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/142443
Arlo Eng lund leads Brian Anderson near the top of the hill. (Inset) W inner Englund. Englund, L e e - - - - - - pull Pikes Peak wins---By Chet Carma n Photos by Ralph Barrera PIKES PEAK , CO , J ULY 4 Arlo Englund and Ch uck L ee emerged as the Semi-Pro .class winners in the' motorcycle division in the 60th running of the Pikes Peak hillclimb, but the even t was darkened by a .tragedy which casts a dark cloud over the event and future . . . . . motorcycI e parucipauon In .It. Twen ty -one-year-old BIll 18 Gross Jr. , of Colorado Springs, lost hi s life when he was struck by another co m p eti to r' s machine as h e was attempting to get up after a fall while competing in the 250cc Semi -Pro race. The fact tha t the motorcycles . have from time to tim e caused dela ys due to accidents has always been resen ted by som e of t he car drivers and Hill Clim b personnel and th e questin of wheth er or not the bike s will be ask ed to re.turn will not be resolved for som e tIme: Statemen ts made. m th e local media by some , blaming dusty road conditions and delays in getting trea tment to the injured rider, have not helped the bi kers' position in the race. According to medica l officials at th e scene and a t the hospi tal wh ere Gross was treated unsuccessfully, the extent of the rid er 's injuries were such that he may not have had a chance of survival under the best of circu msta nces. The details ofl the accident are still under in vestiga tio n. The question' of th e bikes' return next year will not be considered until Sep tember when the Board of Directors hold its annual review of the race and its future plans. Promoter Charles Tutt was emphatic in stating that no deci sion has been made and when it is it will be based purely on the amount of time required to run the bikes and three divisions of cars , one of which will be expanded next year. Racing involves certai n risks and it would be a shame to eliminate an entire ca tegory of competition as a result of a tragi c accident that mayor ma y not be prevented. Tutt seems to have no inclination to th ro w out the bab y wi th the bath wat er. Twenty-fou r-year old Englund, a Denver resident and former Nationally-ran ked professional motocrosser, raced his stock-framed and knobbytired Vickery Yamaha YZ490 to victory ahead of some stiff competition in the form of former wi nners Brian Anderson (TT500) and Lonnie Houtchens (750 Yam ) on board their spe cialized dirt-trackers. Californ ian Mike Baker, who won the 250cc Semi-Pro class last year, switched to a YZ490 and rode to third place in the Open class between Anderson and Houtchens. Speaking from a personal experience of seven years' racing on the hill , I can only say that the dust was worse than I've ever seen it on race da y. Starting in th e lfith gr id position (fourt h row ) in th e Open Sem iPro class, I was forced to slow down almost immediately after the start to let the " white-ou t" dust to settle. In places wh ere we would normally be running in top gear, I dropped to 'th ird to avoid the risk of hitti ng an unforseen object in the road or running off the road. Fortunately, those behind me did th e sam e and as soo n as the front-runners (Englund, Anderson, etc .) broke out, we middle runners were able to get back up to some speed . However, conditions were so bad that Anderson said later that even with one bike ahead of him h e had trouble seeing through the dust. With several bikes in fron t of you visibility was down to handlebar level at best. . Englund and the other hard chargers in front must have fairly flown up the road. Even taking into considera tion a fall and the wrong cho ice of cam in my XR500 , the difference in times up the 14,110' Pea k is absolutely mind-boggling. No body is faster up a fire road than the winners of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Englund's time of 13:19.28 was not quite a record but plenty good enough, especia lly in slick and dusty conditions. The 250cc Semi -Pro class went to Chuck Lee with Bruce Sass, also riding out of Vickery Yamaha in Denver, less than a second behind on his YZ250 with a cafe-style fairing mounted up front. Speeds on P ikes Peak can approach 100m ph in places and Bru ce is planni ng to use an even la rger fairing next year . T he Sportsman Divisions were won by Les Wagner in the Open cate gory and Ken Perkin s in the 250s. If in fact the bikes are invited to ret urn next year, som e changes are go ing to have to be mad e in or der to in sure smooth and safe ru nning of the event. Whatever problems may exist, they are not ins urmountable ' and cool heads and rational thinking ca n make the P ikes Peak H ill Cl im b . even better than has been dreamed of in th e past. It is my sincere hope and belief th a t we ca n look forwar d to ma ny more years of cycle com petition on America 's favor ite mountain . It is perhaps the great paradox of racing that accidents don't have to happen...and yet, given enough racing miles, they are inevitable. It is always a shock and a tragedy when a competitor loses his life, especially in a sport which we love so dearly. Perhaps that love ca uses us to take some things for granted. Yet times lik e these should serve to remind us that in racing, as in life itself, there are no guarantees. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and th e many, many friends of a fine racer and a fin e young man. • Results OPEN SEM I·PRO: 1. Arl o Englu nd (13 :19.28); 2. Br ian Anders o n (1 3 :2 5 .3 8) ; 3 . M ike Ba ker (13:3 5.B8); 4. Lonnie Houtchens; 5. William Ou ry; 6. Monty Kyle; 7. Dan Elders; 8. Mark Mauz; 9. Joe Coppedge; 10. Ricky Ma nka. 250 SEM I· PRO: 1. Chuck Lee (13:46.70); 2. Bru ce Sass (13;47 .37 ); 3. Brian M anl ey (14 :0 3.21 ); 4 . Kirk Sawa ll; 5. Dennis tarran : 6. Tom Lewi s; 7. Charles Hooper; 8. Tom Berry; 9. James Hort on; 10. Dan Pate. OPEN SPTSM N: 1. Les Wag ner (14:14.12); 2. SconSweaney (14:20.70 ); 3. Bob Podoll (14:23.99); 4 . Mark Ernst; 5. Robert W inter; 6.AI Trzyna; 7. Dan W iley; 8. Daniel Sherman ; 9. Steve Doyle; 10 . Richard Genoves. 250 SPTSMN: 1. Kenny Perkins (15:02.5 5); 2. Tracy Smit h (15:03.85); 3. Mike Kallie (15:30. 54); 4 . Ron Hawes ; 5. James Hillen; 6. Steve Wi lson ; 7. Steve f>odoll; 8. Ned Owens; 9. Lane W indm ille r; 10. John Burback. COLORA DO 500: 1. Clin t McKinn on (15:50 .93); 2. Bill Klocow (16:08 .45); 3.Jer ry Adams (17:11.83); 4. Dan McKinnon (18:32.6 5).