Racing Review
RACING REVIEW
BULTACO WINS 24-HR. ROADRACE!
A solitary 360cc works Bultaco ridden by Benjamin Grau and Juan Bordons staved off a strong Laverda chal-
lenge to win the 1972 Barcelona 24Hour race at Montjuich Park. One by one all of the other favorites dropped out or fell behind with mechanical troubles. From the 18th hr. onward the flying Bultaco had no serious challenger and was running two laps ahead of Italian Roberto Gallina and his Swiss co-rider Phillipe Schreyer (Laverda).
The entry for the Barcelona marathon has always been of a high standard, but this year it was better than ever with works entries from Laverda, Norton, Ossa, Montesa and Bultaco. There was no shortage of variety, with Singles, Twins, Threes, and four-cylinder machines: the most intriguing of them all was an 80 bhp, lOOOcc Ossa, which was basically two 500cc two-stroke singlecylinder Yankee engines bolted together.
Riding talent was abundant as well, with Peter Williams and Dave Croxford sharing the 750cc John Player Norton Commando, Clive Brown and Nigel Rollason (last year’s Coupe de Endurance winners) riding one of the Mike Tomkinson 500cc BSA Singles for the fourth year running; new boy Phil Gurner pairing with Bob Heath on a similar model; and Peter Darvill (twice a past winner of the race on BMWs) on a new 750cc Honda with Ron Baylie.
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An old favorite of the Spanish crowd, Salvador Canellas produced something of a surprise by entering on a 750cc Laverda with Enrique de Juan as co-rider. During latter years the pair has always ridden works Bultacos, and Canellas is regarded as the “primo corredor” of the Montjuich circuit. Watching him throw a machine through the winding, downhill section of the circuit, in his spectacular, daredevil style is one of the highlights of the race. The 360cc Bultaco was another main contender for the winner’s laurels, especially in the capable hands of Bordons and Grau.
Italian Augusto Brettoni, winner of the 1971 race, had given Laverda a victory the very first time that the factory contested the race. This year Brettoni was paired with fellow countryman Moreno Pescucci.
At precisely 8 o’clock Saturday evening, Señor Masse, the race director, waved the Spanish flag, and 50 pairs of legs responded almost in unison as the riders sprinted across the track. A few seconds later the roar of four-strokes mingled with the screaming strokers as the pack surged and weaved away in a crescendo of noise.
Using their electric starters to advantage, the Laverdas were unbelievably quick off the mark, and at the conclusion of the first lap Canellas was already up into 2nd place. By the next lap the little Spaniard was well in the lead, and the patriotic crowd clapped and waved enthusiastically. It was short-lived though as the three-cylinder Triumph entered by Boyer’s and ridden by Peter Bulter and Dave Nixon (two very experienced long distance riders), had taken over the lead, leaving Williams (Norton) and Canellas (Laverda) disputing 2nd place. Then, as dusk began to fall and the riders switched on their lights, the organizers noticed that the Boyer Triumph’s front light was not working, so they signaled the machine into the pits to have the trouble rectified.
Around the second hour, the Laverda of Canellas/de Juan, which had managed to pull away from the works Norton, lost it’s lead to the Laverda of Brettoni and Pescucci. Then, a short while later it was also passed by the Bordons/Grau Bultaco. Another who had really been motoring was Phil Gurner. After his sick co-rider Heath had handed over to him, Gurner had jumped from 11th to 5th place in two hours. He was riding superbly on the tricky downhill section.
Peter Butler and Dave Nixon had rapidly been making up time. After their lighting problems had dropped them to 21st place they had fought back to 4th at the conclusion of the fifth hour. The Boyer machine sounded beautifully crisp and it was lapping faster than everybody, except when Gurner was out, for he actually passed the Triumph and pulled away! This was really incredible, for the 500cc singlecylinder BSA was certainly no power match for the Triumph-Three.
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Just prior to the 6th hour there was a switch around in the first three places, mainly due to rider changes, and the Bultaco took the lead from Gallina and Schreyer’s Laverda, which in turn lost another place to the Canellas/de Juan model. At the conclusion of the 9th hour the Bultaco was still leading by a lap, and Butler and Nixon had jumped up into 3rd place ahead of Gallina and Schreyer.
