Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Enduro a t Hamden, OH. Class winners included Suzuki riders Drew Sm ith (20 0cc A) and George Peck (250cc A) and KT M's Kevin LaVoie (Open A). Dick Bu rleson DNF. The blood test administered to Jay Springsteen after he was charged by Gary Scott of being in violation of an AMA rule regarding use of stimulants and int oxi cants, came back negative. Springer's clean, and his Louisville w in stands, Hennen hurt at Isle of Man, condition guarded, prognosis unknown LIVERPOOL ENGLAND, J UNE 12 American road rac ing sta r and three-year Team Suzuk i member Pat Henne n was injur ed in a high-spe ed crash while co mpet ing at the Isle of Man Senior TT on Monday, June 5. Hennen was on t he last lap of the event. and was reportedly 15 seconds behind eventual w inner Mike Hailwood, when the m ishap occurred. He had just set a new lap record for the 37-mile circuit and was closing on the leader at t he t ime of the crash. Hennen was entering Bishop's Court - a 150 mph sweeping corner marking the halfway point of the country lanes that form the 10M course - when, according to an eyewitness, either a large insect or small bird smashed into his face shield, obscuring Hennen's vision. As he frantically tore at the visor to remove it. his Suzuki RG 500 struck the curb at the apex of the turn, shattering both wheels, and both t he motorcycle and Hennen were thrown across the track and into a stone guardrail approximately 50 yards away, The rider was rushed to an infirm ary on the is land where a preliminary examination revealed no broken bones or intern al injuries, but he had lapsed into a coma, and his condition was listed as serious, Though uneoncious, Hennen's vital signs stabilized and 36 hours after the accident he was flown to the Noble Hospital in Liverpool and placed in guarded condition under the care of a neurosurgeon, Reports from Liverpool on Friday, June 9, indicat ed that Hennen was semico!1cious and had recognized but not spoken to his mechanic who was at his bedside, Initial scans have revealed some slight bruises within the cranial area, but further diagnosis will be witheld until Hennen rega ins full coneiousness and the extent of his injuries can be ascertained. Hennen became the fIrSt American rider ever to win an int ernat ional road race Grand Prix. ' turning the trick in Rnland in 1976. He was running strongly this season, having won the Spanish GP on April 16 and finishing second in three of the other four events run to date. He is currently second in the overall standings with 51 points to f ell ow American Kenny Roberts' 57 points, with Hennen's Suzuki teammate Barry Sheene in third at 47 points. ' Bultaco's Bernie Schreibe r won his third-straight World Championship T rials event in the United States round at Motorsport Park in Roa ring Branch , PA . Schreiber's 24 .2.poin t total bested Yrjo Vesterinen (Bul, 35 . po ints ), Ulf Karlsson (Mon. 38 .6 ), Martin Lampkin (Bul, 39 ), Marland Wha ley (Mon , 50) and Curt Comer (Mon , 50 .9 ). In the World Trials point standings, Martin Lampkin still leads with 80 points, followed by Yrjo Vesterine (701 and Bernie Schreiber (621. 2 In the June II It al ian ro u nd 500cc - World Cha m pionsh ip' Seri es. T eam Yamaha's Mikkola sco red a not her victory. America 's Honda hopeful for th crown," La ckey, won tlie fi rst mo t Suzuki 's Roger DeCoster. b to fourth in the seco nd ra ce for third overall. DeCoster followed Herbert Schmitz and Mikk ola in th e second moto for second overa ll. Mai co · mounted Schmitz finish ed fourth overa ll with an eig ht h in the first moto . Mikkola leads th e series wit h 197 poims 0 1 's 163, DeCos p -' Do you know Rolf T ibbl in ? Chances a re that if you' ve been involved in either motocross or off-road racing, you've either met t he man or perhaps followed his published training or riding technique advice. He's presently being threatened with deportation under circumstances that are no fa ult of his own . Character references are needed , so send those telegrams or lett ers to S.1. Hayakaw a , Congr essional Committ ee , Sta te Capitol, Washington , DC , or to Congr essm an Bergner at the sa me ad dress. T ell 'em why you feel Rol f is welcome and need ed in Am erica . Need mor e info ? Dia l 805 / 942 -9624 and ta lk wit h Ron Stephens, the general manager of Mitch Mayes ' La ncaster Yama ha. The cast of Beatlemania singing the National Anthem? l It could only happen at the June 24 LA. Coliseum Coca-Cola Superbowl of Motocr9ss VI. An a p pa re nt ly not -so-reliable source in Canada told Papa