Race Watch
RACE WATCH
Roberts carries on; Suzuki sets Pro Stock record; Yanks head for France; The mile may accept 500s; Hailwood comes back and Hennen is hurt at Man
KING KENNY OVER THERE
Before Kenny Roberts arrived to chase three World Championships, Europeans expressed doubts that any American could do serious Grand Prix business in his first season on the continent. Roberts has proved them wrong, with three firsts, a second and a DNF in the 500cc class: a first, two seconds and a DNF in the 250cc class; and four firsts, a second and a DNF in the 750cc class. That put Roberts out front in 500cc points and second in both the 750cc and 250cc standings. Back in California for a short vacation during a break in the racing season, Roberts said, “I thought that the Suzuki and (reigning World Champion) Barry Sheene would be more competition than they were in the 500. I was wrong.” With a string of 750cc twins and new horsepower pumped into his 250, Roberts may well take the championship points leads in those classes as well.
HENNEN INJURED AT MAN
American Pat Hennen set a new 500cc lap record of 113.83 on the Isle of Man, but hit a curb and crashed his Suzuki RG500 at top speed after a large insect or small bird smashed into his helmet visor. Hennen remained in a coma for three weeks but showed signs of responding to sound and verbal commands and was able to sit up in a chair unaided for several hours each day. According to doctors at a hospital in Liverpool, England Hennen opened his eyes on the 22nd day following the accident and was aware of people around him, although still listed as officially unconscious. Hospital spokesmen said that Hennen was improving steadily and expected to regain full consciousness.
TKO AFTER EIGHT ROUNDS
Team Yamaha’s Bob “Hurricane” Hannah clinched the AMA 250cc National Motocross Championship by winning both motos of the eighth round in the 10event series. That brought Hannah’s 250cc National moto wins to 14, with one third and one fourth. Hannah didn’t enter the U.S. 500cc World Championship GP at Carlsbad because he’s officially rated as a 250cc rider and wouldn’t have been eligible for points. But Hannah’s incredible performances make one wonder how he would have done against Mikkola, Lackey and Schmitz.
SUZUKI SETS PRO STOCK RECORD
Terry Vance set a new International Drag Bike Association (IDBA) Pro Stock standing-start quarter mile record with his RC Engineering Suzuki GS1000 at Cincinnati, Ohio: 9.24 sec. @ 144.92 mph. Vance won the IDBA Pro Stock Championship on a Kawasaki last year; this year he beat 15 Kawasakis with his Suzuki. Pro Stock machines are the Superbike Production machines of drag racing, resembling stock machine in appearance and limited in displacement by a weight per cc formula.
SAN JOSE 500cc MILE?
Last month we told you that AMA Racing Czar Doug Mockett (also known as the Commissioner of Professional Racing) is considering making Superbike Production the premier road racing class in 1979. That’s not all. According to Mockett, he’s also thinking about restricting the dominant Harley-Davidson XR750s to the point where 500cc Singles of various makes could be competitive on the mile. Mockett says he’s considering the dirt-track rule changes in the interests of rider safety (through reduced speeds) and also in increased brand competition, but stresses that no decision on the idea has been made.
Meanwhile, reaction to the road racing proposal has been fast and furious. Yamaha Racing Director Ken Clark didn’t like the idea in the first place, and finds himself in the precarious position of having to order TZ750s for 1979 before he knows what next year’s racing format will be. “What if I order fifty 750s and the AMA says there is no room for 750 racing?” asks Clark.
On the other hand, U.S. Suzuki spokesmen favor the proposal for obvious reasons—Suzukis are competitive in Superbike Production racing, while the company doesn’t have a Formula 750 machine.
Rider reaction is split: Ron Pierce favors the proposal; Wes Cooley would like to see the F750 and Superbike classes get equal emphasis; Steve McLaughlin opposes the idea, and instead urges that lOOOcc four strokes and unrestricted 500cc two strokes be allowed to compete with restricted F750 race bikes.
Asked what he thought of Mockett’s proposal, Kenny Roberts said “He’s crazy. That would just mean that all the true road racers are going to have to go to Europe. What are they gonna do, ride street bikes? I don’t think that they’re gonna do that.”
MIKE THE BIKE’S TT
Eleven years had passed since Mike “The Bike” Hailwood’s Grand Prix glory days in road racing, but the 38-yearold Hailwood made his Isle of Man TT comeback in style. Hailwood won the Formula 1 race on the tortuous 37.75-mile street course, and set a new record speed average for one lap of 110.62 mph. Phil Read was almost a minute behind Hail wood's 864cc Ducati when his 888cc Honda broke, leaving second place to John Williams on another 888cc Honda. Ian Richards was third on a 984cc Kawasaki.
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MOTORCYCLE OLYMPIAD
O ver 20 riders have already signed up for the 2nd Annual International Motorcycle Olympiad, a decathalon-type event scheduled for Saddleback Park in Orange, Calif. on September 17. Accord ing to organizers, among the signed riders are Bob Hannah, Rick Hocking, Kent Howerton, David Aldana, Mike Bell, Dick Burleson, Jim Pomeroy, Jack Penton, Broc Glover, Jack Penton, Steve Stackable, John Hateley, Jim Weinert, Mike Bast, Gaylon Mosier, Sue Fish, Rick Burgett, Larry Roeseler, Jim Fishback, Steve Wise and Gary Semics.
SPRINGSTEEN'S LEADING AGAIN
Current Camel Pro Series champion Jay Springsteen came back from fourth place at the Ascot half mile to wir the next three events, all half miles, ir Denver, Louisville and Harrington, Del Springsteen piled up enough points in th splurge to keep him on top of the standing~ even after Skip Aksland-who crashed a Louisville-won the Pentax Laconia Clas sics road race at Loudon, New Hampshire Springsteen had planned to compete a Loudon on an XR750-based road racer but had mechanical problems. Akslan lapped up to fourth place, and points seeker Steven Ekiund finished ninth. Tha left the standings as follows: Jay Spring steen, 111; Skip Aksland, 95; Steve Ek lund, 87; Garth Brow, 64; Ted Boody, 59 Gary Scott, 45; Hank Scott, 41; Mik~ Kidd, 35; Alex Jorgensen, 32; Terr: Poovey, 31.
AMERICANS TO BOL D'OR
Several Americans were headed for the September 15-16 Bol d'Or 24-hour Coup de Endurance at presstime. Ron Pierce and Steve McLaughlin planned to ride a Bob Behn monoshock Kawasaki and Wes Cooley planned to team with Reg Prid more on a Japauto Honda. But things could change. Yoshimura R&D wanted Cooley to ride a GS1000 Suzuki with Gary Fisher. And American Honda hired Pierce and Pridmore to ride a CBX in a Japanese 8-hour endurance race during August, and also to test Superbike Production machines based on the CBX and also the new four cvlinder flfll-IC T-h~nd9 7~fl
