Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

,... N '" '" ~ e, ,... N Cl > '" ~ ~ w Z W ...J U >- U en champ ion . Me rt L awwitl , flas hes h is new alloy X- R to the semi win . zz Bat)' Ascot ings , chi ne im of 'heels p its an d io nal er of Dave the e th e past S-lar id ers, n the back f th e o w n. and ailed. fee t ibu rn II b y fro~ him m a ta ted -d , a as n h is Rice ngers Gary cond went b ac k its in r the John the one 'fore rado ring, h in d ng a ning nner ffed Th ere are 4 2 (c o unt 'e m ) tee t h in this pho t o . That 's Ralph White . M ar k Brelsford . M ert L awwill and K el Carruth ers socia lizing in th e p it s. h is w ay to a ni nth place finish an d Ed die Mu ld er tu rned in a m ild seventh p lace rid e. T he 20·rider final was al l-California with th e exception of first year rookie, Ed l Iermann , Portl an d , Oregon. H e fin ish ed I I th o Mar k Williams, ano ther fine O regon rider, had h is e ngine refuse to stan o n the line in the heat race and did not compete . T om Rockwood, a rid er that had fin ished eigh th or better three years ru n n ing, became ill in th e pi ts afte r th e heat race and did not come out for the semi. Do n Cas ITO, an expected en try, d id no t show up fo r the event. T he same ap plied to Ch uck Joiner fro m Oregon . T h e wi n by Brelsford now gives the A:\I.-\ National circuit the be st flavor eve r as th ey head for the M ile N a tio n al at S an J o se, Ca lif. on S u nday , ~I ay 21. Si x Nationals have produduced six diffe re n t w in n ers. Five di f feren t b ran d s have w on in six o utings to d ate for th e best varie ty o n th e N ational trail. Yam ah a is th e o n ly brarid to win m or e th an once th is y ear. Brelsford h as n ow closed to within less th an 50 p oints o n Kenny Roberts for th e G ran d Nation al p oint lead . Th e Juni or class found a mi x ture of firs t and seco nd y ea r Junior class riders an d o nce again th e exp e rience ap peare d to payoff as half of the 14- lap Main event w as m ade up of riders who were J uniors in 19 71. Joe Brown, the Houston Astrodome J un io r TT winner, won the heat after a th ird row start and then th e final, and the only rider that appeared to have a chance to beat him was Gray Caldwell, who fell off leading Brown most of the way in the heat race . T hree and four riders took shots at th e fro n t spot in the final the first half of the race. Then Brown and his Yamah a got the lead and started to pull away for the wi n . Ri ck Newby , an o th er second year Junio r, an d first y ea r J u ni or Larry G ino battled th e last h al f o f the race for second with G in o ta king the positio n . Both riders were T rium p h m o u n ted . Io w a's Steve Dr o ste and A rizona's. J oh n Se lla rs we re th e o n ly ou t-o f-s taters to m a ke th e final. Seller s fin ished last and D roste , the Colorado Jun ior wi nne r, d ro pp ed b ac k to e ighth afte r h is engine so ured at th e halfway point in th e event. Brown n ow b ecom es the firs t Junio r to wi n two finals at a Na ti o n al event. The Junior class appears to be w ide o pen this year as no one rider h as dominated in any of the rac e s to date. Brelsford to o k home 52 ,000 for the heat race and Main even t w in. He th en p icked up addit ional money in contingency awards fro m se ve ral other firms including Cycle News ( 50). T he next National at Asco t is th e half mil e event in Se ptember. Asco t now ' ret u rns to ha lf mil e raci ng ev e ry Friday nigh t wi th all, or m o st, o f the ride rs e xpected for this co ming Frid ay du e to an o pe n da te on the Na tio na l sc he du le . 25-LA P EX PE RT NATI ONAL M ark Bre lsford G ary Sco tt John H a tel ey Jim Rice Dav e Ald ana Ca l Ray born Eddi e M ulder F ran k G ill espi e Sk ip Va n Lee uwen Ted Sloan Ed H erm an n Mike Ha ney Dusty Co p page Gene Romero Dick Ma nn T erry Dorsch Keit h Mas hburn Roger Ring Kenny Roberts ,Mert Lawwill 14-LAP JUNIOR FINAL Joe Brown Larry Gino RiCk Newby Tom Horton Alex Armstrong AI Baker Ron Powell Steve Droste T erry Mcratrtv John Green Ik e Mizen Jon Sell ers H-D Trl Trl BSA BSA H·D Tr l Trl Trl T ri Tri Tri T ri Trl BSA Tri Yam Tri Yam H·D Yam Tri Tri Tr i Tn Tri Tri Yam Tn Tri Tri Tri Second pl ace fi ni she r G ar y Scott lau nches h is Tr ium ph into t he G ard ena night. '

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