Laconia

LACONIA

BOYD REYNOLDS

OFF THE LINE, Ralph White on a streamlined Matchless was in fifth place behind leaders Gary Nixon, Roger Reiman, Jody Nicholas and Bob Sholly; close on his heels were Dick Mann and Bart Markel. By lap three he had pushed past Sholly and was breathing down Jody's neck. Gary Nixon, on the other hand, was setting a blistering pace on a well-tuned Triumph. Going into the fourth lap, Reiman lost control in a high speed left hander and flew into the infield over an em bankment, smashing into rocks and stumps not yet cleared from track construction. Fortunately, his injuries were not serious.

In writing most race reports, the winning competitors are usually prime focal points of the article. In 1965, the winners of the events at the 100-Mile National Champion ship had to share the spotlight with a fel low named Keith Bryar. Mr. Bryar, past World Champion Dog Sled driver has, through sweat and hard work, constructed one of the finest road racing circuits this reporter has ever seen. The complete course is visible from almost all vantage points and although still under construc tion, it has most of the facilities other tracks lack. By next year, the rocks and stumps will give way to well-kept grass lawns and the pond will be prepared for boat racing.

On Mr. Bryar's new track, Gary Nixon was setting all kinds of speeds for future record breakers to work toward. Going into the ninth lap, White passed BSA mounted Nicholas and set his sights on the leader. In lap eleven, Jody passed White for a short moment and then dropped back again. On the 13th time around, Nixon lost his lead and White surged out front followed by Nicholas and Mann. Following Nixon were Markel and Roeder, with Bob Sholly right behind.

From this point on to the finish, the championship was a perfect picture of precision as many riders, staying in their same position except when encountering heavy traffic, turned remarkably consistent lap times. Nixon finally managed to pass Mann and on lap 32 got by Nicholas, briefly gaining the second running position. Nixon led Mann for twelve laps until they switched positions in lap 55; Mann again moved ahead on lap 57 and led Gary into the victory circle. Total elapsed time for Matchless-mounted Ralph White was one hour, 26 minutes and 54 seconds for an average speed of 69.595 mph over the 1.6-mile circuit.

Earlier, Richard Gariepy jetted off the line on his Triumph to take a commanding lead in the 60-Mile Amateur event. Two laps later his gearbox locked tight in the center hairpin and down he went. The motorcycle had to be physically carried off the track, with the rear wheel locked tight.

For a brief moment, second place man Edward Moran led on a BSA until Harley rider Wayne Cook took over in the tenth lap. Back in the pack, Robert Winters on a Matchless and Myron Magorski (H-D) were mixing it up for third place money. Winters won, to start the Matchless victory streak.

Preceding the championship events were three days of lightweight racing climaxed by the 250cc Expert/Amateur go-round on Saturday. It was a Yamaha victory in the major battles.

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In the 250cc combination event, Jody Nicholas led through a torrential downpour complete with hail as big as marbles. Riding far ahead of the pack on a Bultaco, Jody, who now works for Cemoto East, applied a little too much brake going into the home straight on one of the final laps and went sliding through the hay bales near the end of the pit fence. Tony Murphy from West Covina, California then moved into the lead on a TD1-B followed by Dick Mann and DonTwigg, also on Yamahas. Through a mix-up which was not solved for many hours after the checkered flag, Jess Thomas was presumed to have won third place and thus appeared in all the pictures and press releases. Jess was later moved to fourth position.

Friday afternoon the Novice riders lined up before the tower for a 90-mile go with 250cc engines. Third place finisher Larry Darr took the lead on a Bultaco for the first three laps; then the eventual winner, Jim Anderson, took over for laps four through seven when Herb Kresge moved into the lead. Kresge had shown remarkable ability on his Harley in the heats and semi-finals and his Sprint was by far the fastest bike on the track. This was evident as he moved ’way out in front of the rest of the pack until a mechanical malfunction dropped him back to position 30 in that unlucky thirteenth lap. Anderson then took the lead once more and rode a steady, consistent race to the winner’s circle followed by Ducati-mounted Torello Tacchi from Chicago.

The major sportsman lightweight race, Class 4, was won by Herb Kresge on his Sprint, leading from flag to flag.

With the exception of the one rainstorm on Saturday afternoon, the entire race program was run under sunny, cool conditions. For vacationing riders, it was perhaps a little cooler than they would have preferred, but there was excitement to keep their blood warm.

There was a capacity crowd at the New Hampshire events this year, perhaps in excess of 20,000 riders and interested spectators. With the Belknap area completely fenced in, it seemed like more people than ever, and there was no place for them to go except out in the streets. The new track at Loudon was all locked up at night so most people sought their excitement in the Weirs Recreation area.

It was evident Friday evening that there were a few undesirable characters at Weirs, perhaps thirty in all, who with their influence caught up the many other young people who were looking for a source to exhaust their pent-up emotions. The blame for Saturday night’s riot can be placed upon this group’s shoulders, but the local people are by no means blameless. When a community of businessmen invite about 20,000 people into their area, whether they be motorcycle riders or college students, without adequate police supervision and planned programs, there will be trouble.