Daytona

DAYTONA

The 20th Annual AMA National Championship At

Seven year Harley-Davidson domination is shattered by Triumph and Matchless.

"ROXY" ROCKWOOD

THE 1962 200-Mile National Championship AMA road races will without doubt go down in history as one of the best road races of all times. Don Burnett of Danvers, Mass., riding a Triumph, and Dick Mann, El Sobrante, California, on the new Matchless G-50 CSR, staged the greatest two rider duel for seventy-one laps that has ever been run on a paved track in America.

Neither rider was willing to settle for second place and the result was a near photo finish; the final result was glory for Don Burnett and second place for Dick Mann. Some say that Burnett won by ten feet, others set the distance at more like six feet. Either way the riders would have tied for the win had the track been another five yards longer to the finish line. The race opened pretty much according to the time trial results with Carroll Resweber, riding a Harley-Davidson, the new track record holder, jumping off to an early lead over Joe Leonard, on a Harley, who was the second fastest qualifier. 102 riders took off the line in rows of six according to the way they qualified in the time trials. Resweber led the pack through the first corner with Ed Clifford, on a BSA, running a close second; Leonard moved into second spot on the start of the second lap.

By the fifteenth lap Resweber held a 15 second lead over Leonard with Mann running eight seconds behind in third position. but on the final turn of the 21st lap Resweber came in with a blown engine and Leonard moved into the lead. Burnett, who had started rather slow, took over the seventh place on the third lap, moved to fifth on lap four and then took over fourth place on the fifth lap when George Roeder, on an H-D, started to drop back with a faulty machine. Roeder dropped out of the race on the sixth lap and never returned.

Burnett assumed third place on lap twenty-two when Resweber dropped out. At this time Leonard held a ten second lead over Mann who was running second. Last year’s amateur champion, Jody Nicholas, riding a BSA, then moved into fourth with Roger Reiman right on his rear wheel.

Mann continued to move and had closed the gap to four seconds on the front running Leonard by the end of the twenty-fifth lap. He took the lead for the first time on the twenty-sixth lap but it was Leonard who was back in front as the riders completed the twenty-seventh round. Joe held the lead through the twentyeighth lap but was forced to the pits with a loose rear wheel on the twenty-ninth trip around the two-mile, nine turn course.

Mann grabbed the lead at this point with Burnett closing fast from his newly acquired runner-up position, and at the end of lap thirty-two he held a five second lead when Leonard returned from the pits after missing four laps. Mann and Burnett continued to run wheel to wheel until the thirty-fifth lap when Burnett took the lead by a narrow margin. It was Mann in front at the end of the thirtysixth round once again and he was stretching the lead at the end of the thirtyseventh.

By the thirty-ninth lap the two front runners had set such a torrid pace that they lapped fifth place rider, Ralph White on a Harley-Davidson. While Mann and Burnett were dueling for the lead, Nicholas and Reiman were running as one person for third place with first one and then the other taking over the position. The race for third became so close that the two crossed the finish line dead even at the end of the thirty-ninth lap.

By the forty-first lap Mann held a slim two second lead over Burnett with Nichalos and Reiman again crossing the line in a dead heat for a distant third. Leonard retired to the pits for good on the forty-second lap with Mann still in the lead. Mann and Burnett crossed the line to complete the forty-fourth lap in a dead heat. Burnett took the lead at the start of the forty-fifth round and also led at the end of the forty-sixth lap; Mann again regained the top spot at the end of the forty-seventh lap.

H-D mounted Neil Keen, who was running in the first ten, was the center of much attention on the fifty-second lap when he pitted for gas and the entire machine PLUS HIMSELF caught fire. Keen dove off the rear of the bike and rolled in the dirt to smother the flames that covered him from head to foot; the fire on the machine was extinguished but Keen was out of the race for good.

Reiman started to drop back on the fifty-third round in his battle for third

with Nicholas. The fifty-fourth lap found Burnett dashing into the pits for his gas stop. Don’s crew was ready as they gave him a full load of gas and oil and had him on his way in less than fifteen seconds—still in second place.

Because of the gas stop, Mann was able to build up a thirty-four second lead by the fifty-fifth lap. Many of the front running riders were making pit stops at this point with Nicholas in on the fifty-eighth round and Dick Klamfoth, who was running eighth, in on the fifty-ninth trip.

All eyes were on Mann at this point to see when he would pit for gas and whether or not Burnett would take the lead. He hit the pits on the sixtieth lap and took on gas and oil in 19 seconds. As he started out of the pits the engine quit and he signaled for the pit crew who were about two hundred yards behind him. Before the crew got there, Mann found that the trouble was a loose gas line which he replaced and pushed off into the race again, THIRTY-FOUR SECONDS BEHIND!!

