VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P133
showing enough speed to make
the results.
The Cycle News photos by
journalist Richard Creed explic-
itly tell the story of a race that
should never have happened.
In his article, he described the
race as "a wreckage-strewn main
event," and of the four published
photos, two show riders either
crashed or in the process of
crashing. Even without the il-
lustrations, Creed's text makes it
clear that this race was going to
be won by the last man stand-
ing. "Kenny Roberts unloaded
spectacularly. Jim Rice…slid out
in turn two. Dave Aldana also got
off. Roger Crump ended his ride
before it began as he crashed
Subscribe to more than 60 years of Cycle News Archives issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives
Mert Lawwill took the
win at the Denver Half
Mile and later returned
his trophy, saying it
was "tarnished,"
though not literally.
heavily in the second turn 'while
taking a warmup lap.'"
The race promoters didn't
need Columbo to figure out the
cause of the mayhem. Most of
these crashes took place in turn
two, where "vicious ruts, chuck
-
holes and berms" were creating
havoc for the racers. Aldana,
photographed in mid-highside,
nearly saved it but didn't, and his
number 13 Norton slid under the
apparently well-exposed guard-
rail. And just one more thing: it
nearly took out a crowd of spec-
tators before finally sliding to a
halt amidst a cloud of dust.
Lawwill and Scott were heat
race winners that night, appar-
ently taking advantage of the
track's gnarly conditions. "Law-
will and Scott rode brilliantly,"
Creed wrote, "using their heads,
as they treated the deep ruts like
berms, while others tried to blast
their way around." Making the
most of the situation paid off for
the two Harley-Davidson team
riders, as they finished 1-2 in the
main event.
Behind them in third was
Triumph rider Mike Kidd, who
had loaned out his spare racer to
13th-place finisher John Hateley.
A fatal auto accident involv-
ing racer Terry Dorsch and his
mechanic had occurred when
the two men were en route to
Denver. Dorsch was injured, but
his mechanic was killed in the
crash. Hateley's bikes were in
-
side the Dorsch van, leaving Lil'
John to go hunting for a ride in
Denver, and Kidd came through
for him. When they aren't bash-
ing bars on the track, motorcycle
racers are all part of a very big
family.
Lawwill's popular main event
win, along with Dick Mann's vic-
tory in the Trophy Dash, eased
the sour taste of the evening.
It would be one of Mert's last
AMA racing victories, a win he
wasn't particularly proud of. He
told Cycle World magazine that
after accepting his trophy cup,
he later handed it over to the
AMA. It was "tarnished," he said.
It certainly was.
CN
