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/126256
; -= THE LATEST s III t t:t:- 0') ~ OOP BY PAPA WEALEY 0 - Billy Grossi m issed the Hangtown National motocross. Sugar Bear rode practice and fou nd ou t the rig ht wrist injured at Houston was too sore to race. J immy Ellis was expecting to mi ss th e Hangtown event due to no bik e. But the airline finall y got it t o i ts destination in just enough tim e for Captain Cobalt to p ra ct ice . America n Motocross Enterprises (A M EI and Sp illway par k in Santa Maria, Calif ., w ill present the Third A nnual Elks Cerebral Palsy Benefi t Motocross for Crippled Children on April 17. No AME license is needed to race, and all proceeds (about $5,000 last yearl go to fi ght Cerebral Palsy. Everything from Sidehacks to M in is to Open Pros w ill be run, with skydivers, free camping, a barbeque, music, 50% trophies, and contingency prizes round ing out the worthwhile program. Call (8081 937-6171 for more info. CN ...... .s-. 0.. < The last Mike Bast Speedway school before the 1977 Speedway season starts will be held April 23 -24 at th e Maely Ranch , near Corona , Cal if. For information about th e two -day school, call Ken Maely at (714) 735-0540 . Kenny Roberts lIeftl and Stev e Baker discuss strategy. The pair led . the A m erican Tea m t o victory in England . Transatlantic Trophy Match ~ Americans Devastate British; Roberts and Baker star By Chris Carter TARPORLEY , CHESHIRE, ENG. APR. II America, led by Kenny Roberts' four victories and one by Steve Baker, defeated Grea t Britain by a 31 po int margin (4 10-379) 2 in th e sevent h annual Eas ter Week end running of th e Transatlantic Trophy Match Races. Kenny Roberts started th e ball rolling at Brands Hatch , th e first segment of th e three venue , six event seri es , with double vic t o r ies to deadlock the score at 134-134. Roberts then continued the pressure as the ra cing ·moved to Mallory Park where he scored another pair of wins followed by su pe rb placing by the rest of the team to turn the advantage heavily in favor of America 289 -240. Great Britain staged a comeback in the opening leg of the final venue at O ulton Park with Ba rry Sheene (Suz) nipping Steve Baker for the win after early leader Roberts had seized. Baker gained revenge in the final leg with a win to cement America's second series victory. Ro berts cras hed unhurt in the second O ulton leg. The victorious American team was comprised of Kenny Roberts (Yam), Steve Baker (Yam), David Aldana (Yam ), Gary Scott (Yam) , Da vid Emde (Yam) , Skip Aksland (Yam) , Pat Hennen (Suz) , Ron Pierce (Yam) and reserve Kevin Stafford (Yam). Complete coverage to follow. Buzz Farrell of Cycle Mart in Portland, Oregon has combined a 390 Husqvarna frame and top end with a 360 Automatic Hu sqvarna t o crea te a 390 A utomatic. They say it's faster than t he standard sixspeed 390. The Checkpoints M.C . reports th at entries are still ava ila ble for th e Apri l 17Jubilee Enduro. The end uro , wh ich carries AMA District 37 points, will be held in the Gorman. Calif. area. World . Champion Gaston Rahier started off his 19n season off right by winning the opening 125cc round in France. Raston, ri ding a Suzuki, beat teammate Akira Watanabe overall. Rahier won the first mote, with Watanabe second . Watanabe won the second rnoto, w ith Rahier second, but Rahier won on the basis of his fas ter lap t imes. Seen last week on the freeways of Southern Ca lifor n ia : A genuine production-line Yamaha XSIOOO fourcylinder motorcycle. According to sources inside Yamaha Motor Corp., the b ike is faster than KZI000 Kawasakis. The biggest Yamahas yet should hit d ea ler showroom floors soon. / George Harrison attended t he Long Beach GP. and was especially impressed by the motorcycles and wheelies. "Wheelies'" Harrison told a reporter. "They make my heart jump up into my throat. One fellow stood it up on the rear wheel and travelled down the straight, changing up all the way. It was incredible:' Later. Harrison sought out the rider who had Impressed h im with the tremendous halfstraight wheelstand, but Roberto Pietri of Venezuela had already left the garage area with some f riends. Roger DeCos ter sent us a note stating t hat he will com pete in th e 1977 Superbowl of Mo tocross to be held at the Los Angeles Co liseum on July 9. Peter Starr is working on a new te levision series " Riding Hard," which will include footage from the 1976 Race of the