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/126282
INSIDE Trans-AMA MX T he sly digs about us old lim ey-Iovers are much appreciated . (They were never as good as we claim now in our reminiscent "moods .) I'm hoping Mr. Bell takes a few pokes at ' us BMW freaks and the other wealthy streetburners (55 mph) in the Retreads . One serious oversight in the publica tion - well , two . First , it is too ch eap at 7 5~ . Make it $1 and it will sell better. Next , th e booklet should have a mail -order form in it, one that folds up into a letter , to permit a sa tisfied customer like myself to order extra copies to pass out to friends and grandchildren . • JACK MERCER Stamford, Conn. 6 Mart y's win pulls him within three of RD Riverside Nat" RR 8 Who else but King Kenny? Cal. State 100 -. . 10 Mike Hannon fires his new ca nno n. Cal. City GP " 12 Bigcity meets Tom Kellyand the GP CN Gary Scott's Triumph ... 14 '"I-; """ Speedway... •. .. . . . . . . 18 (1) .0 o ..... u o Vintage fast! No one could beat the fast Bast Trans-AMA Mechanics MX Editorial 28 Do it with a crescent wrench Yamaha's for 1978 Team strategy not American 29 New stuff for ihe buff Test-riding the Marty Smith Honda 32 With a rocket ship . ya gena flyl ON THE FRONT PAGE: Gary Scott andJay Springsteen are locked in battle for the Camel Pro Series coming to Ascot Oct . 7-8. Rocky rough thro ugh the Cal State 100. King Kenny won his fifth Nat ional Road Race this year at Riverside Raceway Sunday . Photos by Henny Ray Abrams . Larry Langley and Ja ck Wright . Dear Doc Newhouse Never in my life have I be en at su ch a.great loss of words . Thank you is not enough to ex press our gratitude for Larry and Randy Anderson on August 21. If it hadn't been for yo u, my husband (Larry) might have been worse off. To see such dedication in one person makes you realize there is still love and hope in this world . Every time the going gets rough , while Larry is in the hospital , I think of what you did Doc. Thank you so much . MRS. LARRY ANDERSON Half Fast M .C. W est Covina , CA Congratulations to CRC Chutes C. Cla yecn. PresidentBob i Soon , Asst . to rhe Presi dent Sharon Clayton.. Pu blisher Ednil M ~ ton . Secretary to the Publisher Advertising Debbie Wilki ns . Sa les MgT. Jim Ryan . Sala Mgr . SkipJohll5On . Sales Mgr. Chris Kolbtt. Auista nt . Editorial Charles Clilyton. Editor. Dale Brown . Assistant Edit or . Bobi Scon. Assistant Editor . Bria n George . Assistant Edit or . The CRC's Hare Scrambles at Lucerne, CA , September 18 was one of the finest races we have had in a long time . just to be able to ride in a new challenging area was a thrill . CRC put on a very well marked race and our club congratulates them fo r work well done. EDWALDHEIM for Clea n Sweep Ra ci ng Team m em bers Los Angeles. CA Graphics and Production Production : Judy Klin ger . J a n Gill. T ypography : Man on Ha tas hlta. Donna Gabard . Laboratory Product ion: Dennie Greene. », Circulation Rhrba Smith. Managrr. Juanita Blanton. Diane Felten . Debbie Drayden. Sandi McKay. AuistanlS. Accounting Mikr Kl in~r . Man ax r r. K~n Lorin . A s.~ i.~ ant . jeanne Hammond . ACClS . Receivable . Pamela Dickerson . Asst. Acc ts. Rr cr iv.able. Rh ond .a Va n Dore n. CoII("("tion Dept . 'Trisha Bu n on . Cmiit Dep r. Services ~nd Support .. Jim Piu rr u . Nanet te He nsen . rece pncnisr . West 2201 Chrny Ave.. Long Beach . CA P.O . Bo x 498 . LoOK Brach . CA 90801 (2U) 427 , 743~: L.A . Lin. 6 ~6" 88-H . East P.O . Sox 805 . T ucker . GA 30084 . (404) 7850 . 9~4 · Subscription Onr year , second d~ mail $15 ; 2 ~an . second d.ass mail. U 7; :5 ~an . seco nd class m ail. U 7.50. 4 Copyright © eyc.. N ews , Inc . 1977. Trademark cyCk N~ rqtstaed U.S. Patrnt Offitt. All right> reserved . Publiohrd -.ItJy nttp< the fin! and last wttk of the a1~ar ~.ar by Cycl~ N~ . Inc . • P.O. Box 498. Lo ng Beach. Cali . Iornia . Second cl... poat:agt' paid at Long Beac h. C A 9080 1. Cycl~ N~ welcomes unsolicited editorial material including stories. canoons. photos. et c . Such ' material. if pub tebed. becomes the oclusi~ copyright. propeny of Cycl~ N~ . Such accepted materia l is subject to revision as is nn:nsary in tbe sole dlscrenon of Cydr N~. Unso licucd m a teri a l which is . not usrd will be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope . All u nsol icited material will be handled with reasonable cart'. however Cycle N~s assum