Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

i .._·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·__·_·__·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_· ~;;;"'h;;ti~-·_· ~ t 0') - I:' 0') ...... ..... I-< 0.. < SRA EI.inore GP ride r tries to ruin photographer'. camere. Two for Adams at SRA Elsinore GP By Sue Senn Photo by Action Photographic ELSINO RE , CA, MAR . I I Sportsman Racing Association's first Elsinore grand prix produced many mixed emotions. Among them were irritation, Ro•• Learn won two Pro c....e. at Racing World'. CRC MX. Learn, Tarantinomaster the mud at CRC Racing World MX By Keith Clemons TRABUCO CANYON , CA, MAR . 18 Wet weather washed out much of Racing World's Marty Smith Track and although a throng of mud mashing members of the 30 California Racing Club showed up at the track, conditions wer e anything but perfect. The race had to be called after just one moto per class , because the ambulance squads couldn 't maneuver their slick wheeled vehicles onto the track without getting stuck. Winners were st ill able to tak e home full pa yback in trophies and cash but there was no second chance to im pro ve their race so those who didn't make it in the first moto went home emptyhanded and muddy. Ross Learn didn't let the weather get him down and won both the 125 and 250cc races. In the first turn of the 125cc Pro race it was Pat Hub bs a nd Learn going into the first turn but Learn edged H ubbs out and the two began to p ull a lead on the rest of the pack. When Hubbs went into a inud slide, Learn lef t him behind to win a . no contest moto . Matt T ed der an d Richard Ba rro w were also able to get by Hubbs and diced for t he seco nd place position. T edder held the position "for most' of the race bur ' tbe Honda-riding Ba rrow was ab le to squeeze by near the end of th e race to take the second place leavi ng Tedder wit h third . Learn lea ned on the 250cc Pro pack a lso, wa ltzing away with another first . Gregg Waldrup got the holeshot but it was short-lived as Learn lea ned on him for the position . Mark Marinez picked it up to hop his Honda into a second place run and White Bros.-spo nsored Dave Eropkin (Yam) finished third . Open Pros saw wet Jim Tarantino ride his Cole Bros. Suzuki in for an unchallenged win. Rob Rourke followed Tarantino in to capture the second place money with Zoli Berent ior finish ing third. Results OPEN PRO: 1. Jim Tarantino ISuz); 2. Rob Rourke IVam); 3. loli Berentior (VarnI. OPEN INT: 1. Terrence T. Smrth (Yam); 2. Jim Ervin, Jr . ISuz); 3. Brad MOfrison IMaO , OPEN NOV: 1. Chatles La Duca IVa ml; 2. J ohn McCormic (Yaml; 3. Frank Newstiel tv al. OPEN BEG: 1. M. Stanf ord IVaml; 2. Craig Braban t IS uzl. 250 PRO 1. Ross Learn ISUz); 2. Mark Marinez : (Honl; 3. Dave Eropkin (Yaml. 250 INT: 1. McNeaI IYam); 2. Mark Adamso n (Suzl. 250 NOV: 1. Jeff Prieur (Han); 2. Dave Waber (Han); 3. Gilbert Mendez (Han), 250 BEG: 1. Greg Ziegler IHon l; 2. Eddie Rea IVaml; 3. Raben Clark (Yam). 125 PRO: 1. Ross learn (Suzl; 2. Richard Barrow IHonl; 3. Man TedderISuz). 125 INT: 1. Man Zigeler (Suz); 2. St eve Post lewaite ISuzl. 125 NOV: 1. Kevin Brooks (Suzl; 2. Roger l earn (Yaml ; 3. Dannv Bart holo mew (Suzl . 125 BEG: 1. Dan Virgilio (Yam); 2. Ernie Schonerl; 3. J im Patt erson (Suz). 