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/126409
IAbove) The starting grid finds Dale Singleton closest to the camera. with Englishmen M ick Grant (10) and Barry Sheene next to him, Unset left) Mike Baldwin. shown leading Sheens. topped all scorers. Unset right) Singleton and Gene Romero, Marlboro TransatlantIc Trophy Match Races Team Britain humbled by Team USA By Chris Carter Photos by John Owens BRANDS HATCH, MALLORY PARK. OULTON PA RK . ENG . . APR . 13·15 ·16 Team USA did what the British press said couldn't be done - defea t what looked to be a vastly superior Team Britain in the ninth edi tion of the Annual Marlboro Transatlantic T rophy Match Races. Mike Baldwin led the charge. scoring 88 points out of a possible 96 , whi le teammates, captained by 8 David Aldana , filled in mid-pack positions with regularity and stuck to team orders. T he result was the th ird Team USA win in four years and a drubbing of Team Britain by the largest margin ever . 448 points to 335 . The final ro und of t he series at Oulton Park rammed home the Am erican message tha t t hey are a force to be rec koned with as they placed the top four riders in each of the fina l legs. In addition to Ba ld win and Aldana . the team consisted of Rand y Mamola , Gene Romero . R ich Schlachter. Steve Ba ker. Wes Cooley. Dale Singleton and John Long . "Aldana was one of us," sa id Single- ton . "a nd he really tried to use ra ce str a tegy to set his grids . and that sometim es meant putting a faster ride r on th e ba ck row . But the strategy work ed and the key to winning th e seri es - that of filling the mid -pack sp ot s with regularity - paid off handsomel y. Brands Hatch Not even two magn ificent rid es by Britain's Barry Sheene co u ld sto p Am erica taking a 14-point lead in th e opening round of th e Marlboro Transatlantic T ro p hy Mat ch Ra ces at Bran ds Hatch . Sheene won both team ra ces in co n vincing style . but th e visitors , spearheaded by Dave Aldan a . Mike Baldwin and Dale Singleton . all on 750 cc Yamahas , made mockery of the suggestion that this would be a British walkover. After the opening l3 -lap race . Brita in led by 70 points to 65 . but the Americans won the second 77 points to 58. to swing th e advantage in their favour. The British were in trouble even before the first ra ce started . Barry Dit· chburn 's factory 750cc Kawasaki broke its gearbox on the warm -up lap, and after one fals e start. triggered off by American Mike Baldwin . Ron Haslam found his 750cc Pharoah Yamaha overheating on the line. and within three laps he had to stop. Ron was one of three British teamsters who had earned their place in the nine-man squad . The others were John Newbold on the Appleby Glade 750cc Yamaha and . biggest surprise of all . 22-year-old Keith Huewen on the Len Manchester 750cc Yamaha . Haslam had been battling with Dave Aldana . the American skipper. on Paul Dahmen's 750cc Yamaha . and Barry Sheene for second spot before the water boi led . But it took five la ps for Sheene, Aldana . and John Newbold to catch the slic k starti ng Baldwin . who wa ited. this time. for the flag. Sheene took co m ma nd on the seven th lap. and Ne wbo ld eased past Ba ld win a la p la ter. Soon th is lead ing qu a rtet were joined by new Bri tish team member Tom Herron on the latest 650cc Suzuki . W h ile Sh een e gave the 50 .000 pa r ' tisa n crowd someth ing to shout a bo u t as he led the pa ck for the rem ain ing seven laps . Baldwin chased him hard . but lost valuable ground after a slide at Druids on the last lap. whi le He rron . Aldana and Newbold fought for third . fourth and fifth places. Poor Newbold was in trouble. His spectacles were gradually sliding down his nose , seriously affecting his vision , and he had to let the others go . Baldwin crossed the line onl y 1.3 seconds down on Sheene, with a mere second separating the American from Tom Herron. with the same gap between him and fourth place finis her Dave Aldana. and Newbold less than a seco nd down on him . Just over four seconds separating the first five ha mel Mick Grant. having -his first ever race on a 750cc Yamaha. took sixth place from visitor Dale Singleton on the lin e; so close that th e timekeepers cou ld n't separate them. Furt her down the pack it was just as excit ing. Teenager Randy Mamola was eight h. beating th e brave Dave Pa lt er . his injured shoulder strapped up . by j ust one seco nd . T hen ca me a trio co vered by just half a seco nd . New boy Keith H ue wen won the dice from Americans Richard Sch lac hter a nd Steve Bak e r . who found his left arm very weak in his first race since b reaking it and his left leg a t the Canadian Formula 750 race at Mospo rt las t October.