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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126546
00 Q") 00 eN ... CLI ~ o ... u o cru'" (CiockwIM from top left) ChIp Howell through the town of San P1ero. Wr/Iy wu.on got liver. Bruce OgIlvie, 8hown in the fln8I ~ ... strong .~gh for gold. Dun Joyner (III and Scott Atehiaon (122) ware 1-2 into the first tum In their final MX hut. Joyner's time bumped him up to gold. 10 throttle and just don't be wild." DayThree turned out to be the best for American performances in acceleration as Jack Johnson was fourth and Larry Roeseler tied for ftfth in the 500cc class results. The class winner, for the second time, was Gerard Rond who obviously took note of drag racing technique. He'd blast up to the test area and make a practice start on his big-bore KTM. Then he'd swing around, plant his front wheel againat the curb, lock the front brake and tum on the throttle, smoke pouring from his rear tire as it heated up and got sticky. . It just didn't seem to be Morris Norman's week as he suffered the same tranamiaion probletna then got lost for 15 minutes. It cost him 2520 points on the first loop and 60 on the third. However, he would have no more penalties the rest of the week. Trophy team member Mike ROlISO fell off in a special test and bruised his hip in what he termed, "Top of the hill, fourth gear, high speeder. It seemed to take most of the time wait· ing to stop so I could pick the bike up. Then it was hard to get the rhytbmn back real fast. Tomorrow's another day, and the next day's another day," he said dejectedly. In addition, fellow Trophy team rider Dick Burleson was handed a 60point penalty for clocking into a check early on the third loop, though no one was exactly sure why. "As best as I've been able to figure out," he surmised later, "there is a discrepancy between the circular clock that we use for our reference going in and the stamp clock. I was going in hot - right exactly when it clicked I was going in - so that I would get in front of the guy who was on my minute in the special test. So, I jumped in there and apparently there was a time difference, and so it stamped me early. "That's the only thing I can figure because I have Kevin Brown on the 'minute ahead of me so I have him to use as a compass. I didn't go in with him, obviously, so I must have been right at the very end of his minute which means I got clocked fast. "I don't really know any other way. I mean, we had lots of time in the check; I wasn't in a state of confusion or panic or anything Iilr.e that which is when those Ir.inds of things happen. Cie la gueiTe, as it were." The loss dropped him to silver, and he went from 18th to 29th in class, one spot ahead of Kevin Brown who was heard to remark at dinner that night that "... the wont thing that happened all day was that my can of snuff opened up in my fanny pack. It was my last can, too." Suzulr.i rider Dwight Rudder fouled a plug in the first special test which cost him lots of time, but he remained on silver and fourth American in the 125s. Gray Leonard was plagued with three flats on his 125 Husky during the day and finally took a 6O-point penalty on the third loop. Fritz Kadlec's new 250 Can-Am broke a rear baclr.ing plate early. "I had no rear brake all day," he lamented, and his special test times reflected it. In addition, he was handed a 60-point loss on the third loop. Though still seventh American in class, he dropped to silver and 58th in class. Trophy team member Jeff Fredette apparently set a comical sort of precedent at one check. He simply astounded the Italian check worker with a front wheel wheelie, and after that, the checker refused to punch Fredette's time card unless he did a wheelie. The same checker also motioned to Mark Hyde and many other U.S. riders after that to do wheelies, hesitating to punch their time cards unless they complied. After two fast days, Larry Roeseler caught and passed Frank Stacy for top American in fewest accumulated points, 2544.97 to 2547.72. The U.S. Trophy team - with Burleson's penalty and Fredette taking an off-track excursion in the second special test - dropped to sixth as Italy and West Germany remained 1-2 in both Trophy and Vase standings. America's Vase team held at ftfth. The 250cc class found three Americans in the top 10 with Ftank Stacy, Can-Am'sJohn Martin and Husky's Ed LojaIr. in a cluster running eighth, ninth and 10th, 1eII than 12 points separating the trio and .69 points between Martin and Lojalr.. OeyFour A short two.loop day (192.6 lr.iIometen) run backwards over Day Three's course with minor variations marked Day Four. Drew Smith tnade it two days in a row as the quickest 250cc in the acceleration test when he clocked a 46.70 which would bold as the best 250cc time of the week. Ray Cosgrove had the best day of his week on his RM465, and it boosted him to gold, one place ahead of KTM rider Carl Cranke who was now eighth American in class and still on gold'. Vase team member Kevin LaVoie on a 590 KTM also enjoyed his fastest day of the week which brought him to the gold I silver border, less than two seconds off the standard. A slow second special test dropped John Martin from the top 10, and he now led an American trio at 16-17-18, Drew Smith and Husky's Mike Melton behind him. The U.S. Trophy team moved up one spot in the standings to fifth. OeyRve Day Five was another long three- loop day (268.5 lr.iIometers) that ran over the central part of the island and went farther out on the western half with much riding done along the coastline. Jeff Fredette turned in the top American perfonnance in the acceleration test, his 48.10 good for fourth 250cc rime. No other U.S. rider cracked the top five this day. Though being about three seconds sIower on Day Five than on Four, Kevin LaVoie brought himself up to the gold standard by a good maring. Mike ROlISO was going well until the second special test. There, his slowest time of the week cost him a few points and dropped him to second American in class, one spot behind Mark Hyde. Trophy team member Milr.e Melton was hit with 60 penalty points on the second loop. He experienced tranamislion problems and disaslembled his bilr.e at the chedr., but was unable to finish repairs in time so he pushed it throul(h after waiting for a bag with all ofhis parts in it. Unfortunately, he pushed through a second or two out of his allowable grace and was docked the 60 points. Melton completed repairs on the other side of the check and got underway nine minutes late, but he made it up by the next checlr.. Husky-mounted Scot Harden ran consistent 4205 in his special tests, but they were, disappointingly, his slowest times of the week and dropped him to fourth American in the 500cc class. He remained on gold easily, though. Rusty Reynaud crept up in the 250cc class standings by the end of the day so that he was one position behind fellow Husky rider Ray Mungenast. Trophy Team standings at the end of the day showed the U.S. slipping to sixth once again.