Now the pace was beginning to tell, and there was a batch of retirements shortly before the halfway stage, the most notable of which was the Brown/ Rollason BSA, which dropped out with a broken crankshaft. The gallant little 500 had been holding off no less than five 750s in a row, and it had been lapping faster than everyone with the exception of the Boyer Triumph.
Last year’s winner Augusto Brettoni was the next favorite to go when the Laverda he was sharing with Moreno Pescucci was dropped and suffered substantial damage. Exactly one fifth of the contestants had retired and the second half of the race, which always takes a heavy toll, was yet to come.
Peter Darvill and Ron Baylie had been circulating very consistantly on their 750cc Honda. They were riding a tactical race in favor of trying to outpace the leaders, and it was paying off, for they jumped from 11th to 4th place in eight hours.
Nixon and Butler were making a splendid effort, and shortly before the 15th hour they moved up into 2nd place, a mere four laps behind the Bultaco, which they were catching at the rate of several seconds a lap. Just when it looked as though they might catch the Bultaco, the primary chain snapped, smashing both inner and outer cases. Damage to the all British entry was irrepairable.
The Canellas/de Juan Laverda which had been snapping at the leader’s heels for hour after hour also hit trouble about the same time as the Triumph. One of the riders fell off and valuable time was lost straightening the bike out in the pits. Not long afterward, the Laverda was dropped again, and this time it was too badly damaged to continue. Now it was left to Gallina and Schreyer to keep the Laverda flag flying in 2nd place.
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By the 21st hour the pace was really beginning to tell. Some riders felt it necessary to restrict themselves to halfhour stints. The field had been pruned to 29, and by the 23rd hour the Bultaco of Bordons and Garu was running a clear 16 laps ahead of the Gallina/ Schreyer Laverda, which in turn was six laps ahead of Darvill and Baylie’s Honda. However, there was no chance of the latter easing the pace, for they had the Laverda of Wittich and Strijbis just one lap behind them, and they were also being chased by Godier and Genoud’s Honda—Godier was really scratching, trying desperately to close the gap on both machines in front.
Juan Soler Bulto, manager of the Bultaco pit, was a worried man for the final 30 minutes of the race. “I hope we can make the record by...maybe two laps,” Juan said, “but I am a little worried because the riders are very tired and they are now going faster in an attempt to break the record—one little mistake and...!” Juan grinned, shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to the race. He needn’t have worried, for Bultaco did break the record, by exactly two laps, in a smoothly controlled, tactical race. The 360cc machine had run like clockwork, and despite holding off machines of over twice its capacity, it had never really been pushed throughout the entire race.
RESULTS, 24-HOUR ROADRACE
A BIGGER BASH AT PEPPERELL
BY JOHN WAASER
How do you follow an act like Grafton? The original “Mayhem Midst the Maples,” an instant classic, doomed to failure at the hands of the outlaws, a landowner who suddenly decided he preferred airplanes to bikes: that was Grafton. A rough-and-tumble motocross in a day when no American knew what the word meant, let alone where to find one in this country; Don Gore doing those crazy leaps that even today would make Evel Knievel feel faint; a long and tortuous course which sent Californians and Canadians home in defeat, away from the disdainful glare of more than 10,000 proud New Englanders: that, too, was Grafton. >
Enter Intersport: Intersport has promoted events for both sporting and professional riders at its Peppered, Mass., location for several years. The track has the appeal to satisfy European riders, enhanced by the popularity afforded by exposure on “Wide World of Sports.” This year, Intersport had declined to run events for novices and amateurs, instead opting for a professionals-only program, and leasing the course to the New England Sports Committee for a two-day weekend in July; a rebirth of Grafton.
It’s tough to start all over. Take the gate, for instance. The first year after Grafton, the NESC took a bath as a torrential downpour came down on those who ventured to the “new” Grafton event at Bryan Motorsport Park. This year, though the Sports Committee claims heavy advertising, Saturday’s gate was less than a thousand—especially bad when you consider that those who normally get in on guest and press passes had to pay a whopping eight bucks at the gate before they could get in. This covered two day’s racing and two night’s camping—refunds would be issued to those who felt like going to the bother of getting one, if they left before Sunday. Saturday’s crowd, then, was just the riders themselves, and their small contingent of pit crews and such. Sunday’s wasn’t much better, even with the professional program. Grafton could easily boast ten times that, most of them there for both days.