last week that Can-Am's head R&D man Bob Fisher and five other R&D Department em ployees had been d ismissed. But Can-Am 's man in SoCal, Tony Murphy ca lled up to inform Papa that th e Fisher/Can -Am sp lit had been a, " mu tu a l parting of th e wa ys" and that the p art a bo ut five others go ing too was pure B.S . Pa pa apo logizes for th e Poop item in last week 's paper, hoping tha t Fisher, Murphy and th e five guys who are still there will u nderstand. At the Mammoth Mountain motocross June 11, Team Yamaha 's Broc Glover topped Team Honda's Warren Rid and David Tylor (Suz) in the 125cc Pro class. In the 250cc Pros . Marty Moates (Suz) won out over Jim Lesniewski (Mail and Dan Turner (Yam I. Sherman Schneller (Suz) ruled the Open class ahead of larry Watkins (Suz) and Val Tamietti (M ai). Complete coverage next week. Somebody left a full ring of keys at the sign up area of th e Masterlinks D-37 desert race May 21. The owner of th e keys shou ld contact Wally Bolster at 213 /564-5666 , days. Steve Clugston, ri ding a KTM along with Ralph Griffin in the Baja Int ernaci onal. cras hed near the start. While that would not norm all y qualify him for Pape's Precious Page, as a result of the crash, t here are knobby tire tracks running across the inside of t he legs of his leathers. a couple of inches from the junction on the inseam s. Close call , Clugston. live in th e north San a d area? Police officer botha m , the inland offforce r , says he's fou nd a to ride where nobody u can contact him a t the icc Department , 1200 Carlsbad , CA 92008 , Classic. Bill Werner will have one of Springer's mile motors in one of the old road racer frames for National Number One t o compete on . Jay will be in sea rch of more Camel Pro Series points to protect his 3O-point lead over Steve Eklund. Eklund will race at Loudon, too, on a TZ 750 Yamaha. as will _ current third-place Skip Aksland. Lost and found : A set of keys were found at Ca rlsbad followi ng the Bel -Ra y USGP of Motocross. If they're you rs call Gerard McCaffrey at 714 /831 7141 and identify them . / Lost and found: A wristwatch was found in t he Suzuki hospitality area at Carlsbad following the USGP. Call Jeff Bum at 213/921-4461 to claim it. T he American Motorcyclist Associ ation h as announced that speedway riders Sco tt Aut rey and Steve G resha m will represent the AMA at th e July 2 Int ercon tinental Final at Fredrica , Den m a rk. If they're successfu l there, they 'll transfer to the Sept. 2 Ind ivid ua l Speedway W orld Final at Wembley, England. The AMA will sanction q ual ifiers in the U .S . this year to select riders for the '79 World Fina ls. Don't m iss the California Racing Club's June 18 Superbowl Amateur National Qualifier event at Indian Dunes if you 're anxious to get int o the June 26 Grand National Championship event in the L A. Col iseum. AMA Superbike Prod uction Champion Reg Prid more will· ride a Honda at Bol d 'Or on September 16· 17. According to Prid m ore , he still has to pick his ridi ng partner for the 24 hour Coup d 'Endu rance event. His bike will use a factory engi ne in an accessory frame . Phil Wyman. candidate for State Assembly from lancaster, phoned Papa the other day to question a Latest Poop item run severa issues ago concerning incumbent assemblyman larry Chimbole and statements that Chimbole was running against a "rancher (W yman) who decidedly is no t sympathetic to (motorcyclists) needs," Wyman stated that he is a four-wheel off-road enthusiast and added, " I feel that it's public land , • and I think they should use it. I've been fighting the BLM for years . .. to keep from having too many wilderness areas," Wyman may be contacted through the Wyman in 78 Committee, 159 E. Ave. J , Lancaster, CA 93534. 8041948-5201 . D a vid Taylor will c ontest the re maining rounds of the AM A 125cc ' National Championship/Mr . PiB B MX Series with the support of Marconi Racing and with help from LO P . Taylor holeshot both 250cc Support class rnotos at the Bel-R ay USG P , but ran into problems in the second moto. Ascot Park will be hosting two AMA Pro half miles on the Gardena, CA, oval. The first one will be June 16; the second will be June 30. Both will be full-on Pro programs with Novice. Junior and Expert classes. Call 2131321 -5323 or 323-5055 for further info.' Bob Hayes won his heat ra ce in his bid for th e 39th Assem b ly District sea t and transferred d irectl y to the mai n event in November. T o ce lebrate , Bob went out and rode the Buzzards M.C. AMA D-37 hare scra m b les. •

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