Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

NORTHERN DATELINE o c<') M QJ ..c (Above) Ben Walters benefit started with a foot race. (Below) Experts dive bomb the dusty Sandhill downhill. S QJ Hamby handles Ben Walters' Benefit Hare Scrambles > o Z if /'" '10 '~~. / Wind, dust blast MX at Sandhill By Harold Blake BRENTWOOD, CA , NOV . 5 Pat Doyle and Mike Collins put on a non-affiliated motocross at Sandhill Ra nch , This was the first of a three race series on an all new course. 28 The course was a rider's cou rse . with a ll kinds of obstacles to test th e riders. As th e d ay progressed th e track surface changed . Sp inning kn obb ies would d ig hole s and bu ild berms and the n destroy them. Ther e was no line , no blu e gr oove . Riders could pass a lmost a nywhe re . • The top expert rid ers we re a ll sm oo t h a n d fa st. Th e mid -p a ck novices were a II getting a workou t . Bobby Meyers , th e Open Expert winner, actu ally looked slow. Yet , he and his Maico seem ed ab le to op en and ho ld a lead at will in each moto . The 250 Experts had no such dominating force in th e first moto , The racing was close and exciting. In the second moto , however , Mike Hersman drove his Husky into an ea rly lead and never looked back. But the 125 Experts were really the crowd pleasers. The competition was close and the techniques and lin es varied . Mike Preston , who had been fourth in the Open Expert race , really had to give his 125 Jorgy-MX Fox Suzuki a ride to win the qu'!rter liter class. The only problem of the day was caused by and solved by the wind: Dus t. The rain early in the week should ha ve made the conditions of this sandy soil ideal. Bu t th e wind decided to visit Sandhill and dried th e soil so well that even the three water trucks did little good. Once the dust beca me a fact , however, the wind was a blessing. At no time was there any d ust hanging over the track. An d the rate at whic h the sand and dust was kept m oving tended to encourage th e use of goggles . . . by th e spectators. So great was this encourageme nt that t h e demand for goggles far exceeded th e supply. If onl y this reporter had known , he would have made a fortune. Resu lts in Results Section . By Larry Hamilton SMELTERVI L LE, !D , OC T . 30 Mountaineer Motorcycle Club sponsored a Benefit Hare Scrambles for Ben Walt ers. W ith all expenses paid for by the club , entries went to support Ben after his serious injury in a mining accident. Ben Walters can certainly feel proud to have such friends. With gloomy weather and a light turnout , only 30 riders chose to race after their practice lap. The 50-mile race was highlighted by trails that most would only rid e on a dare. Showing that they are a hearty group , 28 out of the 30 who started finished the - race, and mos t agreed that the only harder race this yea r was the Sourdough Cross Country, held in the near vicinity . After the Gand Prix start, the riders shot out on th e first of five , seven and a half mile laps. The field , comprised of mostly Open class bikes, quickly spread out. Those making up time found the downhill sect ions the best for passing. At the end of th e first lap , J im Hamby h ad taken his MRl75 Honda into first, followed by John Mattocks and Glen N ickerson, both almost five minu tes behind. Each were on a duece-and-a-half. Going into th e th ir d lap, the positions were the same, but Ray McDowell soo n too k over third . At the end of lap three , Hamby went on with a 10-m inute lea d over Mattocks, who had five minutes over Nickerson. Mc Dowell lost two places as he pitted after the lap, but with a slight drizz le coming down, slipped ahead of Mel McKerlie after he too took a pit stop. By the fourth lap the drizzle had turned to rain , then snow , making the course extremely hazardous . The race was promptly shortened by one lap . At the finish , Hamby maintained his lead with Mattocks second , Nickerson third and McKerlie passing Mc Dowell for fourth. Most of the top finis hers were flat trackers who turned in their steel shoes for knobbies, and proved that a good circle-burner can also ride a respectable scram bles. performance d ese r vi ng O ne recognition was the ride of Ma rk Daw. In his first race , Mark rode his IT I 75 Yamaha to an eig hth overall. T h is in clu ded stopping to help a frie nd fix a fau lty ignition. Many t ha nks go o ut t o t h e Mo untaineers for their well -m ark ed co u rse and fine contingencies. After the race, free beer and co kes were given out by the club. It was free zing, b ut have you ever known a rider to tum down a brew? Resu lts in Resu lts Section. •

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