Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

M Rookie Pulls It Out At Trojan SOUTH GATE, CAL., Ma rch 23, 1972 - Trojan Speedway fans fou nd a new hero Thursday nig ht in 17-year-old Bob Brown of West Covina who in his second start of TT and Flat-Track action stopped the winning ways of the oval's two leading riders, Bob Sanders and Dan Corbett in the 125 'IT Main event. It was t he same old st o ry yo u've read a h undr ed times before when you were a kid, b ut it reall y co uld n 't hap pen. A ro o ki e with only moto-cross experience going against two top seasoned veterans who have dominated the main events this season tak ing th e lead from one, and then meeting the challenges of the other fo r his first major win at the BIKES GIVEN A CHANCE The Hotel Lucerna 250 Off-Road Race on April 8 will be the opening event of the Baja Championship and Manufacturer Troph y Series o f five off-road rac es. Th e o rgan izer, Bill Martin, says that the series will be gear ed toward bikes through t ight er courses with few long, fast sections. The ro ads , says Martin, "are rough without being machine breakers." To further balance the scales the bikes will start before the cars in all events. The Baja R acing Association will pay back 100% of all entry fees less insurance costs . There are three bike (125,250, Open) and five car classes . The Hotel Lucerna 250 will start and finish at kilometer post 37 22 miles west of Mexicalli on the Tijuana Highway. The southbound co urse roads made by largely follows woodcutters and ranchers. It leads along the base of the Sierra de Juarez mountains , th rough Constitucion National Park, over the Sierra, and down into Valle de Trinidad 120 miles from the start. For mo re information call or write , the BRA, Box 1803, Ca lexico, Califo rnia , 92231, phone 903/762-2948. AMC ON THE MOVE A.M.C., a no n-profit club for beginners, No vice s, & Junio rs , has just co mpleted two m o t ocross eve nts, and no w released 1972 Sc hedule of Events . Schedule includes: Se cond and fourt h Saturday of each month, m o t ocro ss and class at Sa ddleback Park; third Saturday o f eac h mo nth , mo tocross & class at R a whide ' Park, Elsinore . A lso announc ed are five Spe ci al even ts b etween now and the end of 19 7 2, in cluding a "super year end desert lioII. . .. oIl b ash" . The cl ub wa s organ ized by a group o f fun riders who recognized th e importance of b reaking new riders into motocross prop erly-sl owly and with th e proper instruction. EMDE TO TRY SMALL ON E, Don Emde, winner o f th e 200 mil e D aytona ro ad ra ce , will b e o ne o f the top names com pet ing in th e professional indoor dirt short tr ack , which will b e staged o n the final day of th e Cow Palace sh ow , Sunday, April 9. Ernde, fro m San Diego , won th e b ig A .M.A. : . . .. .. ...... classic tw o weeks ago o n a no n-facto ry Yamaha 35 0 wh ich wa s own ed b y Mel D inesen of Bakersfield. At 2 1 years of age, Emde h as b een r ecognized as an up-and-comer fo r th e past several years, first o n t h e west coast road racing sce ne and, mo re recently, o n th e di r t oval tracks as well . Anoth er rider scheduled to compete in the Cy cle '72 professional race will be former BSA factory racer Dave Al dana, who finished fourth in the 1971 National standings in AMA pru fessional racing . South Gate oval. No way it could happen, b ut it did. Brown 'mo un ted on his Rickman Yamaha, gave the fans a h in t of what to expect d uring the 125 'IT heat when h e baffled both of the same riders with a win. Sponsored by Soundmaster i;)ilencers, Brown had to come from second to catch lead er, Corbett (Kaw) , on the fourth lap while Sanders (Kaw) moved into second to challenge Brown. The next fo ur laps saw Brown anticipating Sander's every move 'as both riders maneuvered arou nd the do uble-jum p 'IT cou rse weaving in and out of fa lle n competitors in the 16-rid er field . , Chasing Brown across the finis h line was Sa nders, Co rbett, Rob Mo rrison (Kaw). A llen "Buckwheat" Sw ett (hon), an dand Tom Doty (Hon). T he b ig gun in 250 Main event ac tion was point lead er , Co rb ett o n h is T & R Bultaco, co ming thro ugh fo r his third back-to-hack victory of the season by scoring a h ard earned win in bo th th e 'IT and Flat T rack Mains. Although lead ing the final two lap s in th e 'IT Main after early leader , Sanders pitted with a probab le broien rod. J oe Brown, the top lead in g Junior rider who rides more like an Expert than some of the Experts (a nd who inc identally is in need of a sponsor), continues to impress the fans with his ever hard-riding tactics. The F.T. Main saw both Corbett and & '" '" O> Q. Mike Clarke battle every inch of the way for t he lead. Corbett, easily displaying a smoother riding style than the less experienced Clarke, held on for the fu ll eight laps to win. Charlie Summers, the "Little Dynamo" who garnered third in 100 Flat Track has the fans still talking. His performance was almost unbelieveable for a youngster of only twelve years old. At four-foot nine in ches tall, 79 pounds , and only a sixth grader at Garfield Elementary Sc hool in Bell Gardens , Summers w ho sometimes fi nds it diffic ult to reach the gro und w ith h is toes wh ile mo u nt ed on his 100 cc Kawasaki r acing machine, is ra pid ly earning t he respect of many of his m uch older raci ng rivals by virtue of hi s sparkling ability to compete in th is rugged sport. T he Buddy Race th at proves one of t he m ost popular events of th e program was won by the team of Co rbet t an d Joe Brown on their 250 Bu ltaco. However, the crowds cheered for t he runner-u p team of Roy Ken ned y and Gary Elders, who came fro m behind in the field and spotted the winni ng team a full 125cc while touring the th ree- la p distance aboard their 125 Yamaha. The next major event, a 50-lap TT Main for 250cc class b ikes is scheduled for March 30th. A regular 'IT and F.T . program will be held along wi th the added distance Main Event. r0- C. « ~ w Z w -' U >- U

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