Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Ellis at 395 0" M > ~ :;; ~ w Z W ..J U >- U ALL HESES A B ES S By Ste ve Lam k in Ph o to s b y Im ogen e Rces AD EL A:'\T O , CA L., ~ I ay 13 , 19 72 Ran dy Elli s of Santa Ana, C aliforni a: rid ing a screamin g A sco t-se tu p Triumph 650 , showed the re gul ar Open Expert HRA riders th e w ay ar ound the big half m ile ov al in a flash ing sho w of sty le an d horsep ower. Rid ing th e f irst time at th e l Iigh Desert fac ility , Randy Ell is found b oth the T T co urse and th e l lul f ~lile to his liking. Ridin g a 2;,0 in th e '1''1' even t, Randy suffered en gin e tro uble an d d idn 't make th e T' I' Expert Main , Ill' made up for th at th nugh wh e n he bolted from the line a t the green in the E xp ert co m b ined Ha lf ~Iile Main , ten lap p e r. Pu sh ed all th e w ay h y C h arles Ha tch er. a lso Tri u m p h -m o u n ted , Ellis neve r let u p an d lap by lap threw rooster tails off in to the d esert in a fash io n n ormally seen only at speedway ra ces. J im Mau p in , an o the r Triump h ride r , placed in the E xp er t lI a lf ~ l i le ~I a i n . R ich ard Liz ardo , Bu lta c o, a nd D ave Reese on a Yam ah a bo th took d o ub le w ins in TT and Half Mil e even ts fo r Xovices. Liza rclo d o min at ed hoth co urse s in th e 250 N ovice class and Reese to ok th e go ld in both se ts in the c o mb ined 100-125 Xovice c lass . lI' iliiam Rick les , Kuwa sa k i-moumed from lI u n ting to n Be ach , lo ok h is first 10 0 i': o vicc TT wi n in n e arly a yea r o f rid in g a t lIRA even ts. Ne edless to sa y , h e w ill reme m be r h is first troph y fo r a Io n I{ time . l lard ch arging Expert Open rid e r Brian I\JcI\IiIlan on a T riumph came bac k af te r a five week ab se nce and dem o nstrat ed hi s d o m in atio n of tha t even t in easy sty le . R id in g in th e Hal f Mi le , h is th rot tle a rm swelle d up . Il l' lost h is gri p an d fai led to show fo r the Ma in . Rac ing co n tinue s each S a tu rday nig ht at :19 5 Cycle Pa rk in .vd e lan to . Sign up is a t 5 ::lO p .rn. and th e first race is at 7: 30. Ex pe rts arc p a id money fo r th eir \,.. in s. if th e," so choose . [ Resu lts o n p age 38) Searchin g for the groove in the H igh Desert at 395 Cycle Park , Brian McM illan leads th e chargers. Me Too, Teacher By Steve Lam k in & Ph il Carpenter AD E LA i':T O . CA L.. Mav 7 , 19 7 2 S a tu rd ay n igh t's "I"T an d Jl aIf-l\lik races a t 3 95 C ycl e Park in Adelan to , Ca lifo rn ia . sa n c ti o ned by II .R .A ., saw Rich ar d "Rip " Swe an e y (te ac her) lead Bo b by San d ers to the c heckered flag in th e Exp er t 250 ~Iain Even t on th e T"T cou rse. T hi rty minu tes lat er p o si tion s we re rev ersed only by inches as th e stude n t sho we d th e te ach er ho w well h e'd learned h is lessons in th e 2 50 Expe r t Hal f Mil e Main . Sweaney , Scott Collects First Annual By J ay Sm ith PER RIS, CAL ., May 2 1, 197 2 .