100 BEG: 1. Chris Fleming ; 2. Tom Ebberts. VET INT: Owain .Ierrett (Suz). VET JR : 1. Richa rd Lake IS uzl; 2. Fred M. Beckel tHus); 3. Steve M ooradian (Husl. MINI INT: 1. Chris Gables IVaml; 2. Ro n Everso le ISuz). • MININOV: 1. Todd Camp bali lKaw l; 2. SIeve Nelson ' IS",); 3. Blako VitaijIVaml. MINIBEG: 1. Chris SparIts IKawl; 2. Ricky Rodr iguez -. IS",); 3. Pau l Colston lHan!. resulting from a misunderstanding between SRA officials and gate offi cials about gate fees . SRA was u nd er the im p ression that $5 per person would cove r Satu rd ay and Su nday. It was definitely ir ritating for pa rtici pants who paid $5 Saturday to be asked for an additional fee on Sunday. .On the posit ive side, SRA riders were invited to participate in the T T races Saturday night for ha lf price. Also , a rock band provided live music for those who were interested . A strange malady effecting personal property struck during this event. Seems a mini bike , an ATC , ice chests and even dogs vanished into thin air. One you ng lady who suffered from this malady was Debbie Kendricks, the . finish line number taker. The birthday present from her husband, an ATC, was among th e items that just disappeared . The Open bikes started things off and it was Competition Cycle rider Craig Adams and Malcolm Smith's Wayne Martin out front. The pair (who are preparing for the Mexicali 250 and Great Bear) quickly established an incredible lead over Dana Slater who was leading the rest of .the pack. Adams and Martin diced continuously for the entire hour over the five mile course. For this race the course was fairly smooth , but according to Adams, who aced out Martin for the win , things were a little rougher later on . There were ' no real straightaways, bu t a lot of whoop-deedoos an d some sa ndy · sections. The downhills were long bu t on t he gentle side . One up h ill had a 90 degree turn in the midd le and there were a few dusty spots, bu t overall, it was a well t hought out course. Lar ry Lit tl e (Ya m) took first Ope n Novice. . The 80cc bikes were the second race and all the SRA regulars were plagu ed with a series of strange' even ts. Shoemaker's Keith Senn got the holeshot and moved out with a 20 -second lead by the halfway point. "Racin' Jason" Pra ter was hot after Senn while Dave Trager and Shannon Sh ablin were dicing for third . Meanwhile , two beginners , Bill Clontz and Ron Bell, were ho lding their own in fifth and sixth positions. The fickle finger of fate now entered the ra ce and pu nctured Senn's back tire . "Racin' Jason"lost it over a jump and Sha blin 's m a c hi n e we n t sour. Nex t was Bell flower Yamaha's ' Dave T ra ger, .and he a lso received a flat tire. At this poin t, Clontz too k the lead followed by closely by Bell . Trager hu ng on des pi te his flat a nd just barely aced ou t Robbie Sm ith for third . Although the overall win in the 250cc race belonged to Cra ig Adams . from beginning to en d, second p lace was a different story. O n the first lap, Captain America (Warren Barr) was lead ing the pack.' In the next lap , he had been replaced by Scott Kinnier who was soon replaced by Ted Vadenraadt . Kinnier again passed Vadenraadt who was now busy with Larry -T hompson , R ic Selver, Br ad Nevins and Allen Sine. Although they diced viciously and changed places continuously, they finished in the a bove order. The Seniors played their own game of switch -a -roo . Vern Heth started things off by leading Charlie Conway, Sugar Dadd y , "The Hawaii an " , George Erl and Bill Saltzman around the first lap. Heth and Sugar Dad dy dropped out and Conway took the lead. Saltzman worked by Erl an d the Hawaiian, then overpowered Conway to ta ke it a ll the way home . The 200cc race ' had Amateurs " claiming 1-2-5. Rob ert Pfetzing, Fred Combs a nd Greg Zitterkep f held th eir positions from lap one whi le th e first Expert, Jim Od ie worked his way up from a very b ad start to claim fourth. Mark Heth made an impressive ride in the Novice class while Begin ners Greg Smith a nd Kurt Pfeiffer ba t tl~ right do wn to the wire for first and second in class. O fficial resu!ts 'are pend ing.

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