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/141059
,... " g LEICESTER, ENGLAND, Apr. 22, 1973 Yvon DuHamel today reaffirmed what he said before Daytona, when he stated that this season h e in tended to be m o re consisten t, if less spectacular. Yesterday he took a second and a fourth. Today h e scored a third and a firs t and held a six -poin t lead over Williams. However, Williams and his John Player Norton established themselves as the combination to beat as the John Player TransAtlantic Trophy Series moved to a rainy Mallory Park. Despite the fact that Mallory is a faster circuit than Brands and would therefore seem to favor the faster Kawasakis, Williams won the first race and was righ t on DuHamel's tail in the second. Q. M ,... en CD > " s Cf.l ~ w Z W ..J U >- U RACE THREE: Williams in the wet. It stopped raining just before the race, and in the p attern that had been set, the bright green Kawasakis lept to the front on the wet track. Initially, Gary Nixon opened up a b ig lead , but gradually DuHamel clo sed in. For three laps they battled. Both bikes woul d snap the front wheel up as they exi te d the Shaws hairpin an d wobbled frigh teningly . o n the fas te r parts of th e course. But suddenly everyone's attention was d rawn away from the leaders and to Barry Sheene, Barry was riding his 500 Suzuki after finding that the rear tire on his 750 had a defect in it just before the race . The 500 was the ticket for the wet track and Barry ro cketed into the lead on the fastest turn on the course by just 'Mallor y Park Y\IOn was the winner at one of Mallory's races. The lower half of the fairing is gone becauseof a fire the week previous at Imola . Here he exits the hairpin. . RACE T HREE RES UL.TS: 1. Pet er Williams (Nod 16; 2. Gary Ni xon (Kaw) 15 ; 3. Yvon D u Hamel (Kaw) 14; 4 , Dave Croxford (Norl13;5 . Dave Potter (Nod 12; 6. Art Baumann (Kaw) 11 ; 7. Miek Grant (Tri) 10 ; B. Percy Tait 9; 9 . Paul Smart (Suz) 8; 10 . Tony Jefferies (Tri) 7 ; 11. Mert Lawwill (H ·D) 6; 12 . Cal Rayborn (H -D) 5 ; 13. Gary Fisher (H·D)4; 14. Ron Grant (Suz) , 3; 15 . Dave Aldana (Nor) 2; 16. Barry Sheen DNF . rr-n keeping it o n where everyone else was shutting off. Bu t then he fell right in fr o n t of Yvon and Gary in the hairpin! Sheene got up quickly but ' Yvon and Gary were back in the lead, fighting hard and tr ading the lead on the slippery track . . Holding third was Dave Croxford on a J ohn Player N orton which he ha d taken over from Joh n Cooper after the latter had taken a fa ll from his 25 0 and was h avin g dizzy spells. In fourth was Peter Willia ms , co min g up from a poor start. Nixon and Du Hamel were still battling as Williams passed his teammate and came up behind them. Nixon was in , the lead whic h was the wrong place to be as the trio came upon Ron Grant who was being lapped. Gary had to back off just a hair and Yvon and Peter got by. With three laps to go , Williams slipped by D uH am el and took the lead, and Nixon and DuHamel went at it again with Nixon getting second at the flag . Williams just lapped Fisher, whom Yamaha had graciously released to ride Doug Sehl's Harley (thereb y taking a ch an ce on having an outstanding rider injured on a competitive brand; very sporting). Barry Sheene had managed to c o me from last. after his crash, to sixth place and, along with Peter, Gary and Yvon, was credited with fastest lap. But it was all for nothing as Barry was disqualified for riding a motorcycle that was too small . The rules specifiy a minimum of 50l cc . . Dave Potter w on the opening race at Brands. RACE FOUR: Yvo n is going to surprise you. After a re -start, when th e entire field jumped the flag, it was, as usual, the Kawasakis getting out first. D uH amel and Nixon began pulling away. Gary hounded Yvon for four laps and then slipped p ast and pulled away slightly until a plug cap came loose three lap s "later. From then on it was Yvo n, pressured the whole way by Peter Williams, who owned the race . Paul Smart passed Nixon for third but c o uld n ' t make up m uch time on the leaders. However, he and Williams both recorded the same time for fastest lap. Meanwhile DuHamel just kept at it, the same every lap , wobbles and wheelies, On ' the last lap Mick Grant crash ed his Boyer Triumph at Gerrards and went looking for a replacemen t. This win gave Yvon a solid lead of 58 points of Williams' 52. The U.S. now trailed Britain by two points, 270 to 272. RACE FOUR RESULTS : 1. Yvon D uHamel (Kaw) 16; 2 . Pet er Williams (Nor) 15; 3 . Paul Smart ISuz) 14 ; 4 . Cal Rayborn (H-D) 13; 5 . Dave Potter (Nor) 12; 6. Percy Tait ITri) 11; 7 . Art Bauman n (Kawl 10 ; 8. Barry Sheene (Suz) 9 ; 9 . Dave A ldana (Nor) B; 10 , Gary Fisher (H-D) 7; 11 . Mert Lawwill (H·D) 6 ; 12 . Gary Nixon IKaw) 5 ; 13 . Ron Grant (Suz) 4; 14 . Mick Grant DNF 3 ; 15 . T on y Jefferi es D N F (Tri) 2; 16. Dave Cro xfo rd ON F (Nod 1. rr-n Gary Nixon and Yvon stayed together . Barry Sh eene shocked everyone with his dash to the fro nt on a 500.