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/126330
- --- -"--- F7S0 comes to Laguna Seca By Dale Brown While . newly-crowned 500cc World Roa? Racing Champion Kenny Roberts had his ups and downs on the way to his 500cc crown, they were nothing like this year in . the Formula 750 Championship Series. Bad luck in three earlier rounds means that the Modesto, CA. charger is going to have to work harder than ever. The last three rounds of the 10-round series are to be held in Assen , Holland (which will be run after this is wriuen , but the preliminary report is on p. 2) , Laguna Seca , just outside of Monterey, CA . and Mosport in Canada. But whil e Roberts would certainly prefer to start Champion Spark Plug 200 at Laguna Seca with a large point lead, the deficit to Venezuela's Johnny " Cecotto that King Kenny faces may provide the best S' possible show for Laguna Seca spectators. ~I'. You see , Roberts is at his road racing best under \ pressure. T ime after time in rec ent years in his . ' au'em p t for a third American Motorcyclist S Association Grand National Championship, he was n . sad d led with uncompetitive and unreliable dirt ..~ . track equipment and was under heavy pressure to •do well at the road races in order to stay in the hunt. In 1977 he responded by winning five of the six races. One of them , Sears Po int in July, 1977 , was possibly the most incredible display of road ra cing talent and sheer desire to win ever seen. Heat race problems forced Roberts to start last on the grid , in ' 35th position. Within four laps, Roberts was in the lead to stay. F750-year to date The F750 year began on a very unofficial note in Daytona, FL. in March of 1978. The Daytona 200, last year.an F750 points race. was not one th is year. But nonetheless. the major F750 contenders showed up. They included Roberts on the Kel Carruthersmanaged , Nobby Clark/Trevor T'ilbury-tuned , Yamaha Motor Corp. Yamaha . Cecotto was there on his factory-backed 'Yam a h a . Steve Baker. froin Bellingham. W A, and the first American to win a World road racing championship with his 1977 F750. crown. was there with a Bob Work-tuned Yamaha of Canada machine (Note: Bak er will ride that same Bob Work-tuned Yamaha of Canada ' entry which won the '77 Daytona 200 rather than the Nava Olio Fiat entry on 'wh ich he 's competed in this year's European F750 races) , and a host of hot Americans , including Skip Aksland, who won the '77 F750 Champion Spark Plug 200 race which was held at Laguna Seca. Daytona results? Let's leave it with the.fac t that Roberts lapped th e field , including thi rd -pla ce Aksl and a nd runner-up Cecotto . Baker ch alle nge d for th e lead bri efly before he dropped out wit h mech anica l problems . Desp ite res trictor pl at es whic h lim ited th e b ike's fu el / ai r intake over p re vious years, Roberts 'set new records for the d ista nce. At th e Imola track in Ital y, the offi cial F750 season got underwa y. Johnny Cecotro fin ished with a second a nd a first in the two heats to win , wh ile Roberts fai led to fin ish eit her leg . In th e first he seized early in the race , and in th e second he went from last on the grid to a posi tion up with th e leaders before try ing too hard and crashing off th e Kawasak i of Gregg H ansford. Roberts wa s uninjured , but out of the race. Steve Baker had an excellent chance to win , but Frenchman Christian Sarron was bauling Bak er for the lead in the first heat and banged into Steve, damaging the American's exhaust pipes. Sarron went on to win the heat, while Cecouo passed t he down-on-power Baker on th e last lap . Cecorro won th e seco n d heat with Baker following for a second overall. Sarron and Hansford finished third and fourth overall, respectively. The second F750 round happened a week later at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. Cecotto 'again had 'th ings his way and won over Kenny Roberts and Steve Baker. Paul Ricard was th e final round of the three-race (Daytona, Imola and Paul Ricard) AGV Helmet Cup Series and Cecouo, with two wins and a second . pocketed about $45 ,000. Roberts finally caught fire at the Apr. 23 round in England. Despite being ill from food poisoning. Roberts set a new lap record late in practice and went on to win both heats. Johnny Cecouo was third in both heats. but captured second overall to retain his points lead. Baker was second in the first leg , but