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/141049
Toughest Trials in Europe M . '" '" 0.. M .... '" ~ . ::< ~ w 2 w oJ U >U Am erican entra nt K evin Walke r {Bull takes a dab and fin ished 60th ou t of 8 0 wh o comp leted both 25-mile loo ps. . difficu lt an d d emandi n g even t of th e season, aside from th e fa mous Scottish Six Day Trial. A lso, because of t he closeness of the even t to Barcelona, the site of the t hree ~anufacturers of Spanish trials m ac hinery , t he c o m peti tio n is e specially keen. The prestige o f winning this particular trial is perhaps worth an entire season of motocross wi ns to the victorious factory. As a resu lt , there is almost no expense spared to achieve victory . Two y ea rs a go this trial was held in weather so cold that it even snowed. Last year it was a d rizzl y co ld co n t es t with slippery mud o n th e ro cks so that man y of th e se c ti ons b ecame impossible to make a t all, much le ss cle an. This y ea r the te mperature was a perfect sixty de gr ee s with cle ar sk y above wh ich brought o u t spectators, Un ite d States' hopes rested on Richard De lancy, I\l artin Be lair, I\la rland Whaley and V i c t o r Conaway of Montcs a ; Jeff Ko ski e a nd Ke vin Walke r of Bu ltaco ; a nd Mi c k O live r and J o e Guglielmelli wh o arc OSSA riders from t h e Pa cifi c Nort hwes t T r ia ls As so ci ation . Another American rider ,l\lark Eggar, did go a lo ng o n t he trip but cou ld n ol c o m pe te: in th e event as he recentl y broke his wri st in a c ycl ing accident a t :'Iunlz C y cl e Par k . I\lark did h oweve r spen d the day w at chin g . th e o the r c ompe ti to rs an d quit e p os sibl y le arned m ore than th e gu ys wh o ro de. Th e best Ame ric an per forman ce of th e e ve n t w as turned in by J oe Gu gli elm elli f ro m Wall a Wall a , Wa shin gton . J oe finished a very respectable :17 th against th e b est riders in th e w orld an d from wh at I could ga therafte r the ev ent he is still in a st ate of coofus io n abou t his performan ce. J oe said th at h e h ad never ridden a trial that w as so difficult but thaL he wanted t o KO b ac k next yea r and improve o n hi s e ffo r t. The next ran king American ride r was I\larland Whale y at 55 th place. li e was fo llowed hy J eff Ko skie at 57Lh, Kevin Walk«, 60th; Ri chard Delaney , 61 st ; and Vi c Conaway at 69 th . To the c asua l reader th is m a y soun d like a prett y sorr y performan ce but actuall y it is quit e the con trary as w e ha ve onl y been at t h is ga m e of I n te rn a t ional com pe tirio n for a co uple o f years . 'T he fa ct th at o ur ride rs he at 0 1lY o f th e Europ e ans at t he ir own game shows th ai w e have ta len t an d have be en payin g a tte nt io n a t th e trials sc hools . Th er e \.. -e re tw o D:\ F's for US ride rs . Mick Olive r su ffered a p un ctured re ar tire near the end o f th e first loop and the O SSA me ch anics we re appare nt ly to o busy a ssistin g the Briti sh and Span ish rid e rs to pay allen tion to his . need s. Martin Belair e xp eri en ced th e freaky p roblem o f the cy lin der stu ds p ulling lo o se from the e n gine c ase s c aus ing his cy lin der to j u m p up an d d own abou t a half in ch every tim e the pi st on moved. Th is o b viously crea te d ,so me ve ry strange power c harac te ris tics so :' Iartin had to p ack it in for the day after o nlv seven sections. This irial marked th e appearance of th e Yamaha trials prototype in its first (Continued o n Page 15) Bultaco works ride r Ma rt in Lampkin Hef t) finished fir st and current ly leads t he Eu ropean Tr ials Championship. Brother All an f inished eleventh . To ALL Cycle News Readers: We are the Coors Distributors in the California Desert along the Colorado River. We have warehouses in Needles, Blythe, and lrnperial, Recently, we were very upset about a letter printed in Cycle News based upon misinformation that the Adolf Coors Company has supported the Sierra Club and whoever has been fighting bike riding in the desert. This is not true. Coors does not support the Sierra Club, Coors is not against bikeridinq in the desert. In regard to ourselves and our own personal feelings, we welcome all cycle riders to our desert area. We enjoy having you use the desert, we enjoy visiting with you, and we will gladly buy back your empty aluminum cans as you leave on your way back home. Please feel free to call us if you need information of any kind as to our desert area. CLAYPOOL DISTR IBUTING COMPANY Needles-B lythe-Imperial Valley •