San Antonio A Trials Revel
san antonio a trials revel
In Spain, The Feet-Up Sport Is In With The Jet Set, And Five Points Is A "Fiasco."
IVAN J. WAGAR
I MAGINE a dozen very beautiful girls climbing an almost impossible hill, a hill that most of the men would not try, and you have the finale of an outstanding day of motorcycling.
As these curvaceous young creatures, with arms and legs flailing in every direction, fight for traction and the chance of getting a foot farther than an opponent, the young male admirers crowd into the path with the wild enthusiasm of bullfight aficionados. All of this turbulent activity is the result of eight years of development of a special kind of motorcycle. An unusual "New Look" Spanish girl is evident here, too.
Long gone are the days when the wealthy young Barcelona male would keep his eye out for a chick in a Porsche or a Ferrari. The really groovy young Spanish deb these days can be found riding a Bultaco Sherpa T trials machine (lighting requirements are very different than in the U.S.). On weekends, if she is a friend of liwi, Bulb, a 2 1-ycar-okl execu livc secretary at the Institute of higher Studies, she may be tound at a farm 50 miles south of Barcelona. crashing over rocks and creek beds and banging up hills.
The farm is San Antonio, the country residence of Sr. Francisco Bulto, founder of the Bultaco motorcycle factory. And it is not unusual that lean, wiry, beautiful Inez, oldest of five daughters, should introduce Sherpa T machines to the affluent young Spanish jet set; she has been a competent rider more than half her life. In fact, all of the people close to Sr. Bulto are excellent riders; it almost seems part of the job. Juan Soler Bulto has been co-winner of the 24-hour Montjutch race twice and Spanish trials champion twice, as well as one of Spain's leading motocross riders for several years. Oriol Puig Bulto lias been trials champion of Spain for three years and motocross champion for two years. (John Grace, now heading American operations, is a world famous road racer of the late 1950 and early I960 era.)
( The current trials champion of Spain is Sr. Bulto’s 17-year-old son, Ignacio, and his 12-year-old younger brother, Patricio, will probably be the greatest of them all.
This line of skill can be attributed only to the competitive brilliance of Sr. Bulto, who left another Spanish factory when they adopted a “no race” policy. After three years of producing agile street machines, good off-road motorcycles and world famous road racers, Sr. Bulto went to England with John Grace to work out production to that country. For a couple of years the old man had been looking for some sort of an event to entertain his friends and supporters, and a reason for them to visit his farm. On a hunch, he went to an English trials and found the answer.
At that time England was the center of the world for trials machines. And, as he watched the skill of the riders and the delicate tractability of the machines, Sr. Bulto felt that with more flywheel and less compression his machines could be made to compete with the then predominant four-stroke British “Chuffers.” A few weeks later, some engines were modified slightly and the first annual San Antonio Trials was set for February 1963, an invitational event comprised of two dozen friends. There were no real trials machines or riders. It was, after all, the very first trials in Spain.
From that meager beginning the San Antonio has become THE event of the year in Spain. Spain has become THE world producer of the very specialized trials machine. In fact, last year’s Scottish Six Days Trial saw Spanish machines take the first three places.
For weeks before the event the company employees vie for the honor of observing or scoring a section. At least a third of the sections have a barbeque going. And a fresh, 's lp >>, W ; ''' , < ; I y/j p?| s'"1"'. s > ^§p|ƒ^ thin slice of young lamb on country bread, with a wash-down from the ever present bota is a feast to delight any gourmet. The barbeques are maintained by employees and friends who compete to attract the most visitors each year. As a result, the best chefs try to claim the sections with the best attendance. Culinary ability seems to be related to the amount of food disposed of during the event. And by the end of the day, the unwary spectator might just find himself so full of food that riding is impossible.
But this is San Antonio—an event where everyone attending is a friend, and is there because he likes motorcycles. The excitement of watching two laps of 30 sections is matched by the anticipation of the girls climbing the impossible hill, the following banquet and trophy presentation where the Fiasco Team (secretly chosen by Sr. Bulto) receive the Trofeo Cyrano. The recipients must don large false noses and, while drinking from the Porron, repeat the word "fiasco" three times.
The significance of the word “fiasco” is that it is the opposite of “clean,” speaking in local trials terms. The spectators at any given section at San Antonio are very intense, very empathetic. Solemnly, in large groups, they eyeball a rider making an attempt. If the rider “cleans” the section, there is a burst of applause.
But if the rider pulls one of those five-point gaffes, namely, dumping his machine or merely coming to a stop in the section, the word is “fiasco.” It is echoed on a hundred lips, mournfully, softly, as the rider gropes in the dirt for his upset machine. The tone is not jeering. The concerted murmur is sympathetic, almost embarrassed.
One of this year’s Fiasco recipients was the ever cheerful Harry Lindsay, Irish Bultaco distributor. In return, he presented Sr. Bulto with a genuine cannonball from the Santa Maria de las Rosa, a Spanish Armada ship. The vessel was sunk off the coast of Ireland more than 200 years ago, and recently, divers retrieved various pieces of hardware, including the cannonball.
Next year will be the ninth San Antonio Trials. Once again, Sr. Bulto and his lovely wife will be seen on a Bultaco Matador, finding shortcuts to other sections so that they may proudly watch a son or long-time friend bash through a difficult section. JÖ1
