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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126502
V.a.T.E. Schreiber Cup
L1ITLEROCK, CA, DEC. 13
The second annual Schreiber
Cup Expen Only Trial was missing its namesake, who was TCBing in Europe, but still delivered
a chall~nging high-point test at the
ATA's final points event of th~ year.
Scott Head, who had already
clinched ATA Number One Expert
for 1980, pick~ up his eighth win of
the year, topping runnerup Oli
Thordarson by 46 points.
Last year Schreiber managed to
scoot home un~r 100 points, so the
second annual toughie obviously hit
th~ mark in that respect. The sections
w~re enough to I~ave an out-of-stater
or two questioning the sanity of the
proc~ngs. One visitor who thought
that riding over cars and vans on
Friday night was neat, felt that Satur·
day's test was laid out by lunatics. But
most of the riders got what th~ came
for - a challenging natural terrain
test of man and machine.
Challenging is the proper adjective.
There was only one clean by an Expert
on the first lap. Head had it. Head
and Oli Thordarson each had a clean
ride on the second lap. Scott nabbed
thr~ more on the final go-round. Just
six c1~ans for the day.
The Support class, which rode nine
of the 15 sections, manag~ just two
clans on the day. Class winn~r Keith
McLaughlin had on~ whil~ his Miller's
Motorcycles teammate, Bim Miller,
had the other.
S«tion selection was handl~ by
V.O.T.E. prez How'ard Phdps and
competition chairman Andre Plouffe.
Head was the first to tackle th~ early
sections, but then f~1I ~hind. H~
wasn't sandbagging, although rock·
bagging might ~ a more appropriate
t = for the Littl~rock Reservoir t~r
rain. What Head was doing was more
like bailing. H~ tri~ to play Vasco da
Gama on th~ lop loop and rod~ into
deep water. Like o~r the seat. One
drowned ~ngine.
The rocks took th~ir toll. Outgoing
ATA presid~nt Matt Pritichard ~nt
his forks with a loopout on a rock I~~
and had to retire. Dave Pyle reb~nt his
leg and dected for the pits. Jay Terry
mana~ to break cases on both sides
of his Cota in one crash, yet still
finish~d.
Oli Thordarson edged P.l.T.S. Expert Tony L~uc by a single point for
runner-up honors. Dwain~ Walters,
who was second best on the first loop,
slip~ to fourth.
Keith McLaughlin posted a 17 point
Support win over V.O.T.E.'s Gary
Conrad. The night before Keith had
thrilled the spectators at the outdoor
night trial by doing a 180 on top of a
van with his BMX bicycle and th~n
riding straight down on the bike.
Another V.O.T.E.er, 16-years-old
Derrick Bernard, took third in the Support class. Because of the severity of
the sections, the margin from first to
last was only 38 points for 27 sections.
Attendance was up for the second
annual Expert Only. This yar's
outing drew 12 Experts and 11 Support
riders, plus two sidehack teams. The
V.O.T_E. duo of Boyd Bernard
(insane pilot) and Robert Schlatt~r
(bonker~ monkey) topped the Hart to
Hart twosome of trials, Babe and
Arlene Sarver.
At the day's end th~ contestants received a finisher ribbon that said it all:
"I survived bein~ Schreiberized." Jay
Terry, enthusiastic despite his cracked
cases, explained, "This was a real
trial, not a plonk." Winn~r Head,
wh~n offer~ the microphone, had this
to say, "Hi, mom ... A super trial with
a good vari~ty of sections and plenty of
water. You wouldn't b~lieve how d~p
that wa~r ,was. Did- I.tell you about
having to pump my bik~ out. That
water was so d~p that ... "
Results
EXPERT: 1. Scott Heod (Bul) 107; 2. OIi Thordlnon
(Mon) 153; 3. Tony Leduc (Mon) 1504; 4. Dwoine
Wolters (Bull 159; 5. Andre Plouffe IBull 161; 6. Jay
TOfTY (Bull 178; 7. Kary K,lIhet IBull 164; B. AnthonV
Dilabio IBull 196; 9. Man Pr_d (Bufl/Dalle PvIe
(BuIIlO. Epl*d IMonllE,ic Shertz (SWM) DNF.
