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/141064
N N s " M .... '" c ": .., " ~ w Z W ...J <.J ><.J b y Eric Rai ts EU RE KA , UT A H, M ay 27 Califo rnian T om Brooks s tun ne d riders from all ove r th e Un ite d Stat e by cake-walking to a victory in th e to ugh . Cherry Creek Hare and Hound aboard a 125 DKW. Brooks wa s first to the smoke bomb and then blazed a trail for the remainder of th e 8 0-mile race. Dave Blalock p layed b ridesmaid fo r the second year in a row. Riding a 350 Bultaco, he st ay ed within sight o f Brooks n ear ly all the way, finis hing o ne min u te behind. Last year Blaloc k led the race part w ay , only to fin ish second beh ind J. N. Roberts. Preston Gerber fough t a seizing Bultac o fo r a creditable thi rd overall and a first in th e Open Expert class. The first 40-mile loop co n rained gigantic mud flats created by heavy spring sn ow runo ff and let th e m ore ex pe rt rid ers throu gh with little problems. T hose not as skille d b ogged d o wn and s trung th e pack ou t th or ou ghly . The leaders took on e hour and 2 0 minutes to co mplete th e 4 0 mil es. T he se cond loop was m oun tain stu ff , ca tc hing many riders geared too hi gh . Of 200 en tri es, aro un d 75 finish ed. Dawn Spen cer o f the sponsoring Salt Lak e Motorcy cle Club co mme n te d , " I t was a good race. We didn't h ave anybody o ut overnigh t; th at 's p retty go od fo r Ch err y Creek." Ch erry Cre ek h as a reput ati on as one of the tou gh est o ff-ro ad races in th e ABOVE AND LEFT : Racers fly through barren but beautiful scenery of Ut ah. the U.S .; in 19 70 five ride rs finishe d ou t of 300 entran ts. The BL"I has se t aside a la rge p ortion of th e Little Sahara Sand Dunes as a primitive area and the co urse was altered to skirt the m ach ine and ride r des troying san d dunes of years pas t. Thick ce dar gr oves in th e second half of the co u rse caused many rid ers to lose their way. Around 5 0 riders ran out· of gas in th e sand dunes last year and a club official said it to o k th ree weeks for the mop-up crews to get all the bikes out. Brooks joins an impressive lis t of winners inscribed on the enormous perpetual trophy. Al Rogers has won six times on a 650 Triumph, J.N. Roberts twice, Max Switzer, Ken Hobick, Mike Patrick, Bill Barns and Terry Bland have each one once. 1973 may mark the beginning of Tom Brooks-DKW domination. RESUL.TS : OVERALL: 1. Tom Brooks (DKW) ; 2. Dave Blalock (Bul); 3 . Preston Gerber (Bul); 4 . Woody t.anon (Mon) . OPEN EX: 1. Dave Blalock (Bul); 2. Preston Gerber (Sui): 3. Joel Quinn (Hus) . 250 EX: 1. Woody Lahan IMon); 2. Kenny Arch ibald (Yam). 3. Jerry H II lHUS) . 200 EX: L wayne Spencer Pen); 2 . Lynn Wooton (Bul); 3 . M ike Waters (Pen) . 125 EX: . 1. Tom BrookS (DKW): 2. Greg Harrison (Mnk); 3 . Kay Walker (DKW) . Tom Brooks.