Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Cycle News 1966 05 19

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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VOLUME III NUMBER19 WEEK OF MA Y 19 through MAY 25, 1966 .. • • • • . If the first AMA professional race in California for years is any guide to what can happen in the future, then it looks like Class C road racing is here to stay . Everything was very clear at Carlsbad for the first real money race in these parts since 1958. The weather was clear, it was very clear that Cal Rayborn had the fastest big bike, it was also clear that the Suzuki hrand and Dick Hammer were the fastest small bike combination on the track and, last, California clearly has at least five top-notch novice road racers . • Th e la rgest c rowd ever to attend an eve nt at Carlsbad was on hand last Sunday to see at least a dozen of th e nation's top riders in , pa vement action. Unfortunately , ' three riders were injured befor e th e final race was over, though none seriously . Daytona champ Buddy Elmore fell in practice and came up with a broken coll arbone . In one of the 250cc heat races Dic k Mann had brak e problems and lock ed up, hitting Cal R.ayborn. Mann then fell-breaking h IS coll arbone . In the novice fi nal, Paul De La T orre fell off-broke his coll arbone. All three were up and around s hortly aft er t hei r cra s hes. Rayborn Outclassed Big Bikes • . Ra y bo rn was agai n un beatabl e in t be big bi ke events . This was his first ride since an o pening nigh t crash at Ascot last April . He won his hea t race and then c a me ba c k to s e t ne w records all the way In th e 20-lap fina l . Dick Hamm er was a distant se cond. Bo th were H-D moun ted. It was near ly a different story in the 250cc lightweight events. Hammer turned Raybo rn back twice in the heat races and then built a solid lead in the final , . only to go to the pits with a dead engine on his team Suzuki entry. Hammer s et new one-and fiv e-lap 250cc track records in th e heat rac es and looked lik e a s ure winner- while the engine was running . Dick dropped out on the ninth lap, leaving the front " No Successor named for Kuchler Linton Kuchl er, s inc e 1958 secotorcycle retary of the American M As s ociat ion, resigned to beco me pa rt of the Bill France - NASCAR Organization. it was learn ed Monday. Watch Cyc le News for ' further developments in the rap idly changing natio nal and inte rnational competition s ce ne . all to Raybo rn. The race for s ec ond the n s ha ped up with a see-s aw battle betw een Daytona winner Bobby W inte rs and Ron Grant. Winters Fought Hard Winters lead on the straights with Grant closing and often passi ng on the turns. Two laps from the inish, W inters got into the No. I turn too hot and overshot, leavi ng' the front spot to Grant onc e again. The two came down the final chute end for e nd with Grant in front. In th e big bik e final, Winters was again i nvolved in a battle for a top position most of the ways, this time with Ral ph White and Chris Draayer. White had to pass the Arkan s as rider thr ee times before he wrapped up fourth place . Draayer ca me up with engi ne problems late in the race and was nipped right at the finish lin e for sixth place by Don Vesco, who rode s ome fast late lap s to climb up with the le aders. Mert Law will started way bac k in the pac k and worked hi s way through the traffic to thi rd. He was closing on Hammer when the laps ran out . Ken Clark was the highest ranking amate ur in the combined 250cc class with a si xth place finish. Dennis Schoenfelt from Houston, Texas . was top running amateur in the big bike fi nal with a nin th place effort. Novices Looked Good The first road race prod uced some su rprising facts about novice ride rs . The two heat races were wire to (Continue d on pa ge 10) Two-fifty Expert Gary Conrad cleaned all three of his '.; mota-cross heats to score a _: decisive win at the Hilltoppers . scrambles last Snnday. Conrad's 1'" only close competition came from ~~ Ray McCarty, on a Husqvarna, ~ who led for twolaps in one of the fourlap heats before being pass ed by Conrad's Greeves. McCarty finished second overall with two seconds and a fourth. Open Expert Larry W ilburn also scored three straight wins in a small but fast field of five ExpertsAll were Triumph mounted except John Rice , who rode a lone BSA to third place. Cliff Coleman was second with three second place finishes in the mota-cross. Other three-time winners were Lee Stnmpenhaus (Greeves) in the 200cc mmbined mota-cross, and Howard ~each (Triumph) in ~ th e Open Amateur moto-cross. . T he Hilltopper's c ourse. located at t heir clubgrounds near Castaic, was rough e nough to draw many desert riders, and was like d by nearly all of t he 126 riders ente red. The one-andone-half mile big bike c ourse wi nds over. unde r an d around the gravelly. brush covered hills an d was descri bed by one rider as " rough a nd hard , but good!" Trail bikes ran on a seventenths mile course which included pa rt of tbe longer course. Dust was not a problem a t any ti me, thanks to a stiff breez e and occasional watering of the take-off area. About 600 fans attended and wit b plenty of refreshments , sunny cool weatber, and action all day they got thetr -money'a worth. Practice started at 8:30 a .m. for small bikes , with the 250cc and under classes running before noon, (Conti nued 00 page 5) Bar.doll Bunch Boast a Boss Bash By Larry Haley In the middle of a dry lak e five mil es s outh of Bar stow a nd j ust off the free/C way, t he Bars tow M started their har e sc rambles Sund ay, Mothe r's Day, May 8 1966. ' ith 204 en tries on the li ne , the W hann er was dro pped at 9:2 0 a.rn, an d Tiny Maxwell took the lead with Bob Belt on a Husqvarna (for the firs t ti me) in hot purs uit. About halfway a round t he co urse , the re was a sandy, roc ky up hill with c heck #2 on top . That was T iny's 1lI!doing, with that wei ght disadvantage (I ike 235 for the rid er, pl us one bi g 750cc Norton). The lightweight Husky went a round him giving the lead to Bob Belt a nd that 's the way it stayed for four 22-mile loop s . It was a bit warm, ove r 100 de gree s, and the d u s t didn' t help the ride rs either . But one thin g, it wa s a brand new co urs e , nev er before used and li me d. I mean li med li ke a fre~way . Da nger marks were very good a nd laid (Co nti nue d on pa ge 4) • !i0806 'me:J 'I/:Ieas :lUOl 'PAIS I/:Ieas :luol 'N Utl9 • SM3N 31:)J..:) :01 iutnei I;M!FJP 01 etqeun Jl - - 83.LSVW.L SOd •

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