Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Cycle News 1977 10 12

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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Kelly captures CRC Cal City GP (AboveI Tom Kelly dashed through the city streets to win the CRC Cal City GP.IAbove left) Mike Mulconery on the way down in the Amateur/Expert start. Bill Tarling (58x), AI Wurtzel (4051 and Phil Stumbo (4241 are also visible. (Below) Woody Childers, Jr. finished fourth in the big-bike novice race after , riding a lap on this tire. (Below left) Junior/Senior Novice winner Paul ( Baker's Maico was fairing-equipped. By Dale Brown CALIFORNIA CITY . CA . OCT. 1·2 Pulling out a two-minute lead at the end of 100 miles, Torn Kelly (250 KTM) wOX} his second California City Grand Prix, this one the first under CRG promotion. Amate ur Doug H urt (400 Yam) followed Kelly from their second-row start to run second much of th e way . passing Kelly 'briefly when T om ran into some engine problems: Kell y picked up the lead shortly after th e halfway point on th e first loop. mo ving to on e side of a dusty fireroad and' j um ping into the lead. Hurt Follow ed him into second. wh ile Steve Heinze (400 Yam ) came up from a third row start to occupy third before the racers h it th e butte that signaled the start of the pavement leading int o town . Dennis Greene rode a 900cc H a rleyDavidson Sportster-engin ed bike with a C&J frame. Marzocchis and lay down shocks. The bike. capable of 130 rn.p. h .. soon had him in third. according to one report . before the front cylinder seized and put him out of the race. " Boy. we have problems with that bike that you 're not supposed to have on a four-stroke . W~oever heard of a four-stroke seizing?" said Den nis' father . C . V .• after the race . Behind Kelly. Hurt . and Heinze on the first loop were amateur Gary Hoo ts (250 Yam). Mike Martin (390 Hus). Mike Johnston (400 KTM ). and Tim Plant ( 175 Yam). who had JUSt passed first -row starter Kenny Upp ( 175 Yam) for th e small-bore lead. Plant came from the fifth row. Kelly streaked down the asphalt ' road just past the butte on the second loop . still in the lead. His engine seized going down the road . " I pulled in the clutch and let it coast down to nothing, t hen I ba bied it through town u nt il it freed up ." sai d Kelly later. T he delay moved H urt into a passing position. which he took advantage of with his 400 's greater top speed. Hurt led through the first fireroads , but Kelly regained the lead in a rough threemile section of gnarly whoop-de-docs . After the leading pair came Martin . who was soon to be passed by Rich a rd H all ' (4 0 0 Yam ) who re ce n tl y - tra nsferred to expert. Amateur Wayne All en (4 00 Yam ) trailed H ea th H ibbard (400 Yam). who moved u p from a ninth row stan to fifth . only to drop out on the third loop . Hei nze also ret ired. By t he end of the third loop. Hall moved into th ird . with Martin and Allen trailing slightly behind . Bill Tarling (250 KTM) was sixth and Dean Kirk (390 Hus) and Morgan Malocco (400 Yam) were right behind him after starting in the 14th and 12th rows. respectively. The fourth loop saw little change exce p t t ha t Allen got by Martin. who was by Tarling, Kir k and Malocco on th e last loo p. Kelly finished with a time of 1:56 .32. H un was nearly two m inutes slower at 1:58. 16. Kirk finis hed p hysically in passed sixth. but when his start handicap was figured. his tim e put him in third over all. first Open Expert. Malocco was in righ t after Kirk: he fin ished fourt h . the first of three riders knotted at two hours . two m inutes . Trailing Malocco (2:02.17) were Allen (2:02. 35) and HaJI (2: 0 2 .4 1). Tarling was seventh ahead of Martin, Hoots and Doug Beisner (250 Suz) . Larry Upp finished first senior at 12th overall. Tim Plant fin ished firs t, small-bike while class rival Brad Hensom (175 Yam) reportedly seized. . Two possible contenders for the overall win went out early when Phil Stumbo seized on on e of the first fireroads and Mark Zoller looped his borrowed 400 KTM over a jump at the end of the p its . Afte r the over 90 m .p.h . crash . Zoller was shaken bu t apparen tly had no major inj uries.

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