VOLUME 61 ISSUE 17 APRIL 30, 2024 P141
four hours, 55 minutes, accord-
ing to CN's report of the race.
The Suzuki pits were excited
with the prospect of their boys
winning such a prestigious race,
but their excitement turned to
disappointment when the Suzu
-
ki's rear tire shredded with Thor-
waldson at the controls. He got
the TM400 back to the pits and
made some hasty repairs to get
it rolling again and to the finish
line but neglected to fill up the
Suzuki's fuel tank, and the bike
eventually coasted to a stop.
DeSoto bummed some gas from
a dune buggy out on the course
and eventually got the bike to the
finish line—in fifth place.
Switzer and company looked
like a shoo-in for the win until
the last lap, when Max lost a rear
axle nut, causing the chain to de
-
rail several times. Tibblin passed
Switzer, who was stopped on the
side of the trail putting his bike
back together, as did Bill Silver
-
thorne. Switzer got Silverthorne
back until Switzer's Husky's
chain came off again.
The Tibblin/Grossi team
went on to win the race in
seven hours, 16 minutes, and 26
seconds. More than 15 minutes
later, the Silverthorne and Gene
Fetty Husky team came in, fol
-
lowed by Switzer and Roberts,
nearly 45 minutes behind the
winning Tibblin and Grossi duo.
The Malcolm Smith and
Mark Blackwell team ran fourth
overall and were gunning for the
250cc-class win, but, according
to our report, there was tension
between Mark, who had crashed
and bent up the bike on the first
lap, and Malcolm. After the fifth
lap, Blackwell's last, Malcolm
mentioned to him that the Mick
-
ey Quade and Mike Harper Ya-
maha team had made up some
ground on Blackwell. Malcolm
told Blackwell: "You had kind of a
slow lap." Ouch. Our report said
it was true and that Mark looked
hurt. But, according to our report,
Malcolm salvaged the class win,
and "everything was hunky-dory
afterward."
Danny Davis and Bobby David
-
son won the 125cc class riding
a Penton and pocketed $1000
plus another $150 for being 10th
overall, while Larry Roeseler
and his dad, Earl, took second
in the 125cc class riding a new
Beejay motorcycle. The Roesel
-
ers took the checkered flag just
17 seconds behind the Penton.
"One mustn't dally during those
pit stops," we said.
So true.
CN
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Max Switzer
(pictured) and his
teammate J.N.
Roberts had the race
won until losing a
rear axle nut on
the last lap.
The Malcolm Smith/Mark Blackwell
team makes a quick gas stop en
route to winning the 250cc class.
