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/126345
, Robbie Brand won the 250cc Amateur/Expert race after Roeseler broke. Larry Roeseler rode three classes. had troubles in all of them. t Toys for TotsGP When the ra cing was over, there were three major places to go , four to be exact. Crash Conger's Rarty in Victorville, the dance at the VFW hall , the Hangar beer bar or to bed; not necessarily in that order. The ones who survived the heavy entertainment, partying p lus the 20° morn ing ' environment, staggered to the line for the Open Novice/Beginner/Sponsman/ Amateur/Expert race. Prior info on the pre' picked fa vorite to win came from J im Dodd. Jim said , "See that kid with the kimono on? He , has more energy than 10 people and rides the sam e. If he can stay upright he'll win it." , Well the ba nner dropped , the Kimono Kid - AKA Mark Jackson was fourth overall at the start of the sweeping tum, first overall at the dropoff and first overall all over the desert until he centerpunched the car tire barrier. The throttle was stuck wide open so when Mark picked the bike up to get going, his Yammie took off across the desert without him . As th e race progressed, " Bird ie" nailed down the sixth spot while Joe Turnbaugh ran fifth. Walt Olson on a Can-Am or Can 't Jam, whichever, roared down the straight at fourth overall , first Amateur Sportsman. Number 273 was next, then Don Koch heading up the second overall spot. Gene Dickinson blazed across the dez like a veteran. Once on the fireroad segment, he glanced back to assure himself he had nothing , to worry about. Down the wash then into the moto section he gained new strength as he knew th is one was his. Charging to the finish , Dickinson tagged home for th e overall win . ' . The next batch taking the line, the 200cc Amateur/Experts. had a bunch of fast ducks from way back. Roese ler's nemisis Dennis ye~ter. ~~s. ther~ a~o.ng with 'C hris Austin , Kevin Hopkins , Ken Dodd, Ste ve,Webb and a score of others. The holeshot went to Dennis Vetter, Mark Yost was next followed by his brother Larry Roeseler. Mark got by Vetter only to seize the first of three times. Vetter got by again , then Larry. Mark got going again but had to call it quits by lap two. Back in the pack, Ken Dodd was within sight of Kevin Hopkins when his .chain flew off, j a mm ing into the cases costing him time and position. Trace Willis charged around the course in fine fashion ; Joe Wilson and his pal John Foster were within sp itting distance throughout the event. Mark Davidson slipped between Wilson and Foster for sixth overall while the super talented Chris Austin ripped up the course at fourth overall. Lap five found Vetter in the lead . once again after losing it to Roeseler on lap three . Larry's Husky stuck a ring and lost a lot of top ' end soup , which was crisis number two for the determined Husky lad. Kevin Hopkins drove the spectators wild when the 100cc ace passed Larry for second overall . This was a double plus as Kevin broke his collarbone at the Rams' race and ,needed this one to win the number one plate. Yea Kevin . Vetter stretched out his lead and took the win with ease . The 250cc Amateur/Expert race had the specta tors really pumped. The line had nothing bu t top notch desert and motocross racers ready for all the marbles . The lead went to number one D·37 motocross star Danny Sanchez. The Super Cycle bike had about a handlebar-length lead on th e Honda ridden by Fred Gri ego . Fred did something d iffer ent a nd crashed . Luckily th e other 900 bikes never came close to. .running over him. Danny crossed the desert like a pro and entered the moto section with a huge lead on second place Robbie Brand. The " Big 0 ," Bruce Ogilvie, was third ahead of John Prater, Butch Darling, Mike Eckardt and Larry Roeseler. The next loop really blew everybody's mind. Former leader Sanchez was th ird , with Brand second and the "Big 0 " had a super first place lead. On loop three, Roeseler was out . in front, Brand second and Ogilvie . fifth due to a flung chain. Speculation was raging as to what the line-up would be on lap four . Thelead didn't change and the crowd relaxed and enjoyed the smooth style of the racers as they attacked the berms and jumps to the enjoyme nt of all . Kevin /Sheehe ne ver let go of third Amateur spot but had no chance of passing second Amateur Mike Baker. Mike ahd the seventh position nailed down as he chased Tom Burgess, Mark "Yam a ha of Barstow" Barnes, and Ogilivie who was re coveri ng superbly like the true champ he is,- running fourth overall despite his problem. Torco man Kern Park held third overall and the first Amateur title at the same time . Butch Da rling was way ahead as well as Robbie Brand. Brand actually was second overall until the last lap. For three la ps, Brand tried to get past Larry but ,the champ shook his head and pulled wheelies down the straight. On the last lap, Larry wasn 't a mile from camp when his Husky coughed and d ied . Brand pushed his Holliday Honda across , the finish wondering what had happened to Roeseler . That's racing. Larry chalked up disaster number three. Som e kinda hat trick huh? The sidehac ks wer e last and what a show th ey put on . Bob Sanner/Chris Wi lcox domi nated the race ; Bob Hicks/ Al DeCosta got the crowd pleaser award and fourth overall. The pleaser was DeCosta stretched out horiz ontal and then he sat up and gave the crowd a BA just for drill. Second went to team Yamaha Doug Bingham . and Mike Moore. Third was John Deacon and Gordon McLean of Catalina while Les Ketchum, Sr . and Jr. took fifth . Ron Hall/Ken Meater, Dale Allen and N ick Machado fin ished also . The Over The Hill Gang actually faced the second event but I thought it would be fitting to put this bunch last as you really can't believe this 'o rga nization. Their wives and kids are just as involved as the, uh, racers. W here on this green earth will you .find people like Du Du Dan, Rollover Rick, Beautiful Bruce, Bang Bang Bo bo , Lizzard Lo u and Weinie Wayne? Well , 38 of 'these strange individuals finished and every one is a hero in that organization. Hee Haw Hoyt took the overall with , Rollover Rick, Rathole Rocky and Beautiful Bruce in that order. The Amateur winners were ne.Du Dan, Sycho Sid , LizardLou , Butch H arris and Dinky Denny. The Intermediate winners were Gobbler .Geo rge, Runover Ron, Flippen Fred, Varmit Vick , Absent Al and Holdit Harry. The Novice winners were Dorito Dan, Drafty Dennis, Just Jim, Beaver Ben , Alcatraz AI, Beep Bee p Bob and Bare Bu d . Everyone had -a good time, and thanks to Rescue 3 , and the U.S . Marine Corps for their all around assistance, without them the event would not ha ve gone so sm oothly. For everyone who raced or paid to watch , rest assured some needy kid is going to have it a little bit nicer this yea r , thanks to you and the Maywood M.C . • 7