Dick pulled out all the stops at this point and was chopping a second and a half to two seconds per lap on the front running Burnett. By the sixty-ninth round he was within twenty-six seconds and it was down to twenty-two seconds by the end of the seventy-second lap.

The two riders continued to lap rider after rider in the final thirty laps and at the end of seventy-sixth round Mann had cut the gap to fifteen seconds. The 1961 15-Mile National Champ closed the gap to thirteen seconds at the end of the eightyfirst lap but was forced off the track by a slower rider on the next lap and dropped behind by sixteen seconds.

Mann did not let any obstacles bother him as he continued to push onward while narrowing the time down to ten seconds at the end of eighty-seven laps. He possibly lost the race on the ninetyfirst lap when a slower rider fell directly in front of him and he lost three to five seconds when once more forced off the track to avoid hitting the fallen bike and rider.

With seven laps to go Dick had again narrowed the lead to seven seconds but from this point on he was forced off the track two and three times a lap by slower riders who were running at hear exhaustion, most of them completely out of brakes. Burnett did a terrific job of moving through the traffic in the closing laps and was more content to wait for an opening than Mann.

Mann made an all-out bid on the final lap and the two riders came out of the final turn with Burnett five lengths in front. Mann fell into the leader’s draft and then moved to the outside, thirty yards from the finish, but it was too late. Burnett came home first by a matter of feet in the record shattering time of 2 hours, 46 minutes, 42:55 seconds, just about seven minutes faster then the record set in 1961. The pace set by Burnett and Mann was so torrid that third place finisher Ralph White was two laps behind; Burnett and Mann lapped the third and fourth place riders by the 45th lap.

130 MILE AMATEUR RACE:

Like the 200 mile race, fate again played a big part in the amateur event. At the end of the race the officials and the crowd were split in their opinions as to who had really won the race.

When the 65 lap race started, Triumph mounted Bill Sharpless, the Canadian ace who had set the fastest time trial in ’61 and finished sixth, took the lead off the line and set sail with a pace that left all others far behind. George Montgomery, on a BSA, was content to sit back and set a steady pace, swapping third and fourth place with Jim Varnes, also on a BSA, Cochranville, Pa.

All eyes were on another Canadian by the name of Denton Craig from Ottawa on a BSA. Craig came from out of nowhere to move through the pack, taking over second on the twelfth lap; he continued to close on the leader, Sharpless, until he went out on the twentieth round. At this time Montgomery moved into runner-up spot and held off the challenges óf Harley-Davidson mounted Larry Martin of Kenosha, Wise., and Ronnie Doyle, Abilene, Texas, also H-D mounted; the latter two took turns running in third until the thirty-ninth lap when Doyle grabbed the lead. Sharpless retired on the thirty-fifth round and Montgomery took over until Doyle led on lap thirty-nine.

While Montgomery, Martin and Doyle were battling it out, Dick Newell, on a BSA, was picking off one position after another. At the end of seven laps he was a distant eighth, at the end of ten he was in sixth, at the end of twenty-one rounds Newell was up into fifth and closing fast. Dick climbed into second on the thirtyeighth round but dropped back to fourth the next lap. By the forty-eighth round he had moved into the lead for the first time and Montgomery had dropped to third behind Martin. Doyle had dropped out of the race from the lead on the previous lap.

The closing stages of the race looked like it was Newell all the way as he continued to increase his lead over Martin and Montgomery who were running wheel to wheel for second. Newell got the “take it easy” sign with five laps to go and started to back off as he was running low on gas. Martin and Montgomery closed the gap in short order and both passed Newell on the start of the sixtythird lap. A mix-up between pit crew and rider took place at this point and Newell was told to worry only about passing Martin. Newell passed Martin and stretched the distance on the final lap and came roaring out of the last turn and crossed the finish line, FOUR SECONDS BEHIND MONTGOMERY!!

A small amount of confusion took place in the winner’s circle when both riders thought they had won; as a result both had their pictures taken with the winner’s trophy. Montgomery rode a consistent race and never let it bother him when he dropped a position or two. This was Newell’s first try at professional road racing.

70 MILE NOVICE RACE:

For the first time in the history of Daytona the novice riders were allowed to compete on the same track as the amateur and expert riders. More than eighty riders answered the call for the inaugural race with Howard Utsey, on a BSA, Washington, D.C., going home as the first winner. Bill Lloyd, Langley Park, Md., riding a Triumph, was the fastest qualifier but it was Joe Weeden, Bullville, N.Y., on a BSA, who was the first man into the turn at the start of the race.

