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/140926
i Wnson Takes N ; In ian Dunes; d i Schutz Bids Bye w oJ U >U By John Grout VALENCIA, CA L ., J an. 16, 19 i2 - Jim Wilso n buzzed his CZ to two straigh t wins - a total racing time of 40 minutes - during today's Open Senior contest at Indian Du nes Par k. In the first moto for the grouping, it was Wilson all of the way as he tossed dirt and other debris at Tim Hart (Mai), Bob Hershey (CZ), J im West (Hus) and Gary Jones (Yam). The second heat, however. was not quite so easy. Hart d ucked in behind the lead er . Wilso n , wh ile Hersh ey was run ning in t he next spot a nd J ones was chipping away at West and a super-quick Jim Cooke, who was determined to put hi s CZ in to V ic to ry Lan e. Wit hin five lap s, Wilso n and Ha rt, each pushing the other, h ad established an immense am ount of open dayligh t between thems elves and t he rest of the Open crew. Then, on lap eigh t, Ha rt unleashed a fie rce charge which h e had hoped wo uld carry h im o n to a win . But that's not what happened. While bouncing thro ugh the sandy whoop-de-does, Har t found himself with fantastic throttle action, but a terrain in which h e just couldn't get it to the ground. More out of control than not, the Maico jockey got buried in the source of all of his problems by Hershey, Jones and West before he was finally able to get the machinery to full-bore once more. The top National racer from the Trans-A!\IA series did. however, finish fourth, thereby salvaging an overall, first runner-up spot behind Wilson. In the 250cc Senior slugfest, an event which marked West German rider Werner Schutz's final ride in America, Hart collected his revenge. In this one, he whipped Wilson , among others. Hart gained the win in the first heat for the bunch. Schutz, Bill Payne (Tex Meyers' protege on a Maico), Wilson and AJS rattler, Doug Grant, finished far to the rear of the Maico marauder. But the second moto was h ell o n wheels. The b lack flag came out at the conclusion of the firs t lap. Bill Pay ne had a broken foot; Dave Rodgers unload ed from h is Bultaco, again tweaking h is shoulder; Way ne Sulliva n slid into the fence and had th e a ir knocked from hi m ; a nd the "Buena Park Bombshell," Tom Rap p, did a spectacular endo to end all endos, and was badly bruised in the process. And not one of the many accidents was related to any of the others . Upon the restart of the heat, Schulz got the victory and a tie for the day's overall with Hart. Finishing behind the front two were Wilson, Ron DeSoto (Mai) and Eddie Cole (Bul). Chuck Bower sailed his Penton to a 1-3 score in the two motos for the 125cc Seniors, while defeating Rapp (who also fell in the first heat for this division), Terry Clark on the Harley, Ken Zahrt, who was the 19i1 Indian Dunes Senior champion, and Newhall's Steve Merkel. who was mounted on still another Bultaco. Art McNamee [Mon], Paul Clark (Mon) and J .L. Siebrandt (Gre) were all winners for the three classes of Old-Timers, J unior-ranked victors were: Kerry Bea man (Yam) 100 cc ; Randy Stubbs (B ul) and John Fenton (Pen) 125cc;Jirn Cunni ngham (CZ) and Dick Nolte (CZ) 250cc; and J erry Bea man (CZ) Open class. ALL-JUNIOR MX AT ESCAPE COUNTR Y; H ELP IS ON THE WAY, DANNY The O ff -Camb er s M.C. of San Cleme n te , Cali f. , is h os ting an All-J unio r Benefi t Mot ocross Feb ruary 6 a t Escape Coun try. All p roceed s for th e m o to cr oss will go t o a local y o u ngst er , Danny J ones. Danny h as al read y h ad three m ajor open-heart surgeries and the needed m oney is h ard t o come b y anym ore. To entice entries, th e Off-Cam bers are giving a numb er of goodi es including a minibike, so me helmets, silencers, an d a $50 gift certificate. For m ore informatio n , call (i14) 831-1621 o r (iI4) 496-462i or check th e Calendar, HOW CAN ONE COMPANY HAVE TWO NUMBER ONES? A me ssa ge from Deni s McCormack, President of The Birm ingham Sma ll Arms Company, Inc. Gene Romero earned the right to display the coveted No . 1 in 1971 by winning the AMA Grand National Championsh ip. He d id this riding Triumph motorcycles. Now, Dick Mann ha s ca ptu red No.1 for 1972 by winning the AMA Na tiona l Championsh ip for BSA. Both Triumph and BSA are divisions o f The Birming ham Sma ll Arms Company, which ma kes us No. 1 in motorcycl ing two yea rs in a row. And fo r the seco nd year in 0 row, Amer ica 's top four w inners rode BSA or Triumph. Any company that can do this must have so me specia l know-how, must be ma king motorcycles of extraordinary power, unusual re liability and supe rb handling characteristics. Such a company can be expected to kee p com ing up with winners on the track or off in the future. We sugg est that whether you are a dealer o r a rider, it wo uld be wise to cons ider this when you think of motorcycles. Sincerely, ~~ De nis McCormack, Pre side nt The Birmingha m Small Arms Company, lnc, ... ._- - . . ._-_ ... - ..---- -1"' ----.