Inter-Am
INTER-AM
An 8-Race Series For The World's Best
AMERICA HAS just devoured its second helping of European motocrosswith enough relish to make the newly instituted Inter-Am series a flourishing annual event.
This year’s eight-round Inter-Am has been an unqualified success with larger crowds attending, keener racing and a marked increase in the standard of riding by American competition. Though the gulf between the Americans and the European factory stars still is fairly wide, it isn’t the chasm it once was. Motocross is rapidly catching on as a sport in the U.S., and now that the Europeans have taught Americans to use 21-in. front wheels and map out rougher courses, the year will come when it won’t be just a demonstration tour for Europe’s best.
In addition to the lineup of Husqvarna and CZ works riders, Maico, Greeves and Bultaco decided that the publicity value of this year’s events warranted an entry of one rider each. One factory was somewhat amazed to find that the EIM sanction proved to be rather costly. In addition to the $2000 spent to send the works rider, the factory was required to pay Inter-Am organizer Edison Dye $500 for the privilege of contesting the series, “And,” quoth the stunned importer, “we still had to pay an entry fee for each race!”
Eour times 250 world champion Torsten Hallman, who started the whole thing off two years ago with some demonstration rides, decided 1968 just isn’t his year. Having lost his 250 title to Joel Robert in the last grand prix in Austria in October, the tall, cool,Swede collected a broken collarbone and a couple of cracked ribs in the first Inter-Am round at Pepperell, Mass., and missed every other meeting except the final event at Saddleback Park. As he unhappily mused, “All year I ride hard in Europe and I have to step off in the first Inter-Am round.” But shrewd bird that he is, old “Kroner-eyes” was very evident counting customers as they filed through the turnstiles!
As the circus convoyed across the U.S. toward sunny California, the group hit the Ohio township of Akron to entertain 16,000 inquisitive Ohionians and leave them with a taste for motocross. This meeting went down well with the new 250 world champion Joel Robert, who easily won the two 500 motocross races on his 400-cc CZ. The circuit was very fast and grassy, and the superior speed of the large bore works bikes blew the rest of the field into the weeds.
Two unranked Europeans made a spectacular debut at Akron. Maico’s top rider, Adolf Weil, won the Saturday. 25.0 race, beating Robert. This 29-year-old West German shook many people by nearly beating Robert in the 1968 Luxembourg 250 grand prix, and as with good wine, this tall German seems to mature with age. He is super/neat and has a knees-in, sit-down style that is beautiful to watch.
The other who nearly beat Joel was Husqvarna’s new representative, Torlief Hansen. This youngster worried Joel, nearly beating him in the 500 race. Torlief proved a smash hit with the female fans with his long, blond hair curling up from under his Bell.
Trom the grassy slopes of Ohio this international group of specialists moved to Wichita, Kan., where it was more like home the heavens opened and down came the rain. The course ran through a series of ravines and gullies and soon became a quagmire. A muddy Marcel Wiertz commented, “This is one I could do without.”
The small knot of spectators found their parking lot flooded, and the competitors had to have their cars towed to the pits. In addition, the sound service didn’t arrive until late afternoon, and the races ran an hour late and had to be shortened to 20 min. each. Again, Joel Robert showed his mastery and won everything.
Dallas, Tex., was more to Englishman Dave Bickers’ liking. This 30-year-old veteran with two world titles under his belt won the 250 race, with Joel again winning the 500 motocross. Without Hallman, the Husqvarna team were having a lean time, but Torlief Hansen was very much in evidence again, and his teammate, Bengt Aberg, started to find form.
The American riders across the country, though knowing they were outclassed, supported these early meetings. Montesa put a lot of effort into the series; Montesamen Ron Nelson and amiable John De Soto improved every time out. In this Dallas meeting. De Soto finished 9th in the 250 race. Despite working for Ossa, Dick Mann opted to ride a stock 360 Greeves, and he showed his veteran tag is nothing to go by as he beat most of the other U.S. riders.
The weather-plagued Europeans heaved a sigh of relief when they crossed the California border—only to be greeted by some heavy rain, the first natives had seen in months. Dave Bickers quipped, “It’s just like home!”
Westlake Village, north of Los Angeles, was long, hard and dusty, and was based around a film set pioneer town. The Europeans were somewhat amazed to find themselves blasting up the main street, then having to go in one end of a barn and out the other. The tight turns at each end of the barn meant sliding the bikes through the darkness, hoping they would pop out the other end pointing in the right direction.
