Competition Eto
COMPETITION ETO
SPEEDWAY'S INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE
STEVEN PARKER
American speedway fans seldom get the chance to see top foreign riders in action on U.S. soil, and often wonder how their favorite riders would fare against the cream of the crop in the world. That’s precisely what the Speedway International Challenge Series was designed to reveal. The best foreign riders were pitted against the top Americans in a two-out-of-three, winner-takeall series.
The Europeans, of course, were formidable opponents for the American team. Their captain, Ivan Mauger of New Zealand, is a four-time world speedway champion. Barry Briggs of Great Britain is another four-time world champ, and with Poland’s Zenon Plech and Edward Jancarz, the European team was outstanding.
Add to these riders England’s young Chris Pusey, Scotland’s Bert Harkins, and New Zealand’s Martin Ashby, and you can see how tough the team could be.
The Americans consisted of captain Sonny Nutter, U.S. speedway champ Mike Bast, his brother Steve, Mike Curoso, Scott Autrey, Bill Cody and Dan Becker.
The Europeans took a day’s worth of practice before the three events, and on opening night it was apparent that the riders had, for the most part, adapted just fine to the short, 190-yard oval at Costa Mesa.
Zenon Plech, 1971 Polish champion, refused to practice on the track until he was urged on by Ivan Mauger. Plech felt that he couldn’t ride such a short oval, but he later proved to be one of the most popular foreign riders. Martin Ashby arrived from New Zealand too late for practice, and his first lap on the second night of the meeting was the first time he had been on the track. Like the others, he was able to adapt quickly to the short dirt course.
On the first night of competition, “Wild” Bill Cody earned the most individual points; winning 16 out of a possible 18. Barry Briggs and Mike Bast tied for 2nd place with 15 points apiece. Cody was the hero of the evening; going so far as to nudge Ivan Mauger into the wall in one of their match-ups. The mishap put Mauger out of the race with a broken clutch lever. The Europeans, however, outscored the Americans in overall points, winning the event in a 55-52 squeaker.
D. RANDY RIGGS
In the second round of competition, the riders went at it as if the event were a world final. The Europeans were wired to the oval for the racing, but the Americans managed to dominate the evening, finally winning by 10 points, 59-49. This time Ivan Mauger was the high point man with 15 accumulated. Mauger was disqualified in one of his heats when he broke the starting tapes, but made up for the mistake by winning every other event he was entered in.
Edward Jancarz had problems when he smacked the wall; and did not compete again that evening. A severely bruised arm kept him out of competition on the final day of racing, as well. Scott Autrey, who recently returned from European competition, fared poorly on his home track, as did former U.S. champ Steve Bast. Bast scored only 27 points after three days of racing.
By this time, the teams were tied in wins, and Sunday’s racing would decide the series. For only the second time in three years, racing was held during the afternoon. Spectators were allowed on the infield before the race to mingle with the riders, and spirits were high as the day got underway. They rose even higher as numerous crashes put the riders’ tempers in an uproar for most of the event.
In an early race, Barry Briggs was ejected for breaking the tapes. He complained to AMA referee Mike Henshaw that the starter was waiting too long before allowing the gates to go up. An argument ensued, and Briggs left the track to the boos of the crowd.
In a later race, Briggs refused to heed the red flag pulled when Bill Cody and Mike Curoso went down, and raced around for four full laps. In the restart, “Briggo” was successfully held off and beaten by Mike Curoso. Curoso, upset because he was on the program as a reserve, showed the fans that he can handle himself against the Europeans.
Feelings against Briggs and the Europeans in general were rising as Steve Bast crashed in an attempt to drive Chris Pusey into the wall. But later, when Sonny Nutter tried it, Pusey had to be restrained by teammates from grabbing Nutter.
For the final event of the day, the two teams were tied in points. The series victory hung on this last race. Nutter left the outside position in the gates for a hole shot over Zenon Plech and Bert Harkins. Harkins, riding with a handicap in the form of a separated shoulder and cracked ribs, was taking it easy in the final, not wishing to risk further injury. Mike Bast was behind Harkins, who was holding him off.
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When the race was over and it was announced that the Europeans had won, Bast and Harkins got into a fight when Bast questioned Harkins about (a) his heritage and (b) his riding ability. The crowd booed Mike Bast loudly when he got on the p.a. system to say, “I ride like a man,” thereby giving the impression that Harkins doesn’t.
Harkins was then cheered when he stated that he “held no hard feelings” toward Bast, and hoped he would be “invited back to America to race very soon.” It was true speedway at its roller-derby-style best. Mike Bast had been cheered for beating the Europeans the past three days, but now was attacked for hitting the injured Harkins. He may have ruined his chances of getting a good reception from crowds for the entire season.
The Americans outscored the Europeans overall, 163-160, but the Europeans had won the two-out-of-three contest. Ivan Mauger was the top point scorer, with 44 out of a possible 54 points. Crowds were small for the three events, but promoter Harry Oxley blamed the low attendance on the failure of advertising mailers to get to fans’ homes on time, and not on the $5 admission price for the special event.