- T he whi le Je ro me II'h al an d Boh Hud sp ith Ann u al won the Op en cla ss. Ligh tw e igh ts "'IC Fi rs t An n ive rsary Sc ram bles was a su ccess, The 10 0 '" ovicc class lo ok ed lik e thank s to d o no rs and rider sup prt. opc n ing nigh t at A sc o t. A fter all fo ur he ats and tw o semis we re run, it w as T he sidc hac ke rs. always welc ome at S te ve Bale s, Dale II ampton and Ma rc th e Ligh tw e ight meets, sh owed the ir J ones in th a t order. In the 10 0 A / E , ap prec iation ele ve n strong, with an Bria n Kin g o utclassed last yea r's numbe r un d er an d over 5 00 class. J ocky Do n one and tw o Exp e rt s. Rob Mo rr ison Dav is an d h is Mon ke y Fre d A ceved o to ok th e gold in the ligh tweigh t di visi o n to o k a seco nd, fo llo we d b y Rick Milne r, S COtl Smi th w as d o ing w h at h e docs bes t in b o th th e 125 and 5 0 0 Exp ert clas ses - w innin g. Bob Sande rs, pu t it all togeth e r to win th e 2 5 0 Expert cl a ss. By Greg Kam merman There w as a ligh t turnout of V IC T O R V Il. LE . C AL., May 7, 19 7 2 h eavy we igh ts. Th e m o st im pressive w as The SRA has agai n st a rted th ei r se rie s of Dal Carl t on w ith hi s Open Ex p ert w in Ea rly Bird Hare Sc rambles. It was a over ve te ra ns John Sprague a nd S and y p retty fas t ru n to the b omb w ith a few A rm st ron g. T h e Ligh tw e igh ts ~I C wish wash outs. Past the b omb a gra ve l wa sh to than k th e fo llowing, for su p port of started. Then it h appen ed : bi g sand the sp ort an d d on ated prizes , D on's T ire hill s. & C ycl e , Up lan d C y cle, Y amah a of A wh ile lat e r the co u rse wi d ene d t o Pomo n a, Ken Mael y, Hi-j enks Cy cl e, a llow th e fast b egin n ers 10 pass th e O ntario Cy cl e, C&II Kaw asa k i. slo w er N ovice s. It was B. Brec ker ( Re su lts o n p age 38 ) pu lling in first overall in abo ut anhour and five mi nu te s. E. J ohn s, a 250 Beginner w as 26th ov e rall an d first F ALL TRANS · AMA Beginn er. INTERNATIONAL MOTOCROSS (Resu lts on p age 3 8) SRA Earlies MacEwen Again By Ka re n Oll e r . E LS Il': O RE , CALI F .• l\l ayl 4 , 19 72 - I t w ould h ave taken a crysta l b all to predict th e winne rs o f the b ig b o re cl asse s at E lsin ore Race w ay th is wee k. Dana S tett ler ( Ya m) w on his fir st trophy as a n a ma te u r. lI is ne w Y am ah a is on ly three we ek s o ld and b are ly b roken in . Robby Mac f. wen (Ya m) is the usual h an d s d own winn er in th e 5 00 Open , Specia l Exper t an d Sw e ep er , b u t t on igh t n o m att e r wh at he di d it w as wr o ng. Cha rlie S oderstro m ( Bu l) won th e 25 0 Exp ert an d the Specia l Ex pert, Jimm y Stein (CZ) won the 500 O pen Ama te u r and Expert and Roger Dobbins wo n th e Sweepstakes event on his 125 Yamaha . lIal C hce tw o od ( Bu l) was back, and lo o king good af ter his recent surge ry . Ilc w as the wi n ner o f the second pl ace ho nors in both t he 2 5 0 Expert and the Special Ex pert. ( Resu lts o n p age ,3 8 ) SERIES SET Th e A me ri c an M ot or c y c l e Pro fessi onal Raci ng A sso ciation 's Department h as announced th e 19 72 fall T ra ns-A MA in tem a ti ona! motocross series sc he d u le . Purses fo r th e II -ev en t series will total $ 126 ,0 0 0 with several a d dit io n al d ollars in th ousand con tin ge n cic s. T he series , fea turing an ope n int ern a tion a l class , will span th e c o u n try an d is e xpec ted to d raw Eu ro pe's top moto cross s ta rs. 9 / 24/7 2 10/ 1/ 7 2 10/ 8/ 7 2 Co pet own , On t. Ca n. $ 8 ,00 0 Stee l C ity R id ers M /C Li nv ill e , Ohi o $10,000 H o nd a Hill