Racing Review
RACING REVIEW
HEIDELBERG MINI-ROAD RACE
Five-eighths of a mile in length, the Heidelberg, Pa. track is known as the “squirrelly circuit.” With its kidney-like configuration, tight turns and asphalt paving, the nickname is no fluke. In fact, Bart Markel, the only rider expressing favor with the track, and Cal Rayborn both got in trouble there. It seems that Markel’s front tire was showing wear after qualifying. Shortly before the first heat a new Goodyear was installed. With no opportunity to wear-in the tire, Markel started on a slick new boot. Soon enough, its traction proved inadequate, and Bart went crashing into a steel retaining wall. Bart was understandably shaken up but fortunately unhurt.
Cal Rayborn almost met the same fate when he entered the second turn too fast and grabbed more brake than he needed. This resulted in a deathly waddle, as he tried to retain control and avoid a concrete wall. By the time he recovered, the pack was gone. But Rayborn, in a dazzling display of skill, had rapidly worked his way up to 4th place when the flag fell. All this was to no avail for the Harley team, however, as Triumph riders Nixon, Romero and Palmgren finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The second Expert heat was a Harley-Davidson show, headed by twotime Daytona winner Roger Reiman, with Mark Brelsford 2nd, and last year’s Heidelberg winner, Walt Fulton, in 3rd place.
The Amateur event was somewhat less spectacular, with only eight contestants entered. Gordon Razee won top honors and Mike Spoonseller placed 2nd. Both were Triumph mounted.
The main event saw 22 entries on the starting line. At the flag, Freddie Nix shot into the lead. But this was not to last, as Rayborn got past him the second time around and held the lead from then on. Farther back in the pack, there was some close and furious dicing among Nixon, Nix, Romero, Fulton, Haaby and Palmgren. On Lap 6, Reiman took 2nd spot from Nixon and held it to the end. At the halfway point, Fulton fell, letting Mark Brelsford up one spot to have a clear shot at Romero, which he pulled off successfully. At the checkered flag:
EXPERT FINAL
1. CAL RAYBORN ..... Harley-Davidson 2. ROGER REIMAN .... Harley-Davidson 3. GARY NIXON ............ Triumph 4. MARK BRELSFORD . Harley-Davidson 5. GENE ROMERO........... Triumph 6. FRED NIX ......... Harley-Davidson 7. CHUCK PALMGREN ....... Triumph 8. ED Wl RTH ...................BSA 9. DAN HAABY ....... Harley-Davidson 10. WALT FULTON ..... Harley-Davidson
COLUMBUS NATIONAL
The 26th annual Charity Newsies is history now, and this one must go down as one of the best. The event was held under near perfect weather conditions before a sellout crowd of over 15,000. The Ohio State Fairgrounds track at Columbus was in beautiful shape as some 44 Experts from many states and Canada were joined by 47 top Amateurs to do battle on the super fast half-mile oval.
Mert Lawwill got things off to a hot start by turning the fastest Expert time, followed by Dick Mann and Larry Palmgren. In the Amateur class it was Ken Pressgrove, the quickest, followed by Charles Chappie and Bill Eves, all three BSA mounted.
The Amateur and Expert heats were all 10-lap events. Lawwill wasted no time in winning Heat 1 over Gary Nixon and Canadian road race champion Yvon du Hamel. Darrell Dovel got the nod over Dick Mann and Bart Markel in the second five-mile heat. The huge crowd nearly tore the house down as Ronnie Rail beat out Larry Palmgren and little Fred Nix in the final Expert go. Dave Aldana, the nation’s No. 1 Amateur, had equipment problems and could do no better then 7th in his heat, failing to qualify for the Amateur national. The winners in the first two yellow plate events were Ken Pressgrove over Elvis Nicholson and Gordon Dusenbery, the winner over Charles Chappie, with Don Castro getting the checker over Bill Eves and P.L. Cullum in Heat 3.
The field of 12 riders for the 20-lap Expert championship was made up of 11 national numbers. The lone exception was du Hamel, the Canadian.
