Racing Review
RACING REVIEW
CAROL A. SIMS
CHARGER, THE MOTORCYCLE DOG
A familiar sight at race tracks all over the country is Charger, the motorcycle dog, who travels everywhere with his owner, Class C Amateur #83x, Mike Van Ness. Of course, not all the traveling is done in as spectacular a manner as shown in the accompanying shot of Charger enjoying a wheelie performed by Mike on a 50cc Honda.
Appropriately enough, the 75 pound, three-year-old black brindle dog is a pit bull, and has attended Nationals at Ascot, Springfield, Peoria and Sacramento as well as races at Dodge City, Sturgis, S.D., Stockton, Kansas, and all the local scrambles tracks in Southern California where he and Mike live.
Always eager to go for a ride with his owner, Charger realizes that it's different at the race track, and contents himself to wait patiently while Mike competes on his BSA Gold Star. But he's always ready for a beer with the boys after the races are over, and has even been known to jump into the Ascot Park lake and chase the ducks in his post-race exhilaration.
NATIONAL STANDINGS
After one AMA national championship event, the 200-mile Daytona road race, point standines are as follows:
1. Roger Reiman, Kewanee, III. H-D 101
2. Gary Nixon, Hyattsvilie, Md. Triumph 91
3.. Tony Murguia, Key West, Fla. H-D 82
4. Ralph White, Los Angeles, Cal. H-D 74
5. Dick Klamfoth, Groveport, Ohio Matchless 67
6. Everett Brashear, West Lake, La. Matchless 61
7. AI Gunter, Alhambra, Cal. Norton 56
8. Ronnie Rail, Mansfield, Ohio Norton 52
9. Larry Schafer, Arlington, Va. H-D 49
10. Elmer Morra, Pittsburgh, Pa. BSA 46
11. Ted Heil, Dayton, Ohio H-D 43
12. Jim Landes, Washington, III. H-D 40
13. Robert Emde, San Diego, Cal. H-D 37
14. Tom Allen, Athens, Ga. H-D 34
15. John Tibben, Villa Park, III. H-D 31
16. Earl Widman, St. Louis, Mo. H-D 31
17. Mert Lawwill, Los Angeles, Cal. H-D 25
18. Darrel Dovel, Kansas City, Kans. H-D 22
19. Perry Caudle, Jacksonville, Fla. BSA 19
20. Bart Markel, Flint, Mich. H-D 16
Next event scheduled on the championship circuit is the 5-mile National dirt track race, to be held at York, Pennsylvania on May 30.
SCURRIA WINS SEBRING
Frankie Scurria, Glendale, California, AFM star, pushed his 500cc Manx Norton to a resounding victory in the recent 200kilomefer (125-mile) AAMRR road race held at Sebring, Florida. Presented in conjunction with the world-famed Sebring 12Hour Endurance Race for cars, the motorcycle event drew a huge crowd of 15,000, many witnessing their first two-wheeled competition. Scurria averaged 77.947 mph in scoring the 500cc class win ahead of Fred Etfel of West Palm Beach, Fla. (Triumph) and William Wackerly of Canton, Ohio (Matchless).
Other class winners included: 650cc, George Bunkley, Tampa, Fla. (Triumph); 350cc, Tom Hickey, Boston, Mass. (Honda); 250cc, Robert Gill, St. Petersburg, Fla. (Ducati); 200cc, Gene Stanton, Philadelphia, Pa. (Parilla); 175cc, Sid Tunstall, St. Petersburg, Fla. (Ducati) and 125cc, Ray Sitkiewicz, Chicago, Illinois (Honda).
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In the accompanying photos, Frankie is shown at speed on his Norton, and exchanging congratulations with the Ferrari driving co-winners of the 12-hour car race, Umberto Maglioli from Italy and Michael Parkes of Great Britain. Looking on is Walt von Schonfeld, public relations direcfor for Norton and Ducati in the U.S.
STONE MOUNTAIN ENDURO
Giving the kind of performance that has come to be expected of him, BMW-mounted John Penton of Lorain, Ohio bested all rivals to win the 1964 Stone Mountain Enduro at Atlanta, Georgia with a loss of but 42 points. Eighty-nine endurance riders from 13 states competed in the event, which was staged by the Georgia Crackers Motorcycle Club with assistance from the Atlanta M.C. A wide variety of terrain was offered, from slippery rocks and red clay mud to very tight woods sections that allowed little chance to make up lost time.
John Comer of Decatur, Ga. (650 Triumph) finished ahead of all other area riders and was declared Southeastern Champion for the third time. He lost only 82 points and now keeps the beautiful perpetual trophy in his permanent possession. Penton, shown climbing the formidable Lithonia Hill on his way to Stone Mountain victory, also racked up overall endurance run honors at Daytona Beach during his tour of the South.
DANCE HONORS CHAMPS
The Rough Riders Motorcycle Club of Hayward, California recently held a dance honoring Grand National Champion Dick Mann and all past National Champions from Northern California they could round up. These men represent many decades of heated competition, and earned their fame in hillclimbs, road races, dirt track and T.T. events.
Type of racing in which they gained their championships is abbreviated after their names. Left to right, kneeling, Sam Arena (H.C.); Aub Isham (H.C.); Paul Albrecht (D.T.); Kenny Eggers (D.T.); Dick Mann (D.T., R.R., T.T.); Larry Headrich (D.T.). Left to right, standing, Hap Jones (T.T.); Stan Schmidt (H.C.); Gary Lindstrom (H.C.); Dick Dorresteyn (T.T.); Joe Leonard (D.T., R.R., T.T.); AÍ Owen (H.C.) and Dick Austin (H.C.). Each rider received a small gift from the club and all expressed a desire that the club continue to hold the dance annually.
Racing season begins shortly in Hayward. Sponsored by the Hay ward M.C., Tourist Trophy events are scheduled every week for 10 weeks at Hayward Speedway, beginning May 15.
MIKE DUFF OFF TO A GOOD START
Mike Duff, the Toronto, Canada motorcyclist who placed fourth in the World Championship in 1963, has starte." the 1964 season with a flashing win at the Commonwealth Trophy meet at Thruxton, England. Duff led the race for the whole distance to win the Daily Herald Commonwealth Trophy for the second year in succession. Duff set the fastest lap at 85.34 mph and thrilled a crowd of 10,000 with his daring riding on his Matchless G-50 in this major International race.
The previous day, 50,000 spectators, the greatest number ever to attend Brands Hatch circuit for car or motorcycle racing, saw Duff, again on his G-50 Matchless place fourth in the up to lOOOcc race. The press hailed Duff's ride as "superb" as he snatched the position by a wheel on the line, nipping out from another rider's slipstream to achieve this placing. Duff will race in all major events in Britain to get in good training for the International World Championship Isle of Man T.T. Races which run in June.
LOUISIANA ROAD RACE
Picturesque Hilltop Raceway in Shreveport, Louisiana, one of the finest paved courses in the country, will be the site of an AMA sanctioned 100-mile road race on May 8 and 9. Offering a purse of $2000, the event is expected to lure a host of top riders, many of whom competed in the 130-mile National Championship road race held there in 1962 and won by Carroll Resweber. Speaking of nationals, negotiations are under way to schedule a 125-mile championship road race at the two-mile Shreveport track on October 17 and 18. Definite arrangements will be reported when the news is confirmed.
