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/126308
-wit h 'n ew obst acl es p ioneered by -AT AExperts , u til izin g man y of Sa d d leback's stee p gully climbs a nd spe ctacular rock formations. Som e typi cal layo u ts were sec t ion two , a gu lly-cl imb over mono lithic water ca rved rock chimneys; secti on three , th e infa mous " Gra nd Ca n yon" of Saddle back , with its ridges ma d e kn ife-ed ged and gnarly by erosio n ; sec tion five, ' a ridge -top rock sect ion with a h airy two -stage cl imb a nd two di fficu lt turns ; sec tion eight, a deep Vbottom gully with a trick climbout: I sec tion nine , a nother gully who se exit deg enerated into a long , pun ishing hillclim b ; sec tio n 19, with a muddy I d ropaway ent ra n ce into a deep hole, a . narrow cas e-cr un cher V vbot tom to negotiate , then a mud-slicked two stage rock ste p followed by a loose, loam y cli m bou t ex it. Section 20 i looped u p a nd down a near-vertica l I hillsid e ; a nd it was one of the firs t to be closed due to danger wh en th e ra in s I ca me. . In th e ea rly sec tio ns, Leavitt already had esta b lished a lead ersh ip pa ttern . He'd a rrive a t each trap la te , be one of the last to ride , and set the m ark to measure everybody else's perfomance by. T he n whe n th e rain sta rted , Leav itt's experie nce with Saddleback too k over. Suddenly, he was a mong th e ea rl iest riders , boogying th rough th e sec t ions and finding alternate ro u tes arou nd p otenti al lo o p -trai l bo tt lene cks. O n th e first loop , Whal ey's sec tion Four d re w a th ree from Leavitt , a nd 19 n icked him for a five , afte r he had I been clea n a lmost to th e exit. On th e ridgetop trap five . Leavitt was the fir st to cl ea n it. This particula r trap d rew some interesti ng rides . New En glander Bill y Blythe was clea n to the last tight tu rn, wh en his Burs motor took a backwa rd kick and he jus t flo pped over o n his head . Curt Comer, Jr. (from T ennessee) had m ad e the first rock cl imb . then snagged his rear wheel o n the fir st turn. It looked about to hook h im o nto the ground , but Co mer jus t sna tc he d the Montesa up un d er himself, did a 'q u ick mid -ai r turn wit h both wh ee ls off the grou nd , rig hted him self with One o p po rt u nistic prod , a nd rode th e rest of th e sectio n clean ly for a o ne . Very few peo pl e sa w fellow Tennesseean J ack Stites, th e last rider through , ga the r th is t ra p's on ly ot he r " cl e a n " wit h a di spl a y of .m asterfu l roc k-ho p ping . Another wh o could ha ve go ne unnoticed was Id ah o rider Ke it h Ad am s ( B u l) who co m p leted th e enti re event wearing tenn is shoes! He says bo ot s get in t he way . (He finis hed 12t h . ) T he co m ing of the ra in turned th e soil int o a mixture of gl ue , pl ast er , a nd Gori lla S no t , O ff ca me Leav itt's fro nt fend er immedi ately, H e rem embered '74 . Bob Ho pkins (Bu l) wh ose 45 · po int firs t loo p had him wit hin st riking dist a n ce o f Lea vitt , · said "I ke p t t h ink ing , 1 ough t ·to pu ll tha t fen der off, b ut di dn't . W ish I ha d ; t he time I'd have lost t ak in g it off wo