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1976 Mint 400 winner Jack Johnson crashed into a rock, tweaked his forks, but kept on goin' to a fourth ORA overall.
First 250 Beginner Scott Duncan campaigns the DRA/KTM Balentine Bounty Series in style.
First Bounty race
to Balentine
- By Dale Brown
CALIFORNIA CITY, CAL., SEPT. 19
Bob Balentine (400 KTM) won
the first race of th e DRA/KTMsponsored " Balentine Bounty
Series," leading a one-two-three
20
KTM sweep of the 60-mile hare
scrambles.
Balentine, accompanied by teammate
Tom Kelly (250 KTM) ate some dust at
the start, getting on a bad line and
running about tenth at the bomb. Bill
Conroy, Morgan Malocco and Chris
Kallen were the early leaders, with first
Conroy (450 Vil) leading, then Malocco
(400 Yam) and again Conroy. .
When the course hit a sandwash
several miles out, Balentine and Kelly
had moved up to second and third,
followed closely by Cordis Brooks (370
Bul). Malocco dropped back with a flat .
A couple of miles further on, Conroy
. seized on an uphill fireroad, Balentine
took the lead and Brooks passed Kelly ,
though Tom got by a little later on. The
lead trio came through the pits quite
close together. Dan Dawson (400 KTM)
was righ t with them in fourth, after his
start put him in the mid-twenties.
Nevada rider Jack Johnson (360 Bus)
was on the move after a four-kick start
left him in the heavy dust. Trying to get
by one rider, Johnson moved off the
course and right into a large rock. The
following crazed gymnastics and get-off
left him with tweaked forks, but he
carried on, following Kallen at the end
of the loop.
Balentine stretched out his lead a
little on the second of three loops, with
Kelly , Brooks and Dawson maintaining
