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/126056
The August 8th 500 Nat ional at 8Bldwin, Kansas has been cancelled. This shortens the 500 Nat ional Q\ampionship series to seven races . Eastern speedway racer Tony Eastbrook may bring a couple of buddies to California during August to try out the West Coast AMA circuit , and Roll in' Rich MacMurray may give NorCal Speedway a break by taking an Eastern exhibition tour in the fall. The Cat tral Road RaC" Club has found so m uch success with thei r 0-200 GP class that an attempt to re-institute the 125 GP class only drew three riders fro m the large 200 GP crowd. Harold Murrell doesn't get much sleep these days; as weekly short track and weekly speedway combine the demands of the horse people to keep him and his boys running full tilt. Add to the normal lead two day half miles Ouly 25 and August 8) and a night half mil" during the County Fair, and you see why the famed tra ck builder ham't had much time to see the rest of the National circuit lately. The Austin Aqua Fest road race has been schedulecl"for August 8 in Austin, Texas. The Aqua Fest road race is t he last true through the streets road race in America. It draws in excess of 5,000 spectators to watch a combination road race, spectacle and circus. As with all these events this could be the last one. Nobody ment ioned Don Castro, attempting to make the San Jose Half Mile National on a wobbly BSA TT scrambler. Shame on you, Lame Camel! French champion, Charles Coutard, cu r ren t World Cham pion Malcol m Rathmell, both Lampkin s, (Alan and Mar tin), Mick Andrews and Yrjo Vesterion are am ong t h e to p Europeans confirmed to ap p"ar at the U.S. round o f the World Trials Champion ship near Gold Bar, Wa., July 25. For the American side at Gold Bar, the Honda ' team (Whaley, Eggar, Guglielmelli, shepherded by Bob Nickelsonl, Lane Leavitt (Bul) maybe Bernie Sch'reiber (Bul) and Mike Griffitts (Monl as well as a host of eager .Northwesterners. Entries will remain open for the International until 10 a.m. Saturday, July 24, when tech inspection begins in "downtown" Gold Bar. Something of a record - the entire Cast!" Roc k National lineup cam" to the start lin" with Carlisi" rear and Pirelli fr ont tires. Kenny Ro b er ts ' walkaway getoff left him wishing out loud he 'd left a Goodyear on the front, as that's what he feels most comfo rtabl e with. Gary Scott put his Harley - with no oil in the gearbox - out on the infield to hold his place in the qualify ing line at Castle Rock, in sort of a left-handed jibe at the factory . He says he's sti ll having trouble getting spare parts for the beast, and _ joined in his complaint by Northwestern privateer Scott Parks. Correction to an earlier story - that T riumph half-mi ler Dian" Cox had at San jose wasn't a gift; it was bough t. Mert Lawwill sat out Castle Rock and shepherded Mike Kidd, riding one of his Harleys. Reports of Mert's retirement may be a bit premature; he says "all depends on how the rest of the season goes." Though they read the Riot Act to the riders and eve n doub led up on lin" judges, the riders are still starting races at the Nationals instead of the starter, It's got Pacific Region referee Chubb Kellam and starter Bob Mal ley shaking their heads, If lights don't work for clean st arts , what ~I? Did you know that the Superbowl will mark the first time Marty Smith, J immy Wienert mel Jimmy Ellis have met in Southern California this year? Does it matter? Last min ut e reminder: Want to help Don Ivan in his final down-to-the-wire p ush to get Kno b Hill Ranch a permit as a legal ridi ng area, cal l (41 5) 879-02 98. Best and worst stopping distances from 60 mph (isn't that illegal?1 rated by the NHTSA, ranged from 159 feat (best! to 250 feet (worst! for all 1976 cars. For motorcycles, the range was 121 to 183 feet. Got that? as 2 Mike Murph y is off to Sacramento this wee k to t ry to re-qu alify the Pe n ton/KTM for California Green St ickle registration using the ,Murphy Muffler, For more on Californ ia 's lat est noise crunch, an whos " bik" s it aff"cts, ..,,, Political Lif"lin". Kawasaki is still deciding whethe r to offer their upcoming 650cc four in car" trim or just as a straigh t-up tou rer, Wha t Six .time. World Champ ion Joel R ob er:t has signed to appear at the Superbowl of Moto cross t hIS SaturtU:.Y ,!lght. J oel now rif.es a ~50 Puch. R o lf Tib b lin, no slouch him self, calls R ober t the King of Motocross. It will probably be the last time anyone in America will get to see J.R. ' . 65 0 Four? There is an underground movement budding at all fou r of the Japanese Bigees' U.S. offices in favor of someday offering st rictly street big bore four st roke singles designed to meet or beat all the government regs but with an eye to low -bucks dubman racing. But it's not gottoo beyond the " Do we dare tell the boss?" stage at any of the Big Four. Shucks. Preliminary selection of the American team for the Motocross and Trophee d es Nations has been concluded and the r iders most likely will be Tony DiStefan 0, Kent Howerton, Brad Lackey and Jim Pomeroy, The AMA has been raising funds to send the American team to Europe through the sal" of Motocross des Nations T-shirt s, If you haven't bought on" yet then get in touch with the AMA and send them $5 . In return they will send you a T-shirt and an American team to Europe, Had an inte resti ng question posed to Poppa and couldn't answer it - Has anybody done anything intensely cafe-ish with any of the Suzuki Triples? Only thing in memory is Jack Baker's "works replica" Water Buffalo seen regularly at Sears Point. Any others? Marland Whal"y's short-stroke Hon da works trialer is basically the RTL-300 frame slightly lowered around the al l-new, all sandcast 250 engine. A ccording to Bob Nickelsen, the R T L- 3 0 0 was a d eve Ic p m e ntal way-station, and the machine which will u l timately see production (though regrettably at least a year down the road) will be the short-stroker, at a "production" weight of just under 200 pounds. The proto weighs closer to 185, but proves a bit fragile when Marland gets to attacking the bigger rocks Rick Hocking sti ll doesn't know how badly he's inju red that right knee, although he's pretty sure there's tom cartiledge . He's afraid to take it to the doctor, as it might require surgery then and there. In spite of all, Hock gritted his teeth one more ti me and earned some National points at Castle Rock see story this issue . Couldn't believe the num ber of Sunday Morning Riders asking Ken Rober ts & crew the price of the sano IT500 at San J o.., 's National. ("$ 1800 without the engine, as w,,' can't get engines,") The d i s c- b raked, m ag-whe eled thumper, though set up in IT scra mb les tri m looks a natu ral fOT the additio n of token lights an d hom . Asked about a ca fe version, Ken ny's eyes lit up: "First thing I'm going to do when I get so me ti me." Next big bucks dub road race in California is AFM North's $4000 Golden Gate Otallenge, August 28-29 at Sears Point. Can 't wait.