Ama Daytona
AMA DAYTONA
CAROL SIMS
WARM, HUMID AND WINDY Florida weather greeted contestants at the start of the 27th Annual AMA Daytona 200-Mile National Championship race, run this year over a different course than in previous seasons — the 3.81-mile paved and banked track — where cubic inches and horsepower reigned supreme. Only 38 of 86 machines entered were on hand for the checkered flag, and leading them all across the finish line was former winner Roger Reiman, riding a well-prepared 750cc Harley KRTT. Reiman's time for the 53-lap race was 2 hours, 6 minutes, 55.80 seconds for an average speed of 94.833 mph, fast indeed, but still overshadowed by the record time of 98.86 mph set in 1958 by Joe Leonard on the old 4 1 -mile beach-road course, now extinct.
Second place finisher Gary Nixon, riding a very fast 500cc Triumph, was one of only four riders to lead the race, for 12 laps altogether, and at the halfway point had approximately a 27 second lead over Reiman. Unfortunately, an extremely long pit stop for gas and oil put him back into the race with a 10 second deficit that he was unable to make up.
George Roeder led the pack át the end of lap one, only to be overtaken on lap two by fellow H-D rider Mel Lacher, who turned in an exceptionally good performance for a first year expert, including fastest qualifying time of 129.682 mph. Roeder was always in contention, leading 11 laps in all, until being sidelined with mechanical problems on lap 25; Lacher, running 5th, went out on the 26th.
Cubic inches Triumph, if you'll pardon the pun.
Dick Hammer worked his way up to second spot at one point in the race, but fell prey to rear wheel trouble which forced him into the pits for several laps; he wound up 30th. Former National Champ Bart Markel had a firm hold on 4th place until encountering mechanical problems on lap 47, and had to settle for 20th spot in the final rundown.
Third place Tony Murguia and fourth place Ralph White (both H-D) rode steadily and consistently, though they never threatened the leaders. Dick Klamfoth, only 3-time Daytona winner (194951-52), came out of retirement to wind up fifth on a Matchless G-50, and Everett
Brashear fulfilled a desire of 14 years' standing to finish a Daytona 200-miler by taking a well-earned sixth place aboard Dick Mann's Matchless G-50 (the frame has finally been approved). Brashear commented that the machine was "the best motorcycle I've ever ridden," high praise indeed from a man of his vast competitive experience.
Seventh and eighth places went to AÍ Gunter and Ronnie Rail, both of whom were mounted on the highly-touted Dunstall tuned Norton twins. Grand National Champion Dick Mann, also riding a Dunstall-tuned Norton, didn't fare as well. He went out on the 11th lap with engine failure after working his way up to 9th place from 29th starting position. Another pre-race favorite, Jody Nicholas, retired on lap 14 with a flat rear tire.
Rounding out the top ten were Larry Schafer (H-D) and Elmer Morra (BSA), while next came Ted Heil (H-D), who crashed to avoid a fallen rider, remounted, and still finished 11th. John Tibben created some excitement on the 32nd lap when he came roaring into the pits, standing up, with the seat of his Harley on fire. The blaze was quickly extinguished, the seat ripped off, and Tibben continued on to finish 15th, a remarkable performance by anybody's standards.
Several minor spills occurred during the running of the 200-mile classic, but fortunately no serious injuries resulted — mostly pavement rash. A crowd of approximately 8,500 watched the proceedings, and 25-year-old Reiman, competing for the first time in a national event since breaking his kneecap at a Santa Fe, Illinois short track race last August, collected $3,000 of the $12,000 purse for his efforts, plus $25 lap prize money for each of 27 laps he led for an additional $675.
250cc EXPERT/AMATEUR OPEN 100-MILE
On Saturday afternoon, 94 riders lined up on 10 different makes of 250cc machines for a 100-mile combined Expert/ Amateur race on the same huge 3.81-mile track that hosted the big bikes on Sunday. Much interest surrounded the event inasmuch as it was the first outing for the smaller machines on the high bank course which includes 6 turns — three sweepers and three hairpins — plus a 3400 ft. long straightaway.
Yamaha mounted AI Gunter forged to the front for one lap ahead of Tom Clark (Yam.), Gary Nixon (Yam.), Dick Hammer (H-D), Roger Reiman (H-D), Neil Keen (Yam.) and Amateur-ranked Norris Rancourt (Parilla). By lap 2, however, Hammer had taken over the lead and never relinquished it, although Rancourt, a California A.F.M. star, moved up into 2nd spot on lap 5 and narrowed the advantage from 15 seconds to 6 seconds by lap 20. At that point, Rancourt lost a megaphone from the Orin Hall-tuned machine, slowing him somewhat, though he still finished well ahead of 3rd place Gunter and 4th place Keen. Hammer's average speed in repeating his 100-mile victory of last year was a sizzling 88.455 mph, and he took home $900 in prize money.
