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/126070
Vic Wilson (of Saddleback Park fame) and Bob Maynard (fo nnerly o f Oran ge County Cycle fame) have welded their pe rsu asive promotional talents togeth er and pl an to co me up wit h wha t could be come one of. the rich est and m ost prestigio us motorc ycle eve nts in the Uni ted States. Cy cle News readers will sel ect 30 racers to c omp ete in a two-day event, slated fo r February , 19 77 , b earing th e well suited title, " Race of Champions." These carefully selected champions will ride one mo torcy cle of their ch oice in seven events which will include a road race, sh o rt track , drag rac e, hillclim b , TT scrambles, trials and moto cross. Events will be scored similar to th e Olympic Decathlon , giving the best all-aro u nd rider the win and $I 0 ,000 in c old h ard cash . The cash purs e is alr ea dy over the $2 0 ,0 00 mark , more t h an most o f the In ternational an d' Nation al events, an d it looks like things have only ju st b egu n. If yo u want t o get y our two cen ts in right now for wh oever you wo ul d like to see go for i t all, t um to p age 21 of this issue, fill out the bal lot and send it to RAC E of Champions, 12862 Garden Grove Blvd., Suite E, Garden Grove, Calif. 92640. has include d Daytona in a three race $30,000 AGV Helmets World Trophy Series. The other t wo even ts will be Italy's Im ola 200 and Fran ce 's Paul Ricar d Circu it F750 ra ce. If AGV is ,in V Olved at Daytona, you know what that means - here comes Ago again. Hmmm, Agostini, Cecotto, Roberts, Baker. Now that ought to be worth seeing. Utah Salt Flats Ra cing Association (feat u red in " Nort h " recently) will ru n another "short co ur se " Bon neville meet No vember 13· 14 . IF the y can get 50 registrat ions at 525 p re-en try by Nove mber I . Bon neville regulars know that's lotsa ru nning for not mu ch brea d , Bikes especially are invit ed . Call Rick Vesco . Cimatti minibikes have Morini engines, hee, hee. On th e American side of the fence, after ' earlier spe culation that Bultaco would concentrate on just one Grand Prix motocrosser , Jim Pomeroy , in 1977, we now hear rumblings that Pomeroy may end his four-year relationship with Bultaco, His teammate, Swede Bengt ; Aberg, has been linked with CCM for the 500cc world championship events in 1977. JMR Hillclimb teamster Craig Mock got an unexpected ticket to Chicago recently. Seems he'd won the 360 class at the Amateur Hillclimb Nationals Sep. 4-5 at Everett, Pa, after clearing his paddle-tire with AMA officials. But they changed their minds under protest, so Craig's being flown out by AMA to attend an Appeal Board hearing on whether or not he can keep his trophy, More later. One more W!ERA note the organization is taking rider inputs towards NIeS changes for 19n. Send your ideas to Burns Moore (Rider rep) at W!ERA Headquarters, 1742 Addison St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19146. J ~e z, talk ab o u t your Gold Medal wmners - there was Deanna Bower , many mont hs pregnant, organizin g Bult aco p it crews and su pp o rt ing husband Ben 's successful ISDT effort all the way. Ho sPITal STOP: Jimmy Ellis an d h is w i f e D arlene were involved in an a u t o mo b ile accide n t that left th e M id -Oh io Tran s-AMA supp o rt class win ne r wi th a broken wri st and ribs. D arlen e suffe r ed i n t ern al injuries requiring atten tion in th e intensive care unit of the hospital. Cards can be sen t t o t he Ellises at Daniel S t. , East Hampton, Conn. 06424 . The cyde park at Sean Point Raceway, Sonoma, Calif. will be dosed to all off-road riding as of October 25, in order to prepare the site for the November 21 Trans-AMA. Call (707) 938-8448 for additional info, and probable re-opening date. There will be no regular Saddleback motocross Sunday , N ovem ber 7, th e day of the Trans·AMA. (That's news?) There will be a $600 Saturday MX November 6. Any leftover squids will be used for traction the following da y . Ever wonder ' what people are going to do between the time the gates open (7:00 a.m.) and the first Trans-AMA moto (1:00 p.m.)? Riot? Pillage? Plunder? Rock! (Rock?) Yup, there's a Miller's Outpost Music & MX Festival to be set up in the half mile bowl (Site of the Bassani party) running most all dey; long enough to give you something to do while waiting for the traffic to clear after the race, as well. Got Sons of Champlin, "Mob" (?) and a couple other good groups still haggling. All live. (hey, Mack, ya got a Green Stickie on that pre-amp?) Washingt o n , D.C . b icy clists (The Washington Area Bicyclist Asso c.] actually filed a brief in the Supreme Court in favor of banning motorcycles in Cali fornia. What business is it of t heirs? What's the question of motorcycles in California doing in the Supreme Court? It's a long story... Remember several years back when EPA threatened to cut off California's gasoline if we didn't go along with their clean air plans? Sound familiar? 