Jammin' At the Superbowl!
JAMMIN' AT THE SUPERBOWL!
Weinert Wins the Battle, Hannah Wins the War
Tony Swan
There are those who maintain that stadium racing is only one step (and a couple millenia) removed from the gladiatorial arena; that more than a few fans of this form of motocross show up simply to see bikes and bodies defying (if only briefly) various laws of physics; that stadium motocross courses are, accordingly, laid out to augment catastrophe, with little regard to bringing out the best capabilities of the machines or preserving the structural integrity of their riders.
Without commenting directly on these assertions, it does seem worthwhile to note that the course for this year’s L.A. edition of the Superbowl of Motocross, sculpted from 80,000 yards of good California clay in the Los Angeles Coliseum, was generally regarded as brutal by the riders;
and that local TV promos for the event were memorable chiefly for their high crash content. The last impression from most of the TV spots was of some unfortunate rider attached to his bike only by the handgrips, trailing along like a flag.
Whether this sort of disaster-oriented ballyhoo sells tickets or not probably won’t be resolved for a few more seasons, but attendance for the 1977 L.A. Superbowl was off some 13,000 from last year’s record crowd of 73,000-plus. The organizers put this down to local competition, notably the Los Angeles Dodgers, and to local entertainment budgets taking a beating during the Fourth of July holiday one week previous.
However, whether the organizers were selling racing or organized mayhem didn't really seem to matter much to the riders. With the exception of Heikki Mikkola, almost every household name in big time motocross was on hand to "go for it" (a phrase in such general usage at the Coli seum that it seemed almost like punctua tion). Smart money was on perennial world champ Roger DeCoster, on Super Series leader Bob Hannah, on Honda aces
Jim Pomeroy and Marty Smith, and on Suzuki's Tony DiStefano, to name just a few. Even though he's the defending series champ, Jimmy Weinert's name didn't come up very often in pre-race speculation, owing to his spotty showing during an injury-plagued season. Which made it only reasonable for the Jammer to get out there and blow everyone’s doors off in the main event.
The last impression from most of the TV spots was of some unfortunate rider attached to his bike only by the handgrips, trailing along like a flag.
That phase of the evening’s entertainment was a long time coming, however, preceded as it was by four heat races, two semis, a consolation, and a bulldozer event. The latter was at the behest of the American Motorcyclist Association, which demanded that the course’s wicked second jump, linked to the first jump on the start/ finish straight, be moved somewhat downstream. The two jumps were spaced just close enough to tempt some of the more daring riders to attempt carrying them both in one leap. Some were able to make it, but a number of others weren’t, most spectacularly Monte McCoy, who tagged the top of the second jump with his back wheel toward the conclusion of the final practice session. McCoy was pitched down and his KTM endoed into the crowd.
Resculpturing cured the problem with the second jump, but there were plenty of other nasty spots in the course. Most frightening among these was Goodwin’s Gorge, gaping menacingly below the Tower Jump. The course ran up the scoreboard end of the Coliseum and under the arcade at the top, emerging directly under the scoreboard in a dizzying downhill leap producing tape measure jumps. Suzuki factory rider Jeff Jennings had the best of these, carrying 78 feet.
Arriving out of shape at the bottom of the Tower Jump carried with it the strong likelihood of arriving a trifle short of the far side of Goodwin’s Gorge (25 feet across, 7 feet deep), a shortcoming definitely to be avoided if you were interested in walking away from the Coliseum at the end of the evening. Fortunately, no one was actually consumed by the gorge, although several riders scored getoffs on its far side. Between the gorge, the nasty series of four giant whoop-de-doos a couple turns later, and the strange 10-foot pinnacle dubbed the Matterhorn, there were plenty of crashes for the sensation seekers, one tumble having a direct bearing on the main event. Amazingly, though, all the riders left the stadium under their own power.
Each of the heat races was carefully salted with name riders to give the announcer something to say (besides “go for it,” that is) and the crowd something to yell about (besides spills). The competition that followed vindicated the program several times over.
