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VOLUME ISSUE OCTOBER , P137
Jimmy was able to get smoothly
into and out of the still reasonably
dry corners to maintain a varying
one-to-60-foot lead." Other Ameri-
cans, like Gary Jones and Jim
Pomeroy, were also near the front
and in a dogged battle for third.
Roger DeCoster, Gerrit Wolsink,
Sylvain Geboers, Arne Kring and
other Euro stars were working their
way through the pack after suffer-
ing poor starts.
As if to rain on Weinert's pa-
rade, the clogged clouds finally
burst. Weil's mud skills were
strong, allowing him to pass the
Kawasaki rider for the lead. Such
a scenario usually means the end
of the story, but Weinert inserted
his own plot twist here by quickly
retaking the lead. With one lap
to go, "the pits emptied to watch
Weinert get the checkers. Fans
waved programs, handkerchiefs,
sticks and their muddy shoes at
Weinert. The Kawasaki chalk-
board said, 'ONE MORE LAP' as
Jimmy, Adolf and Arne disap-
peared into the piney woods."
And then—foiled again! Weil
and Kring emerged from the
woods and there was no sign of
Weinert. With the checkered flag
in sight, Weinert had gone down.
He quickly remounted to finish
third, but the Europeans had won
again. Weinert's ride was a ruse,
right? "A loud, collective curse,"
wrote CN, "bounced off the thun-
derhead above."
The first moto was muddy, but
the second race that day made
anything else look like a puddle,
with Cycle News using the term
"gully washer" to describe the
conditions. Even the spectators
were seen "belly-whomping down
the slick hillsides." The riders slith-
ered into the first turn, with Weil
out in front. Weinert was back
in the pack but picking off riders
one by one until he had taken the
lead once again. Riders began
dropping out with waterlogged
machines, while some crashed
"because their handlebars were
simply too slick to hold on to."
Yamaha rider Pierre Karsmak-
ers had taken the lead, but his first-
moto DNF made him a non-factor
for the overall win. It was now a
game of last-man riding: Weinert
vs. Weil, Kawasaki vs. Maico.
And when Jimmy's pit board read
"Weil Out," Weinert cruised to the
checkers, his finishes of third and
second good enough to secure the
overall victory.
He was joined by fellow patriots
Gary Jones, Rich Thorwaldson
and Gary Semics, all finishing in
the top five that day. Weinert may
have played mind games with his
opponents, but as Muhammad Ali
said, "It's not bragging if you can
back it up." By scoring the first-ever
Trans-AMA win for an American
rider, the Jammer proved that you
can be snide—if you can ride!
CN
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German Adolf Weil (left) was
Weinert's biggest challenger that day.
Swede Arne Kring chased but
couldn't catch Weinert.