Off they went into Turn 1. On the first lap, Lawwill took the lead with Nixon hot on his heels, followed by Dovel and the Palmgren brothers, Chuck
and Larry. In the early part of the race it looked as though Nixon might give Lawwill some trouble, but the San Francisco rider bent his machine into some fantastic slides as he began to run away from the field. By Lap 3 Dovel seemed to have some problems as he dropped from 4th to 9th in just one lap. In four laps Markel had moved through the pack from 14th to 8th position, and it looked like he might come on to make it national win number 27. Nix, Rayborn and Dovel began to switch back and forth through the laps with Lawwill still setting the pace, followed by Nixon, Chuck and Larry Palmgren, with Dick Mann really on the move. On Lap 12, Nixon slid out but quickly remounted, although the entire field had passed by him. Then Nix, who was running 5th on Lap 16, took a spectacular flip on Turn 3, destroying his beautiful Harley, leaving pieces scattered all over the track. The black flag was brought out and the argument was on. Do we call it a race, or start with the riders in single file? After at least a half dozen different suggestions from the riders and the referee, it was decided to start the race from Lap 16 with the riders in single file. Lawwill went on to win over Larry Palmgren, Chuck Palmgren, Dick Mann and Cal Rayborn.
EXPERT FINAL
1. MERT LAWWILL .... Harley-Davidson
2. LAR RY PALMG REN ....... Triumph
3. CHUCK PALMGREN ....... Triumph
4. DICK MANN..................BSA
5. CAL RAYBORN ..... Harley-Davidson
6. DARRELL DOVEL ............BSA
7. BART MARKEL ..... Harley-Davidson
8. RONNIE RALL ..... Harley-Davidson
9. YVON du HAMEL .............BSA
10. GARY NIXON ............ Triumph
AMATEUR FINAL
1. KEN PRESSGROVE .............BSA
2. GORDON DUSENBERY Harley-Davidson
3. DON CASTRO ............. Triumph
4. C.M. SEALE ......... Harley-Davidson
5. ELVIS NICHOLSON......... Triumph
6. BILL EVES ....................BSA
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THE DUTCH TT
Bill Ivy and the four-cylinder Jawa put the writing on the wall for world champion Giacomo Agostini’s MV Three. Although finally beaten, little Bill on the Czechoslovakian two-stroke twice led the MV Augusta ace during the 350-cc Dutch TT. Barry Smith on the Spanish works Derbi sprang a surprise, winning the 50-cc event from the much-fancied Dutch Kreidler riders. Dave Simmonds with his Kawasaki Twin extended the championship lead.
Renzo Pasolini rode for the first time since breaking his collarbone at Hockenheim. Paso and new teammate Kel Carruthers screamed their Benelli Fours to a 1-2 victory in the 250 race. Suspecting the Benellis to be oversize, the Ossa officials filed a protest in support of 3rd place finisher Santiago Herrero. The Benellis were found to be only 246 cc displacement.
With no opposition, Agostini won the big bike event, and Peter Williams took a Matchless to 2nd place, most of the opposition sidelined by troubles. With the four-cylinder engine running to perfection, Helmut Fath scored his second win in the sidecar field this year, miles ahead of Georg Auerbacher and Helmut Lunemann,
50 CC
The 50-cc event started true to form when Gilberto Parlotti (Tomos) shot through the field at the flag. But as the bikes swept past the pits, the Kriedlers of Toersen and de Vries led. The battle progressed with the Derbis of Angel Nieto, Barry Smith and Santiago Herrero joining the fray. It was Smith who finally took the lead, only to lose it shortly afterward to de Vries. Smith pressed on, however, and soon prevailed to win the race. He was followed by Jan de Vries and Aalt Toersen, and Paul Lodewijkx on a Dutch-built Jamathi.
Toersen still leads the GP points race with 55, while de Vries and Smith have 34 and 30 respectively.
350 CC
Second to last man on the grid for this event was Bill Ivy. The Jawa rider ignored official flag waving and blasted his bike up and down the straight to clear the crankcase of fuel mix. It seems this year the two-strokes are loading up more than ever. Silvio Grassetti’s Yamaha displayed such symptoms too.
