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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128002
Dirt Track Round 3: Ventu raCounty Fairgrounds W ESTCOAST VINTAGEFLATTRACK SERIES (Left) Southern California's Eddie Mulder rode a Harley-Davidson XR750 in competition for the first time in his racing career at The Shop 's Outlaw Vintage Motorcycle Races on the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The machine is owned by The Shop 's owner, Dave Hanse n. By Dennis Suter Photos by Stan Hansen VENTIJRA, CA, JUNE 26 he Outlaw Vintage Motorcycle races roare d back to life a t th e Ven tura County Fairgr ounds after a one-year hiatus. The meeting was sponsored by Th e Shop owne r Dave Hansen , a nd it was the third round of Ed die Mulder's West Coast Vintage Flat Track series . A la rge crowd of en thusiastic race fa ns saw a good collection of Dinosaur and handshift Ind ia ns and Harley David so ns co m pete on the banked qua rtermile di rt track. The first main event of the evening featu red 1935-a n d -ea r lier ma ch in es . Johmy Ca mero n, o n a 1929 Harley David son JDH th at was owned and ra ced by his grandfa ther, gra bbed the early lead midway th rough th e lO-lap even t. Kenny Rerno, on a 1929 In dian Sco u t, p assed Ca meron on the ba ck s tra ig h t fo r th e lead . Remos India n , en tered by Andy Mendez' s Top Dead Center Racin g, was first to th e checkered flag. Third-placed rid er Dale Roll rode a 1929 Indian Scou t Junior. The 1951-and-earlier Din o class figured to be one of the better races of the n ig h t. Form er AMA G ra n d N ation al regular Allon McBee, who won the heat race in convincing fashion aboard Pat Hichs' beautiful , black ' 51 Triumph tw in, launched ahea d of the pack at the start. Rem o was left at the starting line on his TDC Indian 4Q-incher, while Gordon Menzie and his Enfield single held second place. Dave DuVarney was fourth , and he getting pressu re from Rich Gill. By the fourth lap, Remo was looking fo r a way around DuVarney and his Bob Nickles-owned Indian Big Base, and he. passed DuVa rney on the sixth lap and then got by Menzie on the seventh lap . . The nex t la p saw lead er McBee 's machi ne s tart smoking and coast to a stop in turn one. Rem o held his inheri ted lead to the checkered flag, followed by Men zie, DuVarn ey, Gill and Richard Dyatt on John Bristow's "Mello w Yellow" Velocette. Edd ie Muld er rode The Shop 's new Ha rley-Davi dson XR750 to a con vincing win in the Senio r class. Mu lder said tha t he had never ridden a Harley-Davidson in competition before, claiming that the T -3 ~ 28 di ffe rence be tween th e 100-hp V-twin and the 75 hp put out by his own Triumph twi n was amazi ng . San Diego Flat Tra ck Associa t io n pre s id e n t Jim McMurren held off a midrace cha llenge from BSA-mounted Rick Brewer to finish in th e runner-up p osition , w hile Men zi e, who was racing back-to-beck features, finished fourth. Ben Fakkeldy was fifth. The Novice cla ss fea tured a large field of 15 rid ers, and it was Fakkel dy who go t the holeshot w hen they were given th e sig nal to go . Mike Doa l ran second, with Larry Harn ess in third . O n the seventh lap, Doal passed Fakkel dy The 65Q-900cc clas s saw the only real accident of the night, as Ken Thi ebaud d ropped his Tri u m p h on th e firs t la p a n d Rick Reed ran it over, puttin g Reed ' s T ri u m p h ou t fo r th e eve ni ng. On the restart, Maurice Ortega grabbed a short-lived lead, until Jeff Jo h nson rode to the front. Thi ebaud moved up to d ice wi th Johnson and picked up the to p spot on the fourth lap. Clyde Dennen , a No rton ri der in a sea of Triumphs, cha llenged third-pl aced Ortega duri ng the middle of the race, but th e pretty red Norton ex pire d b efore th e finis h. Harness claime d fourth and Bob Wa lle r's b ike soldiered to fifth w hile emi tti ng some very expensive-sounding noises. The 1949 Indian sing les prov ided by Bob Star k raced in the IROC event, wi th DuVarne y rid ing as hi gh as second . b e fo re bike prob le ms ca u sed h im to DN F. Muld er' s mount never showed any real power, and he end ed up in fifth place. Mik e O'N eil went wire to wi re, with Ron Gould s e co n d and Jo h n Alexa nd er third . The Hooligan Race is always a crowd p lea ser, and the man of th e ho ur was o nce again Jimmy Ray mo nd , who ran his ve nerable, extended- fo rk chop per. Altho ugh he didn't win th e race, Raymond thrill ed the fans as he actually slid his Harl ey thr ou gh the turns, wavin g to the crowd on th e fron t straigh t as w e went by. Joe Pape led th e race flag to flag, with John Ca mero n in second and Keith Shoemaker moving to third . Triumph rider Gary Bower jumped to an early lead in the Class C Footshift class, with Ge rry Duttweiler Jr . a n d Mearl Barne tt foll owing close behind him. On Lap thr ee, Barnett , rid ing John Bris tow's "Mellow Yell ow" Velocette, dived under Bower and Duttweil er in tum four for the lead. On the next lap, Duttweil er nipped Bower for seco nd , and they woul d remain in that order to t h e fin ish. Menz ie and Ed g ington rounded out the top five. The Ha nds hift class featu red a bit of drama at the start, as Eddie Castro, on the Dodge Brothers Spo rt Scout Indian , was ou t o f gea r w he n the green fla g waved. Cas tro was left sit ting ther e as th e fie ld wen t of in to tum one, with (Left) Eddie Castro (14) came from dead las t after popping out of gear on the starting line - to claim the win in the Handshift class in dramatic fashion aboard his Dodge Brothersbacked Indian Scout. (Below) The racing equ ipment at Ventura was... eclectic, if nothing else. Here, Jimmy Raymond (right) slices his bright-orange chopper ins ide the competition during Hooligan race action . for the lead on the back straight. On the next lap, Ha rness got Fakkeldy on the outside in tum two for the second posi tion . After a bad start, Marshal Jennings then moved through the pack to land in the fourth spot by the tim e the checkered flag flew. Bob Waller ran fifth, the close racing by the top five in the class providing a good show for the appreciative fans. Harlev-Davidson-mounted McMurren sho~ed the way in the Am /Eu ro 450cc class, taking a big flag-to-flag win: Ryan Ca meron p ass ed Ti m Dowd at midrace for the second spo t, wit h Mike Hu n t fourth an d Joe Pa pe fift h . Local rider Howard Rantz ea rned a flag-toflag wi n in th e Asia n 450cc class. Guy Duckett tried h is best but could never find a way around Ran tz. Gary Egloff, Gary Whi te and Earl Borrows roun ded out the top five.