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/127984
California, in 1963. Between 1961 and 1964, Mulder won a total of six National Championship Hare and Hounds. "1 rode the Championship Hare and Hounds for Pat Owens Triumph," Mulder remembers. "We won the championships in 1961 and 1962. Then the one-unit-construction Triumph came out and Triumph gave us the first one. Actually, 1 had the first one in the United States. First they built mine and then they built Don Surplice's. Triumph was paying us to win champion hjps, and I went on to win both the championships in 1963." As his interest in and desire to make a living at racing began to increase, Mulder began to diversify, concentrating more on the track than on desert racing. Actually, the reason for doing so was black and white - or rather, green and white. "I started racing at the tracks because that was where the money was, and 1 knew that I wanted to do this for a living," Mulder says. Mulder began sliding around Southern California IT and scramble tracks - places like Ascot, Acton and El Cajon. it wasn't long before his presence was known, and he soon built up the winning record that has gained him his status as a IT racing legend. "My first race at Ascot, 1 was the first novice to qualify and si t in the 100-lapper," Mulder says. "I was the eighth-fastest qualifier and 1 took a sixth in the 100-lapper. 1 don't think that 1 was defeated at any races as a novice, and I think that I was only defeated in one main event as an amateur. At El Cajon, I won something like 57 races straight! It was a gas! Back then, the novices, amateurs and experts all ran together, so 1 ran with the fast guys like Skip Van Leeuwen, Jack Simmons, Sid Polyne and Clark White. They didn't separate the classes; they just put everybody's number in a hat, pulled it out and then you would run tile heat and the main if you qualified." That is certainly different than today, where the riders can ride with other beginners and novices before transferring to the expert ranks. Muldel: recalls how it was a little intimidating at first, lining up with the experts as a novice. "At first 1 thought that it was kind of scary," Mulder says. "At El Cajon, 1 won my first main as a novice against Van Leeuwen and all those fast guys, and after that it was cake. It was really neat." It could also be a grind. Looking back on it all, Mulder remembers that it took a lot of dedication to be a competitive presence at the tracks. Even with the Triumph factory ride, there were no factory semis hauling the equipment, and no plane tickets. Mulder remembers ha ving to drive hundreds of miles after one race in order to make another race the following day. "My buddy Don Surplice used to take me to all the pro races after 1 quit the desert," Mulder says. "We would go down to San Diego every Friday night, race, and then go up to Selma (in Northern California) for the Saturday races, flying down the highway at 100 mph to get there for the next day's race. It was pretty crazy." By the age of 19, Mulder was a full-fledged pro, carrying National number 12 on his Triumphs. He also devoted his talents primarily to the IT steeplechases, quickly gaining the reputation that follows him today as one of the all-time greats on the IT track. His winning ability at such a young age caused him to be held in high regard by most of the seasoned professional riders. "Actually, 1 got alol}g with just about everyone," Mulder says. '1 kind of did my own thing. Now I think that I would probably take it a little more seriously than I did, but it all turned out real well, and 1 made a good career out of it, and"1 still do (Above) Mulder (right) poses with with his friend, number-one desert rider Don Surplice (left), in 1963. Mulder was the AMA Hare and Hound champion, but he carried the number 11 in the AMA Desert championship series. The man In the checkered vest is Eddie's father, AI Mulder. c:; ~ .r:. Flat track rules: Mulder made the switch to flat-track and n racing in the mid '60s because, as he put it, that's where the money was. He went on to become the only man ever to win the Triple Crown n Series (Ascot, Peoria, Castle Rock) twice, and the legend grew. l::' ... :;: 23