Husqvarna was without Bengt Aberg, who had a twisted knee, but the iron man of the team, Christer Hammargren, gave Joel Robert a hard time in the 250 race on Saturday, while Torlief Hansen finished 3rd.
Nick Nicholson’s runner from England, Bryan Wade, was involved in an unfortunate argument with the organizers, and was forced to watch Saturday’s racing while cables flowed to and from England confirming his eligibility to compete. With the okay for Sunday, this young Greeves rider mixed it well with the stars, and thrilled the crowds with his crossed-up leaps, showing that Joel Robert was not the only one who could twitch a bike in mid-flight.
Maico’s Adolf Weil showed a liking for the course and scorched around the circuit to win the 500 motocross. American Russ Darnell featured well, and veteran Chuck “Feets” Minert finished 7th on his 440 BSA Victor. The day was rounded off with the Europeans giving a demonstration of wheelies in the starting area, but young Jim Wilson on a Greeves showed that home-grown talent can do even better by doing a wheelie with one leg on the saddle.
Bengt Aberg came back into the Husqvarna lineup for the Santa Cruz, Calif., event, and won the 250 race for that marque, but this was offset by the fact that young Torlief Hansen was forced to return to Sweden with a badly twisted knee. Joel Robert celebrated his 25th birthday with a win in the 500 class. Ron Nelson proved to be the best American, putting his Montesa just behind the Europeans.
Adolf Weil did not ride on Sunday after a heavy crash the previous day. He joined several other top riders who became only spectators after breaking their machinery.
By the time Carlsbad Raceway, near Oceanside, Calif., saw the circus, Joel Robert had all but sewn up the big class. But the tall, smiling Bengt Aberg had other ideas and stormed round in beautiful style to beat the Belgian. Aberg is a great stylist and is tabbed by Hallman to win the 500 world championship this year. His reputation for feet-up slides is famous in Europe, and at the Belgian Grand Prix two years ago he was asked by all the other riders to do a special demonstration for them during practice as they just couldn’t believe what they saw. A full-lock, front-wheel-in-the-air top gear slide satisfied everyone and racing continued.
Back to Carlsbad. The other Husqvarna team man, Christer Hammargren, won the 250 race, which left the final round at Saddleback Park to be disputed between Hammargren, Bickers and Robert.
There were some complaints from the riders about safety precautions. Adolf Weil had to lay his Maico down at high speed to avoid a woman spectator who decided to cross the course. Joel Robert, who was close behind, couldn’t avoid her, and she took a trip on a works CZ. For Adolf, things were not over for he nearly collected Ron Nelson’s Montesa when Ron stepped off and his bike shot clear into the oncoming traffic on another part of the course!
With the series nearly completed, the Europeans took stock of the situation and unanimously agreed that the series had been a great success. There were some glaring mistakes in organization, and one or two arguments about financial agreements, but generally it was the Europeans’ belief that the Inter-Am series is likely to become a major sports affair.
The European riders have influenced the Americans considerably. The top Americans in the 1968 series have nearly all been seasoned riders who have adapted to motocross—and improved. Dick Mann, Feets Minert, Ron Nelson and John De Soto all have given a fine performance, but it is the younger riders bred on this style that will someday provide true competition in the future. Young Jim Wilson on the Greeves has shown promise, and teen-ager John Hateley, who has acquired a single-port CZ, has been at the top of some race results lists with a very neat European style. With one leg remaining, Weil required only to place reasonably well in order to take overall victory. “Wild” Wade grabbed an early lead, but the relentless Weil reduced the gap, and eventually drew away from the Greeves rider. The starter flagged the race off before Robert was readyand after one lap Joel was in 10th place. He didn’t remain there for long, however—after 30 min. Robert had climbed to 3rd spot, behind Wade. Valek was 4th, from Wiertz.
At the final Inter-Am round, at Saddleback Park in southern California, Maico’s Adolf Weil won the races, and CZ’s Joel Robert collected the dollars. Weil shattered his fellow European superstars by storming to overall victory in both 250 and 500 classes. But Robert collected a special $500 prize for his performance as best overall rider in each class at all Inter-Am meetings. The money was donated by the organizers of each round.