S t. L o ui s, Mis sou ri S10 ,OOO Mid-Amer ica Motoc ross 1 0/1 5 /72 Ga in esvi lle. Ge orgi a S 10,OOO 10 / 2 2/ 7 2 Orla ndo , Flon da S1 0,000 R oad A tl a nt a t I n c. Orla nd o S ports Stadiu m 10/29/72 Housto n , Texas $12,000 R io Brav o M ot orcy cle Park Carlsba d , Cali fornia $1 6 ,000 Car lsba d Raceewav 11 / 1 2 / 7 2 Pttoe ntx , Ari zona S10 ,OOO Artz o na Cyc le Park 11 /5 /72 11 /1 9/ 7 2 Puy allu p . w esnt na to n $12 ,000 Puy a ll up Race way 11 /26/72 Lt ve r m o r e jC at t f o r ru a $1 2,00 0 Carnegie Cyc le Park . 12 /3/72 ~~J:e~ae~~SP;r~if. $16 ,00 0 che c ke re d n ag his torian, has tu ned fo r and ta ught Bobby Sanders, ac co rd in g to the fl a sh y spee dste r hi m sel f , "Every th ing h e k nows" . Sin City S on, J ack Smi th , ta ke s b ac k bras s f ro m Sou the rn Californ ia eac h wee k . Curre ntly n umbe r th ree in p oint standings in II.R .,\. , Vegas ' J ack took a second in the Half-Mile to firs t place Rich Lizardo an d a firs t in the T'I' l\lain, w ith Lizardo secon d th is time and Lan cast er's Bru ce Fole y p u sh in!: fo r a close third in both eve n ts. S teve K cull to ok th e O p en Novice TT o n h is up d a te d thu mp e r b u t cou ld n ' t h an g o n ova l ac tion, lettin g in the I Triu mp h -moun te d J oh n Bald in for th e w in. Chu c k Fruchney d ug the new sce ne of ta k ing jacke ts in stead o f tr ophies an d a tt ired both h e an d "some th ing sweet" fo r hi s wi n s in th e Open X TT and Hal f-Mile Ma in s, Plans ar e n ow in the wo rks for th e "Thi rd A n nual '1''1' Fire crac ke r 5 0" . On ly 33 w ill qua lify for th is eve n t with th e fir st te n p o si tions going to th e cu rre n t top te n BRA p oint leade rs. T he bal an ce of th e starting slots will b e d e term in e d by qualify ing heats. 125 . 250 a nd Open classes will b e ab le to q ua lify an d ri de rs w ill be tak en from thei r fas te s t heats. Previo u s w inn ers in clu de Ric h a rd Sw ea ne y 12 5 cl ass, Tom Wh ite 2 50 class an d S p arkie in th e Op en class. T he even t is sch ed u led fo r th e first Satu rday nigh t in Jul y unde r 1l .R .A. san c tion a t 3 95 C y cle Park. ( Res u lts o n p age 38) Father and Son Night , t Troy a II\' Ar t Lo v a SO UT II GATI': : CAL., :\Iay II , 1972 J ame y Blunt, anot he r T ro j an Sp eedway s ta r? Il l' lo o ked like o ne Thursd av ni gh t in winning b o th the 2 5 0 TT an d FT l\la in Events in th e co m b ine d stee p le cha se an d na t-tra ck m otorcycle rac in g p rogra m , A fo u rth- ra n ke d d esert sc rambler, sponso re d hy l l o c kic ' s Raci n g T ea m fr om T o rran ce, Blunt h as adj us te d t o ova l racin g wit h a su d d en n e ss that h as caugh t every on e , including the op p ositio n , b y surprise. The emergence of Blun t is as sim p le as it is d ramatic. " I' ve never seen him better:' wa s a ph rase o fte n he ard amo n g th e fan s. year. lie's T h is co u ld b e his d eterm in ed, h e's sha rp , an d h e's agre ssive, Combin in g this sa me form u la, with the in gre d ie n ts of a w ell prep ared Ossa moun t , Blun t scored his second straight 250 FT Ma in Even t vic to ry, and ca me fr om b ehind to p ass d efendin g ch am p io n , Rick G oade (Bu l), for th e wi n in the 250 T T feature. Ea rlie r. h e p laced