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/126074
There was this gemongous dropaway dune . . . Turkey Chase '76 By Leslie Richards OLANCHA, CAL., NOV . 14 For the third year, So. Cal. 's Turkey Chase has been a recreation of the old-fashioned 1950's style desert hare & hound , complete with all the trimmings new terrain , easy sandwashes separating the challenging segments of the course, and variety. So. Cal. . overcame a number of man made hurdles : denial of one permit , -ap proval of a second for Wednesday rather than Sunday, and last minute .changes in course by BLM , . which ' forced a 35 mile first loop and a 55 mile second loop . . But if the bureaucracy didn't cooperate, nature did . Dust was kept to a minimum by recent rains in Olancha , and the day of the race was cool. crisp. clear and beautiful. The banner went down at 10 a.m. , and the riders roared up the sandwash to the " for real " smokebomb. Just past the bomb Max Eddy, Heavyweight Expert of the Viewfinders, lost the lead after a near collision with Mike Edmunston, also Heavyweight Expert, of the Desert Knights. Max pulled a comeback early in the second loop, taking a first overall. while Mike Edmunston took second and T om Kelley , Division I Expert (Invaders) was close on his heels . [Sympathy to the first Anonymous Rider - the one who followed the rider who knocked down a stake. breaking the ribbon. The ribbon then snapped back . catching the Anonymous Rider's legs. causing the only get-off between start and bomb.) Jack "Smokebomb Jr. " Gaetz. (Checkers) took first D ivisio n I '" o ~ ::I: U Ii: w ::::; '" .... > '" w ~~~:.±:±:~~ i Amateur, eighth overall. And for those of you ' who can't believe Smokebomb has a son old enough to take first in his class, eighth overall, don't be misled. Smokebomb isn't over the hill yet , with 28th overall. second Heavyweight Expert Sr. First Senior Heavyweight Expert went to Ken Guio, who drives 800 miles every year for the Turkey Chase. Says Ken . "T his is the last Teal desert race left. and it's worth the drive." Now that's real dedication. Just past check three was a small downhill , which inexplicably held the record for ger -offs during the race. . And at check eight. the sandy uphill got so soft after the first dozen riders . went through that half the check crew was kept busy helping push bikes . Five miles before the finish the course went up the gradual slope of a sand dune, only to drop off sharply on the other side. So. Cal. put up a liberal batch of danger marks - but then Brian Klock put up his "Photo" sign, and we all know what that means . Riders come up the slope weighing the danger marks against the chance for a spectacular picture - fully half went over the top airborne , landing one third to half way down the 50 yard dune . [Sympathy to the Second Anonymous Rider - the one who went sailing over the top at breakneck ' speed. He saw he wasn 't going to land until he hiit bottom, said . " O h , * #%* " and jumped backwards off the bike. He followed the bike, both still airborne, until bike and rider landed together in a heap at the bottorn.] Five miles past the dunes was the finish . where class winners were determined for the turkey chase (real turkey) to be held later in the afternoon. At 3 p.m. the 17 class winners (Turkey Chasers listed below) were blindfolded and turned loose with six live and uncooperative turkeys, The turkeys stumbled around as blindly as the winners, and appeared perfectly willing to walk right into a potential captor. However , they objected , loudly and energetically, to being picked up. Note to you who a re beginning to concede that women riders may not all be powder puffs after all: Trudy Beck, first Women's Expert and a consistent winner, and June Elias, a pretty teenager who earned her third Turkey Chase win in a row . were the only two (Continued on page 14) Roberts renews Yamaha contract Separate dirt-track and road race efforts By Gary Van Voorhis MODESTO . CAL. . NOV. 15 Former Grand National Champion Kenny Roberts renewed his contract with Yamaha International on November 12, and then revealed a two-fold plan in which his dirt and road race equipment will be maintained by two separate groups. In a move designed specifically to regain the AMA Grand National Championship, the dirt _ track portion of the 1977 season will be handled by tuners Babe DeMay and Nick Deligianis. Kel Carruthers will devote all his effort to preparing the road race equipment. The plan was seen by Roberts as a "m ust" if he was to have a championship caliber effort. Roberts will command a salary in the S80,OOO range for his services with product endorsement contracts raising his one year income to the high side of $100,000. In light of the persistent rumors of a split in the championship into separate titles for dirt and road racing in 1978 should this year's National road races fare well. both Roberts and Yamaha International were a bit hesitant to enter into a long term contract. Should the rumored split take place, it is Roberts' opinion that Yamaha will take a long, hard look at their dirt commitment. Had Yamaha not accepted Roberts', initial proposal of totally separte dirt and road race fforts there was a chance that he might have done next season as a privateer. "I had a couple of options that I was working on. " said Kenny. "I could have accepted Yamaha's own program and asked for a substantial salary increase or I could have looked for an outside sponsor. However, it would have had to have been an exceptional program with an outside sponsor; one where they purchased and prepared the bikes . I can't see buying your own equipment." Almost as an afterthought he added, "I've also had some offers in au to racing. I don't want to work for a living." In a related move Yamaha. according to Roberts, will try to interest more riders in campaigning Yamahas on the dirt by making available an OW72 conversion kit. The kit, which is still in the working stages, will be derived by Yamaha engineers from a composite of the best components used by Roberts at the daytime Indy and Syracuse mile Nationals. Both DeMay and Deligianis are well respected on the National circuit for their reputations as builders of fast , relable race winning machinery. Over the past four years as a tuner on Harley-Davidson 's racing team, DeMay has been known as a producer of potent mile engines which, in the hands of Rex Beauchamp these last two seasons, have been among the fastest around. Nick , who tuned Gene Romero to his championship in 1970 . returned to work for Gene this past season after a two year stint as a teammate of DeMay's at Harley. While the hiring of two tuners almost totally unfamiliar with the working of Roberts' Yamaha dirt equipment may seem strange to some, the fact did not cross Kenny's mind . The pair. according to Roberts. have the traits to produce a winner . . . and Kenny wants dearly ' . to be a winner again. 9