100-MILE AMATEUR RACE
A most interesting event indeed was the 100-mile Amateur event held on Friday afternoon, and Norton rider Kenneth Hayes came out on top. 1 hour, 7 minutes and 1.8 seconds after the 90-man field was flagged off, for a race average of 90.908 mph. But his task was not an easy one although he never ran further back than third place.
Dick Guglielmana roared to the front on his Harley at the start and stretched his lead over Hayes, Don Haddow (Triumph) and William Lloyd (Triumph). Meanwhile, fastest qualifier Ivan Oden (Triumph) and another A.F.M. rider, Frankie Scurria (Norton) were threading their way through the pack, making up time lost at the start when their machines stalled. On lap 11, Oden stormed into the lead and two laps later second place Guglielmana unloaded when a plastic oil line broke and sprayed his rear wheel with oil. He continued on to finish 8th, greatly handicapped by the fact that he was forced to shift gears with two fingers inside and two outside the battered fairing. By lap 15 Scurria had scooted into third spot ahead of Swede Savage (H-D) and, on the 20th, leader Oden was forced to the pits with electrical problems, ending a most determined assault. Hayes assumed the lead for good and Savage closed in on Scurria, overtaking him for second place with two laps to go.
Only 47 machines were left in the running at the end of the grind and these did not include early contenders Haddow and Lloyd, both of whom were forced to the pits before the finish Hayes collected $650 of the $2,500 purse.
NOVICE 76-MILE RACE
Eighteen-year-old James Faulkerson of Menlo Park, Calif., rode his self-tuned Yamaha to victory in the first professional race he ever entered, the 20-lap, 76-mile novice event, and averaged a more than creditable 87.355 mph while he was about it. Keith Nadler, aboard a Harley Sprint, finished 8 seconds behind the winner; a distant third was Kenneth Ridder (Yamaha).
Faulkerson outsped a huge field of 128 fellow novice starters, picking up $400 for his initial competition outing. He had run 5th early in the race, advanced to third on the 10th lap, and took over the lead for keeps on lap 11 when early leaders AI Hollingsworth (H-D) and Mike Bonnell (Honda) were forced to withdraw.
SHORT TRACK RACES
Not the speediest, perhaps, but surely the most spectacular racing of the week took place during the two-night short track events held at Memorial Stadium's rough and bumpy quarter-mile dirt oval. Standing room only crowds were on hand both nights, and they were certainly not disappointed by the furious action they saw. Seventeen-race progressive programs were run each evening; Dick Mann (Parilla) took the 10-lap Main event honors on Friday ahead of Benny Bowden (H-D) and Gary Nixon (Triumph), while Darrel Dovel (H-D) came through for victory in the final on Saturday in front of Dick Hammer (H-D), Bowden and Mann. To give an idea of the razor-sharp competition, 14 riders unloaded without injury in one night, surely a record of some sort. •
AMA "DAYTONA 200" EXPERT RESULTS Pos. No. Rider and Home Machine Laps 1 55 Roger Reiman, Kewanee. Ill,, H-D 53 2 9 Gary Nixon, Hyattsville. Md., Triumph 53 3 50 Tony Murguia, Key West, Fla., H-D 53 4 15 Ralph White, Los Angeles, Calif., H-D 53 5 2 Dick Klamfoth, Groveport, Ohio, Matchless 52 6 25 Everett Brashear, West Lke , La., Matchless 51 7 3 AI Gunter, Alhambra, Calif., Norton 51 8 52 Ronnie Rail, Mansfield, Ohio, Norton 51 9 38 Larry Schafer, Arlington, Va,, H-D 50 10 28 Elmer Morra, Pittsburgh, Pa , BSA 50 11 81 Ted Heil, Dayton. Ohio, HD 50 12 82 Jim Landes, Washington, III,, H-D 50 13 48 Robert Emde. National City. Calif., H-D 50 14 37 Tom Allen, Athens. Ga., H D 49 15 60 John Tibben, Villa Park, III., H-D 49 16 11 Earl Widman, St. Louis, Mo., H-D 49 17 18 Mert Lawwill, Los Angeles, Calif., H D 49 18 45 Darrel Dovel, Kansas City, Kan., H-D 48 19 17 Perry Caudle. Jacksonville. Fla., BSA 48 20 4 Bart Markel, Flint. Mich., H-D 47 Time of Race: Two hours, 6 minutes, 55 80 seconds. Average Speed: 94 833 mph Leaders by Lap: 1. Roeder; 2. Lacher; 3, Nixon; 4-8, Roeder; 9, Nixon; 10, Reiman; 11, Roeder; 12. Nixon; 13-16, Roeder; 17-19, Nixon; 20, Roeder; 21-23, Nixon; 24 26. Reiman; 27-29. Nixon; 30-53. Reiman.
