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
Western hotline (Above. left) Whitney Blakeslee (KZ650 Kaw) leads Dick Kilgroe (Z1 Kaw 202). Harry Klinzmann '(TZ250). John Glover (750 Nor 150) and Paul Mclachlan (TZ25O). IAbove) Glover ran off the track three times. still won 750/Open Production overall. (Above. right) Scott Aemlng and his CZ motacroser hit the pavement. (Below. IeftI Easter bunnies dig asphalt. too. It's crash city as AFM tries Stadium road racing at 605 Speedway By Jim Lester IRWINDALE, CA, APR. 10 Am er ican Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM) road racers spen t Easter Sunday ex perim en ting with "st adi u m Entertainment Sidewinder I is a dirty movie "Sidewinder I " is a dirt-rnotodrama that Hollywood is betting will lead off a wave of "m uddy biker" flix and pump millions of (A bove) Emile Mullick (850 Nor) stuffs it inside Geoff Cesmat's XT500 Yamaha. (Below) Harry Klinzmann sets up to pass George Roche. 20 bucks into the old box office . We hope so, too. but if "Sidewinder I" fails to pack 'em in the drive- ins, it will be for the following reasons: 1. The script. Whoever wrote this movie (we' arrived fash ionably late and missed the credits) must have torn random pages from Lady Chatterley's Lover, Atlas Shrugged, and Motocross Cat Comix, shuffled, and dealt th em to the actors . The plot takes more muddy turns than a DirtDiggers Grand Prix course. 2. The racing. Except for the real Grand Prix footage that leads off the movie , and the hilarious mudhole scenes , it looks like highlights of the Old Timers motocross. There is more danger in the love scenes than on the course . 3. The makeup. In "Sidewinder I " . the actors are powdered with dirt, mud , grease, and grime like the " before" kids in a detergent ad. "Sidewinder 1" gives new meaning to' the term "dirt y movies." 4 . The bike . Grubby. See above. 1£ you liked Michael Parks as Bronson, then you'll dig him as J.W. Wyatt (the Dick Mann character) in "Sidewinder 1." 1£ you can uncover him under all that grime. Marjoe Gortner is pe rfectly cast as the berserko bike wrecker we all know and love. Susan Howard as the ."Dragon Lady " factory owner looks great until she takes her clothes off. "Sidewinder I " will be released in July, producers say, and if it fails to earn a lot of money for 20th Century Fox, pe rhaps we can look forward to "Sidewinder 2," wherein Marjoe wins the Superbowl of Motocross without getting his costume dirty . I road racing." Sixteen spri nt races were' run on a %ths·mile, eig ht-turn paved course in Irwindale in a speedway-type program . Today's event, almost a pa ved TT with no jump, was so popular with organiz ers and spectators that the track is planning a regular Friday-nite series starting next month. Ben efiting from a practice session here last month, Harry Klinzmann turned the fastest lap on a TZ ·250 at 34 seconds. Even the smallest bikes were getting around in about 50 seconds. There were two heats for each class, with overall results determined by Olympic scoring. The first Lightweight race set the pace for the da y with a ding -dong battle rig ht to the flag , with Darren Penrod j ust nipping David James (XL250 Hon) at th e finish. Ea rly leader Darrell Muegge slipped int o the dirt on the last lap allowing Art Fried man to stuff his 175 Can-Am int o third place overall , ahead of a pack of 250's. Mike Rainey deserved the "hard luck " of the da y award . In the first 410 Production hea t he was dicing with Ed T oomey for the lead, when he was dri ven off th e track by a lapped rid er on the fina l lap as they dived off the banking int o the infi eld . In the second 410 heat he had just passed Toomey for th e lead when he got into a monument al ra nk-slapper for th e lengt h of the back straight ' befor e getting a first-h and look at th e asphalt. The track was very slick and overdue for repaving. It won't come soon enough for Dick Fuller, though, who crashed in practice and may have broken his collarbone. John Glover (Mr. Jags 750 Norton) won both Open Production heats, but it was no easy job , for both times he had to charge through the pack and pass early leaders Lee Fleming (stock 650 Kaw) and Terry Waugh (Yoshimura 845cc GS750). Glover's Norton had so mu ch power , tha t usin g only second and third gears, he was having handling problems as the front wh eel ca me up under hard accel erat ion an d the rear tire broke loose. In the second 750 /0pen heat , Glover ran off the course when a slower rider got in his way, and th e field almost lapped him before he could get .going again . But Glover , rid ing like he was possessed , blasted