n no rnpolUibility for the safny. Ie. or damage to suc h material. Reprinting in whole- or pan only b y permiss ion of t he p u b l i s h~n . Adv m ising r.atn a nd circu lat ion mfonnation will be Irn( upon rrquesL See S.R .D .S. Olympiad fan For many years I have been associated with motorcycles and racing. T he O lympia d , I bel ieve . is the m ost exciting and the best idea I h ave seen. I wish to congratulate all who had a part in it. . DON j O N ES Ammex Motorcycles Walnut , CA Movie critics A couple of months ago I read in yo ur newspaper about a m ovie that was coming out soo n called "Sidewinder 1." Well . last night I went out and paid a regretful $2.50 to see that so -called motorcycle movie. thinking tha t I was going to see a good show. " That movie was a total cutdown of th e good reputation that motorcyclists have been trying to build up over the past few years . The movie a lso had a lot of falsehoods about what happens in races . For example , how many times do competitors kick each ot her off the track. have mud fights in the middle of a rac e, have fights in the pits. or start their races in the pit area? BRAD LAYNE Canoga Park, CA I am amazed that you would let your name be mentioned in that horrible movie "Sid ewind er 1." The acting was horrible . Whoever saw professional racers stop and have a mud fight in the middle of a race? The movie was fake and really put a bad name to rea l MX people. It's too bad. I think we all were expecting a little more. jENISAYLOR Canoga Park. CA Biased, prejudiced, us? How biased , prejudiced can you get? I' m referring to the cover picture o n the Sept. 21 issue , num ber 37. The Scott b ro thers finish one a nd two at the Syracuse m ile arid the co ver goes to the factory H-D ri ders and no m ention of the two privateers who should have had top b illin g . I persona lly thi nk it stinks, so smell my sour grapes [t he stationery was grape-scented J. DO ROTHY W ELSH Bald win Park, CA Like we said. Dorothy, the film from Syracuse did n 't make it here in time for our Monday deadline that week . How do you like this toeek'sfront page, better' . . "Editor. Motocross Cat comic book I bo ught a copy of "T he Very Best of Mo tocross Cat" at D ic k Be tte n cou rt 's cycle . sho p in W . Bridgewa ter , Mass. , and must admit that Tony Bell is 11 in the cartooning field today. I enjoy his satire as much as th e crazy ad ventu res of his MX Cat. In a letter toMr. T . Miyashita, U.S. Suzuki's Technical Services Ma nager , dated Sep t. 6. AMA Pro R ac ing Commissioner Doug Mockett ruled against Suzu ki 's protest that Yamaha viola ted A MA rules whe n team manager Ken C lark ordered Bob Hannah to slow down at the end of th e second moto of the San Antonio, Texas National motocross. Yamaha teammate Broc Glover passed the slowing Hannah and thus won the AMA 125 National Motocross crown. ' Had H an n ah continued the lead , the series win would have gone to Suzuki's Danny La Porte . In the letter Mockett said , "Glover's passing of Hannah did not impede any other rider or affect the other riders' finishing position in the moro ;" Mockett elaborated , saying , " Ins tru ctions from the pit to the riders or drivers is a common practice in all motor sports. In fact , in some forms of motor racing, it is standard practice for the Team Manager to slow down or speed up - one or the other of MIe team." Cycl e News finds Mockett's logic distressing. True , no other rider's finishing position was affected in the second San Antonio moto. What was affec ted was the final series ta lly, a culmination of all t he m otos. If Mr . Cla rk had taken no action , somebody else , w ho happens to wo r k fo r a d ifferent co m p-a ny , wou ld be champion . There is no tradition of team ra cing in AM A ' professional competition. I t may be common somewhere else to have the team manager co ntro l his racers like puppets , but that's not a sound basis for Mockett's decision. Spect a to rs do not pay to see a stra tegy session. T hey m ake the trip to a n A MA N ational motocross (or dirt track or road race) to see the best riders battle it out from flag to flag. Anything .that depri ves a specta to r of see ing a rider's best ra c ing effort d im inishes the sport. Team racing is not about to becom e accepte d in the America n motocross, even though the R a cing Cza r h a s spoken. We wish he'd kept his m outh sh u t . • The editors