SUPPORT: 1. Keith Mclau9htin IBull 85; 2. Gory
Connld (Bull 102; 3. OerTick Benwd IMon) 103; 4. Joe
_
(SWM) 107; 5. Rick Sptuetl(BuIl 110: 6. Dan
DillOn (Bul) 111; 7. Rob Tolleson (Bull 111; B. Scott
Ott..man (()sa) I 13; 9. Ctaoh Cooper (Buill 14; 10. Bim
Miller (Bull 11 B: 11. Ron SlIum (SWM) 123.
_ _1_ _ 75.
SIDECARS: 1. Boyd B..
SchIatt.. 58; 2.
00
_obert
0')
EI Trial de Espana
ORANGE, CA, DEC. 14
Somebody finally figured out a
way to end Bernie Schreiber's
five-year winning streak. Ship
him out of the country. The
world's winningest trials rider was j~t
ting back and forth betw~n England's
Dirt Bike Show and TV. appearances
in Italy during the w~kend.
In the absence of his mentor, Scott
Head continu~ to assert his ~e~ce
as the premier rider in southern California. The 18-year old, who recently
mov~ to Placerville, posted his third
win in thr~ days.
Each victory represented vastly dissimilar challenges - Friday night's
artificial frights, Saturday's wet and
worrisome rocks,
and Sunday's
serpentine spectator sections. Th~re
wasn't a single squeaker among the
hat-trick heroics. All were runaway
victories.
Scott becam~ the fifth rider to win
ETOE, joining Schreiber (five wins),
Lane Leavitt (thr~ wins), Marland
Whal~, and Sammy Mill~r. Wha~,
who r~tired from trails after copping
his fifth American championship last
October, vi~ed some of the ahibition
action in motocross garb aboard his
Husqvarna.
Head, runnerup to Whal~ in the
1980 national series, turn~ in the low
score in both the "normal" morning
sections and the afternoon's spectator
spectaculars. He dropped 17 points in
20 a.m. att«;mpts and 47 more in 15
p.m. performances. The five ambition
sections were ridden thr~ times each
by the Experts.
In the past Schreiber had guided the
section makers, staking out the after·
noon pulse·grabbers. This time ATA
president Matt Pritchard and Gil Smith,
number three V.S. Senior the past two
years, handled the chore. The duo
came up with some toughies. Winner
Head dropped 47 of a possible 75
points. That's just over three per ride.
The five ahibition sections featured
the vertical ascents and drops that
ETDE is famous for. Sandstone and
loose sandy soil hindered the traction
holders.
Section one was a down and up and
down and up number leading to a gully
climb. Two nasty looking rocks at the
top of the gully partially barricaded
the bank the riders n~~ to hang a
sharp cambered left to reach the exit
gate.
S«tion two b~gan with a fast sw~p
ing righthander into a climb to the top
of a hillside. Then th~ riders V-turned
back down. At the bottom they faced
an immediate blast up a 10-foot slab.
On top th~y were call~ upon to exe·
cute a 90 degree right turn without
sliding off the downside of the slab. If
they made it that far, a big dropoff
await~ them, and then a climb back
out of the gully that includ~ a banked
I~fthander.
Section three was a snaking gully
climb.
Section four call~' for thr~ading
across a slippery camber, turning
right, and blasting up some gnarly turf
to a V·turn back down again. Then
another V-tum back up across sandston~, with a lar~ I~~ looming as
the final obstruction to the gate.
Give this rider 8 10 for his form on this "five,"
Section five began with a st~ dropoff that squiggl~ to the bottom whae
a banked right-hander sent the riders
slanting back across the hillside. A
right turn on loose soil abruptly led the
Experts to a final blast up the hill over
a four-foot vertical wall.
While the afternoon sections were
eye pleasers, the loop markings were
definite ~e teasers. As in: Where are
th~? This ~ms to be a part of the
ETOE tradition. The r~lars ar~ used
to ~tting lost, but the lar~r number
of out-of·ar~a riders were perplex~ by
course markings that ranked from
ad~uate to ~mingly non-aistant.