Amazingly, all the riders left the stadium under their own power.
Gaylon Mosier (Maico) took the first heat, pressured by Tommy Croft (Honda) and Rex Staten (Harley-Davidson) after a four-bike pile-up in Turn 1 knocked Hannah (Yamaha) off the pace. Hannah picked himself up and worked his way back up the field but couldn’t quite catch up with the leaders.
The second heat was red-flagged two laps along when Dave Haugh (Maico) endoed and got run over. Pomeroy got the holeshot on the restart, holding off first Jennings and then Suzuki factory rider Danny LaPorte the rest of the way.
Weinert looked like even more of a long shot for the main event when he overjammed early in the third heat and went down, leaving Marty Tripes (Harley-Davidson) to hold off DeCoster, which he did handily. Jimmy Ellis (Can-Am) wound up 3rd, ahead of Steve Stackable (Maico) and a fast-closing Weinert, but a broken frame kept Ellis out of the final.
It took Tony DiStefano all of half a lap to overcome an excellent holeshot by Jeff Vidic (Yamaha) in the fourth qualifying heat, after which Tony D. simply walked off by himself. Vidic powered along in 2nd place for a few more circuits before being overhauled by Marty Smith in the middle of the five nasty whoop-de-doos. Jim Domann (Yamaha) wound up 4th.
The two semis afforded some of the alsorans from the four heat races another chance to get into the main event. In the first of these, Hannah and Husky’s Kent Howerton put on a great chase and wild finish that relegated Kawasaki’s Gary Semics to the consolation field (which he dominated easily). In the second, Rick Burgett (Yamaha) and Dave Crawford (Maico) got the transfer tickets.
The final couldn’t have been any more satisfying to Weinert—and the crowd—even if the Jammer had been able to write the script in advance. Pure Weinert formula: Complicate an indifferent start with an early bobble, then claw back up through the pack as thousands shriek and tear their hair.
Actually, it seemed for a while that Weinert might have overdone the formula a trifle. When the barrier dropped, Vidic, who clearly had his opening game together, shot off into the lead pursued by Pomeroy, Marty Smith, Tripes, Mosier and Weinert. DeCoster, meanwhile, was toiling along in owlish anonymity near the rear of the field after being nudged by someone in the pack during the scramble to the first turn, and Tony D. was out with a sore shoulder.
Weinert got even further behind, getting tangled up on the scoreboard uphill run, then began his charge, which was aided considerably by Tripes scraping the rear brake mechanism off his Harley. Pomeroy had opened up a substantial lead, but Weinert had the afterburners going as he turned the hottest lap of the night while battling his way into 2nd place.
As fireworks exploded overhead and the scoreboard exhorted anyone watching to GO FOR IT, Weinert began reeling Pomeroy in at the rate of a second or two per lap. The issue was abruptly resolved when Pomeroy went down hard just past the Matterhorn and Weinert roared off into the middle distance.
In the closing laps Marty Smith made a tentative move toward the front, but Weinert clearly had something in hand and Smith admitted later he was pleased to settle for 2nd after his nasty falls in two previous L.A. appearances. There was a big gap behind Smith to Stackable, who was followed by the impressive privateer Mike Bell (Yamaha), LaPorte, Mosier and. soldiering along with a cracked frame, Hannah. Remember Hannah? You should, because the combination of his 7th-place finish and Pomeroy’s tumble—Pomeroy got up and continued, but gingerly, winding up 19th—made Hannah this year’s series champion.
Weinert, for his part, was so caught up in the enthusiasm and carnival atmosphere following the race that he began removing various articles of clothing—jersey, gloves, etc.—and firing them into an appreciative crowd. This would have made it awkward for the post-race TV interview had it not been for a backup Kawasaki jersey supplied from the back of Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner, a member of the Kawasaki entourage.
All things considered, it made a fitting end to an evening of excellent entertainment. Whatever you may think of stadium motocross as pure motorcycle racing, it has to score high as pure showbiz. EU
