1970 Orange County CA Motorcycle Racing Drag Sidecar - 3-Page Vintage Article

Description

1970 Orange County CA Motorcycle Racing Drag Sidecar  - 3-Page Vintage Article
Original, vintage magazine article.
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Forecast for the future
Fuel burners, asphalt
scorchers and sidecars
team up for an exciting
day of racing
by Bruce Cox
Just a few days after the American
Motorcycle Association had announced
their 750cc open limit for national road
races in 1 970, West Coast race fans had
a chance to see what kind of racing this
would bring
The American Federation of Motorcy-
clists and the West Coast newspaper,
'Motorcycle Weekly,' combined on No-
vember 2nd to stage the California
Grand Prix . . the only motorcycle race
in the United States run under the Inter-
national rules of the world governing
body, the Federation Internationale Mo-
tocycliste
The fact that the AMA had just a
month previously become linked with
the FIM -— after years of talks — made
the California GP closer still to the AMA
road race of the future.
Main race of the day was the 10OOcc
Grand Prix for the ’Motorcycle Weekly'
trophy and it saw Yamaha 350 and
Suzuki 500cc two-stroke twins dicing it
out with three cylinder Kawasaki two
strokers, big Norton and Triumph 750
twins plus some of the latest BSA and
Triumph big-bore three cylinder four-
cycles and a Honda four-cylinder. A
The first bend of the production
bike race with Roland Pagan
leading eventual winner. Bill
Manley, Virgil Davenport, George
Kerker, and Jody Nicholas.
glamorous line-up that only needed the
factory Harleys to make it a crystal-ball
version of Daytona 1970. And if this
meeting was an appetizer, next year's
main dishes will be great.
When the flag dropped and the field
sorted itself out on the opening laps
there were no fewer than five different
makes laying claim to the first place!
Jack Simmons, who slides road race
corners like a flat-tracker and is a great
favorite with California crowds, led in-
itially on his TT-style Norton-powered
Metisse . . complete with high bars and
forward-mounted footpegs! Jack was
displaced after two laps by the more
normal Yamaha 350 road racer of Jody
Nicholas, but even Jody was under pres-
sure. Hot on his heels and soon to pass
was the Suzuki-mounted winner of the
Sears Point AMA National . . . Art Bau-
mann from San Francisco.
Also in the running was the BSA
three of Ralph White, the Triumph three
of Rusty Bradley (all the way from Dal-
las. Texas), the Norton Commando pro-
duction bike of George Kerker and Don
Mel Disharoon (Harley) drags off
with the twin-engined Triumph of
Boris Murray. Boris turned 159
mph (furthest from camera) and
Mel hit 153 mph.
Dean Hummer and Rulon
Gulbransen climbed aboard their
Harley hack and just breezed away
from the opposition in the sidecar
race.
Emde on another Yamaha. The BSA
was the same model that Cycle Guide
publisher.. Bob Braverman, rode at over
144 mph during the last Bonneville
Speed Week, and still has its powerful
three-cylinder engine in a Trackmaster
dirt-track chassis. Ralph had a few han-
dling problems, causing the occasional
excursion into the dirt but tuner, Tom
Cates, said, 'We'll have everything
sorted out by Daytona . . then watch
out." White eventually finished in fourth
place.
The win went to Baumann by a mere
few feet from the Yamaha of Jody Nich-
olas. Further back in third place was
Don Emde. Young Texan, Rusty Bradley,
had a good placing literally slip away
from him. In the early laps his Triumph
tangled with the Honda four of Andreas
Georgeades, and the Honda handlebar
pierced the Triumph's oil tank. Geor-
geades crashed but Rusty managed to
stay aboard . . at least for a few laps
The punctured oil tank was leaking its
contents on to the rear tire, however,
and Rusty eventually slid off at the hair-
pin taking another front runner, George
Kerker, with him. A pity, for the Triumph
(tuned by Big D Cycle Center of Dallas)
was the bike that ran 147 mph at
Bonneville and was all set for a high
placing.
Other highlights of the meeting were
things such as the presence of British
250cc champion, Dave Browning, two
kinds of racing that are becoming the
favorites of the California fans — pro-
duction bike and sidehack classes —
and an eight-bike elimination between a
handful of the West Coast's top drag
bike riders. Browning borrowed a two-
year-old Yamaha TD1C for the 250cc
Grand Prix and lost over a mile to the
leaders when it became a reluctant
starter. But he charged through the field
and eventually finished fourth behind
the Yamaha trio of Jody Nicholas, Don
Emde and Ron Grant.
Dean Hummer and Rulon Gulbransen
have been winning just about all of the
sidehack races out on the Coast and this
was no exception. The spinning, sliding
and in one case, exploding outfits just
sent the crowd wild. It was easy to see
why the three-wheelers are so popular
with the fans and the same was true of
the production bike event.
Bill Manley (Norton Commando) and
Texan, Virgil Davenport (Triumph Tri-
dent) raced wheel to wheel for the
whole 30 miles and even at the check-
ered flag there was no daylight between
them!
The idea of including drag races was
an idea that other road race promoters
would do well to follow as the fearsome...
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