Weeden led for the first three laps before he dropped out; Johnny Tate, St. Petersburg, Fla., riding a Harley, took over at this point and looked like a sure winner until the nineteenth lap when Utsey moved into a tight second position. Utsey had qualified seventh fastest but ran no better than third place most of the way behind Triumph mounted Marshall Ansley, Toronto. Canada. Utsey got by Ansley on the nineteenth lap and was ready to do battle with Tate the remaining seventeen rounds. Tate and Utsey ran as one person until the two riders went down the back stretch running wheel to wheel on the twenty-fifth lap; Utsey tried to move into the lead at this point and Tate took his machine in too deep through the switchback turn and flew over the front of his Harley.

Utsey moved in front at this point and led the rest of the way to the checkered1 flag, Tate got back up and going again but was in a distant fourth place. Bill Jasper, Centralia, 111., on an H-D, and Neal Houston, Woodmont, Conn., riding a Triumph, took over the second and third positions when Tate crashed, and that’s the way the riders finished.

SPORTSMEN LIGHTWEIGHT ROAD RACES:

Once again this year two days of lightweight road racing events were held, this year the riders on the small jobs ran on the same track as the Class C machines and once again, this year, some of the finest road racing equipment in the nation was on hand.

It took a forty-year-old plus Grandfather to show the younger lads the right way around, Hal Burton, Silver Springs, Md., won both of the class 5 (250cc) events going away on his rapid Parilia. Burton, a Washington building inspector, lost only one heat race in the two days of competition. Each time the starter dropped the flag Burton shot to the front and was never in serious trouble.

Two other riders also scored double victories; Wes Weis, riding a Motobi, was the winner both days in the class 4 events (200cc), and Kurt Van Groff also scored a double in class 3 (150 and 175cc) on his Honda. The class 1 races were divided between George Taylor, on a Tohatsu, Wednesday’s winner and John Honda on a Tohatsu (really), who was an easy winner on Thursday; Class one is for machines of 125cc and under.

Chris Fattori, riding a Motobi, edged Mike Bonneil, also riding one of the hot new Motobi’s, for the Class 2 win on opening day and then Bonnell had to settle for another second the following day behind Blaine Birchfield’s Harley-Davidson. This was the first year that the well known Volkmar brothers, Harry and Horace, did not come home with at least one win for their èfforts. Harry finished third both days in class 2 with Horace taking two fifth place spots in the same class and both riding Harleys.

Class four provided some outstanding racing both days wher former Laconia winner, Ed Fisher, on a Triumph, along with Cliff Guild, Triumph, and Weis ran many laps, in both the heat races and main events, in a three man duel that would find all three only inches apart. Just under 200 riders were entered in this year’s edition of the small bike racing events; nine different brands of machinery were represented in the top finishing positions.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT DAYTONA:

Four riders who finished in the first ten in 1961 were also in the top ten this year in the 200 miler; Burnett, Reiman, Markel and Koehler were the consistent foursome. Jody Nicholas was the only top ranking amateur to finish up high in the expert race this year. Biggest surprise was Sid Payne who borrowed a spare engine from Joe Leonard after his own blew in practice and then came in for fifth place money. Leonard Andres still has the touch as his rider, Ralph White took a third place in the big one. The three old timers, Earl Widman, Bud Haast and Warren Sherwood, finished in the money once again. These three have a habit of. doing this year after year. Sammy Tanner did not come up with a bonafide ride until the night before the race; Sammy had made the trip down just to ride the short track, but he had put his entry in just in case. Darrell Dovel had third place all sewn up until he crashed on the back stretch at over 100 mph in the late laps. Former Indiana champ, Lowell Rettinger, coming out of retirement for this race and hanging in there for 86 laps. Nothing but bad luck for AÍ Gunter this trip on his new mount; he failed to take a time trial and started in the back and never got going. This was his first time at Daytona since '51 when he set fast time and placed second. A rider who shall remain nameless crashed into Joe Leonard on the parade lap and broke the adjustment bolts in

Joe’s rear wheel which later forced him out of the race while he was leading. A lot of fans were backing Don Twigg who looked nothing short of great in practice when he was blowing off everybody with little strain. Novice winner, Howard Utsey, is an ex-serviceman who rode in most of the scrambles while stationed in California before getting discharged and returning to Washington, D.C. Dick Klamfoth doing a little travel promoting on the side at the Beach with his group plan to go to the Isle of Man. The Wally Brown who placed sixth in the amateur race is

none other than the same Wally who calls Walt Brown, the VIP for BSA, Dad. John Honda was racing lightweights at Daytona, on a Tohatsu. Tommy Grazius, dragster deluxe, has given up and is a full time married man from now on. Tommy Morris, George Roeder, Bud Mayes, Jody Nicholas and quite a few more, planning on heading for Ascot at least once this year. Jim Kidd, Springfield race director, in the winner’s circle looking for new talent for this year’s mile race. Everett Brashear in Daytona again but just watching this time. •