A major problem was the selected date. Intersport officials had run events here in July in the past, and were aware that the dust problem was formidable; far better to run in the spring and hope for mud.... Then, too, they were conflicting with a much larger professional Summer-AMA event at nearby Unadilla Valley Sports Center—an event which would lure most of the top NESC riders, riders from other areas who would normally be expected to show, and enthusiast spectators.
Nevertheless, there were enough top riders to promise an interesting day at the races. Kip Komosa was kept away from Unadilla for another reason—his parents are heavily involved in the New England motorcycling scene, and they decreed that Kippy would ride Pepperell. Almost a certain winner in the 125cc class, he is also a strong 250 rider. Curt Varney, second in most minds to Jimmy Ellis in both the 250cc and open classes in New England, had been denied an entry at Unadilla. Ron Keys was down from Canada with actual works Yamaha motocrossers, the first time these have been seen in New England.
And Dick Gariepy, who fought with Glenn Vincent for New England’s 250cc class championship back when Glenn used a Reiber-tuned Triumph Cub and Dick had a BSA Starfire, was here on a Honda 250cc Single, on a sort of experimental program—“mostly on my own,” was the way he put it, just like Dave Mungenast, who rides one of the fourstrokes in enduros these days.
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A lot of New England “also-rans” were here, too, guys who have shown that they were ready to win any time the one or two top riders in each class had an off day. Guys like Bob Sullivan, Roger Godin, Jay Wilcox and Gary Yelin. And a few others, like Walt Stober, who is frequently wild, frequently breaks down, and occasionally put together a fine ride like he did at this track a year ago, in his first expertclass race.
So it was no surprise to anybody when Ron Keys walked away with the first 250cc moto, with Curt Varney the only rider in sight. Gary Yelin got a slow start, but managed to pick off enough riders for a 4th place finish. Gariepy and the Honda were well back, out of contention.
In the second moto, Keys and the crew from Deeleys—the Canadian Yamaha importer—couldn’t make the Yamaha fire. Gary Yelin was definitely the crowd’s favorite, with loud cheering every time he went by. He beat out Bob Sullivan for the win, and beat Curt Varney for the third moto win, to take the overall class win. Varney was 2nd overall, with Sullivan 3rd.
In the open class, Keys won all three motos easily, with Varney 2nd in the first two, but falling to 3rd overall when a spill put him far back in the third moto. A 2nd and a 3rd in two hours of racing in 90+ heat is virtually incredible, and Curt was the only rider to take prize money in the two classes. Jay Wilcox put together some consistent riding to take 2nd overall.
Kip Komosa won the 125cc class, with Walt Stober 2nd. Stober had apparently crashed in practice, and at the end of the day he could hardly stand up. Reportedly he went to the hospital Sunday night, where they discovered a blood clot which kept him there most of the week.
Also run on Sunday, to provide a break for the pro riders, was a special lOOcc class for riders under 16 years old. Frank Auger has been coming on strong in this class all year, and won the amateur division ahead of Chuck Newton and Terry Iott. Mark Robillard won the novice division.
A few highlights from Saturday will suffice. The track could be expected to be dusty, and to get more so as the day wore on, with more than 400 riders getting two motos, plus practice. But these are novices and amateurs, remember; they went slowly enough so that dust never did become a major problem.
In the first 125cc novice heat, Jeff Goodyear led all the way, with Jim O’Donal the early 2nd place rider. Jim dropped to 4th, but beat Peter Holliday (on a lOOcc Hodaka) for 3rd. O’Donal’s handlebars had loosened, and were dropping on the tank.
Holliday won the second moto, on the Hodaka, with the expansion chamber falling off. O’Donal was right on his heels all the way, for 2nd, taking first overall—his first trophy ever.
