Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

of Spainard Manu el Soler's 34 8 Bultaco . Ossa 's John Reynolds . sen sation of th e last week's Iri sh rou nd. proved his mettle aga in . desp ite a more difficult ride, apart fro m th e othe r aces, as an early number. He took fourth . just a mark behin d ba ck-in -form Bultaco's Da ve T horpe. to keep his seco nd pl ace in the Seri es. Finland's World Champion Yrjo Vest erin en stu m bled for an early b at h in the stream . StilI una ble to break his run of bad lu ck -- th e Bultac o facto ry rider has ye t to win in England -- he went on to finish sixth . Rat hrn ell kept his nose in front with a d ab in eac h of th e three subs at Cross Keys. while Soler was double that after p add ling through the last two . Dav e Thorpe did better after a hesit ant start a t th e first section robbed him of eight. He pulled ba ck well a t Ashfield's nin e-su bs stream section with just fou r sing le dabs , an effort equalled by Rathrnell. A conserva tive total of five at Ashfield kept John Reynolds on the right path , and he stay ed in contention by cleanin g Hillgate's climb. The final section of Ashfield was the scene for the war of nerves. Rathmell , Vesterinen , Charles Coutard and a host of top liners all but se t up camp on the hill , each waiting for the other to make a move. Finally the ice was broken by Clive Smith and Am eri can Lane Leavitt. But both riders took different lines, both fail ed , and the army of world class stars learned little . As the clock ticked awa y, the observer called on Rathmell to tackle the climb up ove r a cl uster of deep' rooted boulde rs, but 25 minut es later , Malcolm was still th ere , no wiser for seeing Mick Andrews and the 400 prototype Yamaha stop twice be for e th e exit. " . Spaniard Manuel Soler took second place 12 marks behind Rathmel!. Soler led a pack of six riders who came within a six point spread of second. Defending worid champion Yrjo Vesterinen failed to break the jinx that clouds his riding in Great Britain and finished sixth. Rathmell's eventual attempt yielded ' one mark, leaving some 200 spectators .. a small section of a total crowd estimated at around 5,000 . . to wonder what all the fuss had been about. The machine troubles that plagued John Metcalfe in Ulster returned. His cantilever Ossa took on an ominous rattle, and he later had to dismantle the carburetor to free a sticking slide. Frenchchampion Charles Coutard's dislike of stream sections was obvious. At Doliago, " eigh t subs up a rocky stream, he wedged the Bultaco between stones for maximum marks, On the same section , Vesterinen 's deliberate dab became a five when his back wheel refused to grip. The steps ' at th e sixth sub jolted Soler's progress a potential clean becoming a five when th e Bultaco jum ped into neutral. The wooded slopes above Elan . Village and Caban Dam provided a fitting finish to a su perbly set -out course, but clerk of the course Ken Price has laid out one sub-section to sort out the men from the bo ys. A steep rock climb filtered into a narrow gap between rocks and a tree with a slippery root thrown in for good nneasure. r Classic performances came here from Nigel Birkett and Nick Jefferies, each taking two prods, while Rathmell and Soler settled for three. Reynolds might still have kept second spot, but for a stop that piled on another five. • Results: 1. M. Rathman IMonl 24; 2. M. Soler IBull 36; 3. D. Thorpe IBull 38; 4. J . Reynolds10ss1 39; 5. M. Lampkin {Bull 40; 6. Y. Vesterinen (BuO 41; 7. J-M. Lejeune IMonl 42; 8. U. Karlsson (Mon) 42; 9. C. Coutard IBull 48; 10. M. Andrews !YamI51 ; L Leavitt IBu1l115; D. Sweet IMon1118. Workt Championsh pointsafter two rounds: ip 1. Rathnia1l1301; 2. Raynolds 1201; 3. Vasterinan113); 4. Soler 1121; 5. Edwards 1101; 6. Thorpa 110); 7. Karlsso (9); 8. M. Lampkin 1 9. Coutard m; 10. n 81; Birkett (4); 11. Lejauna 1 12. Shepherd 131; 13. An4); draws 11 1 14. A. Lampkin 11). ; 19

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