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/127137
~ ~. . '"" ,'>'., " 00 00 O'l ,.....; " lr,) ,.....; Q.) ~ ~ ~ Cal ifornian John McManaway won both the 250 and 500cc Sportsman Expert classes. Dick Mann scored wins in the 600 and 250cc Premier classes at the Steve McQueen Memorial Vintage MX. Peter Ford (41) and Mann battled in the second 250cc Premier moto until they tangled and went down. CVRG VinfageSeries: Round 2 ' Mann, McManaway top McQueen Memorial By Clay Light EUG ENE, OR, MAY 22 T wo-time Grand National Champion Dick Mann rode a pair of BSAs to impressive wins in the 600 and 250cc Premier events during the 3rd Annual Steve McQueen Memorial Vintage Motocross, held just outside of Eugene. . Th e Prerruer cI asses were b Y far the best races among the 26 da y's 15 classes. However, several o ther classes showcased excep tio nal talents such as the 250 and 500cc Sportsman Expert classes won by Yamaha-mounted John ~ cM~na way , on e of a horde of Californians making the trek to th e Northwest. According to promoter Roger Campbell , the rider turnout, 109 entries, was nearl y twi ce as many as he had anticipated. " Last year we had abo ut 40 riders and th e year before abo ut half th at amount," Campbell sai d. Campbell's tractor work made the track its absolute best and dust was he ld to a minimum. ' Mann, who made the trek from northern California for all three McQueen Memo r ial even ts, had great things to say about th e track. " It 's a great track; kind of rough, but not out of line. It's just right for four inches of travel ," Mann said before his first of four motos. The Premier 600cc class, like the majority of the program's classes, ran in Expert/Amateur and Novice configuration, running combined in . a single wave start. Moto one saw Mann, riding a Triumph-powered BSA-framed. machine, jump into an ear ly lead with Pete Ford riding a BSA Gold Star 500, ESO-mounted Fred Mork and Matchless rider Mike Canepa in tow . After several laps, Mann pulled away to a convincing rn oto one win while Ford, Mork, Canepa a nd Velocette jockey Charles . Regruto fill ed the top five. Mo to two in the class which was open to non-unit construction, 350600cc Singles and Twins, saw Mann, Ford and Mork again filling the top three; Canepa, Regruto and Mike Malone followed. By the fourth lap of the ro ugh two-mile track, Mann had buil t up a four-second lead over Ford, whi le Mork an d Canepa battled for third, the top spot in the Amateur portion. . Mann maintained his lead to the finish for the overall wi n after impressive I-I performances wh ile Ford netted second (2-2). Mork held off a ra lly from Canepa to top the Amateur portion, while Regruto came out on top in the Novice acti on. Mann, riding a 250cc BSA, came back to lead the Premier 250cc class, which ran combined with the Open Twin class. In the first mo to it was Mann leading th e field , which was split into three divisions, the 250cc. P remier Expert and Amateur, and th e Open Twin classes, while Vic Joh nson, riding a Norton twin, John . Ford, aboard a '66 650cc Triumph powered Chene y-framed machine, and Nevada's Jim Keeton, riding a 1966 CZ 250cc twin-port, followed. Mann, much li ke he did in the 500cc Prem ier action, went wire-towire for the win ahead of Johnson and Keeton . Moto two had Ford thundering off the line 'with Mann tu cking to the ins ide out of turn two, . setting up what was th e best ba ttle of th e day. The battle, however, ended p rematurely as .Ford, one of two bro thers, crashed, as did Mann, when the duo tangled coming .out of a dry-s lick corner. Ma nn remounted in time to stay among the leaders. Ford, however, ran dead -last. Mann made a sensational charge through traffic and with two laps remaining, took the lead from Johnson and Keeton . This left J oh nson an d Keeton to squabble for second on the last lap as Mann went on to win, finalizing his four- for-four win tally. Johnson, secon d place finisher in the moto, took the Open Twin clas s wi n whi le Keeton . tallied a secon d overall in the Premier Lightweigh t class ahead of top Amateur finisher Michael Green. Ro unding out the top five were, Steve Hartley, third Expert, and Rick Na bors , second Amateur. . There were, of course, several ot her excep tional races, such as the 250cc Sportsman class . Yamaha-mounted McManaway won both motos con vin cingly for a I-I sweep edgi ng Bultaco jockey Matt Hilgenberg. Hilgenberg's 2-2 ta lly was good