At the start, Ago took a good lead on 2nd place Ivy, while Rod Gould hitched along in Ivy’s slipstream. Further back, Franta Stastny was seen broadsliding his Jawa through the turns just as he did when he was a teenager. Later, Gould
was outdistanced by Ivy’s strong charge, and Agostini also met the same fate. But whatever advantages the two-stroke Four had over the four-stroke Three soon were minimized. Ago had a definite edge in braking power. But both bikes were being literally slid around the
circuit, and few fans have seen more frantic racing. With Ivy’s Jawa running on three cylinders, the MV finally pulled away for a win, though, with Ivy 2nd. The Yamahas of Karl Hoppe and Silvio Grassetti followed. Jack Findlay’s Linto was 5th and another Yamaha, ridden by Guiseppe Visenzi, was 6th.
250 CC
Rod Gould’s Yamaha led this race for almost half its distance; then his engine soured, letting the Benellis of Pasolini and Carruthers slip into 1st and 2nd respectively. Santiago Herrero forced his Ossa past Gould as the latter pitted, to finally place 3rd. Throughout the race, both Gould and Herrero were seen following some rather unusual lines through the corners, giving the spectators more than a few thrills.
125 CC
Dave Simmonds won a relatively easy victory on his Kawasaki Twin after the challenge of Jansson’s Maico and Kriwanek’s Rotax fizzled. The battle between van Dongen and Braun was resolved when Braun’s bike packed up. But Cees van Dongen wasn’t fated to retain that position either, as an oil leak slicked up his rear tire, promptly fetching him off. This elevated Kent Andersson to 2nd, which he held to the end. Angelo Bertarelli took an easy 3rd on an Aermacchi H-D.
500 CC
In the big bike race, the first two places did not change over the whole 20 laps, resulting in Giacomo Agostini winning, three minutes ahead of Peter Williams on his Arter-Matchless. Short circuit ace Alan Barnett finished 3rd on a Kirby Metisse. There were no works Lintos entered because of too much bad publicity, the factory choosing to work the bugs out of the primary drive, say informed sources. Jack Findlay instead rode his Isle of Man 382 Aermacchi H-D, which was enough to keep him ahead of Marsovsky’s “privat” Linto.
SIDECARS
The sidecar race was a Helmut Fath affair from start to finish. His homebuilt URS Four again displayed its superiority over the BMW Twins.
At the start, Fath and passenger Wolfgang Kalauch rocketed into the lead, with Auerbacher and Isle of Man winner Klaus Enders in fevered pursuit. Enders, however, overshot the first slow curve. He got back in the race before the pack came along so, in that respect, suffered little. But while diving inside of Auerbacher’s machine, Enders again left the road. This time, he had to wait for nine other outfits to pass. Back in the race, Auerbacher was understandably hot to make up time, but this just wasn’t the day for him, as his clutch let go shortly afterward. Schauzu battled with Tony Wakefield and Pip Harris for a few rounds, but mechanical difficulties put them all out later on. Helmut Lunemann finished 3rd behind Auerbacher.
LOUISVILLE NATIONAL
If they call Yankee Stadium “the house Ruth built,” then Louisville Downs has to be called the house that Markel built. The setting was a beautiful summer Saturday night in Louisville, Ky., and the largest crowd ever to see a race at the famous Downs was in attendance. A total of 114 entries including 49 Experts and 65 Amateurs clad in an indescribably beautiful array of leathers were on hand to attempt to dethrone King Markel. The limestone track was in beautiful shape, packed hard and very fast.
Dick Mann, on his hot 650 BSA, turned the fastest time of the night, 25.32, with H-D factory rider Mert Lawwill just behind at 25.36. The nation’s No. 1 Amateur, Dave Aldana, on another BSA, took top qualifing time for the Amateurs. Stopping the clocks at 25.78, he was one of six riders in the entire field to be in the 25-sec. range. Ken Pressgrove was second fastest with 26.44 on still another BSA.
The first 10-lap Expert heat showed that Markel was the man to beat as he battled with Nixon and Mann for the lead (on what has been described as the H-D twingle). He overtook both to take the first heat, and Nixon fought off Mann for 2nd. Although Markel’s machine sounds sick to the average person, it is far from sick as he literally jumps out of the corners.
