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/141063
. '". 1 M .... ell . If) e ::l .., Utah tootsie. J im West (6 1) leads Pac kard by T erry Newfarmer Photos by H.L. Hathenbruck MANNING CYCLE PARK, UTAH, May 20 - As the new generation of AMA profe ssional rnotoc rossers travel the qualifying ro un d circuit, one o f the things they must fa ce are the hometown favorite hotshoes who were probabl y born on the track the pros have never seen before, and who are willing to go all out to put it to the d udes from out of town. Whe n they came to Utah, they found intense but inconsistent competition in the 250 class , an d they we re devastated in th e Open class, by Utah riders who are ci rcuit pros in thei r own right . Sce ne of t he race was the shale-su rfaced Man n in g track, which laves over j un ip er-covered foo thills and across an old min e d ump. The track will be the site of the opening ro un d of the In ler-AMA series with the European stars in the 250, o n J uly l. Even more tha n is usual in the c razy sport of mo t ocross, the 25 0 cla ss was a lesson in the fo rt u nes of war. Whil e flashier ride rs were crash in g an d fighting f or first p laces, Doug Gran t of Carpen teri a , C aliforn ia , sneake d the o verall win wi th a 5-3 -4 score fo r th e d ay . A similar st rategy (3 -7-8) hande d second to R ich ar d Grafton of EI Cajon, Californ ia and his CZ. A I first it looked like it was goi ng to be a runaway , as Maico-mou nted Gaylon Mos ier shot to an eas y win in the first heat. But bike trouble gave him an 18th in the second heat. In th e third moto Mosier looked like a sure winner again when Kerry Fowler, Utah Bultaco (2) and Bob Brown (16 ) in the first mote. o rde r. Then Plu mb fa de d (neve r rode 3 0-mi n u le h ea ts before) , West broke his shi ft e r, and Pa ckard and Brown laun ch ed in to an elbo w- t o-elbo w duel that lasted almost twenty min utes. Packard passed Brown like it was the end of the world, while Brown passe d Packard as though h e wasn 't even th ere . At the ch ec ke red flag , it was Brown in front , by o ne b ik e length , but Packard on ly needed a second for the big money. rider who h ad DNF'd the first tw o heats, blasted out of th e pack, and ran awa y from Mosi er th e rest o f the way. But Utah's best was Phil McDonald (H us) with third overall. Hometown hopes had begun to lift earlier, when Don Fuller came in a s trong second in the second heat, after a rock in his ch ain pUI him a lap behind in the first heat , and Fuller held o n to a credi b le fifth in . the third heat for seventh overall. . Second heat bad lu ck gave Greg R obertson, CZ rider from Wo odland Hills, California, fifth o verall , after a second in the first heat and a third in the third. Assorted troubles kept Tom Rapp down all day. T he 14-strong Open cla ss develo ped in to a battle between Californ ian Jim West o n his Husqvarna an d the Utah - .." . troops on Maicos; D en nis Packard, Bob Brown and Bob Plumb. Bry ar Holcomb was usu ally in sigh t, b ut never a threat fo r the le ad . Ove rall honors we nt to Packard, a very up-and-coming ride r. Here 's ho w it we nt: Firs t heat - J im West grabbe d th e lead , o nly to vaporize h is fro n t hweel in the th ird tu m. Pack ar d sq uirte d to th e lead , pursue d by Brown. Bu t spo kes started popping ou t of Brown's h ub , and Packard wo n over guys like Holcomb , Bu ck Murphy and Bill Cook by a thi rd of a lap. Second heat - Bro wn came back hard, to lead the now strong-running West all the way: Packard was third. Third heat - Plumb grabbed th e lead and held it while Packard, Brown and West sorted themselves out in tha t Dennis Packard (Mai) won the Ope n class , NEW UNBREAKABLE LEVER N OW F R O M T H E PE O P LE WHO F IR S T INT R O D U C E D THE OLD FAS H IO NED PLA S T I C L EVERS T O TH E M OT O R C Y CL E I N D U STRY COM E S THE ALL NE W M A GNUM M X L E V ER M A G N UM 'S N E W PR INCIP LE S OF ENGI N EE R IN G GIV E S YO U ' T H E S E ADVAN T 1 . B E T T ER L EVERAGE A GE S : 2 . LON G E R C AB L E L IFE 3 . SHO RTER R E)',CH 4 . S TRA IG H T PU L L 5 . T O T A L DES IG N TO ELI M I N ATE A L L S TR ESS AN D WE A K PO I N TS THE ONLY LEV ER DESIGNED FOR P LASTICS ALREADY AVAILABLE AT BETTER D E ALERS ' GUARANTEm DISTRIBUTORS I N QUIRE: MAGNUM LEVERS (213) 830-1600 GARDENA, CALIF. UNCONDITIONALLY