2 Third question - ho w can EP A talk ab out cutting off California's gasoline supply . With us being the largest domestic producer next to Texas , it's more like US cutting off TH EIRS. Which might help st raigh ten o u t pri? rities around he re. Harry Everts on . If Harley·.Davidson? Could be. Rumors are that the former 250cc World Champ will try one of the orange and black bikes later this year. It might even be one of the water-cooled jobs that "Rocket Rex" Staten will ride next year if the developrnant of the new motor goes well. • Ducati sent an updated 350cc Single to Barcelona to gauge public reaction. Result, the ThumperDuck is back - at least in Europe, in 250, 350, and 450 sizes, with front-rear discs and cast alloy wheels. The singles' had been cancelled in favor of the somewhat lumpy 350 and 500 Japanese-style twins. Laver da ca lls t h eir 500c c twin (yet to be seen here, but co m ing) the Alpino. It sells in Britain fo r ab o u t 1600 pounds, wh ich , the way Sterling is skidd ing, works out to about $2800 American. Pretty steep for a 500, but mid -pri ce range for things Italian . Has alloy wheels, three discs, six sp eeds , and wei ghs 370 pounds. Britisher Mick Grant is said to be making the switch from Kawasaki to Suzuki for '77, possibl y by buying two privateer RG 500 fours of his own. Barry Sh eene already owns a coup le - has replaced the factory ch rome-bores with shrink-fit iro n line rs and has bored at least one ' o f them to 650cc! wonder wh at for ? The nerve of those British- calling the 850 Moto Guzzi LeMans a Sportster! Corne on, fell as, just because it's a V~Twin ... A tall, whiteofl)bed gentlem811 from Iran showed up at England's Earl's Court show and bought $40.000 worth of ItalJat Mimibikes to take home with him. Prediction: in six years, you'll-see an all-Arab International MX team, with the kind of support only oil can buy. T o uc hing other things British, NVT ha s a modem (fo r En gland) works at Sh enstone turn in g out impo rt mo-peds, stocking Norton(friumph spares and car ry ing on model development. Word fro m there as of mid-September was, don't bet on the 900cc TI 80 Triumph Triple any time soon . Too costl y . Meanwhile, the beat goes on with the NVT Wankel prototype, twin rotor, 600cc, aircooled, 60 hp and 400 pounds. Works spokesman Bob Triggs, applying his best British idiom, says "Not only does it go like muck off a shovel, but muck off a polished shovel. That's fast. Do m edia flakes immersed in m ilk? get soggy Bad Dad Brad Lackey 's lovely lady Laurie was rushed to the hospital prior to the Mid-Ohio Trans-AMA for an em ergenc y gall bladder operation. While she was going through all that, Brad was pl aying mommie doing 4 a.m. feedings and the like. No wonder Husky's main man loo ked a mite peaked on Sunday . All three Lackeys h ave recovered from the incident. Observing the Lake Sugar TreefPepsi Cola Trans-AMA race was Ted Mondale, son of that feller who's running for office. when Like to thank the Wingeier family for the good, direct and to-the-point redassification proposal they sent on the Santa Monica Mountains Parks. Great homework, folks - hope more of you did likewise. We'll know when the Lame Camel pokes his head in Dick Felty's office next week. The lovliest o f the lad y MXers from PURR (oo ps) I me an International Womens MC Asso c. will be at Great Western Exhib it Center han gin ' out (oops, goo fed agai n ) at the Truckin' Vantastic Show October 2 1-24 . Su zuki MXers on display , also. Gookinaid E.R.G ., · an electrolyte de-thirster drink, has been endorsed by Marty Smith; and is the "regulation" quencher for the Penton ISDT Team. It's also endorsed by the Lame Camel, who cadged a sip from Jack Penton at Bad Rock, \l\ll!nt out and drove the wheels off his Budget rent-a-racer. Sure makes ya' fast. AGV, the It alian h elmet m anu facturer, Motorcycle-jumper Super Joe Einhorn , who wa s se ri o u sly injured in an attemp te d jump at Hinsdale, Illinois' Santa Fe Sp eedway on September 12 , is now listed in fair condition by Hinsdale Sanitarium doctors. At the last National Enduro back Eest (Forest City Riden 125 miler in Illinois) Skip Olsen (C-A) won overall and Dick Burleson (Hus) won his dass. That leaves them both in the hunt for the National Championship. Jack Penton had a bad dey, but still retains a possible shot at the title. Next round is November 7, the Ozark Hillbilly 125 Miler. Ups , & Downs Dept: Val Ta m ietti clinched his Num ber One position in CMC motocross at Irvindale Friday night, October 15. The next da y , at a Saturday Sadcl1eback race, h e broke his collarbone. What a way to finish a seas on! Reno Park MC sent a flyer cancelling the remainder of its 1976 season. Call Sherman Lofgren at (707)747-1342 for reasons or other info. .