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/126258
THE LATEST BY PAPA WEALEY Long live the Queen, but not Her Majesty's postal systam . We 're still awaiting Imola and Match Race coverage - as you are. Perhaps next week. Sorry. There will be no more 1977 250 and 390 CR Husqvarnas im port ed . Only one boatload remains to arrive and that has a lready been allocated. The 1978 models will arrive no earlier tha n August. Speedway rac ing will open at Ventura on May 3; at Costa Mesa on May 6; at Irwindale on May 12 at San Bernadino on May 18. It won 't be Speedway Racing Association (SRA) sanctioned since the SRA and the promoters have not come to any agreement. Promoter Harry Oxley, in an April 25 telephone interview, refused to name the riders he'd signed for fea r of "harassm ent." The major ride rs t hat were not signed were Bill Cody, Sonny Nutter, Scott Sivadge and Dubb Ferrell, said Oxley. " It 's incredible, trying to get a bike through all those d amn treesl" said California desert ace Al Baker after taking a gold medal at the Ala bama Two-day. Baker took the gold despite a clutch nu t that came loose . Malco teamsters Barry Higgens and Bob Goodpaster received their 400 WRs the Thursday night before the Birmingham. Alabama. Twoday ISDT Qua lifier. Then. along with Lars Larsson. they won the Manufacturers Team award. Burleson's 1897 -po in t score edged ou t Ja c k Pe nton ( 1935) and Mi ke Hannaon ( 1949) fo r the o ve rall Alabama win. Burl eson won the O pe n class, .Penton topped the 250s and Hannon (Bul) was first in the 350 class. T om Pento n (125 Pen) an d Rod Bush (175 Pen) were the other division winners. The Cycle East (red) team of Burleson , Bob Pop iel (Hus) and Jim Sim mons (Hus) were the Club team winners. Steve W ise, the top ranking privateer motocrosser in 1976. and fourth in the Hangtown 125 National. rides w ith on ly the support o f Moto-X Fox. CH Industries made an offer of help early in the year, but pulled back before the season started. Wise, who pays his mechanic's salary out of his own pocket. earned National Number 12 with no f actory help. 2 The Texas lad ies will have the ho me court advantage at th e " World's In vitat io n al Women 's Motorcycle C hampionship ," to be held May 28·29 at Cyclera ma Cycle Pa rk in Sa n Antonio, TX . Promoter Butch Lee said that Pat J aq ues from North Carolina will be gunning .for current Women's Champ Sue Fish. The twod ay event will feature both grand pr ix and motocross event s. as well as a $2 ,000 purse. the largest eve r for a Women's event . The International Six Days Trial (ISDT) will be held Sept. 5-10 at Povatska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia. If you 're going, better make you r reservations now. Every gate ticket purchaser at the CMC road race to be held at Ontario Motor Speedway in Onta rio . Calif. on May I will receive a free chance at a "door prize" drawing held at the track. Continental Mota-sport Club (CM C) and American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM). Los Angeles Chapter have jointly established the Southern California 250 GP Road Racing Championship. The w inner of the 2CH"ace series gets $300. with second place paying $125 and third $75. For details on the two-leg points system riders should call (213) 842·7433 or (714) 523-3892. All machines entered in the Super Cafe a nd Cafe classes at CMC road races in the fu ture must comply with California H ighwa y Patrol -enforced vehicle codes regarding tires (no slicks), exhaust dbA level. and tail lights. Get the details by calling (2 13) 842 -7433 . FMF's newest rider, John Sm ith, the on ly member of the Flying Machine Factory team to ride the 250 class at Hangtown is recovering from a lengt hy surgery t o reconstruct his left w rist and hand. He crashed in t he first mota, after finishing fifth in t he qualifier. Smith was released f rom t he hospital and is now resting at home. . The California Racing Club (CRG) will ho ld a One Day Trial on May I. in Lucerne Valley , Calif. Enduro-type speed averages will alternate with wide -open "special tests" sections for a mix of enduro a nd iSDT-type scoring and riding. The 100-mi le course is designed so tha t . desert racers and others lacking timekeeping equipment on their bikes can still be competitive and have a good time. Everybody who finis hes gets bronze, while hotshoes get gold a nd silver meda ls. Call (714) 689 6114 if th is new idea in off-road competition intrigues you. Just 16 riders entered the April 24 F750 world championship round held at Jarama, Spain. Steve Baker (Yam) won the 125-mile road raca, beating Christian Sarron (Yam) and Hubert Rigal (Yam). The win boCJlltec:l Baker into top spot in the F750 standings w ith 42 po ints. over Kenny Roberts (27). who did not compete in Spain, and Sarron (24), Early plans for D-36 pro and sportsman races returning to the San Jose Fairgrounds must overcome a major hurdle - a limited supply of water due to the California drought . The official, final results for the AMA Red Garter National Enduro held March 20 have Jay Tullis and Mike Adams t ied for first place. Both riders zeroed every check and both were four seconds off at the tiebreaker check. Both earn 20 points for a w in. Girling Li m ited , manufacturer of Girling shock absorbers . will sponsor the 250cc World Championship Motorcross Grand Prix of Great Britain. to be held near Shrewsbury, England on July 31. The seemingly endless list of back injuries among racers has led at least one orthopedic spec ialist to start work on some sort of backbone pro tector . Does anybody out there know of similar efforts, or