Gunter Takes 8-Mile Title

GUNTER TAKES 8-MILE TITLE

CAROL ANDERSON SIMS

THE night had a special hum to it. From the pits, where last minute work was being hastily conducted, to the rapidly filling grandstands, it could be felt — that indefinable aura of excitement and anticipation which always comes with race night. But this was more — this was the 8-Mile National Championship race, and leading riders from all over the country converged upon Ascot Park in Gardena, California, for promoter J. C. Agajanian’s 4th annual running of the West Coast dirt track classic.

Time trials had been held the previous evening over an extremely fast and wellprepared course. Taking advantage of the fine track conditions (damp and tacky), thirteen experts and one amateur sailed around the half-mile oval in less than 24 seconds, quickest being Ascot point leader Jack O’Brien, with a sizzling 23.31.

Now the pressure was really on. Only 12 experts could make the 8-Mile final and three times as many were entered, 16 of whom carried national numbers on their plates. Included were the top four in current AMA standings, Dick Mann (leading with 28 points), Bart Markel (22), Ralph White (17) and Carroll Resweber (16). Three former national dirt track champions also graced the lineup — AÍ Gunter ('57 and ’60), Sammy Tanner ('58 and ’59) and Neil Keen (’60). But only by finishing fourth or better in their respective 10-man heat races could riders transfer to the final, so the evening would, of necessity, bring bitter disappointment to many.

The first heat race found BSA-mounted Jack O’Brien in fine fettle; he led from the start and won in record time (3:57.89) ahead of Dick Hammer (H-D), former 8-Mile champ Sammy Tanner (Triumph), and Ralph White, up from the back row on his Harley.

A closer race than the second 10-lapper would be hard to imagine. Stuart Morley, veteran member of the BSA Wrecking Crew, zoomed into the first turn ahead of Neil Keen, last year’s 8-Mile winner, Dick Mann and Carroll. Resweber. By lap 7, Resweber was up to second spot, and then followed a frantic lead-swapping duel with Morley that had the overflow crowd of nearly 10,000 screaming their encouragement. On the last turn of the last lap, Resweber’s Harley got the drive coming out and he nipped Morley at the wire, ahead of Keen (BSA) and Mann (Matchless). Time: 3:59.29.

The final expert preliminary event found out-of-towners Bart Markel (H-D), Tony Murguia (H-D) and Darrell Dovel (Triumph) pitted against BSA-mounted AÍ Gunter, 8-Mile title holder in 1960, and winner of seven main events at Ascot this season. Markel shot off the line and into the lead, setting such a fantastic pace that even before he took the checkered flag, a new track record seemed imminent. But a collective “WOW” erupted from the crowd when it was announced that not only had the Michigan flash lowered O’Brien’s minutes-old mark by nearly four seconds, to 3:55.38, he further enhanced this accomplishment with a one-lap clocking of 23.00 on the third time around — fastest in Ascot history! Gunter took second, Murguia was third, and first year expert Don Tortorelli (H-D) squeezed into the final transfer spot after a furious battle with Dovel.

Now the stage was set. Six HarleyDavidsons, four BSA’s, one Matchless G-50 and one Triumph comprised the starting lineup for the only west coast dirt track national of the year. Many top contenders, including George Roeder, Jody Nicholas, Darrell Dovel, John Muckenthaler, Don Hawley and Gary Nixon, were forced to watch from the sidelines, as were two of Ascot’s top ten experts, Blackie Bruce and Bennie Sims, both recovering from injuries sustained earlier this season.

At the drop of starter Wes Drennan’s flag, Gunter charged to the front, closely pursued by Markel, Hammer, O’Brien, Resweber, Murguia and Mann. By the second lap, O’Brien had assumed the runnerup position but Markel, only Eastern rider ever to win a main event at Ascot, was challenging strongly. Mann gave his fans an anxious moment on the following lap when his engine appeared to falter and he held up his hand to warn oncoming riders. It was only a momentary splutter, however, and he quickly regained lost ground.

By lap 4, Prince Albert was extending his lead, Resweber had taken over 4th spot from Hammer, and both Mann and Morley passed Murguia for 6th and 7th. With each lap the Mann-Morley rivalry gained in intensity, and together they swept by Hammer the next time around. Mann’s G-50, incidentally, sported the only swinging arm frame in the 8-Mile lineup and is, in essence, the same machine he uses for TT’s.

