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/141015
By Lou Whitney Photos by Dale Coats RIVERSIDE, CAL., March 18 ·19 ,1972 The second edition o f SRA's Riverside Scrambles Grand Prix got underway this weekend and turned out to be possibly the best ever for Grand Prix events. All the things that make an event pleasant for both riders and spectators were in ample evidence, Showing passes at the gate go t us directed to the pit area which is where A .J . Fo yt, Mario Andretti, and old Parnelli often hang their hats ; good company. There was plenty of room earl y Saturday m orning so we found a grassy spo t to put the veh icles a nd wandered aro u nd . The concessionnaire was already awake a nd p ouring co ffee t o early comers and to th e group that came in on Friday night to ca m p . The SRA cr ew was busily putt ing out a big yello w Yamaha start/finish b anner at the jump off pavment, The b anner was impressive for Saturday's race. Unfortunately, it was stolen b y some of the ra cers Saturday night and has not been seen since. The same group wa lked the course after d ark and genero usly helped themselves to the streamers and signs that were out th ere. T he y also heaved beer ca ns at the test ca rs using the tr ack at nigh t. Isn't it just wonderful to have th is type of p eople a t o u r races a nd to have them be so well id en tifie d as motorcycl e riders a nd racers? Why , they do mo re to sp re ad th e wo rd to o utsiders th a n five years o f work b y others! Keep up th e good work folks, and we m ay b e granted a chance to race in Death Valley so meday. T he riders started p ush in g th ei r scooters to the Champion bridge fo r the Sunday mo rning practice session. No one was allowed across the b rid ge until the co urse sweeper returned with an all clear a nd awa y th ey went. It seemed to ta ke five minutes for all bikes to cro ss and shortly a fter that the firs t rid ers came in sigh 1 in the oppo site di rection . The co u rse was at least fift y fe et wide all over and outl ined th e e ntire five miles with streame rs and, o ther objects d esign ed to keep you o n co urse. One of the am b ulan ces sat up o n a h ill for two days and never mo ved . Ma n y of th e d irt rid ers had learned th eir lesso n at th e las t G rand Prix an d had geared fo r th os e be autiful long banked sectio ns , and it sho we d up in the lap t im es. But SRA had also done their h omework a nd broke up th e lon gest straight sec tio n into some reall y fun esses along the bank that borders the as p h a l t. An earlier pl anned waterhole at his point h ad to be deleted because it did bad things to the number pl ates and th e scoring crews were having fits. On down the high speed section, around the big bank and on to the dirt for a jog and a jump that favored the many photographers present and then back on the pavement. Most of th e spectators gathered around the finish line to watch the action. This is the spot where the riders came off the pavement and climbed a twelve foot bank at about a seventy degree angle . The action got rather spectacular at times, and it kept the SRA on their toes just keeping it cleared of bikes. It seems that the sight of all those fans does strange things to the ego of budding racers and they let it all hang out. The results at times were slides, hand stands, etc. Some riders who were really inexperienced on the asphalt co uldn't judge how much time it took to stop knobby-tired machines at 80+ miles per hour. Those went right on th rough the turn. The crowd at the finish line agreed unanimously that one performance stood out in two days of riding in all 14 classes ; this was the spectacular jumping of pretty young Nancy Des Rosiers 0.0 M SRA •• u an, that was gr vy!" r- "" ., ' Q. N r- '" e-; !!'l . ::E til ;: W Z W ..J 0 > o , -' Whump , all th e way to the botto m. .- her :! 5U Ussa as she ace d the Po wd er Pu ff race on Satu rd ay. Sh e was jumping so far and so sm oo th thaI she had the spectators applauding! T hat girl really put on qui te a show. To crown o ff the fest ivitie s, as th e riders pushed their scoo t ers back to th e p its, they wcre handed a finish er pin . It was th e size o f a silver dollar with a dangle hung underneath it that gave th e event date . The main pin depicted a rid er emerging from crossed ch eckered flags. Everyone I talked with thought it was the best and nicest they had ever seen. The racing itself was well organized with no delays, no serious injuries, and no great problems. SRA and Riverside provided 47 workers around the course to be sure everything was taken care of. Safety for the many spectators was assured by fencing, dead engines in the pits, and a group of people strictly enforcing the rules. S tarring line action was easily watched from the pits, and the Le Mans start added to the fun. I think the event was best summed up b y a ten-year-old boy on Saturday. He was participating in the 0 -75cc ra ce on his quiet Yamaha mini-enduro. As he crossed the finish line at the top of thc jump, he let his bike fall to the ground, put a big grin on his dirty face, walked over to an SRA official, slapped him on thc back and said, "Man, that was groovy!" (Results on page 36) Three good reasons to shop at Valerian's this week: J:. Husllvarna 250ee Motoeross 2. Husllvarna 360ee Motoeross 3. Husqvarna 400ee Motoeross (Other reasons availallie upon requestJ Riverside Sheriffs to Crack Down By Elaine Jones Riverside County Sheriff's deputies will stop giving warnings and start handing out t ickets to motorcyclists who ride on priva te lands in unin corporated areas in the western part of the co u n ty wi th out having th e landowner's written permissions , a sheriff's o fficial said Wednesd a y. Motorcy clists who don 't have the wr itten permission with them will b e cited for viol ating a co unty ordin ance, Lt. Jack R eid sa id , ad d in g that it will b e "up to the: motorcy clists to prove that they h ave permission." lie sa id th e stricter enforcement policy will begin immediately and will concentrate on weekends, when most o f M the problems occur. Lt. Reid said the sheriff's department has begun the stricter enforcement of the 13 ~-month-{)ld ordinance be cause of numerous complaints from people who live near western county areas popular with o ff-road motorcyclists. Reid said if the first efforts d on't c u r b the problem, the sh eriff's d ep artment will intensify its efforts. "W e intend to use what ever means n ecessary" to cu rb th e problem, he sai d , " even if it means putting th e deput ies o n m ot orc ycles or th e u se of helicopters" to catch vio lat or s. Vi ol at ors of th e co u n ty ordi nance ar e guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable b y a $500 fin e or six months in jail. c •ttl"\ ·~)\ Illfl'I·~::::.,~,~,~!.~,~~~!~.~td. : • • Lo s Ang~les . 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