Heat 2 saw Ronnie Rail, everybody’s favorite, show some fantastic riding and sliding to win over former Californian Earl Lout, who now makes his home in Rock Island, 111. Lout rode a home-built BSA, his first venture at building an engine. Mert Lawwill, who was leading the point standings going into the evening’s program, took 3rd.
Lirst year Expert Mark Brelsford, from California, found the short way around in the third heat. Canadian Dave Sehl, Daytona champ Cal Rayborn and Mr. Mile, Lred Nix, followed. Chuck Palmgren, who looked as if he might become the man to challenge Markel, completely shelled out his beautiful Triumph, as the rods made a quick exit through the cases early in the heat.
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After more conditioning of the super-fast 1 50-foot-wide track, the Ex perts rolled to the line and were intro duced. Without a doubt, the favorite was Markel. The crowds nearly tore the house down when he was introduced, though each rider received nearly a standing ovation.
After a great start, Mann jumped ahead. Markel was right behind, fol lowed by Nixon and Sehi on the first lap of the 20-lap National. A real battle developed between Man and Markel. Mann pulled Markel some two or three lengths on the straights only to have the Flint Flyer right on his tail going into and coming out of each turn. Markel was leaving his KR wide open through the turns. Sehi got by Nixon only to switch back again on Lap 3 to make it Mann, Markel, Nixon and Sehl. Laps 4, 5, 6, and 7 were carbon copies. On Lap 8 everybody seemed to move. Markel went high and dove down under Mann to take over the lead, followed by Nixon. Ronnie Rail flew by Sehi, who began to have problems. Two laps later, on Lap 13, Nix also passed Sehl to move into the 5th position. Then, on the last
lap, from out of nowhere Larry Palm gren came on to pass Nix to make the pay-off sheet read Markel, Mann, Nixon, Rail, Palmgren, Wirth, Lawwil, Sehi, Breisford, Rayborn, Nix and Lout. This, for Markel, was National win No. 26, just one shy of the all-time record of 27 held by Joe Leonard. He should catch and pass Leonard with no effort this year.
115-MILE NATIONAL
Coming in with a surprise upset, Connecticut Rams enduro rider David Latham (Greeves) did it with a 15-point loss to win over the National contenders at Dallas, Pa. Sponsored for many years by the Black Mountain Enduro Riders as the Pennsylvania State Champion ship, the Pocono Mountain Run was a model contest in planning and organiza tion. Dallas, up on the mountain west of Wilkes-Barre, is located in the midst of rugged mountains. Once clear of the suburbs, the terrain was secluded from civilization.
To reduce the congestion on back roads, the promoters bussed spectators to the rough places. For once, the wives and girl friends made the rough spot scene as well as getting to the gasoline stops on time.
National point leaders John Penton and Jack McLane did not fare too well with the muddy hills that slowed the pace to a crawl and increased trail traffic to the point of tie-up. Similar to the old turkey runs in the East years ago, the promoters positioned checks immediately after swamp and rough wood sections. Riders of heavy machines had high point losses.
McLane gained a few points on leader Penton with a 3rd place win, however. He finished with a clean break in the rear swinging arm of his 350 Honda.
New England and New York riders seemed to relish the rugged Pennsylvania terrain and, in most cases, seemed to move along at a good pace. Pittsburg’s Bob Fusan gained considerable National points, earning a 1st in his class and a 3rd in the overall point standing. There is a two-month break until the next National contest. As the competition becomes more acute, the possibility of one of the two leaders traveling to the coast would assure the championship. This is provided they could gain points against California riders over terrain to which they are not accustomed.
CAN-AM CHALLENGE TRIALS
A two-part Canadian-American Challenge Trial was held for the first time this year. It all began last November when Paul Noiseux, Quebec trials champion, formed the Quebec Trials Riders Association. Here, trials riders could express their opinions, learn from the experts in an annual trials school and furnish the local clubs with trials riders. He also began a numbering system according to the year’s standings, as done in New England. Soon, organizational wheels began turning and arrangements were made with the New England trials chairman to have a two-part series challenge trial; one event was scheduled for Bennington, Vt., and the return for Quebec.
