ce in the Junior class, taking o ver first place on the second lap and keeping it . Bob Gribben on a Yam ah a 400 and J ames Davenport on a Yamaha 250 joc ke ye d back and fo rth for six laps until Gribben was forced out in the seven t h with ign itio n problems. Davenport fin ished an easy seco nd. Riding a Honda 12 5, Dennis Vetter moved from sixth p lace in the fifth lap, into third by the seventh lap which he held until the finish . Latecomers, Greg Newland on a Can-Am 250 and Dennis Sila cci riding a Su zuki ~ 70, held fourth an d fifth respectively for the las t th ree laps. • The troph y presentation was sp iced up with co n ting ency prizes donated by AMCO Products and t he re wer e no disgruntled riders complaining th at they should have h ad a troph y . T he Mammoth GP w as almost st opped this year by the lo cal Forest Service which has jurisdiction o ve r the forest in which it is run . They refused th e permit for this y ea r's race with n o co n cre te reasons fo r the denial. After receivin g letters and p hone ca lls of protest from local and out-of-town businesses and residents, the y were . force d to reco nsider. This year's victo ry does not mean the war is won. Next year 's race is sti ll in jeopardy. Letters in support of the Grand Prix are desperately needed. All yo u fo lks w ho ride and care about the future o f dirt riding, send your letters to: • Evere It Towle Fores t Supervisor 295 7 Birch Stree t Bishop, CA 93514 Babcock Memorial HSMX By Sue Sykes PUY ALLUP, WASIL, A!'RIL 25 Two hundred riders wore their high school col ors an d rallied for their team members for a day of HSMX racing on Puyallup 's Tr ans AMA course. A win in the Op en C by Kevin Peterson , Juanit a High and a second overall for J ay Anderson, Timberline, in the last ra ce of th e da y jumped th e fin al team score s into a three way tie which also included Lindberg High School. The High School Trophy was placed at Juanita High Sch ool Kirkland, Washington , as t hey scored the most wins for the day . 125 Pro Marv in Sykes (Curti s High , Tacoma) , 250 Dave Lal'ierre of Naches High, and Open Tom Peterso n of " Juani ta ca lled the shots in the mo ney I classes to p ick u p t he chec ks and wins for t heir te ams. • Easter cash for McKenna, Leet and Magoo " By Sallee Hilton DIXON, CAL., APRILI 8 Easter Sunday b rou ght ou t all the really hard core MX addicts to race and play egg games at Argyll Park with B.O.S.S. l\1X hosting. The in termission "sss r ace " was made more interesting to the spectators by r