se con d behin d Bo b Sanders in the 250 TT he a t, w on the 2 5 0 FT h eat ove r Sanders . an d again came fro m the b a ck to fin ish sec ond behind G oad e in th e th ree-lap trop hy d ash . For th e secon d straigh t w eek , G oade h ad hi s problems holdin g hi s Bultaco uprigh t, After leading the first tw o laps o f the 1T fea ture, G o ad e , dueled Blunt wh eel -t o -wh ee ] in the third lap. Comin g o ff t he firs t j u m p and in to th e tu rn, G oade an d Blunt m ade c o n tac t tha t spi lle d G o ad e a s Blunt went on to lake th e check ered ah ead of J ohn llee m sb er gen (Ho n) . Makin g a h asty recove ry . Goad c still ma na ge d to save th ird ahead o f frus tra te d Dan C o rb ett wh o had his trou b les trying to h andle a bo rrowe d b ike af ter bl owin g hi s own in e arlier action . In FT ~l ain Event action, Blu nt took an ea rly lead over Goude, li a rd p re sse d for five laps. Blun t just man aged to stay ahe ad of G o ad e , On th e fin al lap , G oud e we nt fly ing ove r hi s mach ine when it went d own in the n o rth turn as riders narrowl y missed Goadc, Heemsbc rgen " f ,. J .J." I finished secon d ah e ad o f third . p lace fini sher, C orbett. G o ade was no t inju re d. T he J u n ior d ivisi on o f 25 0 Main Even t ac tio n w as d om in a te d by th e father-and-son team o f the Les Bomar s. The TT even t wa s cap tu red by Les Bomar, Jr., wh o led fro m sta rt t o finish aboard hi s Triu m p h spon sore d b y · Bellflower Triumph. Fi nis h ing secon d a t th e ch eckere d w as J im Medlin (a ss) wh o w as foll owed b y R on By ar s, als o on an Os sa. Le s Bo ma r, Sr. w as th e bi g gu n in th e FT event as he le d Medlin [O ss] , Steve Moir (Oss), and Bomar, Jr. ac ro ss the finish line . Bo ma r, Sr. also won the 250 1'1 he at beatin g o u t ea rly le ad e r, Medlin. San de rs in h is us ua! winning p erforman ce s, accoun ted for wins in the 100 IT, 125 TT, an d 125 rr Main s ab oa rd h is Kaw asa k i. Bo b Cr ec el iu s (Yam) , wh o is a su re b et to ran k am o ng the top ten leading ri ders b efore this season is over. c hased S anders in the 125 T T an d FT Main s to fin ish secon d . Th ird in th e TT Main went to Allen "B uc kwheat" Swelt (li o n ) , while Tom' Dory (li o n) wh o can b e a th re at in an y eve n t en te re d, finished third in the IT Main. Vern Maxwell ( Bul ) proved to a l O-rid er fi e ld that p rac tice makes p erfect by' leadin g th e 125 FT Main Junior cl ass, from sta rt to finish. Max w ell wh o wa s o n h an d th e n igh t before fo r a p ra cti ce sessio n from 6 p .m . to 10 p .m .. c o m p le tel y ou tclasse d h is op p o nen ts as he crosse d the fin ish lin e ah ea d of De an Mey er (lio n ), an d Wiley Mi lle r ( Ka w ), It w as the sa me story in T'I' c o m p e t itio n o f th e 125 Junior class as Ma xwe ll led Meyer from the sta r t to the chec ke re d . Dave Lu j an ( Ka w) beat o ut Wile y for third in w ha t turned ou t t o b e one o f the hi ghlights of ~ Iain Eve nt action . Lujan sco red h is Main Event win earl ier in th e 100 'IT fea ture d efea ting Dann y Miller ( Ka w), a n d Ch arle s Summers (Kaw}, after recovering from a near sp ill on the fir s t lap . (Resu lts on page :~ 8 )

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