Weil, Maico’s sole entry among the Europeans, slammed the massive support from the rival Husqvarna and CZ factories. On his almost-st.andard production 360, he cleared off from everyone in each of the three 500 legs. In the first leg, he made a great start, and astonished everyone by pulling away from 250 world champion Joel Robert. Joel’s fans thought he was sandbagging, and expected him to close the gap as the 30-min. race drew on. But the Belgian could do nothing about Weil’s massive lead, and eventually retired, with suspension problems on his CZ. Christer Hammargren (Husqvarna) took over 2nd place, followed by Greeves rider Bryan Wade, and CZ’s Dave Bickers. The best American rider in this race was Ron Nelson, the factory-backed Montesa star, who placed 9th, ahead of Chuck Minert’s BSA Victor.
The second leg was the same story, as Weil again led from start to finish. Robert completed the first lap just outside the top six, but climbed to 3rd place by the finish, behind Hammargren. Wade placed 4th, from Vlastimil Valek (CZ) and Roger de Coster (CZ). Billy Silverthorn proved that his summer trip to Europe taught him a lot, as he beat European Marcel Wiertz in a race for 7th place. Jim Wilson, the 17-year-old trials ace, rode his Greeves to 9th standing.
U.S. riders gave the Europeans some tough opposition in this final Inter-Am round. Roger de Coster, in particular, made slow starts and chased such riders as Nelson, his Montesa partner John De Soto, Wilson, and Minert, for many laps before squeezing by. The Europeans were impressed by the speed with which the local stars have improved their riding in only one year. The visitors also noted that the standard of equipment in the U.S. is higher than ever before.
They also believe Americans interfere too much with their machinery. Bryan Wade commented: “They’re always
mucking about with carburetion. I can’t understand why, because I jetted my two Greeves before I came out here, and I’ve ridden two English meetings and the west coast Inter-Am events without touching them again.”
Dave Bickers said, “I’ve had the same plug in my CZ for two world championship rounds and all eight Inter-Am rounds.”
While Weil, Wade and Valek scooped the top three positions in the 500 motocross, Ron Nelson collected 4th place. And, aided by retirements among the Europeans, Wilson was 5th, from Walt Axthelm (CZ), Tim Hart (CZ) and Steve Hurd (Maico). Nelson also won the CYCLE WORLD $250 prize for winning the title of best American rider in the Inter-Am 500-cc races. His teammate, De Soto, won a similar prize for his performance in the 250 section. The awards form a just reward for Montesa distributor Kim Kimball, who runs his two-man team just like a European factory squad. De Soto said that he and Nelson hope to ride in Europe this summer, to gain more vital experience.
Robert suffered an even greater humbling in the 250 races. In the first leg, Weil plowed into his customary lead, and by the time Robert had battled up from 5th, the gap was too great for him to reduce it. He finished 2nd, from Bengt Aberg (Husqvarna), Dave Bickers, Pierre Karsmaker (Husqvarna), and Roger de Coster. In this race, former world champion Torsten Hallman made his first racing appearance since he crashed at almost 80 mph in the opening InterAm round, at Peppered, Mass. He eased into 7th place. Best American was Russ Darnell (Husqvarna), in 9th place.
Weil again started first in the second and final leg, but this time Robert was right on his tail. And after trailing the West German for some time, he eventually grabbed the lead. If he could pull away, he might win on time. But Weil clung doggedly to the CZ, and claimed his second 250 win of the series. Aberg again placed 3rd, from Bickers and Valek. De Soto was the highest placed American rider, in 8th.
In overall results, Robert placed 2nd behind Weil, Aberg was 3rd, Bickers 4th, and Pierre Karsmaker 5th. Darnell, in 8th place, was the top American.
Belgian Marcel Wiertz, on one of the spunky little Bultacos, scored his second 125 win of the series. He beat Claes Nilsson, a Swede who lives in California. Nilsson rode a Penton. Gary Bailey, also Penton-mounted, was 3rd.
The Inter-Am series ended on a high note, with a massive crowd at Saddleback. At one time, lines of automobiles stretched for almost two miles up to the track entrance. Edison Dye, the man who arranged the Inter-Am series, already has plans for next year’s event, the number of American riders is increasing almost weekly, and the standard of riding has leaped ahead during the past year.
A highlight of the Europeans’ stay in California was the motocross school arranged at Saddleback Park. Joel Robert coached 56 students in the art of fast riding over rough ground. The riders gained five hours worth of tuition for their $15 entrance fees, and each agreed that the money was well spent. Joel was aided in his task by Bengt Aberg, Christer Hammargren, and Marcel Wiertz. The school is to become an annual feature of the Europeans’ tour. Motocross is finally here to stay. \0\
