Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

I I' III l I .i • ~ t SOcc GP over the counter ankle-biter; t.O . f' m ltal-Jet 50 GP By John Ulrich i , ~ C(") ..... en , ::s eo t rs years old, Mario Caldato, Jr. is one of the youngest fact ory-sponsored ro ad racers in mem ory. Like most "factory" riders, Caldato is in fact sponsored by the American distributor of his make o f machine, . Ital-Jet. What makes Caldato's spons orship different is the fact that the youngster from Los An geles has never won a road race. Caldato races 50cc GP in Southern California club races. He started at age 14 , sponsored by hisfather - a personal friend . of A . the Hal-Jet distributor - on an extremely slow !tal-Jet. The old Ital-] et 50cc GP racers had cast-iro n cylinders · and heads, and were about as slow as . anything called "racer" could be, . Caldato's new mount is also a 50cc GP ltal-jet, but with a new Minnerelli aluminum engine with integral air scoops, ala Su zuki. It is much faster th an the old models. !tal-Jet pl ans a production run of 25 USA models for sale in this country for under $ 13 00 . Caldato's is the first modern !tal-Jet to hit these shores. It is, in effec t, a proto type sent over to judge re action 'an d p otential sales . But identical machines have been sold in Europ e for the last two y ears . . The bike weighs accordi ng to Mario Caldato, Sr., just 125 pounds. A Scarab disc brake system is mounted on the front, wh ile a co nventional drun;t stops the rear: Pailoi fork and shocks are used, along with a Dansi electronic ignition. A 22mm remote-float Delorato car b , , six-speed transmission, Tomrnasellicontrols are all found on one of the neatest-looking frames ever. Not so ne at is the fact t h at removing th e fair ing requires taking off the front wheel. . It's hard to say how many people will spring $ 1300 or so for a '50cc machine that has no hope of winning 50cc GP as long as the ultra-exotic Mota Villa and Rh imghini machines fielded by Fra nco Garavaglia and Bob Nolan are still on the racetracks o f Southern California. But Mario Caldato, Sr. has visions of a new popularity for th e class, waves o f 50cc machines flooding off th e starting grid, carrying a new genera tion of economy-minded racers. "When you look at how much it' costs to run a 250cc, a 350cc, a 500cc, who can afford it ?" asks Caldato, Sr. "Then this bike, it's o ne gre at bike for maximum enjoyment without costing too much. It's one great bike for learning driving. I sugge st to many people who want to start this kind of GP racing, th at this is a good bike without co st ing too m uch. With it, you can have fun without spending all your money." , Mario Caldato , Sr. goes on to explain the great satisfaction of fielding a racing effort with a score of zero crashes, zero breakdowns (and zero wins) wi th his Ital-j ets, Mario Cald at o , J r . is enthusiastic abo ut the fun in his racing. And, they both point o ut, it o nly takes half-a-gallon of gas to run all of prac tice an d a race at Ontario. under ne w own.ership . Announces their Grand Opening Friday, Sept. 10 & Saturday, Sept. 11 . Great Savings on: ~ Helmets $12.95 & up Tires from $5 .0 0 Compression Rele ase $4 .95 Norstar Bo ots Munari Bo ots Heckel Boo ts $59.95 $59.95 $64.95 Bikes near dealer 's cost. Free T-shirt with · mi nimum purchase. Enter contest on a 1976 Chevy Luv tr uck & Suzuki TS -250A. 2nd p lace T S-125 A & 3rd TS-75A - No purchase necessary. Co me in - Look Around & get ac q uainted. Brin g this ad for discou nt 829 W. Colt on Ave. , Redlan ds, Calif. . 714- 793-2041 !; ;•• •• • •• • •• ••• • • • • •• • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • . • • "0" • t • • • • • • • •• ' •••••••••••• • •••••••••••••• •• •••••••• ::: ..' .. Th e sudd en. bo om in th e romance of road racing has spread to the small est of classes. The Ital-]et 50 GP is one of-the few ouer-the -counter fifties that can be p urchased in this country. (Abo ve) Sans f airing the Ita l-j et weighs less th an 125 p ounds. Th e long gastank is less than , thr ee inc hes wide at the seat base. (Righ t) 50cc road race engines . are amazingly durable and inexpensive to keep running. }Vater-coo led kits are also available from so m e private .co mpanies for the 50 I tal-j et:

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