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/141006
Colorado Ice By J im Be nsberg RAI N BOW FA LLS , Ja n. 16 , 19 72 Jan uary in t h e Rockies, 50-del:fee w ea the r, and cloudless skies made for some homespun bump-and-run icc racing. T he uncommonly good weather provided many w ith a soggy pair of pan ts as more than a few saw fit to slide o n th eir leg and elbow in an in ch of wa ter. The slippery conditions also p ro vid ed fans with jaw-dangl ing wide- open crossup slides. L ocal favorite Ed R od eric k was seen in similar positions most of the afternoon and nettled th ird in t he 25 class on his Trackmaster Yamaha. The m inibike cl ass saw tw o rival mo tor b ike sa lesmen ace it out until the last lap. Elliot Schu ltz a nd Lee Morris b attled valia n tly b ut Sc hultz's Yamaha was just too powerfu l for Mor ris' Honda 70 . T h e Open class saw the lead change m an y tim es b efo re Norm Sp ark s fo u nd th e chec ke re d. Sco tt H arris, wh o w o n th e cl as sic Pik es Peak .S n o w Ru n th e previ ous week, o n ly m an aged a fo urth place fin ish . The three-w h eel ers wen t arou nd th e course as if th ey w er e o n rails. J er ol d Copesuir an d Bern ard Bur dett won th e Op en 3 Wheel a n d 17 5 a n d Open 3 Wheel in th eir respec tive clas se s. .... " '" e, '" THRILLS &CHILLS N .... O'l ..0 .<) " u, .w '" ~ Z w . ..J U >- U .... A nd then there 's this guy who's makin g a ki lli ng in tear offs.... SMRA ANNOUNCES FINAL 1971 POINT STA DI GS What ho! Is the re suspenseand intrigue surround ing th is otherwise innoce nt- looki ng machine and rider ? tMYSTERY BIKE' INVADES MRAN By Jim I\lc Keon & Robbin Gibbons LA S VEGAS, NEV., Jan. 23 , 1972 Today saw a n excellent day for :\IRA N' s second race of the season, a European Sc ramble put on by the Desert Peo pl e, ~ 1 RAN's n ine-mem ber cl ub . T he seven-mile course had a fe w u ne xpected su rprises. A t th e start of the race everyone had t o straddle the fr on t wh eel of th eir b ik es, giv ing everyone an even an d somew ha t h umorous h and icap . Th ere we re 16 0 ri ders e ntered in th is three class race. T he Man from Id ah o o n h is 12 5 si x speed Pe nto n w on first o verall in th e 0 to 12 5 class : it was w orth wa tc h ing Case y Folks,Jr. an d Pa t Frie l put o n an exciting rac e b etw een each other, thin kin g th ey we re fightin g fo r first pl ac e. Th ey a lso were on th a t new 6 -speed Pe n tons. T h ey took second an d th ird o verall resp ectivel y . T h e 126 to 250 class race h ad some fast riders and a m y st ery bike. Sev enteen -y ear-o ld Mark Mason fle w on h is 250 Kawasaki t o com e in first overa ll. Third overall o n h is 250 Bu ltaco was De nnis Bel ingheri. An d second pl ace , th e m y st er y b ik e, was driven b y a n English man w ho gave his name as Dave Mc K lee n . T he b ik e ca me to the race covered and left it covered. no o ne got a good lo o k at it. The O pen class h ad quit e a few riders a nd they a te t ha t desert up. Y ou cou ld see d ust miles away, R ex Fra hner, ano the r super fast rider came in first o verall, a t leas t a h al f a lap a head of the p ack, follo we d by F ra nk G o u ld and Joh n Harbe r. All we re o n their Suzu k is, Casey Fo lks, Jr., with a n hour's rest , fro m the firs t race, ca me in fo u rth o vera ll . AMA MX R IDER POINT FUND Bill Boyce , American Mo t orc y cl e Associa tion Director of Professional Racing, has an nounced the estab lishmen t of two motocross rider point funds, patterned after the successful Champio nship rider point fund that h as paid as much as 528,000 annually to A:>IA Championship racers . The motocross point funds will be build on fees drawn from entries and post entries at international motocross events. There will be two separate funds paying bonus money to the top ten America n riders in the summer I nt cr-A ~'I A 25 Occ motocross series, and the top ten American riders in the fall Trans-AlvlA 500cc motocross series. Based on a graduating scale, th e top rider will receive the lio n 's share of the fund which ma y amou nt to as much as 10,000 from a 12-event series. $6 from each entry and 25 from each post entry will be paid into the fund. Boyce's development of the two new programs resulted from direction from the 1971 AMA Competition Congress, and is based directly on the successful Championship program that pays large bonuses to professional road racers and dirt tr ack rid ers; Tommy Byers of Beaumon t was stoc k pr oduc tion and overall po int s w inn er on th e 197 1 SMRA circu it. By Ike Masse y Fin al p oint stan d in gs for 19 7 1 h av e Minonno in the Open Stock Production b ee n released b y the Southwest class. Minonno rides a T riu m p h for Big Mot orcycle Racing Ass o ciation. T h ese 0 Cycl e o u t of Dallas. p o ints are earned by riders acco rdi ng t o "T h e Flying Flea" Johnn y Bry ant of guideli ne s estab lished by the Am eri can Fo rt Worth, ca p t u red the 125cc Grand Motorc ycle Ass ociat io n . Pri x Road Race p oin t title b y winning N umb er o ne in the S t ock Produc tio n every 125 class race h e en te re d on the R oad Races and top to ta l poin t SMRA circ u it this season. Johnn y rides gatherere o n the SMRA circuit is " Mr . an All en J ac kson tuned 125 cc Ya maha Suzu ki" Tommy Byars of Beaumont, tw in . Second point win ner was Suzuki Texas. Tommy accu mu lated 10 0 points powered Edwa rd Green of Mansfi eld, riding in the 250cc Stock Production Tex. Green is one of the m o st consisten t Class. Dallasite D uncan Pau l was riders o n the circuit and places in nearly runner-u p point winner in the 250cc every even t he enters. class. Ri eky Simmons of Fort Wo rth rac ked Brownwood racer Jet Tharp rode a up the big numbers in the 200cc class. Yamaha past the checkered flag enough Ric ky rides a Bu llaco. J on Minon no was times to chalk up 50 points. Tharp second high point win ner in the 200cc edged out Steve Hunt (Kaw), who Grand Prix Road Race class. ended up with 40 points, in the 500cc The 250cc GP class was extremely Stock Production divisio n. dose. Mike Kidd of Hurst, Tex. beat o ut .J.C. K lusm ey er of O dessa rode a Mike Odem of Garland by o nly nine Storm'n Norto n 75 0 well-enough to put a points. Both of these fine yo ung cycle 10-point spread between him and Jon jockeys rode Yamahas.