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/126057
by th e end of the season ye t right now he is the hottest, most consistent rider . on the circui t and is gaining more confidence and believers e",ry day. Her e then , in a ra ce by race breakdown, are the highlights of the first hal f of th e season which we 11 match wi th a wrap-up of the last half of the season. Th ere is a lot of racing left and the chase fo r the Grand National Championship is far fr om over . Houston TT ~ A record 156 ri ders showed up to inaugurate the start of the 1976 season at Houston, Texas' Astrodome. Among them was Gary Scott, sporting the long sought after Number One, and Kenny 1 Roberts, holding the numeral two which Dick Mann had rel inquished: ' As is the custom of some riders, there' was a fair share of motocross machines ' wh ich had been TTised. There was a1so ~ the new Yamaha TT500 four-stroke' single which, in the hands of Rick b' Hocking, proved to be the giant killer.>lil Hocking m eshed his TT500, his riding s. st yle and the track for a splendid ride to Ii' winner's circle followed by a helluva 1I battle for second between Little John ' Hately and Kenny Roberts which ' R'ob er t s finally won . Gary Scott finished fourth. 2 Results 1. R ick HOCking (Yam) ; 2 . Kenny Roberts ( V a m): 3 . John Hateley (Trl) ; 4 . Gary Scott UO ( H -D ) ; 5 . Randy Cleek (Yam) : 6 . eecee " Hanlon (Mal) ; 7 . Pau l Bostrom (H~O) ;8 . RObl t Morrison (Bul) ; 9 . Cnuck Joyner (Tri) ; lD .,b n BlII Oliver (Tr l); 11. Robert Conway (Vam); 12. Dave Hansen ( Vam); 13 . J oh n Allison ''' j (Yam) ; 14. Steve Eklund (Yam). Houston Short Track Of Kenn y R oberts' 16 National lS victories prior to Houston three had .. come in the Dome and two on the short 8" track. It was little surprise th at he was d1 tabbed a pre -race favo ri teo Gary Scott, rre in his privateer role, had chosen a :rq proven me th od and te am ed up with brother Hank o n Shell Thuett Yamahas. n l Gary , with little time o n th e powerful b two-stroke, proved unspectacular in his V heat and semi and failed to make the n _ National. Roberts, with little effort. outclassed the National field and appeared to be on his way to victory when his bike seized letting Texan Bubba Rush take the lead , and .the win ov er Rick Hocking and Steve Eklund. It marked the second i Z time in as many years that the Houston ' short track winner has had only to ' travel across town to reap victory . Rick Hocking, by virtue 'o f his r combined consistency over the two nights put a firm lock onto first place in the point standings with Kenny Roberts in third place and Gary Scott in seventh . ,I, - Results • 1. "Bubba" Rush IBul) ; 2. Rick Hocking vaml; 3 . Steve Eklund (Yam) ;4 . Hank Sc ott Yam; 5 . McDonald ; 6. ike Id 7. (Va m ) , S. Billy R d (Bull ; Ken Bruce Hanlon(Vam)IHUS) 'M 10 . ubrle (Vam ), 9. Cave Hanson . SCott Rader IBul) ; 11. Ken Ha pke Vam),t2 . Darryl Hurs (Yam); 13. Kenny (Vam); !4 . Jay Sprlngstoon (H-C). Roberts Daytona Road Race Defending Grand lIIational O1ampion Gary Scott lIPP8ars to be looking over his shoulder for the likes of Kenny Roberts and Jay Springsteen, who are both after the coveted Number One title. - ith the July 10 running of the San Jose half mile the AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series reached the halfway po int in. the most ambitious season (28 Nationals in 14 states stretching to all points of the compass) since W the mtroduction of the Grand National Championship in 1954. If the past is to be used as a mirror of the future then this season, already one of the most competitive in memory, could well turn out to be one that riders and fans will remember for a long time. The first dozen Nationlls of the "Season produced an equally diversified dozen different winners and it was only the final .two races before the mid-way point which produced double victors in the form of Jay Sp ringsteen and Kenny Roberts. A wheel to wheel scuffle for the top spo], in the point standings showed f o.ur different riders-Rick Hocking,Kenny Roberts , Jay Springsteen and Gary Scott-on top of the heap at one time or another. The season has abounded in surprises, but none more spectacular then the rise of defending champion Gary Scott to the top point in the standings and a very good chance of holding onto the crown f or another season. In short, Gary parted company with his sponsor of two years, Harley-Davidson, to tackle the circuit on his own. armed with a program which would give him the most competitive rides available for each of the five differen t events that make up the National circuit. At the beginning of the season few, if ' an y, gave Scott an even chance of breaking into the top ten If there was one race Kenny Roberts wanted to win in 1976 it was the Daytona 200. All signs pointed to an obvious victory y e t when they poured the champagne Kenny wasn't there. Despite drastic cutbacks by the big three-Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki-in road racing enough factory machinery showed up at Da ytona to keep most everyone happy. . • The only dramatic machinery ch an ge was the introduction by Yamaha of the OW-31 model TZ750 which was a mere shadow, weight wise, (rumored to be 40 . pounds lighter than last year's model; realistically about 20) of its former self. In the capable hands of Roberts, Steve Baker, Johnny Cecotto and Hi deo Kanaya the OW-31 proved to be a missilewhich overshadowed all other en tries. T he race opened as a four rider OW·3 1t duel, settled in to a three rider event as Steve Baker was quickIy sidelined and then went into a h igh speed Roberts-Cecotto ballet with Kanaya lur king a distance behind. Unforseen by all was that the p air would race as hard as they did.