In the amateur class, Scott Desso, a newly promoted novice, took the early lead, on a Maissa. That’s a 125cc Ossa engine in a Maico frame—neatly done by the technicians at Manchester Honda, in Connecticut. He was missing shifts like crazy, and his clutch lever had loosened to the point where it was assaulting his knuckles. Still, he stayed ahead of Ricky Hicks, a fast amateur. It was obvious, though, that Hicks was content to let Scott set the pace; when Rick went by two laps from the end, Scott should have let him go, and settled for the sure 2nd. Instead, he battled—and lost, as he went down in spectacular fashion. He finished 2nd in the second moto also when Ricky’s rear wheel went flat. He could have had 1st overall, but wound up with nothing.
Open novice Jon Dufour was riding his first-ever race, and won both motos handily on a Maico. After the finish line in the first moto, Jon pulled a king-size wheelie. “Well, I had to do something,” he said, “I was falling asleep.”
Flagging was poor on Saturday, with many riders pressed into service—some of them lOOcc riders who wouldn’t ride until Sunday. Most of these grew tired of the flagging duties, and started fooling around with their buddies. One rider who did a good job both days was Mark Turner—a wild 125cc amateur, who was really up for this race. He’d been waiting for it all year, but his sponsors decided to modify his Suzuki, and didn’t get it together in time, so he had nothing to ride, and patiently stood in one spot all day, both days, so others could do so.
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NESC President Andy C. said that many firms who normally work Pepperell, citing specifically the ambulance service, raised their prices for this event; he felt they were taking advantage of the Sports Committee. A lot of unsung people worked to pull the thing off, the show ran until dark on Saturday, and a lot of riders had the time of the year. Andy says it definitely will be repeated next year.
ANDERSON SWEEPS ELKHORN MX
It was all Hakan Anderson at Elkhorn, Wis., as the Swedish Yamaha pilot swept all three motos for the overall title in the fifth event of the American Motorcycle Association’s 1972 InterAMA motocross series.
Competing before a crowd of 6500 motocross fans, Anderson dominated the first two 30-minute motos from gate to flag, but was forced to play “catch up” in the third moto after 2nd overall finisher Jim Weinert leaped to an early lead aboard another Yamaha. Weinert collected a 4th, a 5th and a 3rd to finish ahead of Gary Jones, who pushed his Yamaha to 2nd, 3rd and 8th place finishes.
In 500cc support competition Dennis Law of San Luis Obispo, Calif., won the feature moto after finishing 2nd in his qualifier to take overall honors aboard a Maico. Second overall went to Roger Peterson, another Maico rider, who scored a 3rd in his qualifier and a 2nd in the feature. Wyman Priddy pushed his C-Z to a 2nd in his qualifier and a 3rd in the main event for a 3rd overall finish.
ELKHORN RESULTS
OPEN CLASS RESULTS
MANN TAKES HOMEWOOD
Dick Mann, Richmond, Calif., put it all together as he powered his BSA to victory in the AMA sanctioned 25-lap Mile Dirt Track National Championship held in Homewood, 111. The 1972 Grand National Champion led the race wireto-wire and clocked in with a winning time of 17:38.31.
Mann was untouchable throughout the event, but farther back in the pack the action was fierce. By finishing 2nd, Harley-Davidson rider Mark Brelsford, Los Altos, Calif., increased his point lead in the current race for the Grand National title. Rex Beauchamp, Milford, Mich., also aboard a Harley, placed 3rd in the event.
Charity Newsie National winner Mert Lawwill, San Francisco, Calif., turned in the fastest time trial with 41:31, but because of mechanical problems which developed in the first heat, was unable to race in the feature.
Saturday evening’s junior final showed why Scott Brelsford of San Bruno, Calif., is the leading junior rider in the country. Brelsford jumped the starter’s flag and was then placed on the penalty line. However, he managed to overcome his poor starting position and race his Harley to a 1st place finish in the 14-lap event.
Placing 2nd and 3rd, respectively, among the juniors were William Field, Brunswick, Ohio, aboard a Norton, and Steve Droste, a Yamaha rider from Waterloo, Iowa.
HOMEWOOD RESULTS
JUNIOR RESULTS
