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fast and well-prepared motorcycle but also on the right salt conditions and even, sometimes, the right polit· ical conditions, as Denis Manning well knows. He was already to go on a prev·ious LSR attempt when events in England shot him down. The next fastest record was set by the blown 350 Honda Four of Jim Ludiker, a man of long Bonneville and turbo experience who now lives in the Los Angeles area ..Ludiker's 350 is another bike dialed in at EI Mirage; he went 175.438 against a 150 record there, at the same meet as Gansberger's 218. Only slippery salt kept him from going much faster at Bonneville than hedid. Even so, his 144.361 in the 350 A-AB class raised the mark by almost 20 mph, and the fairing class record of 142.923 on Thursday was about 15 mph over the old one. When the storm hit he was ready to change to his 352cc engine, bored out enough to make it legal for the 500cc class. On the 350 class runs he had already gone faster than the A-AB record in the 500cc class. With more time to find a 400 Four Engine to fit the frame, Ludiker mal' even break down and run a 450 ill the 500cc class. The last Tuesday record was fellow southern Californian Jim Ahrens' 62.134 in the 50cc Production class with a Kreidler. MB5 Hondas were yapping at Ahrens' heels but not in this meet able to catch him. Sloppy Salt is not kind.to little bikes, either, as it makes it more difficult for them to pull high gearing. Ahrens has come to dominate the 50cc classes. He used to road race another Kreidler, and he uses· that for tbe remaining tiddler classes. Having already gotten all the 50cc records except for two of the four Fuel classes and the three Stream Iiner records, he was attacking the two Fuel marks but discovered his engine wouldn't rev. He suspected deteriorated rubber crankcase seals, a repair he didn't want to undertakl' on the Salt. Ahrens, who hasn'l gOlll'n all those records by slacking. probably wasn't as well prepared as usual this year. After two years of wetness. many of the.Salt Flats racers Wl!!'t' taken by surprise to have any racing. Ahrens doesn"t plan on alll'mpling the streamliner classes. though the 'liner gas and fuel clasSl's have minimums of 70 and 75, speeds he has already exceeded ill ""rious configurations. The S-AB (Blown) record of 121.700 was set way back in '56 by NSU's Muller of GermanI'. before the present safety regulation·s. It would be difficult for a little 50cc engine to power a 'Iiner any more, as there are now complicated safety regulations for these enclosed vehicles including a sealed firewall. a rider-controlled fire system. a rider's fire suit, a roll cage, a complete safety harness, and a parachute. Besides Guthrie's second and third records. and Ludiker's second, onlv one other record wa set on Wednesday or Thursday. Coloradoan Mike Becker's 107.023 on a 102.1.'>6 record in the 175 MPS-AG class. Like Ludiker. Becker just bored OUl a 125 a litlle to fit into the next higher class. On Thursday's wei salt, nobody qualified. No hardlail bike qualified during the meet. The condilion of the salt was definitely very limiting this year. But unless theclimale really seltles in wetter, better thing are in store for Bonneville racers. The potash plant on the other side of the highway has been pumping away the essential Harley-Davidson-mounted Dan Kinsey upped the 2000cc A-AG record by nearly 10 mph with a two-way average of 171.410 mph. brine at a prodigious rate. Culverts were installed under the highway to bring someof the salt back. In adrution to this, the two years of continuous flooding laid down a while thick layer of the sort not seen for at least 15 years. Since it's been too wet for potash mining as well as racing, the Flats have a temporary respite during the long process in which the Bureau of Land Management is seeking a solution to the brine drain. • Class Rider Make New Record Old Record 50cc P 750cc APS-AG 350cc A-AB 2000cc A-AG 750cc A·ABF 750cc A-AG 175cc MPS-AG 350cc APS-AB 750cc M-AG Jim Ahrens Scott Guthrie Jim Ludiker Dan Kinsey Ted Gansberger Scott Guthrie Mike Becker Jim Ludiker Scott Guthrie Kreidler Yamaha Honda H-D Honda Yamaha Honda Honda Yamaha 62.134 171.632 144.361 171.410 183.879 156.973 107.023 142.923 161.711 60.757 149.814 125.796 161.929 175.368 153.678 102.156 127.822 146.199 RIDE OR SUZUKI ILLTIEWAY TIE IK. OUR $200,000 CONTINGENCY PROGRAM PAYS BIG DIVIDENDS. It pays to race a Suzuki. Up to $2,000 for every race you win. But you don't even have to place first in the race to win money on a Suzuki. Just check our Contingency SChedule to see how you can make a fast buck racing one of our fast bikes. CMC GOLDEN STATE SERIES, CALIFORNIA AMA WINTER SERIES, FLORIDA 125/250 PRO CLASS ONLY LOCAT'ON 125/250 PRO CLASS ONLY PLACE AWARDS" LOCATION PLACE AWARDS' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S2,OOO 1,650 1,000 750 500 400 350 325 300 275 250 175 150 125 100 Jan. 6, Saddleback Park Jan. 13, Lake Madera Jan. 20, Sand Hill Jan. 27, Sunrise Valley 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S2,OOO 1,650 1,000 750 500 400 350 325 300 275 250 175 150 125 100 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Feb.3.~iIIe Feb. 17, HoI isler Hill Feb. 24, Huron Total ~r race: $8,350 Total Series: $116,900 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Dec. 30, Gainesville Jan. 6, West Palm Beach Jan. 13, Jacksonville Jan. 20, Gainesville Total per race: $8,350 Tolal for Series: $66,800 GNC GRAND NATIONAl CHAMPIONSHIp, TEXAS 125/250 PRO CLASS ONLY LOCATION PLACE AWARDS" 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S2,OOO 1,500 1,000 750 500 400 350 325 300 275 250 175 150 125 100 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Mar. 9-10, Whitney Total ro;r race: $8,200 Total or Series: $16,400 ·Overall finish at each race. s u Z. u K· I 31