of an existing piece of equipment tha t might protect t he spine without getting in a rider's way? Steve Baker won the April 17 Form ula 750 World Championshi p round a t France's Paul Ricard Circuit. That win ga ve Ba ker the win in the three race AGV Helmets W orld Cu p Series (Daytona, Imola and Paul Ricard( . Finishing behind Baker in a Yamaha sweep of the top positions were Ken ny Robe rts . Christia n Sarron e, Christ ia n Estrosi and Giacomo Agostini. The Hangtown track was watered w ith water r em o v ed from a nearby flooded gold mine. Riders were said to be crashing w ith their eyes open, Bultaco International has named Gary Bailey as MX te am m anager . The "Professor" took over duties just p rior to the Music City Na tional and was in a tt endance keeping an eye on teamsters Ri ch Eierstedt, Ken Zahrt and W ayne Boyer . Jack Penton protested winner Dick Burleson at that Alabama Qualifier, Penton said he saw Burleson push his bike through the yellow flags Into a check six minutes early. Penton also said the person at the checkpoint had seen it but didn't mark Burleson's card. The whole issue became moot after the check wes thrown out due to a bottleneck. An AMA Western Regiona l Championship half mile has been added to the schedule of things to do or see during the Black H ills Motorcycle Classics in Stu rgis. South Dako ta on August 14. The following lucky people (in no particular order) won bright red Cycle News knit watch caps in a drawing held at the Daytona Speec:l Week motorcycle show: Mrs. Betty Parker. Burlington. Iowa; Donald J. Crippen, Alpine. N.Y.; Theodore B. Barthle, Miami. Florida; Leah McNutt, Atlanta, Georgia; Tony Longo, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Beth Cooper. Columbus, New Jersey; Kenneth A . Thomas, Orlando. Florida; John Summers. Frankfort. Ohio; Joe Recla Jr., Oneida. Pennsylvania; Judy Barkley. Holly Hill. Rorida; Barry Kastel, Belleville. Illinois; Linda Osbourne, Polo, Illinois; Tommy Whiteside. Daytona Beach, Rorida; Richard M. Howell, Millville, New Jersey; Joe Abbott. Hialeah, Rorida; Russell Dingman. Ocala. Rorida; Frank Voto. Staten Island. New York; Susie Hosley. Branford, Connecticut; Antonio Martinez Jr.. Miami, Rorida; M ike McKernan. Ormond Beach. Rorida; Barry L. Hardee, Martinsville. Virgins; Robert Collins, Muncie. Indiana; Dennis Martin. Martinsville, Virginia; Darryl A. Tree. Pleasant Valley. New York; Bob Walker. Cocoa Beach. Rorida; Billy R. Martin, Statesville. North Carolina; Jerry R. Clair, Elkton. Kentucky; Lorraine Nolan. Friendship. Maryland; Kirk Kusley. Iowa City. Iowa; George Dawson. Louisville. Kentucky; Joe Lepak, Nearington. Connecticut; George .C, Hansen, St. Paul, M innesota; David McCallum. Grand Blanc. Michigan: Ronald L. _Mowrey. Battlecreek. Michigan; Job Heller. Decatur. Georgia. and David Wa ld, Rockville. Maryland. Will Honda build motorcycles in California? Webopeso! By Charles Clayton California's Governor Brown has just returned fro m a visit to Japan to try and persuade Da tsun , Honda , or Toyota to locate a vehicle assembly plant in the Gold State. "I think there is a possibility they m ay start with a motorcycle pla n t," Brown said hopefully, "somet hing other than a full-scale au to assembly pla nt ." Cycle News would like to add its hu mble welcome to the Governor's invitation if the Japanese d ecid e to start m aking m otorcycles in Califo rni a . There is a lot of wisdom in the idea . California buys some 25 % of all the motorcycles in Am erica . We have stee l mi lls, space. and rela tively cheap ene rgy . Californ ia is rich in skilled workers - welders, finishers , assemblers, and designers. We are served by one of the best rail road freight carriers in the world. the Santa Fe, and our seaports are convenient to containerized shipping from Japan. In addition , it is well known that " as California goes." vehicle-wise, "so goes the nation. " And the world . The main obstacle to manufacturing here is the environmental opposition, which our Governor has promised to help ove!.come. Besides the obvious site advantages. a California motorcycle factory would strengthen the ties between J a pa n and its largest export market. Broadening the economic base of motorcycling in this state would produce unheard-of benefits for everyone in the ind ustry . We pray that our friends will consider the Governor's invita tion thoughtfully. and that we may soon welcome a Japanese motorcycle fact ory or assembly pla nt to ou r neighborhood. • AMA Pro racing boards named WESTERV I LLE.OH Following a review of nominees by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Boa rd of Trustees , Association president Bob Rudolph has appointed 12 persons to serve on three Professional Racing Boards. for road racing, motocross and all other forms of professional racing sanctioned by the AMA. The professional Roa d Ra cing Board members are: Bob Hansen (Administrative) ; Gordon Jennings. (Technical) ; Steve Mc Laughlin , (Rider) ; and Gavi n Tri ppe , (Promoter). P ro fessio na l Motocross Bo a r d me mbers include: T ony DiStefa no. (Rider); Mike Goodwin , (Promoter); Don Graves, (Administrative); and Preston Petty, (Technical) . T he Professional Ra ci ng Boa rd incl udes : Allen Becker, (Promoter); Sharon C layt on (Ad mi nistrative); Ea rl Fla nders. (Technica l); a nd Gen e Rome ro , (Rider). Serving as ch airman of each boa rd will be t he AMA Commissioner 0 Professiona l Racing . a position for w hich screening IS currently underway . Unti l that position is filled , AMA Director of Professional Racin W .A . " Bill" Boyce will serve on eac of th e three boards.