Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

I ~-;d;;;·hOiii;;-·_·_·_·_·_·_· __·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·-._ ._ ._ .. Craig M ock, the first to be eliminated at Saddleback, apparently couldn't concentrate on busine~s; he's getting married next month. Straight up at Saddleback By Dennis Greene ORANGE, CA .JAN . 22 Fifty-eight of the best hillclimbers in California were on hand for the first climb of the 1978 season at Sadd leback Park. Vince Louie Franco leeds Doug Gentry in Intermed iate compe tition at AME's M inlcrou. AFM Championship Awards Banquet By Sharon Clayton ANAHEIM . CA ,JAN. 21 Opening . the evening at the American Federation of Motorcyclists' (AFM) Championship Awards Ba nquet was a panel discussion among Bob Rudolph President of the Ameriea~ Motorcyclist Association (AMA) . Doug Mockett, AMA Commissioner of Competition, Cook Neilson. Editor of Cycle magazine. Reg Prid more . '77 and '78 AMA Superbike Production Champion, and Paul Ritt er , Editor of the AMF newsletter Lap Times. A ser ies of pre-chosen questions were presented to the panel , beginning with the predictable, "What can the AMA do for the AFM r' . 12 The consensus of opinion. following panel discussion , seemed to be th at th e AMA could help with insurance and offer the AFM uniformity of rules between the two organizations. Reg Pridmore stated that he felt the AMA was more expensive at the club racing level . and added that the AFM required less paperwork and offered riders an easier opportunity to move up from one class to another. Perhaps the most important question of the evening dealt with AMA Superbike Production racing. Commissioner of Racing Doug Mockett stated that the AMA plans to raise · the Superbike _class to a level equal to that of the ' other AMA professional road racing classes now that a Harley-Davidson dealer ha s submitted the XLCR for approval. Mockett added that it may be necessary to watch the class closely and set up necessary rules or restrictions should anyone brand of machine become dominant. Awards were given to the various AFM Champions. and the evening ended with the Camber Company making their Sponsor of the Year awards. Results in Results Section . Vinson . the new President of the Saddleback Hillclimbers Association. had picked a virgin hill in the canyon ; weeks of rain had all but destroyed the other spots. Each round was made up of two rides up the hill. in a ll 15 classes , with the total footage in two climbs determining the winner of th e class . The new hill was steep enough. and because of the rain there was more traction than ever. In the first round . 95 % of the riders topped the 450·foot summit. With so many going all th e way . the starting spot was moved about 80 feet up the face of th e hill. More than half were eliminated at this point. but still no overa ll winner was determined . It was eas y to see with the talent on hand that it could be a long day. So in the th ird and final round . the starting line was moved 30 feet to th e right . in the midst of large brush and weeds . This final move eliminated all but four rid ers . Mini-crossers storm Indian Dunes' Shadow Glen By Judy Greenberg VALENCIA . CA ,JAN . 22 AME's American Minicycle -Association has begun the new sea son with a fu ll year's calendar of weekend mini-motocross. A large turnout of riders stormed the Shadow Glen course at Indian Dunes . for a double-point. 100 % trophy day. Mini Expert Erik Kehoe rocketed to untouchable leads to win the I05cc Mini Open and 83cc Expert classes. Randy Harden , a close competitor of Kehoe's , captured second for the Experts. while Richard Ising and Pat McConnel fought it out for th ird . In the 83cc Stock Intermediate class , David Barberio and David Seekins battled for the holeshot , with Ba rb erio getting the edge in the first turn. As they rode the straight heading to the far end of the course, Barberio p ulled a fair lead. But it was Seekins who emerged through the trees with Ba rberio nowhere in sight. Mike Bess. riding a Simi Valley Yamaha took control of second as Seekins stretched his lead for a safe moto win . Zoli Meszaros soon was breathing down Bess' neck. Danny Sanchez joined in and got by Meszaros to put the pressure on Bess. Barberio was back in the running in l Sth place. blasting through heavy traffic to take second from Bess a few feet before the flag. Seekins was plagued with a bad start in the second moto. Barberio sailed in for the win followed by Cindy Durno, Mark Chikasawa and Sanchez. . Randy Dyer steered his Yamaha to win the first moto of th e 83cc Modified Junior 12 and over. Kevin Brewis held a steady second . wh ile Randy !tow lost control of th ird to RandyJohnson. At th e sta rt of the second moto Chip Harris took immediat~ command. Scott Nish was soon peering down his pipe and took over the lead in th e third lap . Marc Condon held on the gas and moved into second , but lost it in the back of the course. The second spot then belonged to Jeff Cummings. who headed for the flag with Dyer at his rear wheel. In the first moto of the 83cc Modified Juniors. Gary Szilagyi was first to cross the lin e with Jey Sapp and Eddie Hicks close behind . Things turned around th e second time as Sapp passed Szilagyi to win the moto and th e overall. Frank Darr and

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