Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Larry Roeseler , a' pre-race favorit~ ' to win along with partner Jack Johnson on the factory H usky. was following Kelly at check two . Roe seler was riding gingerly due to a shoulder injury suffered in a motocross the week before t he race. Roeseler's longevity could not be tested ; the Husky seized whi le runn ing down a 32-mile section of pa veme nt past check two a nd they were ou t of th e race. Cord is Brooks, who was teamed with Bill T a rling on a KTM, led the 250cc Class 21 .bikes into 'che ck two. Bruce O g ilvie , teamed wit h Bo b Ru tten on the factory Ha rley-Davidson, was hot o n his t r a il. with the Finger/ Kapla n H usky running third. Team Ca r tl ed g e moved q u ickl y into the 125cc lead , while Scott Coutts, riding with Tom Lamar on an Ornos Motorcycle Sales Husky , crashed heavily early in the ra ce. The bike was undam aged and able to cont in ue, but Scott didn't rem em ber too much about the crash . Most of the teams switched riders a t EI Chinero, after the south-ru nn ing course had gotten off the highway and th rou gh a rocky section . It was a fast sho t in to check fou r , nea r th e fishing town of Sa n Felipe. Kelly was th e first rider into check four, rwo min utes ahead of W allingsford , This was despite losing five minutes on a wheel change at El Chinero. The KTM - a new '78 model - was set up with different primary gearing for more top speed. Be hind t he first two wa s the Timms/Dysert Husky, who arrived at San Felipe a minute in arrears of Wallingford . Kyge r and Chap m a n . the early lea d er s. reported ly had gotten lost before El Chi nero. Ogilvie and Rutten had ta ken the class 2 1 lead , arriving at San Felipe th ree minutes ahead of Kaplan and Finger. Tarling was third, followed by the Hansen/Davis bike. The course headed towards and through Diablo Dry Lake. Kelly lost some time when he thought he saw water on the lake bed and took a road around the lake while the other riders ~shot straight through. As a res ult , Ba le n t in e and Wallingsford were about even as they d eft San Marais pass and went up the road toward EI Rod eo, whe re.th ey left the road and made their way through the mud and water towards Nuevo Junction and the Summit. The run from San Felipe to San Marais produced a few casulties . Ogilvie and Ru tt en dropped out when their Harley seized. Tarling and Brooks went out with a seized rod bearing. This put Hansen and Davis into the class lead . . Hansen was following an Open class rider - re portedly Dysert - when they turned off th e road at El Rod eo. Hansen said he hea rd a sound , looked u p a nd saw the rider flying th rough th e air after hittin g a car going backwards on the course . T ho ug h the rider reportedly escaped with a broken leg, Hansen was mentally shaken. " I couldn't go fast for the next five miles , There were a lot of sixth gear straights that 1 was putting on in third and fourth gear." The climb up the Summit , normally -the most difficult part of SCORE races in Mexico , was ha rder because parts of the trail were bisected by deep running wa ter. After the first few riders went through, the area from El Rodeo to the Sum mi t was hit with first rain, ' then snow . Wallingsford slid out on a corner going down the Summit and Balentine ·took the lead. He held it until about a mile before check seven at Cohabuzo Junction . There he ran out of gas, and while he got out the gallon of gas that he carried with him . Wallingsford flashed past. ." . Th~y -si;y~~( n';a"rly" ~;e~ ~~ th~ 'f;;; t fire roads that led to the check eig ht at Kilometer 27 on Mexico's Hig hwa y 2. Balentine got back in th e lead whe n Wallingsford blew a tu rn . When th ey. hit the pavement Wa llingsford seized the Husky, He coasted until it fire d back up in second gear. put th e choke on and flew to the finish, He got th er e 49 seconds behind Balent ine - good