About 100 rid~rs sign~d up for the
final (non.points) trials of the y~ar. As
most know by now, funds ra~ by th~
sal~ of rame tickets for a motorcycle
and other prizes have ~n used to
send top SoCal Experts ov~as for
competition. Bultaco again donat~
the giveaway bike. Both Schreiber and
Whal~ ben~tted enormously by th~
opportunity of watching the world's
best compete on the contin~nt ~ars
bdore t~ were old enough to
qualify for an FIM license.
This year's raffl~ funds will help
finance Scott Head's participation in
four world rounds beginning in May.
Head, as th~ highest ranking non·
factory rider in the NATC/ AMA national series. also received funds from
an NATe raffle of a Montesa Cota.
The NATC, noting the success of the
ATA's efforts over the past decade,
initiated their own fund raising raffle
in 1980.
Head's winning ride was one of his
last for Bay Area Bultaco. He has
signed a contract to ride for ltaljet in
1981.
The Jun Wilson Youth Award, given
to a rider 16 or younger who reflects
outstanding ability, sportsmanship,
and citiz~hip, was awarded to Michad
Lauxen, a recent transfer to the
Expert class.
After the trial, the ATA presented
plaques of recognition to Manf~
Lauxen and Leonard Davis as special
recognition of their checking activities
at ATA events.
The ATA also display~ a plaque
that will be sent to John Grace of Bultaco International to recognize his
support of th~ event over the past
d~cade. Bultaco has annually donated
a bike as first prize for the raffle
drawing. The factory, now back in
production, has reportedly signed
former world champion Ytjo Vesterinm
to carry their colors in 1981. Vesty won
his th~ world titles on a Bultaco.
The lucky winner of this y~ar's bike
was Babe Sarver, who cam~ in from
Arizona to rid~ the sid~hack class.
Sarver and his monk~, Scott Rudesill,
topped all thr~h~lers in the morning's sections.
Dwain~ Walt~rs, who won one Sportsman class ~t in national competition
this year, finished third in Expert action
b~hind Head and Mark Eggar. Eggar,
a form~r Honda t~amster, also
finish~ second on the year in the
ATA points rare, riding a Cosmopolitan
Motors Mont~.
Walters bat Eggar, Had and ~.
body else ~xcept Sarver in the raffle,
however. His booty includ~ three sets of
hand grips, some oil and $10 and $30
gift certificates. A number of hand
grips were donat~ by incoming ATA
president Mark Oldar.
BiCycl~ whiz K~ith McLaughlin took
fourth Ex~, edging Andre Plouffe
by two points..McLaughlin had finis~
third in the Friday night'S arena trial
and won the Support class in Saturday's
Schreiber Cup.
Winners in th~ other classes ~re
Gil Smith (Amat~r), Jean Frad~tte
(Senior A), J~ Goodson (S~nior B),
Eric Sod~rquist (Novice), R. Medford
(Novic~), Paul Schrater (Kids), Babe
Sarver and Scott Rudesill (Sid~car),
and Len W~d (Press).
The 11 th annual EI Trial de Espana
fittingly was won by a rider whose international potential has already b~n
nutured by a previous beneficiary,
Bernie Schreiber. In 1'981, Scott Head
will get his shot at the big boys ov~as,
financed in part, by ATA competitors
and supporters. If Southern California
remains the hot spot for developing
the nation's ~t riders, as it has in the
past, then certainly the attitude and
spirit behind El Trial de Espana must
be recognized as a major contributor. •
Results
EXPERT: 1. Scott Heed IBuI) 64; 2. Mark Eggar IMon)
81; 3. Dwaine Waher. (Bull B7; 4. Keith Mclaughlin
IBull 89; 5. Andfe Plouffe IBuli 91 : 6. Anlhonv DilM>io
IBul) 92; 7. Rich Bieniak (Bull 109; B. Oli Thordlnon
(Monl 109; 9. Michael Laoxen (Manl 113; 10. Man
Pritchard (SuzlI14: 11. Jay Peol