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/126295
NATIONAL PAPERS 'YAM AHA GOLD CUP TT-ST HOUSTON ASTRODOME FEBRUARY 3 AND 4 ~.8PM .. ...... 'W ho will be the .big gun in the AMA Grand National Championship Camel Pro Series after 29 events spanning a nine-month period during 1978? It appears that the number of co n te n ders fo r the ti tle keeps mounting with t h e passing of . . . , ea c h season; three riders In 76 , four at the end of '77 . . . We have been asked by the Cycle N ews editors to make some type of prediction before the first wheel has turned and the first checkered flag has been dropped.That puts us in ·the same class as all those boy and girl type magazines that annually predict which footbaIl teams wiIl rank in the top ten and what individ uals will be All Ame rica ns. They usually end up half-right at best , and I expect tha t this column will not be much better. There are just too many things tha t can happen during the season. Look at Gary Scott last year. Scott won twice as many races but finished -lower than ' ever before in th e final " standings! Kenn y Roberts, another contender every year for the title chase, never came close to winning an y of the more than 20 din track events , but was very predictable in road racing. It no longer appears to be the winn ingest rider, but rather the most consistent, like Ted Boody and Jay Springsteen last season, who does weIl over the course of the year . There are too many variables involved . Who's doing the: tuning? Who's doing the backing? Who gets the new secret tires for any given ra ce? Who gets the good starts in the heat races and makes a direct transfer to the final? The race for the title should favor those riders who will ride in all 29 events. There are two as of th is date: Gary Scott and Skip Aksland. Gary is tough in all dirt track events, especiaIly on the mile and in TTs. Aksland blossomed as a top road racer early last season and carne into his own as a din tracker late in the year. Skip lacked din track equipment during most of the season while Scott had the equipment but lacked a tuner for road racing events . Springsteen, of course, is the man to beat. Jay gets to play mechanical rabbit once again in all dirt track events, especially the half miles and miles. But last year , when the . ... were close WIth Scott an d Rob erts more of a worry than Bood y, Jay bro~e out an old , old road racer an d tested It prior to the final road race to see wha t" he could possibl y do to pick up points. Just suppose Scott find s a road race tuner this season and scores a fair amount of points in that category? Suppose th at Aksland, who should beco me the leadi ng road rac er, find s the combination with his new dirt tracker ? That would bring the title race right down to the final four events once aga in - two miles and two half m iles. Gary and Skip won't have a late season road race to ca tch Jay, as has been the case in recent years. If priv ateers Scott and Aksland let Springsteen get an early season points lead, and if Jay has a substantial lead at th e end of August , it cou ld be all over . Any hop es of a total pri vat eer winning the titl e for the first time would be gon e. Boody can and will figure strongly in the title picture as could Steve Eklund, who was down somewhat over his rookie output two years ago . Mike Kidd an d second year pro Garth Brow will also have a say in the matter. Springsteen and Boody will be the only two factory-backed con tenders this season with a herd of privateers trying to kick them out of the top two spots . King Kenny Roberts is gone from the scene, chasing fame , glo ry and dollars over in Europe as a road racer. His only appearance, at this time at least , will be in the Daytona 200 where he is looking for his first win . He should get it this time around, by the way. The King is Dead, long live the King - so they say - in Europe. Scott has to get his act together th is season, Aksla nd is still working on his. Springsteen and Boody ha.ve had theirs together since last year . The rest of the field is one big question mark. The big bonus and early season fast sta rt is called Houston. You can pick up double points at the same track within 24 hours. The second round doesn't reaIly come about until the first weekend in May . The two road races in between Houston and San Jose are bonus points for onl y two riders. Roxy Rockwood ' . 0, THE BIG BIKES ARE COMING! · And along with the Amer ican tylotorcycle Associ ation 's high spee d two wheelers-the circ uit's top and toughest rid ers. The reco rd brea kers. The big boys. See 'em eat up the track while they compete for cycli ng 's heavy p rize money. You'll want to catch all the action from the first flag on. So come on out-early! 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