ul dn 't have com pa re d to t he time 1 lost getting stuck. " - H o pk ins was forced to skip some sectio ns in o rder to fini sh in tim e , bik e - a nd bo dy pl astered with a proba b le v hu nd redweight worth o f b rown goo . q J a ck Stites was a not her wh o had an :I.o utsta nd ing ea rly sco re to r pedoe d by II the mud . as he slipped to eig ht h with :li138 points a nd fou r clea ns. j ust t hree clea ns a head of Dennis Siel er . also in with 138 points. . r Comer m anaged to equa l Leavi t r's 43·poi nt second loop score. finis hing at 96 to ta l for second overa ll: Terry Che ney ( Bu l) put toget he r 5 1·62 for 113 . one p oi nt ah ead o f fell o w Michiganer I lop kins. Ross Kenned y ,( Mo n . Co lo rado ) rode a n ou tstanding 49 · po int seco nd loo p to pu ll himsel f up into fift h place . Tennessee's Curt Comer. Jr, finished second, I Datsun, Official Car Of Ascot Park $1 ,200 Purse Each Event $1,000 Expert Poi nt Fund For Series Tom Bohannon negotiates a tricky ravine. Qual ifying points for juniors and novices for Ascot Half-Mile Invitat iona l, Saturday night, May 13, 1978 Qualifying points for juniors only for San Jose MiIe Invitat ional , Sunday afte rnoon, M 7, 1978 ay 1 C. AGAJAIIAN'S ~I 18300 v er mont Ave . ==-t:: ~ Garden a . Ca li f. 902 47 (213) 323 - 5055 (213) 321 - 5323 LESS SOUND MORE GROUND -' -' w CD Q. ~ t3 w Off Road Vehicle Institute-SD z :s > CD "W HERE THE HARBOR, SAN DIEGO AND 91 FREEWAYS MEET" I ~ (/) o b r Q. Leavitt watches third-place Terry Cheney. Tom Cu lle n ( Bul) , wh o pu b lishes 1'.1. 1'. Sto p , and is kind of a " neig h bor" to Lane Leavitt, was th e o n ly Senior to fin ish , a nd o ne o f th e few riders to m ak e it to a ll secitons o n the second loo p . After all that work , Tom had a brief sca re when his loop ca rd turned up mi ssin g from t he custo ma ry e n d u r o -sui ; poc ket. A fr ant ic sea rc h located it in a not he r pocket. Whew! Tom 's so n Kevi n ( Bu l) ad de d a hi t of frosting by win n ing th e Sportsm an class. W ith t he tri al fo rm a lly over. the tribul a tions co nti n ued , for th ose who ha p pen ed to pa rk in low spots . As one .se t of volu nteers m assed fo r coo lie la bor, ot he rs broached t he park's back gate o nto Peter s Ca nyo n Road , and sti ll ot he rs exhibited grea t feats of bravado , de rri ng-do , a nd d irt track sty le . • Resu lts , CHAMPIONS HIP CLASS: 1. l ane Leavitt. !Bull 78; 2. Curt Comer, Jr ., (Monl, 96; 3. Terry Cheney. (Bull 113; 4 . Bob Ho pkins, fBull 114; 5. Ross Ken ned y. IM on) 124: HERCULES DKW-RUPP MONARCH . , . AN D AU. SACH5-POWERED MOTORCYCLES & MOPEDS EASTERN DEAL ER S ERVICE & PARTS CE NTER 90 9 Croc ker Rd .• Dept . F·1 4 , w eeueae. O H 44 145 (2 16) 6 71-4890 WE STERN DEAL ER SERVICE & PARTS CENTER 6401 Reg lo Ave., Dept. F'14 , Buena Park , CA 90620 (714 ) 523- 3480 6. Wm. Perkins. (Yam) 128; 7. Mo rgan Kavanaugh, ( B u l l ' 3 6; 8. J oc k S t i ~ ( ~ 1 1 ~ 4 c l . ; 9 . D e n n i s Sieler.IMonl138.1 cl.; 10. Tony LeDuc. (Mon) 139. SENIOR CLASS: 1. Tom Cullen,lBull 107 , SPORTS MAN CLASS : 1. Kevin Cullen , 18ull 105 ; 2. ! err.y BakfJr ..( ~ qn ! 109; 3. ~~ry :r4C~. ~r¥1 0 ~111 9 . 21