Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:})~{:~:~:~:~:~:::~:~:::~:}}}~{{:~:::::}~:::))~:)}}}::7" ' " : ..'7l::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:~:~:)~:::::::::::::::::::::::{:! j ' 13-year old Mitchell F isher takes this GP racing business seriously. SRA Riverside GP Saltzmen spins ouftwo By Sebastian RIVERSIDE, CAL. , MAY 16 Desert ace Bill Saltzman found a fast groove at the SRA 12th Riverside Grand Prix and churned the eight mile course 'in to one big victory dance. He won two of the five events and led another so conclusively that after he broke it took four minutes for th e next place rider to come by. Bill started the day leading the Open race until the six t h lap when spectators saw his chain flyi ng 100 feet in to the air just out of the gas pits. He pushed in , replaced it , and got goi ng lo sing only 24 places , mostly to riders he had already lapped. On the n ex t lap he re-passed all but 10 before so me gremlin pu t an end to his efforts and re sulted in his only DN F of the da y . Mike Quibideaux t oo k over only t o m ysteriously DNF, followed by Mike Foreman. In fact, so many o f th e leaders wen t ou t for mechanical repairs th at the official at the fin ish lost track o f the leader and th ey rode an extra lap before he was found aga in; Warren Pierce rode a steady race but it must be frustrating t o win a Open Exp er t event and not even be recognized at the ' finish line! About 175 of the over 35-year·old Geritol group go t it on with the lead swapping tw o or three times be t ween Joe Rose (winn er ) an d w.e. Thorton [runner-up) . The old-timers lik e the co urse at Riverside because the re is .alwa ys so me place to re st in be t ween the tough are as and at th at st age in life , an y relief is welcome. The co urse utilized most o f the land available at River side without the water holes and mud cro ssin gs. There were about two miles of asphalt in sh ort sections, along ' with MX jumps, big sweepers, off cam ber turns , berms, and very little dust. At times some fo lks thought they were in the wrong place as truck loads of co m b at ready Marines wen t plowing th rough . t he pit area. Some tho ught that SRA had finally flipped, and sche duled so me honest entertainment for be tween races. What was going on? The jarheads were stopping for snack bar type refreshments on their way to and from war games in the desert. The 250 race proved to be another Saltzman benefit as he jumped into the lead shortly after the Le Mans st art and stayed there for the first half. Bill gassed on lap six and lost the lead to Ed Watral 'mo men tarily , but Ed suffered some problem and limped in way in the ba ck . Gary Auberlen managed to come from SIxth on the first lap to a close second before running out of laps. Jeff Wood and Ron Gomez fought for the Nov ice lead leaving the start 3 0 seconds after the Advanced riders. It was so hot and heavy that they pushed each other into the Advanced riders and finished fifth and seven th overall. Jim Burd and Joe Whitlow were the subjects of some heavy wagering between friends and rel atives as to who would be the top cat in the Open race. As it turned o ut, neither of them won, but they ran one whale of a race trying. Joe cen ter -slu ng another rider just off the start and Jim slid out in the mud just a bit further down the line . It t oo k them both o u t of overall con ten tion but also left them where they could see each other. Whitlow took the le ad and held on 'til lap four when he came by pointing down, with Burd right on his tail. This episode of the saga ended sadly (for Whitlow) as he retired to watch the Burd supporters collect their money . The hotly co nt ested 125 class ca me up next and the leader w as in je opardy throughout the whole ra ce . Steve Cheney was the early leader but Ri ck Park took over in the second lap an d held a slim lead throughout th e whole thing. Scott Mcjunkin came in from the low desert to turn out an impressive fifth overall, and fir st Nov ice in fr on t of l4-year -old Steve T rampus. The 100 win went to Sandy Barber who is the first rider th is year t o beat Kent Myers in the 100 class. Sandy was helped by so me mech anical problems on Kent's mono , but he was flying ashis Penton to o k him well up into the ranks o f the 125s. The Women's Division wen t to Louise White on a shin y ne w KTM 25 0. Second went t o an other new bike , a 5 00 Yamaha, piloted by Marj orie Haynes. T he spectators' favorite race is the team event. It generally o ffers the mo st fun and falls (in the pit) . T his was n o excep tion as more than o ne ride r fo rgo t which hand h olds th e th ro t ti e an d th e clu tch during the hectic rider swi tc h. Saltzman te amed with M. Fit zgerald to sweep this one also, bu t there was an unusual exchange at t he registration as they signed up. Seems that Mr . Fitzger ald is .an honest-to-goodness Beginner at racin g, alt h ough one heck o f a rider. He and Bill wanted to kn ow sin ce the y had one Expert and o ne Beginner, how co me they couldn't split the difference an d ride Nov ice ? Cheee l Last year 's winners Gary Sigman and Bill Misener co uld do no better th an third behind J eff Wood and Larry Katuls. • LIMITED ONETI Hang Ten Moto X Jeans $12.95 a pair. Sold nationally for $25 .00. 13-3/4 oz . indi go denim, 100% cotton, Sanforized, Washable , Heavy duty brass zipper, Heavy weigh t hip, thigh and Imee padding, Zipper le g bo ttom . Available in waist sizes from 22-38 . To o rder. send n a m e , address and waist size with check or m oney o rd e r made ou t to : Mota X O ffer, H ang Ten Jeans, 17031 East G reen Drive, C ity of Industry, CA 91744. Allow two week s for delivery, shipped parcel pos t prepaid. HANG TEN. fHA~ SLACKS"JEANS The Hang Ten feet mean quality. ___.TE".,N I!) NOTE: Californ ia residents 0 add 6'7 sale s tax . OH,WHAT OXIDATION, POLYMERIZAl ON AND EVAPORATI CAN DO TO YO CARBURETOR! In pl ain English, g asoline continu ously d e te rio ra te s. The molecules combine a nd rea ct with e ach o t her. The result is 'g um a nd varnish . A nd in plainer English, yo u 've got a d irty car buretor. G u mo ut Motorcycle C a rb C le a ne r cleans y our carburetor, a nd absorbs moistu re. Fo r faster, e asier st a rts g e t G u mo ut . It's the b e st . GaD THE ~~~!!~~~E IS~ . A Pennz oll Pro d uct Mik e Patrick's YAMAHA 01 CORONA 1101 E. 6th Street, Corona, CA I~' ( 714) 735-7721 ~! Pen nzo ll Co. 119 7 6 Yamaha & KTM 3365 E. 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