SPEED WA Y RESULTS
NHRA/AMDRA JOIN FORCES
In a move designed to strengthen and expand motorcycle drag racing in the United States, the National Hot Rod Association and the American Motorcy cle Drag Racing Association (AMDRA) have joined forces in a cooperative program.
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The NHRA/AMDRA alliance, which is effective January 1, 1974, will provide a standardization of rules and licensing procedures, as well as an expansion in the number of events featuring bike participation.
Taking charge of the operation will be Roy Strawn, director of the fouryear-old AMDRA. Strawn will coordinate rule making and licensing through the association’s headquarters, located in Maryland.
Strawn will also be in charge of the Pro Bike Eliminator categories at NHRA National events, which will be expanded to include the Summernationais in Englishtown, New Jersey. The fuel-burning two wheelers are already included in the program at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and the Supernationals at Ontario Motor Speedway.
Included in the 1974 rules will be five “Pro” Eliminator categories and three “Sportsman” brackets. Headlining the Pro categories are the familiar Top Fuel bikes (1200ccs and over), while a similar Top Gas class exists for riders of all-out gasoline-burning motorcycles. Two other classes, Jr. Fuel and Jr. Gas, exist for bikes 1 199ccs and under.
New for ’74 is a Pro Stock class, which like its four-wheeled counterpart, promises to be an exciting and popular category of competition.
The three Sportsman categories, which feature handicapped style eliminations, are Competition, Street, and Stock. A variety of classes are included in each division, and are broken down into Stock, Super Stock, Street Modified and Altered categories. This broad scope allows for virtually any type of two-wheeler to participate somewhere in the program.
Stock and Super Stock bikes are classified like the cars, using the horsepower-to-weight-ratio system. Modified and Altered machines are sectioned by displacement, but with one major difference over the previous NHRA program. Two-stroke and four-stroke machines have separate classes and do not compete against each other. Normally a two-stroke will produce more power than an equal size four-stroke (ask any AMA Road Racer), so this split keeps the competition equal. In Stock and Super Stock classes we find the bikes together, but the two-stroke is almost always smaller. This may seem a disadvantage for the screamers, but the record books show things to be quite equal.
NHRA sanctions more than 150 tracks in the U.S. and Canada, and all of these excellent facilities will have the complete AMDRA program at their disposal to include in their regi^B schedule of racing.
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In the works for 1974 are a series of “National Open” type events exclusively for motorcycles. From six to eight of these big purse and contingency events, where NHRA/AMDRA National Records can be established, are planned, with Ateo Dragway and Beech Bend International Raceway already planning their motorcycle extravaganzas. Also in the program will be many Regionaltype events. These races will be on a smaller scale than the Nationals, but will still offer AMDRA/NHRA National Records along with cash and trophy competition.
AMDRA will continue to maintain a working agreement with the American Motorcycle Association (AMA), but the affiliation will have some changes. AMDRA will issue its own competition licenses, but will honor 1973 AMA D^^ Race licenses for a period of one year from their date of issue. AMA membership will be recommended but WILL NOT be required of Drag Racers, as AMDRA/NHRA will have a combined membership program. Part of the benefits of 1974 AMDRA membership will be a subscription to the NHRA weekly newspaper, National Dragster. This performance oriented publication will begin a regular section on cycles and will carry technical and feature articles as well as National Records and complete race information.
The size and prestige of NHRA, combined with AMDRA’s skill and experience with motorcycle drags and their strong support from the racers should greatly enhance the continuing growth of the sport.
Any persons or companies desiru^t more information on the nl^P AMDRA/NHRA program should call or write to their new National Headquarters: AMDRA 4635 42nd Place, Hyattsville, Maryland 20781, Phone (301) 779-5740.
WEIGHTY DECISION
AMDRA Tech officials recently announced a major improvement over the 1973 rules. For years, riders in the Stock and Modified classes have been handicapped by weight. All the machines in the respective classes had to meet minimum specified weights depending on the brand of bike, so one Honda 750 in Modified weighed the same as the others.
The problem was that rider weight was not considered in the past, so tjfl bigger racers had to give away 40 or ^ pounds to the fly-weight hot shoe. Any rider knows that 50 pounds extra will d^Bhitely' have a major effect on performance. The new rules should greatly equalize this long standing problem.
For 1974, the rider will go on the scale with the motorcycle at Tech inspection. The same specified weights will be used as in the past (Stock-shipping weight, Super Stock—less 5 percent, Modified—less 10 percent) but 150 pounds will be added for average rider weight. THE COMBINED BIKE/RIDER WEIGHT CANNOT BE LESS THAN THE SPECIFIED WEIGHT PLUS 150. In theory, the machine of a 170 pound rider can be 20 pounds lighter than that of a 150 pound rider, thereby equalizing performance. This addition to the rules should make a great number of riders competitive where they had almost no chance before.
AWARD WINNER
Premier Pacific of Westminster has received the 1973 Manufacturer of the Year Award presented by the Continental Casualty Insurance Company by “making an outstanding contribution in the field of racing safety for the development of a new professional racing helmet.”
The award is considered to be the oldest and most prestigious award a manufacturer can receive. Previous win-
fks include Firestone and Goodyear res, Bell helmets, Champion spark plugs and Monroe shock absorbers. ©
