Riding last year's long stroke Honda. Whaley won at Co lorado.
Getting through Colorado's rocky stairsteps.
AMA/NATC Trials
round seven - six
in a row for Marland
By Team Turtle
BEULAH, CO .
ocr. 2
Marland Whaley, a 19-year·old
rider from Santee, California ,
once again proved that he is the
best observed trials rider in the
United States by winning the seventh
round of the American Motorcyclist
Association /North American Trials"
Council Championship series. This
was Marland's sixth win in as many
events. and was not needed since he
had
been
declared
National
Champion after his win in Northern
California last July. In the series, only
the best of five events count in the
overall placement. Marland was riding
last year's long stroke Honda; his
factory bike was in transit from
Switzerland, where he placed fourth in
the final Wo rld Championship round.
The .surprise was the second place
fini sh by Curt Comer , J r .. a 20 ·year·
old TPI college student living in
Cookeville. Tenn. , ri ding a Kawasaki .
This was Comer's best finish to date,
besting his fourth in New York, and
advanced him from 10th to sixth in the
overall National standings.
Don Sweet , last year's Colorado
round winner , placed third on a
Montesa, In fourth was La ne Leavitt ,
riding for Bulta co , These placernents,
didn't change their overall standings,
but it did tighten the struggle for
second place. Jack Stites (Bul) from
Massachusetts had his best finish of the
year with a fifth . Debbie Evans , on a
175 Yamaha (bored out to 200cc) was
disappointed in her performance (30th
place). but she did perform brilliantly
on occasion.
Bernie Sch rei ber and Mike Griffitts ,
fifth and sixth in the N a tional
standings d id not compete since they
chose the Colorado round as their
"home" event. The AMA /NATC'
Trials rules require that the
Championship class riders "work"
their home event , but since there
wasn't an event in Southern California
this year. the Southern California
riders were allowed to choose any
event as their home event.
Curtis Comer, Sr. won the Senior
class and Tom Bachelor, a Dallas
policeman, won the Support class.
The trials was held at the Christmas
Ranch on private property just east of
Beulah - the same site as the first
round of the 1976 series. The members
of the R oc ky Mountain Trials
Association laid out 20 sections tied
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