Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Superbouil the white flag came out, with no chance of catching Hansen, but in good position for the final two rnotos, Tripes got an incredible holeshot at tile start of rnoro two, only to be called back when the black flag came out because of a huge pile-up in the first tum. b On the restart, John DeSoto took the lead, with b Kring in hot pursuit. Both Tripes and Hansen had fared badly on the restart, and were working their ~ way laboriously through the pack. Kring put heavy if pressure on DeSoto,' and the Hawaiian responded by 2" riding the course as though each lap was the last. Still the Swede gained, and when DeSoto endoed spectacularly as the result of a shock seizure, Kring ' took the lead. Meanwhile , Tripes and Hansen were dueling for second place, with the kid from Santee passing the experienced international star shortly before the end of the moto, Going into the deciding third moto, Tripes and Hansen were tied in points for the lead (the international points scoring system was not being used) . Hansen came off the start fourth , Tripes 10th, with Hart and Hallman in the lead. Hakan Andersson quickly took over, however, and moved into a substantial lead while the others dueled in the pack. No one cared. The interest of the 30,000 spectators was all with Hansen and Tripes. The Swede was in second, but Tripes put on a charge which took him past Hart, Hallman, Grossi, Jones and, finally , Hansen himself. Andersson won the moto, but Marty Tripes had won the first Superbowl of Motocross with three second place finishes. American motocross had a new hero. 1973: Controversy continues ... Having failed in its " America vs, The World" confrontation the first time out, the promoters could have been expected to be relatively discreet in their promises. In this life- and especially where promoters are concerned, expectations can often be disappointing. The format for Superbowl II (with apologies to the NFL) was represented as being 20 of Europe's finest against 20 of the American best, no holds barred. Riders from England , Sweden , Germany, Czechoslovakia , Belgium and Venezuela were advertised , though not by individual name. As it turned out, two Czechs . a Finn and two Venezuelans actually made th e ' starting line-up, leaving th e "Eu ropea n" side woefully shorthanded by some 15 riders - even granting the South Americans temporary European status. Still , it was almost enough. With his heroics of the past year still fresh in their minds, Marty Tripes was the obvious crowd favorite , And Marty had something to prove. His first full year on the AMA motocross circuit had not been a successful one, and he was aware that many considered his '72 win a fluke. Tripes definitely had something to prove. He proved it quickly, taking an early lead in the first moto and never relinquishing it, while the advertised "battle of the titans" went on at midpack. The most competitive titans were Heikki Mikkola, Jaroslav Falra , Antonin Baborovsky and Jim Pomeroy, the latter still savoring his new status as the first American ' ever to win a motocross Grand Prix , Mikkola, running in second, fell , allowing the Czechs Baborovsky and Falta to move up and go after Tripes. But Marty held onto his lead , and the Czechs were so intent on catching him that they failed to pay attention to what was coming up behind. On the last lap, Pomeroy passed Falta to move into third , causing the Czech to do a doubletake that almost knocked him off his bike. The second moto saw the Czech team riders take an early lead , but by the fourth lap Tripes was again in front . He led for almost the entire rnoto, with Falta in grim pursuit, only to bobble and fall on the last lap. Tripes restarted immediately, but the mishap was enough to give Falta the win, with Marty second and Pomeroy third. Tripes needed only a second in the final moto to win the overall, but the pressure was on and building. Falta took the lead , only to be passed by Tripes on the faster Honda after one lap. H e quickly moved out into a seven second lead, and would have held on easily for the win had his swingarm not cracked five minutes before the finish . Marty was forced to slow down , and Jim Pomeroy pu shed his Bultaco past him and went on 10 win the moto. Tripes held on to finish second, thus 'win ning his second , the second, Superbowl , while the Czechs were experiencing a bad third moro back in th e pack: A poignant tou ch was add ed to the entire evening when Tripes refused to kiss the Qui Magazine trophy girl because his girlfriend was in th e sta nds . 1974: Son of controversy ... Never a dull moment. Superbowl III (apologies, etc .) managed to come up with a more impressive complement of European names than had hitherfore been seen, only 10 find itself mired in an American riders' strike, of sorts, ' Roger DeCoster, Jaroslav Falta, Raymond Boven , Gerrit Wolsink , jan-Eric Sallqvist and Zdenek Velky were at the Coliseum, but riders like Brad Lackey, Jim Pomeroy, Pierre Karsmakers and Tim Hart didn't race. The issue was start, or appearance, money. The Europeans were getting it, the Americans weren't. Promoter Mike Goodwin defended his decision by pointing out that the only way to lure top foreign riders to the event was with cash on the line, while Americans were already here. the purse was iarge and other prestigious and lucrative events like the USGP didn't pay start money to Americans. Lackey and Pomeroy, both of whom were racing full-time in Europe, weren't impressed with Goodwin's rationale. The race went on without them. Having learned well the demands of stadium racing the previous year, Falta had brought with him a specially prepared CZ that was the fastest bike on the course out of the turns. He used that advantage to take the holeshot and an easy win in the first two motos. Meanwhile, DeCoster finished those first two heats in second and third , while Coliseum hero Marty Tripes had to settle for a sixth and a second after a bad start in the first moto. Tony DiStefano, a newcomer to the stadium scene, was tied on points with Tripes with finishes of third and fifth . No one had pushed Falta hard. The third moto was the most interesting of the evening. Tripes took an early lead, followed closely by DeCoster and DiStefano, with Falta running in sixth after almost falling at the gate. Tripes, urged on by the crowd, tried to extend his lead, but DeCoster had decided 10 win the moto. Despite a badly running bike that consistently lost ground on the long straightaway, he passed Tripes. Falta did the same soon 'afte rwa rd , and the remainder of th e moto featured two duels: DeCoster vs, Falta for first , and Tripes vs. DiStefano for third . Making up ground in the comers and losing it in the straights, DeCoster succeeded in holding off the Czech and winning the moto while Tripes won his tough battle with DiStefano. Falta was the overall winn er , followed by DeCoster, Tripes and DiStefano. As an int eresting historical side not e, the High School ,Cham pionship race. .held earlier in the . .35

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