Year at Ma llory Park, England and Bol d'Or at Le Mans, France . Sta rr tells us that the footage, shot at over 150 m .p.h, w ith camera helmets on Steve Baker and Barry Sheene at Mallory , and on Yvon DuHame l at Le Mans, is the steadiest he 'd eve r seen . Montesa's R a ym ond Boven kicked open the 250cc World Cham pionship MX Series in Spain on April 3 with a 1-5 victory over Jaroslav Falta and Harry Everts. Fa lta , on a factory CZ, finished with a 6·2 for the afternoon wh ile Everts, Bultaco's hope for '77 turned in a 5·3 tally. One hundred dollars went up for grabs at the Pontiac Supercross to the rider who jumped farthest off the tunnel jum p during the final event Sunday. April 3. Former AMA MX referee Chuck McCall judged the contest and proclaimed a tie between Honda's Marty Smith and Bultaco's Kenny lahrt. 1977 AMA Nat ion al Enduro standings , excluding th e Red Garter, whi ch is under protest . I . Dick Burleson , (Hus) 56 pts. ; 2. Skip Ol son , (C ·A) 36 ; 3 . Bill y Geier, (Pe n) 29 ; 4 . Jom Fogle , (Pen) 26 ; 4. Jack Penton , (Pen) 26 ; 6. Bob Popiel , (Hus) 24 ; 7 . Mike Hannon, (Bu l) 20 ; 8. Ga ry Woodl ing , ( Ya m) 16 ; 9 . H erluf Johnson , (Suz) 14 ; 10. Bud Chambliss, (Hon) 13; 10 . Sam Orrick , (Suz) 13. Senators Paul Laxalt (Nev .I, Jack Garn (Utahl. Ja mes McClure IIda.I, and John Melcher (M o n .1 have introduced legislation in the United States Senate to, in the words of Senator Laxalt, " improve congressional oversight over the Federal agencies charged w ith the management of public lands and to restrain such agencies from prescribing regulations which are inconsistent with congress ional int ent : ' Bill S. 1203 sounds good. Write your Senators to support it. and maybe it will head off future "secret" land use bans. United States Road Racing Champion Randy Cleek, killed in an auto accident after the Formula 750 race at Imola, Italy on April 3, was buried following services at the Roesch Brothers Funeral Home in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Services took place at 2:00 p.m .. April 11. Kurt Kiefer, 32 , killed in the tragic post -Irnola auto accident th at also claimed the lives of Ra nd y Cleek, translator Guiseppe Geraci , and three It alians, was the General Manager of Bel-Ray Motorcvcle and Automotive L u b r ica nts. Kiefer st a rted the motorcycle lubricants division of BelRa y in Farmington, New Jersey, in . 1971. Since then , Bel -Ray has become one of the largest motorcycle lubricants m anufacturers in the country, and Bel -Ray products have been used and endorsed by many fac tory racing teams. Kiefer is survived by his father , William ; mother , Evelyn ; and sisters , Linda and Darrell. Funeral services were held in Madison , New J ersey on 'April 9 , In lieu of flowers , the fam ily has asked that donatins be made to the Kurt Kiefer Me morial Fund , P. O . Box ' 526 , Fa rmingd ale , New Jersey 0772 7. 1977 AMA Su percross seri es point standings, including Pontiac: I. Bob Hannah, 156; 2.Jim Pomeroy , 132 ; 3. Jim Ellis, 102 ; 4. Gaylon Mosier, 87 ; 4. Tony DiSt efan o . 87 ; 6 . Kent Howerton, 82 ; 7. Steve Stackable, 77 ; 8 . Da n ny La Porte , 68 ; 9 . John Savitski , 60 ; 10. Tony Summey, 57 ; II . Chuck Sun, 56 ; 12. Rick Burgett , 55 ; 13. Marty Smith, 54 ; 14. T om m y Croft , 52 ; IS. Terry Clark, 47; 16. Jeff Jennings . 38 ; 17. Ken Zahrt, 35 ; 18. Frank Stacy, 31 ; 19. Jim W dnert, 28 ; 20 . Don Kudalski , 27 ; 20. Steve Wis e. 27 . Tim McWhorter (brother of Danl took a 400 CZ through tech and practice for the recent Ascot 100lap TT . Just before qualifying. McWhorter was told the bike wasn't AMA approved. so he couldn't ride it. The AMA kept his entry fee. Yoshi m u ra R&D of America h as comple te~ ou t f it t ing new sh op quarters In No rth Hollywood . T he original garage was destroyed in a dy n o- roorn b la ze that se nt Pops Yoshi m ura to the hospita l. Pops, one of the most fam ed four-stroke tuners ever, is u p and arou nd , and his son , Fuji o, is d ire cting business as usu al. T he number to call for information is (213) 985-2331. There will be no funeral services • for Pat Evans, conforming w ith his wishes. His rema ins were cremated in ' Italy near the racetrack at Imola on which he suffered fatal injuries April 3, and will be buried in the same cemetary in San Diego, Calif.. as was Ca l Rayborn. Cards and condolances should be sent to Evans' mother, Hannah. at 6367 Del Cerro Ct., San Diego. CA 92120.