Positions up front remained the same until lap 9 when Markel, ever-persistent, finally got around O'Brien for second place. His success was short lived, however, for in the next turn he unloaded, uninjured but out of the race.

At the halfway point the standings were Gunter, O'Brien, Resweber, Mann, Morley, Hammer, Murguia, Tanner, Keen, White, and Tortorelli. By lap 11, Murguia had moved past Hammer, as did Tanner on the next circuit. Then Tanner closed in on Murguia, taking him one lap later. Meanwhile, the struggle between Morley and Mann for 4th spot continued unabated, with first one and then the other nosing ahead. Morley nipped through on laps 14, 15 and 17, but Mann bore down on lap 18 and led by a substantial margin as the checkered flag fell.

Gunter’s wire-to-wire win was made even more impressive by his full straightaway lead over O’Brien at the finish, and Resweber wound up a distant third ahead of Mann, Morley, Tanner, Keen, Hammer, Murguia, White and Tortorelli. Time for the 20 laps - 7:56.81.

7-MILE AMATEUR FINAL Action was fast and furious in the amateur ranks as well as the expert, with records falling and close competition the keyword. Clyde Litch, Ascot’s top point scorer, served notice of his intentions well in advance by posting an all-time qualifying record for amateurs, 23.69, to break his old mark of 23.85. Not only was this a new one-lap amateur record, it stood as eighth fastest time trial of the entire meet, including experts!

Undismayed by this startling performanee, Elliott Schultz, recently returned from a year’s layoff due to injuries, cranked on his Shell Tuett-tuned Royal Enfield in the first heat race and beat out BSA-mounted Litch for the checker, taking the i O-lap amateur record and 10-lap expert record for good measure. His time of 3:58.62 (later bettered by both O’Brien and Markel) was nearly seven seconds faster than Litch’s old mark of 4:05.85, ^nd a half-second quicker than Resweber’s former expert record!

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.Iowa’s Duane Shadley, recent winner of the Columbus amateur national and practically unbeatable as a novice at Ascot last year, parted company from his HarleyDavidson early in the heat and did not transfer. Another H-D rider, Marshall Lamm from Richmond, Virginia, roared up from the back row to take third place and become the only out-of-stater in the 7-Mile lineup.

Fast-rising young Mert Lawwill (BSA) fought his way from 6th spot to win the second heat race over Jeff Sperry (BSA) and Triumph-mounted Ron Nelson, while Homer Stapps (H-D) accounted for the third preliminary event in front of Larry Parsons (BSA) to round out the 8-man field. Lawwill’s time was 4:07.58; Stapps turned the 10 laps in 4:09.54.

As the 7-Miler was flagged off, Lawwill leaped into an early lead ahead of Litch, Schultz, Stapps, Lamm, Parsons and Sperry. On the far turn of the first lap, however, Litch and Lamm unloaded, necessitating a restart. Both riders were able to get back in and Litch catapulted to the front, closely pursued by Schultz. By lap four, Schultz was closing in on Litch while Lawwill, up from 6th, had taken over third in front of Stapps, Nelson, Parsons and Sperry. Then Lamm decided to try the other turn for size, going end for end

without injury. He remounted and continued, nearly a lap behind.

On the ninth time around, Schultz took over the lead from Litch and continued to stretch his advantage until, at the checker, he was ahead by over half a straightaway. No surprise was the news that another track record had been established — 6:29.54 for 16 laps — and Schultz’ comeback performance was roundly cheered. Litch finished second, Lawwill third; then came Stapps, Nelson, Sperry, Parsons and Lamm.

When the evening’s excitement had subsided, a quick count showed that Dick Mann now leads the national AMA title chase by an even wider margin than before. He has a total of 31 points, as compared to Markel’s 22 and 21 for Resweber, only four-time Grand National Champ. With road races, T.T.’s and mile track events still to go on the national circuit, the battle for supremacy continues unabated, and perhaps will not be settled until the final race, Ascot's 50-lap T.T. national slated for October 6th.

8-MILE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP —