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By Jody Weisel
hat do a mystic meteorologist from
Sacramento, a herd of horses from L.A., a
contractor from La Habra, a 180 mph
professional road racer, The Los Angeles
Rams and a four-time World motocross champion have
in common? The answer is that the combined efforts of
these factors and a multitude of other details go into
opening the gates and turning on the scoreboard lights at
the July 24th Oly Superbowl of Motocross.
Six months ago while the L.A. Rams were putting the
finishing touches on their seasonal football aspirations
nine full -rime employees and enthusiasts at Stadium
Motosports were beginning the complex groundwork for
America's premier motorcycle spectacular. Laying a
competitive motocross course in the pit of a gridiron
isn 't a "wander through the field and point" affair. A
licensed 'engineer must supply an accurate blueprint of
the Coliseum from dugouts to lawn sprinklers. Riders
like Weinert, Jimmy Ellis and Rolf Tibblin must be
consulted on the preliminary design. An engineer then
drafts the preliminary layout with detailed architectural
drawings and draftings. A 400 page manual of
specifications spells out the entire timetable of
construction including type of equipment, time
schedule, number of manhours, security bonds and the
exact same details for the removal of the track from the
premises. Every detail must meet exacting requirements
of state, local and Coliseum ordinances.
All of these complex and expensive details must be
completed in toto before the Coliseum board will even
discuss the possibility of allowing high powered
motorcycles to enter the hallowed ground of Crazy Legs
Hirsch and Roman Gabriel,
The quantity of obstacles and expenses mounts to a
breaking point. Every aspect of normal life presents a
potential problem. What if it rains in the weeks prior to
the event? It is conceivable that construction could be
delayed and July 24 would find the Oly Superbowl of
Motocross turned into the Superbowl of Mud. Stadium
Motosports contracts with a meteorologist in
Sacramento who is used by agriculturlists and farmers to
predict the weather one year in advance. His accuracy
rate is 80%. July of 1976 will be a dry month.
.Bids are accepted on the actual construction at a
public opening. Jim Kitchens and Associates of La Habra
were awarded this year's contract, since their previous
experience at the Anaheim Stadium motocross finals was
widely heralded as sup erio r by the motorcycle press. The
contractor's task is to carry out the wishes of Stadium
Motosports, which in tum is going to necessitate the use
of over 100 dual bottom-dump trucks to haul 6,600
cubic yards of dirt into the floor of the Coliseum. Using
25 people for 14 straight days a track will be shaped
into, up and around the 80,000 seat stadium.
$125,000 is what it will co st to convert a football
stadium in the heart of Los Angeles into a world class
W
Recipe for
a MXtrack
(ADVERTISEMENT)
motocross track, but all the dirt in the world doesn't
make a motocross track. The ingredien t necessary to
achieve that goal is experience. The experience of
four-time World Champion Roger DeCoster will be
brought into play three days before the event when the
track will be pre-run and modified as Roger D. sees fit. It
will be re-checked on Friday and if further modifications
are required a crew will work all night to finish them.
Even on the day of the event, while the special starting
gate is being bolted to the walls. DeCoster, Weinert,
Jimmy Ellis and Marty Smith will be asked for further
input.
As the sun begins to set on Saturday, July 24th, after
six months of hard work, the real hustle begins. 400
straw bales are brought in from a horse feed house in
Los Angeles, ribbons are strung, banners are hung, the
Coliseum's massive banks of lights must be refocused to
light the comple te track including the uphill climb into
the peristyle, additional lighting is rented from a m ovie
studio supplier to supplement the stadium lighting, a
new high ou tp u t concert sound system of 22 col umn
speakers that can be heard over the roar of the engines
will be installed. Road racer Steve McLaughlin will begin
to take care of problems that may arise with the track,
pits, riders or AMA, 600 workers are briefed and
stationed at their posts, Lynn Saunders sets up a
command and communications post that. keeps in
constant touch with the AMA, Coliseum staff, security
forces. floor operation. main tenance crew, and the
massive CBS Sports Spectacular television operation.
A countdown commences at 7:00 a.m. Saturday with
each phase of track preparation and ,the race program
scripted. There are no rehearsals so only the experience
of promoting six previous events before provides-any
security for the harried staff.
When the ' gates open and 60,000 people come
streaming through the warm Southern California night
they are greeted by the sight of a carefully executed
motocross track upon which the world's best riders will
compete. Perhaps the fans never stop to think about the
effort, time, manhours, sweat, labor and money poured
into building the track. Later in the week after the
rolling thunder of in ternational motocross has stopped
filling their heads they may wonder just what it takes to
build a track inside a stadium. Perhaps a short drive out
to Coliseum on Tuesday to look it over will be in order,
but u nfo rtun atel y the spectator will only see a group of
22 stran gely garbe d men throwing a pigskin bladder
around and n o t a single . re minder or remnant of the
World's most prestigious stadium motocross.
The most artificial thing about indoor motocross is
that when the race is over you can pick the track up and
take it away.
Next wee k the plans for a million dollar
Harley-Davidson display, qualifying by the best riders in
the world for the $30,000 purse and con tingencies,
opening of the pits to the public and much more will be
discussed in the Diy Superbowl story.
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