Salinas

SALINAS

The groovy National for Mert Lawwill

DAN HUNT

SALINAS COULD HAVE been the day that Bart Markel took over the AMA points lead from Gary Nixon. But he didn’t. The applecart was upset by Mert Lawwill, Markel’s impish teammate from San Francisco.

The indications were that Markel might win the day. Only 27 points separated him from Nixon. When Bart went out to qualify his Harley-Davidson on the hard, slick Salinas, Calif., half-mile, he appeared in perfect form. Even his new canary yellow leathers, standing out from the orange and black of the remainder of the H-D team, seemed to say there was an auspicious occasion in the offing.

Only he and Triumph tiger Gene Romero qualified in under 28 sec. They tied at 27.88, but Gene won the fast time award, having set his quick lap first.

Except for Nixon, a little slower at 28.04, it was mainly H-D riders who scored impressive times—Fred Nix at 28.28, Dan Haaby at 28.36, and Lawwill at 28.34.

Dick Mann, who has had a terrible time finding fresh parts to keep his aging Gold Star running properly, was the only BSA devotee to reach deep into the 28s, with a 28.40.

The Expert heats were extremely hard fought, with surprises on every lap. The rider who wandered off the groove lost his shirt, and his placing, on the slick stuff. More than a few Experts thought to be the winner of the fastest heat, an honor which, for the final, offered the choice of the outside pole position. So they were turning better times in the heats than they had achieved in qualifying.

Romero led the first heat, until Nixon caught him. Jimmy Odom picked up the remaining transfer spot, making the heat a complete Triumph triumph.

Bart Markel swept around Art Barda’s Velo to grab a tenuous lead in the second heat. Behind were Mann and Lawwill. First, Barda slipped off groove to lose 2nd place to Mann, and then 3rd place to Lawwill. Then Lawwill, who is quite at home on a track such as Salinas, drove past Mann and finally was able to pick off Markel, when the latter slipped off groove on the tight turn feeding the front straight.

Markel seemed quite constrained within the monotonous line this track demanded, and the times of his final laps in the heat slumped to the high 28s. “Without traction, you don’t go anywhere,” he said later, and, as everyone knows, anywhere is everywhere but the standard line for Bart Markel.

Heat three went to Fred Nix. Haaby drove past Chuck Palmgren’s Triumph for 2nd place.

In the Expert semi, Jimmy Nicholson, who’s not letting Army life at Ft. Ord ruin his weekends, put his BSA Twin out front, beating back Richard Hardmeyer’s Triumph. Paul Bostrom’s 3rd was a magnificent effort; he went wide onto the berm and got airborne almost all the way to the checkered flag. This feat prompted announcer Roxy Rockwood to caution, “And that, folks, is why we ask you to stay back from the fence.”

Mert Lawwill’s blistering pace in the second heat paid off, for it enabled him to choose that outside pole position for the 11-mile Expert National. Why the outside? For traction. The outside berth lies exactly on the hard line of packed dirt formed by riders as they rush down the straight. On the Salinas track any place else on the starting line is like glare ice by comparison. Assuming he could hold the pace, and the groove, Mert had won himself a National way back in the heat race.

The race was a snap for Mert. He had blasted his 275-lb. H-D “springer” halfway through turn one before the rest of the field even got their shoes down. Then he rode a precision line for 22 laps, stretching his lead slightly on every one. Behind him came Romero, Nix, Nixon, Bostrom, Odom, Mann, Palmgren, Markel, Haaby, Nicholson and Hardmeyer.

Markel started to make up for his atrocious start and worked his way past Palmgren and Mann. Then Odom dropped out, which left Bart a distant 6th behind Bostrom. Bart finally moved up to 5th behind Nixon, who had been trying with no success, to ride around Nix. The entire pack appeared to have been sandbagging, for Mert was now cutting laps in 27 sec. flat. At the finish, it was Lawwill, Romero, Nix, Nixon, Markel, Bostrom, Haaby, Palmgren, Nicholson, and Hardmeyer. Once again Dick Mann was a non-finisher, having retired with a bad misfire in his BSA.

THE AMATEURS

Dave Smith, riding a Gold Star, was the fastest Amateur qualifier, at 28.18. This time would have made him third fastest Expert qualifier. So he must have been doubly embarrassed when, in the first heat, he couldn’t pass Ron Pierce’s 350-cc Yamaha Twin. Pierce’s ride was no fluke. At the starter’s flag he flung the two-stroke into the lead. “Oh my,” everyone said, and then they groaned when the black flag came out for some mysterious reason. On the restart, Pierce again hurled the yammering stroker in front. Behind him were the BSA of Jim Rice (the San Jose winner), Chai DeCecco’s Triumph, and Smith. Unfortunately, Pierce slipped off groove a few laps later and dropped two places. But he held off Smith.

Harry Buchner won the second Amateur heat, followed by Bruce Anderson, Don Harms and Bob Self.

Current Amateur national points leader Mark Brelsford, on a Triumph, won heat three. Steve Bales, Art Bernheisel and Jack Wilkinson finished behind him.

Brelsford got the jump in the Amateur main in the same way as did Expert winner Lawwill. Behind, the field changed frequently as nearly everyone lost the groove at least once.

At the finish, Brelsford was still in front. Rice, Harms, DeCecco, Bernheisel, Bales, Self, Buchner, Pierce, Smith, Wilkinson and Tom Rockwood followed him home. [Ö1