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Points were to be awarded 1 for 2nd place, 2 for 2nd, etc. If a team were short a man, it would automatically be given last place or 24 points (The Ontario team was missing a man on both occasions). All team riders were obliged to ride both events. Because the New England riders had separated from the AMA, all agreed to use Canadian rules-1 point for one dab, 2 for two dabs, 3 for 3 or more dabs and 5 points for stopping or failure.
AMERICAN TEAM
The New England team consisted of four top-notch experts, AÍ DeCubellis, last year’s New England champion; Art Lataille; Dave “Pop” Moody and AÍ Gendreau. The B team included exGreeves rider AÍ Thibodeau (now on Ossa); Rod Deford, tops in the lightweight class; and Leo Iannuccilli, who’s been around doing well for some time now. Fourth man, Charlie Spencer, was a substitute for Jim Foster, a top rider from New Jersey who fell off and injured a knee during practice on the Saturday before the event.
ONTARIO TEAM
The A team was headed by Bill Sharpless, well known for his trials’ exploits; John Jones, just back from the Scottish Six Days where he placed in the first class awards; Mike Hodge, a teacher from Toronto and also a topnotch junior; and Norm Cornwell, who rode a 125 Suzuki. On the B team were a promising junior from Ottawa, Chris Ralph, and E. Manning, also a junior, from Toronto. Fred Lisle rode only in the New England event, and Bob Kelly, 1967 Canadian champion, was his replacement in Quebec.
QUEBEC TEAM
Chosen as top man for the Quebec team was John Corson, a college professor from Montreal. Other team members were CMA president Gerry Marshall, who boasts that his Jawa is better than most regular trials machines and proves it so too often to mention; Paul Noiseux, last year’s No. 1 Quebec rider; and Terry Porter, another expert who was a member of the ’69 Scottish Six Day Canadian team. The B team consisted of four juniors, headed by Derek Hill, a DC9 air pilot, with John Thornton, Greg Loane and Bruce Davies.
The Bennington event was in the dry over rock and loam and a log section. Six sections were ridden six times, of which two were very competitive. Section 3 seemed to be the killer for most, with 12-in. diameter logs for 20 feet uphill. Riders had to ride down over them, make a sharp turn at the bottom and re-climb the hill of logs. After the first half, the New England team was in the lead with 92 points to 96 for Ontario and 112 for Quebec.
In Quebec, a total of eight sections ridden eight times, mostly climbs in deep sand with many turns, and a rock section made it very interesting—especially in the heavy rain. There wasn’t much opportunity to rest, and with fewer independent riders than in the first half, there was hardly any waiting between sections, to the liking of all. Bill Sharpless of the Ontario A team made no mistakes and took home top honors in this return match, just one point ahead of teammate John Jones. Their efforts gave Ontario the victory.
Although the challenge was strictly a team effort, one of the American team riders was outstanding in both events. AÍ DeCubellis (Ossa) took a 1st place in Bennington, and a 4th in Quebec for a 5-point total, best overall, to prove his ability as No. 1 New England trials rider. When the chips are down, AÍ is ready.
NEW TRAILBIKE GROUP
A new group called the Professional Trail Racing Association is being formed with the purpose of promoting a world trailbike (125-cc maximum) championship and to “make it one of the most highly paid sports in the world.”
They plan to stage a series of 12 championship events a year in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Each will be a two-day affair, run along the lines of the ISDT, with 50 percent of the entry fees going into the purse. Their first event at Zuni, N.M., in June offered a minimum purse of $500.
More information about the group may be obtained by writing the PTRA, P.O. Box 18385, Wichita, KS 67218.
KNOW YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
The American Motorcycle Association announced the election of the following professional riders to serve one-year terms on the AMA Competition Congress.
For the Eastern region: Bart Markel, Flint, Mich.; Ronnie Rail, Mansfield, Ohio.
Central region: Darrel Dovel, Chicago, 111.; Neil Keen, Decatur, 111.
Western region: Mert Lawwill, San Francisco, Calif.; Dick Mann, Richmond, Calif.