enough to win by 11 seconds. The seizure was the only problem on the ' Dean Goldsm it h-tu ned H usky. W hile Wallingsford a nd Harden were j ubilant ("Nothing like a littl e racing." quipped Bren t). Ba lentine and Kelly were naturally a little do wnhearted . The mood lasted until Bob's girlfriend, Michele, pu shed him into the hotel swimming pool , leathers , mud and all. The third bike into the finish was the Hansen/Davis Yamaha , taking the class win with a six hour, 31 minute time. It was the first- ever Baja race for both Hansen and Davis. who are spo nso red by Nevada Yamaha and Va lley Cycles, resp ectively, "I love it do wn here. Baj a is neat," said Ha nsen . " Especially when you win , huh!" added Davis, Kaplan and Finger finis hed two minutes behind the winners, riding on their third rear tire. Joe Jones and Ron Bishop were the next bike to finish , and the last ones to beat the first car, piloted by ex -biker Bob by Ferro, which was an hour and five minutes behind the winning bike. The Cartledge bike was the next one into the finish . In addition to losing two gears. Mike ha d the chain come off four times while climbing the Sum mit. They were later protested over engine size. were found to be legal . and collected the S100 protest fee . Scott : Coutts and Tom Lamar were second. Ron Ellenburg and Paul Emerson (Yam) were third. The third-place 250cc class team , Mike Maze and Chris Morgan (H us) were lucky to finish at all. Just past Kilometer 27 , Maze crashed hard . The rear frame loop was vertical , bending halfway down the seat. Maze suffered a broken and dislocated left shoulder. but managed to get back on and finish . later going to a hospi tal in El Cen tr o. " Boy, I'm sure glad I rod e Bad Rock and those qualifiers," said Class 38 winner John Watkins. "I t was like a qualifier . like Bad R oc k . " he continued, "Snow, sleet, rain, mud , highway, desert , rocks It had everything," Watkins, who rode with Dick Vick, finished three minutes behind Maze , The city of 'Mexicali, led by Mayor Fra ncisco Santana Peralta , worked hard wit h little advance warning to set up camping areas. impound a nd tech a reas a nd t he finish line. Police cooperation with the racers was very good . When and if the Pa rker 400 will be run is very much in do ubt d ue to the insura nce prob lems and the availability of a BLM permit, • Dick Vick w icks the Class 38-winning Husky across the Baja desert south of Mexica li. Brent Wallingsford. Scot Harden. Co-winner Brent Wallingsford crosses the finish line. Moments before, he had seized the 390 Husky, nursed it back to life and then blasted down the pavement to w in by 11 seconds. Results ClASS 22 IOPEN): 1. Brent Wall ingsf ord lScot Harden. (Hus) 6:13:37.56; 2. Bob BalentinefTom Kelly. IKTMI 6:13:48.21; 3. J oe Jones/Ron Bishop. IHusl 7:34:52 .90; 5. Rand y Neal/Da vid Hopkins IHus) 8:07:47.30; 6. Ted J ones. 9:04 :04 .64 ; 7. Bob Corder/Glen Ferris. (Yaml 10:40:13.22. CLASS 21 l2SOCC1 1. Fred Hansen J, ./Kevin Davis, : IYaml 6:31:42.07; 2. J eff Kaplan/Rick Fonger. IHus l 6:33 :52.77 ; 3. Mike Maze /Chr is M organ. l Husl 7:36:53.57; 4. St eve Hurd/Bob Sands. 7:40:10.38; 5. Preston Gerber ICave Blaylock, 8:05:00.66; 6. David Davidson/Danny Pierce, (Yam) 8:10:10.92; 7. Mik e Quibod eaux/Charles Barney, IHusl 9:15:30.55. CLASS 20 1125CCI: 1. Chuck Cartledg e/Mike Cartledge. (Yaml 7:20:55.12; 2. Scan Coutt sfTom Lamar, tHus) 7:42 :02.16 ; 3. Ron Ellenb ur g/Paul Emerson. (Yam) 7:46:15.62; 4. Ed Rodine/Eric Spaeth, (Yaml 7:51:41.64; 5. Ph;! Smith/Spiva. 8:25:39.34; 6. Scott Pfeiff er/Ken t Pfeiff er. (Yam) 8:29 :46 .23 ; 7. George ErVHeat h Hibbard IHusi 9:26:46.72; 8. Ed Curran/Leroy Oorf, 10:23:46.57; 9. Vietor Conaw ay 11:04:35.13. ClASS 3B (3B YRS.l: 1. John Watkins/Dick Vick. IHus 7:39:04; 2. Lee Hamby/Pete Brown, 8:43:09; 3. Ivan Summers/Gus Paull. (Yam) 8:58:45. 7

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