DNF the second. After a month of inactivity , the F750 circuit picked up again at Zeit wig, Austria . Roberts dominated both 100 -mile heats. beating Cecotto by close to 30 seconds. Steve Baker made a calculated gamble and tried to ride the first heat non-stop , The gamble failed and Baker ran out of gas on the last lap, less than a half mile from the finish. He had been running third. Steve came back to post a third in the follolwing heat. but it was another day of not being a ble to put together two consistent finishes. Roberts continued with a win in June 18 at . Jarama , Finland, 'wit h Cecotto and Sarron second and third . Kenny's win narrowed Cecouo's lead to nine points. Cecotto's lead was narrowed to one point , 66 ·65 , after. the July 9 event at the Hockenheim track in West Germany. Cecotto DNF, Roberts was fourth behind winner Christian Sarron, Gianfranco Bonera and Gregg Hansford . After gelling so close to Cecouo, the gap suddenly widened in the Aug. 27 round at Nivelles, Belgium. Roberts broke a chain shor tly after the start and Cecotto . went on to win over H erve Moineau , Bon era and Sarron, Wirh'six of th e 10 ra ces completed, Cecotto lea ds the points standing with 85 points. Roberts (65 ), Sarron (57). Boner a (38), Patrick Pons (35), Baker (26), Boer Van Dulmen (22). H a nsford ( 18), Hu bert Regal (18) a nd Ch ristia n Estrosi (1 7) m ak e up the remainder of th e tOP 10 in th e F750 po int sta nd ings. Laguna Seca-who to watch Who to wa tc h a t Laguna Seca's Champion Spark Plug 200 ? Why Kenny Ro berts, of course . win . lose or draw , Kin g Kenny will gi ve th e specta tors a chance to wa tch th e best road racer in th e world in action . Roberts will have another,advantage besides his sheer skill . He is familiar with the Laguna Seca circ uit and Cecouo is not . This'is th e onl y F750 event tha t will come under the AMA's restrictor plate rule . Kel Carruthers d id much of the initial research and testing on the restrictor plates and he is in Roberts' camp. Cecouo is sponsored by the Yamaha factory . and has run at Daytona with restrictor plates . so that rule shouldn't bother him. But Fr enchman Christian Sarron and Patrick Pons will ride Laguna Seca , and both ha ve never had to run the restrictor plates, discs with 23mm openings fitted between the carburetor and intake tract of each cylinder. The plates have a la rge effect on carburetor jeuing and fue l!oil ratios. Steve Baker will be one of the tOP three to watch. Back on th e Bob Work-tuned Yamaha of Canada mount that he used to blitz Daytona in 1977 , Steve will definitely be a contender. In addition to the contingent of F750 contenders will be a large group of fast American road racers who don't ride the whole F750 circuit. Le ading th e group will be Darien, CT's Mik e Baldwin, who has won two straight AMA/Camel Pro road races, one at Sears Point in Northern California and one in Pocono, PA. Baldwin certainly figures for a top five placing. , Skip Aksland , who won here last yea r and ha s a win at Loudon th is year to go with his th ird at Daytona, will see action at Laguna Seca . Skip inj u red a collarbone and shoulder in a dirt track race in June , and then re -injured the shoulder in a crash at Sears Po int in July. This will be his first race back. If th e shoulder doesn't bother him too much , "' Aksla nd should challenge the leaders consistently. , Gene Romeroplaced fourth at the '77 Champion Spark Plug 200 . behind Skip Aksland, Baker and Kawasaki's Gregg Hansford. In addition , Romero ha s placed seco nd behind Baldwin both at Sears , Point and Poc ono. The promoters of the Sept. 3 F750 race at Assen guaranteed Romero $8 .000 against his winnings , so Gen e is highly, regarded. "T he Georgia Pig Fanner. " Dale Singleton . made the jou rney to Europe ~OT th e first two F750 rounds and ca me awa y WIth a 10th on the unfamili ar Imol a track and was robbed of an almost certain fifth at Paul Ricard due to engine .fa ilu re in th e lat e laps. Other riders who will be circulating a mong the top 10 are Gary Ni xon, Ron Pier ce. John Long, Dave Ald a na (f ift h last yea r), W es Cooley, Da ve Em d e , Rand y Mamola a nd Harry Klinzmann . A quest ion m ark is Ka wasaki 's Gr egg Ha nsford , who is in a ba u le with teamm a te Kork Ba llington for th e 250cc W orl d Ch am pionsh ip. If th e ball Ie is' decided before Laguna Seca , he'll probably by at Mon ter ey. 23 .