Peoria T.T.S

PEORIA T.T.s

CAROL SIMS

WITH TWO LAPS to go, Sid Payne, a most talented and determined Triumph rider from Bakersfield, California, wrested the lead away from fellow Californian Dick Mann (Matchless G-50) and went on to win his first National Championship, the Peoria (Illinois) Open Class Tourist Trophy race, sponsored by the Peoria Motorcycle Club. Mann, although undoubtedly berating himself for a costly split-second slide that gave Payne his opening, had turned in a magnificent performance in coming from behind to assume the lead on lap 8, and could muster some consolation from the fact that he now leads the nation’s championship standings with a total of 89 points.

Bart Markel, '62 champ, wound up third on his Harley after winning the Lightweight division race earlier in the day aboard a Sprint. He was closely pursued by Donnell Shiflett (H-D), Payne (Parilia) and Mann (Bultaco) in the upto-250cc event.

Peoria’s Larry Williamson also fared well in the point battle; he finished fifth in the lightweight race and fourth in the big bike final, giving him a season total of 79 points and a tie for second place in the standings with George Roeder. Ill fortune plagued Roeder all day long, only a week after his big 50-mile win at Springfield. A broken chain on the last lap of the preliminary heat ended his bid for lightweight honors, and a hard bump at the start of the heavyweight heat pushed him into last position and out of open class contention.

Real tough luck rider of the day, however, was little Jody Nicholas. The Nashville, Tennessee college student, a consistent winner in road races this season, was seriously injured in one of two bad spills during the program, both involving Ronnie Doyle from Abilene, Texas. The first accident occurred in a heavyweight preliminary event; Doyle, Bill Taylor and Gary Mullen tangled and fell, with Mullen suffering a broken collarbone. Then in the big bike consolation race, Doyle slid wide coming out of the north turn and, as he returned to the groove, cut directly in front of a group of riders, clipping Nicholas’ front wheel. Jody was thrown over the handlebars and into the path of oncoming machines, being unavoidably struck by Wayne Wiebler of East Peoria. A hushed crowd of 10,000 hoped for the best as the unconscious Nicholas was rushed to the hospital, and later came the announcement that, although receiving severe head and neck injuries, his condition had been listed as “fair.” Doyle’s competition license was immediately revoked after the second mishap.

Another accident marred the day’s program, but without serious consequences. On the first lap of the heavyweight final, Dave Estep of Columbus, Ohio, slid down in the narrow north turn and his machine was clipped by Jim Corpe from Washington, 111. Other riders displayed superb evasive skill in missing their fallen foes, and both men were able to return to action on the restart.

Ralph White of San Diego, former point leader who is now fourth in standings, was unable to qualify for either feature event, but came up with consolation race wins in both light and heavyweight classes. •

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION (Up to 250cc) 1st Heat — 8 Laps Time: 4:29.73 Donnell Shiflett, N. Kansas City Mo. H-D 2nd Heat — 8 Laps Time: 4:29.51 Bart Markel, Flint, Mich. H-D 3rd Heat — 8 Laps Time: 4:30.65 Mert Lawwill, Hawthorne, Calif. H-D Consolation — 8 Laps Time: 4:32.25 1. Ralph White, San Diego, Calif. H-D 2. Wayne Wiebler, E. Peoria, III. H-D 3. Gary Nixon, Hyattsville, Md. Honda 4. Digger Helm, Bakersfield, Calif. H-D NATIONAL FINAL — 14 Laps Time: 7:45.27 1. Bart Markel, Flint, Mich. H-D 2. Don Shiflett, N. Kansas City, Mo. H-D 3. Sid Payne, Bakersfield, Calif. Parilia 4. Dick Mann, Pinole, Calif. Bultaco 5. Larry Williamson, Peoria, III. Yamaha 6. Mert Lawwill, Hawthorne, Calif. H-D 7. Don Howell, Canton, III. H-D 8. Gene Knuth, Bloomington, III. H-D 9. Dan Ruggles, Peoria, III. H-D 10. Jim Hayes, Johnson City, Tenn. Ducati 11. Tom Clark, Knoxville, Tenn. Yamaha 12. Jack Simmons, Artesia, Calif. Yamaha (out) HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (251cc to 900cc) 1st Heat — 8 Laps Time: 4:15.90 Sid Payne, Bakersfield, Calif. Triumph 2nd Heat — 8 Laps Time: 4:14.41 Dick Mann, Pinole, Calif. Matchless 3rd Heat — 8 Laps Time: 4:13.40 Bart Markel, Flint, Mich. H-D Consolation — 6 Laps Time: 3:18.34 1. Ralph White, San Diego, Calif. H-D 2. Berwyn Henderson, Canton, III. H-D 3. Jim Hayes, Johnson City, Tenn. Norton 4. Ron Doyle, Abilene, Texas Triumph NATIONAL FINAL — 14 Laps Time: 7:21.26 1. Sid Payne, Bakersfield, Calif. Triumph 2. Dick Mann, Pinole, Calif. Matchless 3. Bart Markel, Flint, Mich. H-D 4. Larry Williamson, Peoria, III. Triumph 5. Don Howell, Canton, III. Triumph 6. Joe Evans, Bloomington, III. Triumph 7. Jim Corpe, Washington, III. BSA 8. Dick Andrae, Pekin, III. H-D 9. Skip Van Leeuwen, Bellflower, Calif. Triumph 10. Dave Estep, Columbus, Ohio H-D 11. Duane Buchanan, N. Pekin, III. BSA (out) 12. Jack Simmons, Artesia, Calif. BSA (out) •