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/128384
Vintage and Two-Stroke World Championships hey dusted off the cobwebs, brewed a batch of premix, opened up the closet to bring out the old and outdated racing gear, and headed to Glen Helen Raceway Park on Memorial Day Weekend for a slice of Americana, apple pie and some old-time racing at the eighth annual Vintage Iron World Championships and second annual Two-Stroke World Championships. The Vintage program, run on Saturday, is an outgrowth of the White Brothers Vet World Championships, a spinoff that occurred when the fields of both programs had grown too large for one race meeting. "Some years, we get only a few of the old pros show up, and in other years we'll get 25 or more," said Rick Doughty, race T organizer since day one. Hit makes me feel good knowing I can put something out there that will motivate some old pros to get off the couch and back on a bike again." The longest absentee was former factory racer Mike Runyard, who hasn't raced for brass or cash in nearly three decades. ''I'm riding a 3 I S Yamaha because I don't have any of myoid factory machines," Runyard said. "When I rode for Suzuki Dust missing the National Championship by a point or two in 1973], all my bikes were prototypes, and when the season was over, Suzuki crushed them!" Except for an occasional Day In The Dirt, Runyard said he was nowhere near competitive against the riders "all 20 or 25 years younger than me, but it's still fun." The more competitive Bruce McDougal, another factory racer from the early '70s, showed up with his 2S0cc Husqvarna and his 125cc Penton. Like Runyard, McDougal didn't have his factory machinery from his Honda career. (He also took second in a National Championship season when his teammate Marty Smith won his first 125cc title in '72). Those early factory machines had short lives. Like many of his fellow racers, McDougal spent almost as much time in the pits between motos as he did riding as many classes as his 51-year-old body would allow. He could still squeeze himself into his Mettco Penton jersey, circa 1971. "But it's tight!" he said, faking a wheeze. "This shirt, you can't get it, and I can barely get in it." Getting into the lead, though, was easy for McDougal. Keeping the lead wasn't, as 38 JUNE 29, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS Kevin O'Donnell twice pushed his Honda past the Penton to squash McDougal's hopes in both the Pre-1975 125cc and 250cc contests. The 125cc event was particularly hard-fought, as O'Donnell's pass came on the last lap of the second moto, and McDougal's final-turn drive nearly saved the day... nearly. Another tough-to-take late-race error cost Rich Truchinski a shot at the Pre1978 Over 40 Expert victory, as he and Ty Swartz went after each other in the second moto after Swartz had won the first encounter. The lead changed half a dozen times before they finished the first abbreviated lap of only five turns, with Truchinski, who had just turned 40 nine days earlier, taking the lead as they headed into the full first lap. Looking strong and confident, he was still up front and pulling away as they neared the white flag, victory in hand. "I was feeling a little overconfident," the Honda 480 CR rider explained. "I tried a slightly different line [in a righthander], and I stuck the wheel in the inside of the groove, and it washed out." It washed him out of the lead as well, and Swartz swooped by. Swartz, who was nicknamed "Tiger" back in his Saddleback days ("Hey," he protested, "I haven't been called 'Tiger' since I was in high school!"), took control in most of his races all day. "I still miss Saddleback," the 41-yearold confessed. "I live about 10 minutes from there now, and I've actually parked and walked in, hopped the fence and walked the track... I just had to." The Vintage classes weren't just for the oldsters. Another fast rider turned out to be 23-year-old Robert Beaupre, who trekked down from Reno, Nevada, for the weekend and aced the Modern Expert event aboard his 1983 CR480 Honda in the opening moto before being bested by Truchinski in the second stanza aboard another '83 CR, battling down to the wire.