250cc EXPERT/AMATEUR 100-MILE Pos. No. Rider and Home Machine Laps 1 16 Dick Hammer, Lakewood. Calif.. H-D 27 2*169 Norris Rancourt, Sacramento. Calif., Parilla 27 3 3 AI Gunter, Alhambra. Calif., Yamaha 27 4 10 Neil Keen, Pasadena, Calif., Yamaha 27 5 58 Jody Nicholas, Nashville, Tenn., Bultaco 27 6* 8 Ivan Oden, La Habra. Calif., Yamaha 27 7 26 Donnell Shiflett. Kansas City, Mo.. H-D 27 8 81 Ted Heil, Dayton. Ohio. H-D 27 9 31 Donald Twigg, Hagerstown, Md., Ducati 26 10 7 Dick Newell, El Monte. Calif., Yamaha 26 11 15 Ralph White. Los Angeles, Calif., H-D 26 12*158 Robert Chase. Meriden, Conn., Honda 26 13 14 Jim Hayes. Johnson City, Tenn., Ducati 26 14* 77 Kenneth Hayes. Johnson City, Tenn., Ducati 26 15 61 Yvon DuHamel. Montreal. Que., Ducati 26 16 87 Larry Beall, Abilene, Texas, Yamaha 26 17 52 Ronnie Rail, Mansfield, Ohio, Honda 26 18 18 Mert Lawwill. Los Angeles, Calif., H-D 25 19 2 Dick Klamfoth. Groveport. Ohio, Honda 25 20 35 Joe Haas. Fountaintown, Ind., H-D 25 Time of Race: One hour. 8 min., 53.35 sec. Average Speed: 88 455 mph * Denotes Amateur 100-MILE AMATEUR RACE — 27 LAPS Pos. No. Rider and Home Machine Laps 1 77 Kenneth Hayes, Johnson City, Tenn., Norton 27 2 78 Swede Savage, San Berdo., Calif., H-D 27 3 70 Frank Scurria, Glendale, Calif., Norton 27 4 8 Denton Craig, Ottawa, Ont., BSA 27 5 103 Chester Watson, Gap, Pa., Triumph 27 6 99 Edward Moran, Farmingdale, N. J., BSA 27 7 51 John Harrigan, Delmar, N. Y., H-D 27 8 2 Dick Guglielmana, G.G., Calif., H-D 27 9 98 Robert Sholly, Camphill, Pa., Triumph 26 10 5 Gary Hall, Westerville, Ohio, BSA 26 11 83 Joseph Williams, Roanoke, Va., H-D 26 12 67 Harold Burton, Silver Spring, Md.. Triumph 26 13 32 Douglas Parrish, St. Louis, Mo., H-D 26 14 58 Roger Chase, Meriden, Conn., BSA 26 15 60 Bren Moran, Windsor, Conn., BSA 26 Time of Race: One hour, 7 minutes, 1.8 seconds. Average Speed: 90.908 mph.
76-MILE NOVICE RACE-20 LAPS Pos. No. Rider and Home Machine Laps 1 140 James Faulkerson, Menlo Prk, Calif., Yam 20 2 81 Keith Nadler, Aurora, III., H-D 20 3 170 Kenneth Ridder, Covina, Calif., Yamaha 20 4 7 Oliver Voorhees. Commack, N.Y., H-D 20 5 2 John Patrick, El Paso, Texas, H-D 20 Time of Race: 53 min., 48.46 sec. Average Speed: 87.355 mph. AMA SPORTSMAN LIGHTWEIGHT ROAD RACES, 1.63 mile course. CLASS 1 - OHV motors up to and including lOOcc — Two cycle motors up to 125cc. 10-Laps. 16 Miles. 1 25 Karl Karlsson, Lansdale, Pa., Tohatsu Time of Race: 17 min., 29.76 sec., Average Speed: 54.867 mph. CLASS 2 - OHV motors lOlcc to 125cc - two cycle motors 126cc to 175cc. 10-Laps. 16 miles. 1 59 Charles Herbert, Schenectady, N Y., Bultaco Time of Race: 15 min., 52.12 sec., Average Speed: 60.496 mph. CLASS 3 - OHV motors 126cc to 150cc - two cycle motors 176cc to 200cc. OHC motors up to 125cc. 15 Laps 24 miles. Time of Race: 22 min., 53.36 sec., Average Speed: 62.911 mph. CLASS 5 - 1st Heat 5 Laps. 8 Miles. 1 99 Ray Hempstead, St. Petersburg. Fla., Ducati Time of Race: 7 min., 26.59 sec Average Speed: 64.488 mph. CLASS 5 - 2nd Heat 5 Laps. 8 Miles. 1 7 Oliver Voorhees, Commack, N.Y., H-D Time of Race: 7 min., 21.30 sec., Average Speed: 65 261 mph.
