Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

·._. _._._._._-_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . from Potts. Northrop rode a Suzuki as did Rodney Brand, who wound up third overall. Potts finished second. In the 250cc Pro race, DMGsponsored Jason Yodogawa plowed ahead until his Maico sucked in water and stalled on a back tum. Passed by David Williams , who took first , and Mark Barnes, who wound up second, Yodogawa sat in the goop and waited until his engine aired out, then he was up and truckin' again in time to finish third . T he second race found Yodogawa looking for a win as he charged off the line but missed the holeshot which was snatched by Williams. Yodogawa and Williams staged an exhibition fight for position. Williams held the lead but Yodogawa edged him ou ton the back part of the track. Yodogawa then sparred with Williams to hold the spot but Williams poured it on and fou.. laps later squeezed Yodogawa to the edge of a tight turn and knocked him off the track. Once again Yodogawa's engine stalled causing him to lose valuable time and leaving 'him with only a shot at second which is where he placed overall . Williams, sponsored by Wheelsmith, brought his Maico in with two wins , taking the first for the day and Barnes drove his Yamaha in fourth , taking third overall. Dennis Gilmore, riding for DMG, was the big winner in the Open Pro class. Running onl y his 23rd race, he led the way both times around uncontested. Though Mike Sixberry aced th e holeshot in the second moto Gilmore cut the triumph short by steaming ahead on his scream ing Suzuki and staying in fr ont to win . Gilmore , who has been racing for a year, turned Pro after winning his first Intermediate race and wound up 11th in the Ca lifornia Trials. Second overall was picked up by Tom Taylor who finished behind Sixberry in the first moto , but scrambled to finish second in moto number two . Sixberry finished third overall. Hard rain plagued riders by the end of the da y making the track even more gooey. I heard one rider say he liked it because, "O n this kind of day you don't get all hot and sweaty," but most agreed that the mud ' made the races slow and hope for better weather next week. Resu lts in Results Section. Old Timers try outrigger mud-ocross By Old Timer Monte .James '. TRABUCO CYN., CA , FEB . 12 , After calling R acing World Satu rd ay afternoon and being assured that the California Racing Club (CRe) would be racing, 34 hardy characters showed up , only to find that they were to be initiated into a brand new sport: "Outrigger MudO-Cross. " What at first appeared to be a sano track set -up, in fact turned out to be a sea of mud from 3 to 12 inches deep over the entire track. The Experts were the first to practice and judging from the speeds they showed and the d ifficulties they were experiencing in just negotiating the track we had some idea of what would be in store for us in the second practice. - Wha t an understatement! The most hilarious action ever seen was then given the specta tors as 34 would-be racers stuck both feet out on each side of their bikes to act 'as outriggers and tried to emulate the Pros that preceeded them . The slightest misuse of the throttle resulted in instant chaos with the back of the bike going cr azy. Braking didn't work either. It was a never-ending struggle just to keep upright. A lot didn't. Stalled bikes were all over the track, and to try and get around them forced you into deeper and deeper mud. What a riot. Yours truly managed to stay upright for two of the four practice laps and then came off, worn to a frazzle . When I watched the rest of the nuts who kept on going I almost got hysterical watching the battle just to stay upright. Speed? Forgetitl The Amateurs and Novices were first off the line. While still being a rough way to go, at least we had benefited to some small degree from four preceeding races and some semblance of a line was beginning to form . By scattering the mud around a bit and building a single track it more or less assured you of staying upright and finishing . If you got careless and got out of the line, or had to try and get around someone who was stalled, well - whammo! - instant brakes or fishtailing you wouldn 't believe. Rough wasn 't the word for it. However, John Webb managed to " go 1-2 for first overall for the Amateurs with Chuck Woody (4-1) second. Don Jensen picked up third with a 2-4 and Leonard Sciacca fourth with a 5-3 . In the Novice class , Bob Beasly continued to dominate with the holeshots and a , I -2 finish for first 'over all. Bob Coffman went 3-1 for second while "Bullet" Bob Alloy lived up to his name by going 2·4 for third and Ray McIntyre garnered a 5·7 for fourth. The Masters and Experts were the last (seventh) race of the day being in the seventh race. Moto one saw Marvin Olsen take a tremendous holeshot that was extended to almost a full minute by the end of the race. Putting a strong second on the second "m ud -o" resulted in a first overall. 'Marshall Jennings mounted on a CCM (not a 500 Yamaha , as previously reported) took second with a 5-1. Ken Williams , who seems to be getting serious about his racing, hung in there in both races and managed a fine 2·5 for a third while " Da untless" Doug Archibald took fourth with a 4-4. Head Line Steward " Da ngerous" Dick Frampton on his famous Bul went I -I for first overall Expert , but we may have to disqualify him when we found out after the races that he was wearing swimfins instead of boots. Bill Bassett took second overall with a fine -4 ·2 . " Pres" Bill Bird garnered third overa ll by going ' 2·4 while Jerry Scott salvaged fourth with 3-5 finishes. Results in Resu lts Section. McLaughlin, Pridmore stage Superbike showdown at R~verside By John D. Ul rich RIVERSIDE, CA , FEB. 19 The American Federation of Motorcyclists season opener at Riverside Raceway was the site of Steve Mcl.aughlin's and Reg Pridmore's first Superbike Productio n battle of 1978. Mcf.aughlin. riding a _ . _ . _ . _ ~ . _ . _ . _ .. Reg Prid more 11 63) and Steve McLaughli n trade elbows and handl ebars in A FM Superstreet compe t it io n. Mclaug hlin won the closely -k nit duel. Ray Straka leads t he AFM Box Stock race in t he early laps. Ralph Hu dson (oval number plate) beat Pete Bothwell (2n) and Straka to t he flag. Suzuki for Yoshimura R&D of America, and Pridmore, riding a Kawasaki for Racecrafters International and Vetter Fairing, faced off in both the Open Superstreet and Open GP events. But when the thundering Superst reeters came winding around for the . fi rst lap, neither McLaughlin nor Pridmore led . Instead , Del Amo Suzuki 's Dennis Smith had his Yoshimura 944cc GS750 in the lead. Pridmore pushed past Smi th before th e end of that first lap , bu t it wasn't u ntil the fou rt h la p th at Mc La ughlin found his way around Smi th and into second pl ace. All. three .:..., Pridmore, McLaughlin and Smith roared around the race track in a tight clump, trailed at a distance by Billy Addington's Kawasaki , Pat Eagan , on his Mr. Jags BSA, and Harry Klinzmann's SanJoe BMW. McLaughlin used his Suzuki's top speed to pass Pridmore and take the lead on the seventh lap , holding first place until the seventh turn of the e ig h t h and last lap . Then , in a shocking charge that had specta tors sucking in thei r breath a nd br acing for the certain cr ash, Pridmore stuffed his way inside McLaughlin just at th e point where th e pavement fall s away in to a tricky, downhill left turn. The 17

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