Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

(Continue dfrom pag e J) Mike Baldwin nailed down the next spot with a 2:21 :20 to place his Yoshimu ra GSIOOOO in the second slot , along with teammate W es Coole y. The Australian team of Graem Crosby and Tony Hatton took their Yoshimura -engined Kawasaki ZI to third Spot with the Honda RCB team of Christian Leon and Jean Charmarin fourth. The moderately de tuned KR350 Ka wasa ki GP bike rounded out the top five out of the 43 ·bike field , T he C BX Team of Pierce and Fujimoto qualified at 22nd. This was the first time in two yea rs that the Honda RC B Team had failed to earn the Pole position in an international endurance racel f/ " . - -- . - CHAMPION SPARK PLUG -'0- f 200KM Laguna Seca Raceway Race Day T he start of the race sa w Cooley, th e Kawasaki GP bike , the Australi an ZI and Dave Erode separate fro m the pack a t a n unbelievable pace, ru n ni ng only a couple of seconds off their qualifying time , Team Hon da enco untered .problems im media tely . Leon 's bike could n' t be started right away, du e to a kick sta rter ma lfu nctio n, and the RCB bike of Woods and Williams crashed on the second lap. The Yoshimu ra pits were preparing to wat ch W orld Champion Christia n Leon m ove up throug h the ranks to challe nge their lead, bu t the ch allenge never materialized, At the one hou r mark Cooley had a seven -secon d advantage over Erode. 90 seconds over the Australian team and almost two minutes over Leon's RCB . . T he feeling seemed to be that sooner or later Yoshimura would encounter the clutch problems that plagued them all week . But the lead grew . By the third ho ur, Leon and Cha rrn a rin's RCB engine had blown . The CB X of Pierce an d Fujim oto was 13 la ps be hind d ue to electrical a nd genera l first race proble ms. At t his point Yoshimura riders were sign aled to drop engi ne rp ms to 8,500 in order to save it fo r the remaind er of the race. Amazingly enoug h, their la p times dropped on ly one or two seconds , no doubt due to fa miliarity of the track by th is time . The fourth ho ur m ark saw second place Erode being lapped and Yoshim u ra's dreaded tire change. T he onl y people authorized to tou ch th e bike at this time were the two ri ders an d their mech anics. For som e reason Cooley ended up changing both tires, by himselfl In the process, Wes broke off one of the front axle cap bolts with the air im pact wrench. Mike Bald win saved the team from the black flag by com ing up with a make-shift replacement which carried the bike unti l the next fuel stop where a new part was put on. The strategy for the remainder of th e race was to finish , and that they d id . Coole y and Baldwin brought the Yosh imura GSI 000 across the finish line in eight hours , two minutes, 51 seconds, at an average speed of just over 90 mph to complete 194 laps, whi ch was four more than second place Emde/Sugirnoto and six laps ahead of th e third place Australian team . Pierce and Fujim oto brought the Honda CBX into a respectable l l th place finish , , .T he Yoshimura Team is new a t endurance racing. This was only their second race and they a re now planning for the p restigiou s 24 hou r event at Bol d'Or Fr ance, The Yoshimura Team went to Su zu ka to see how competi tive they were and to see how fast the Honda RC B Team was . Their questions hav e been answered , September 8, 9 & 10 The only international Formula 750 cycle race in the U. S. that carries world championship points. See three of the giants,of international racing, Kenny Roberts, Johnny Cecotto and Steve Baker; as they battle for the world title in their only West Coastappearance this -year. With four big events and over $80,000 in prize money at stake, it's the one motorcycle eventnot to miss this year. Other exciting events are Superbike, Ughtweight 250 and Sidecarraces. For ticket information call (408) 372-1516. Tickets at Macy's, Ticketron, BASS, Emporium and capwell's. Laguna Seca Raceway; P.D. Box SCRAMP, . .......... Monterey, Ca. 93940 (408) 373-1811. £:..VN;J r-----------, IDUN"LOP the new owne rs of Canoga Park Suzuki RACING TIRES ~ ~ ~ Service is our bu siness We ca rry a fuUline of parts and ac c essori es 121 3~1 3 7045 Canoga Ave , Canoga Park, CA 91306 WRITE, CALL DR SEE US r ' m'"I1" ........" ........OlI ........ I .... I .._ ".......IIIIII.,l ltIIIIH.I I I11I I11I'"11t" 1 I I AT LAGUNA SECA SEPTEMBER 9-10 ' """ PflfDIIUIICl . .111n. mOttlTlS 15 D1IIl&! I VI. W!ST IIVI I . CT. IUI5 . L ~ 203 - 934 -6855 I . ~ ~ ! DESTROY DISTANCE! I -==PHA Results 8-HOUR ENDURANCE RACE: 1. W . Cooley/M . Baldw in IS uzJ; 2. I. Sugimoto/D . Emde (Ya m): 3. G. Crosbyl'T. Hatton IKa w); 4. H. Ya ma nalT. Hakamada ISuz): 5. M. Toku nolH. lwado IKawI. Come and meet Tom and Jack. 1 1 " 1..0I1I " 0II1OI1It1ll I I 11II1 AMA Speedway Qualifier Sept. 16 Santa Ana Speedway for info 714-529-1832 r. WEBCO moTOR

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