The Scene
THE SCENE
IVAN J. WAGAR
BY the time this column appears in print the largest AMA National Championship calendar in history will be underway. The 1970 openers, as last year, will be the indoor short track and TT races in Houston, Texas. Equipment for Houston will pretty much follow last year's formula.
Daytona, on the other hand, is The Big One, the one some manufacturers place more importance on than all others combined. Normally I do not speculate on Daytona until the April issue, but a few of the behind-the-scenes phenomena sometimes overlooked should be presented here, before we get all carried away about riders and racers in future issues.
One very important part of the AMA racing program that receives almost no recognition from either the AMA or the press is the amount of contingency money paid to riders throughout the year. Frequently the donors themselves even neglect to inform the press of the amounts involved. After considerable digging I have found that at least $21,000 was available to riders last year.
To elaborate on the importance the equipment people place on Daytona, more than one third of the annual total was available at that one race. Heading the list with a whopping $3700 was Champion Spark Plug Company. That firm, in fact, offered contingency money for only one event all year, an indication of their feelings on the Florida classic. Nisonger Corporation, distributor of KLG spark plugs, offered the second highest amount of money for Daytona—$1400. Again the full amount was for one race.
The helmet manufacturers were next in line. Buco offered $850 of their $7000 total for Daytona. Bell Helmets offered $750, which was $500 more than for any of the other races on the AMA calendar, and the second largest chunk of their $8400 total money. Bell’s largest single payment, a cool $1000, went to Grand National Champion Mert Lawwill. Both Buco and Champion also put up $1000 for the winner of the No. 1 plate. Our records show one other contributor, again for Daytona only; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. posted a total of $900.
There may be other contingency awards, but in a couple of cases it took considerable efforts to find the ones
presented here. The AMA has a hands off policy towards this sort of award and makes no effort whatever to solicit or encourage the furtherance of contingency money. One donor was quite upset when he learned he could not present a $500 award at the AMA’s prize giving dinner after the races two years ago. The presentation had to be made informally at the Speedway.
Some AMA people feel that the association should do nothing to solicit or encourage contingency money. I think, however, that everything possible should be done by the AMA staff to further the contingency program. And, as in the big car race events, the money for each race should be on the entry form and in the program. Also, the contingency awards should be added to the advertised value of the purse, so that a National race might, in some cases, be 25 percent more than the normal prize money. Anything to increase the dollar value of motorcycle racing will give the sport more prestige. While it is true that not all of the $21,000 was paid out (if a rider is using one product he cannot collect from the other company), a good sum of money went into needy pockets last year.
Compared to car racing these figures may seem paltry, but that is like comparing apples and oranges. Even five years ago such a figure for contingency money in motorcycling was unheard of. And I look forward to next year, or the year after, when oil companies and others will feel that our sport is a good place to spend money. Who knows, there may be a day when our National No. 1 picks up $20,000 bonus money.
As far as Daytona raceware is concerned, this is the period of much secrecy. Harley-Davidson made a trip to the Speedway during December to try the new 750 version of the Sportster. Calvin Rayborn returned to the Coast with a broad grin, but was very tight lipped about the testing. That would indicate that Milwaukee is not unhappy about what took place.
Despite the 750-cc ruling, Yamaha will stick with their 350 for the 200miler. The new 650, tested in this issue for the first time by any magazine in the world, will not run Daytona, as speculated by some of the railbirds last year. Yamaha’s 350 will be making its fourth appearance at Daytona. And it would take a lot of work to bring any new design to the 350’s level of development. Rumors have it that the new 350 will produce 68 horsepower, and with the favorable power to weight ratio it should still be very competitive. The first shipment of the new 250s has arrived and, externally, are identical to the all-conquering models of last season.
Kawasaki will take a pass on the 250 class this year, unless they have a change of heart at the last minute. Instead, they will concentrate on a new plan for the 200-miler, the details of which are not completed at this time. The plans, however, must be very impressive, for at least 50 of the racing Threes are being prepared for delivery in early March. The machines will be almost identical to the one built in this country last year, when a Mach III engine was slid into an A1R frame and running gear.
As usual all is very quiet from the BSA/Triumph group. It is a fairly well known secret, however, that three each of the Threes are being prepared for Daytona. Doug Hele is doing the development in England and we should see some real action. Doug, besides being a brilliant engineer, knows Daytona, and what is required to get the job done in the big race,
From last year’s performance we can expect Suzuki to be a dark horse. The racing 500s proved to be uncannily reliable, and showed an amazing turn of speed and acceleration. The riders, Ron Grant and Art Baumann, are in good mental condition to get the job done. Grant is spending the winter in New Zealand as the guest of Suzuki importer Rod Coleman with a 250 and a 500. So he will be coming home with a good active winter under his belt. Baumann, winner of the last road race last year, is resting at home in California, where he plans to compete in non-AMA races before Daytona.
Besides the 500s, Suzuki hopes to have a racing version of their new street 250, which will among other things have a new bore/stroke ratio for 1970. Suzuki has skipped the 250 class officially for the past two seasons to concentrate on the 500.
The big question everyone is asking is, “What about Honda?” The machine that won the French Bol d’Or race produced 72 horsepower, and was just as crisp when it won the 24-hour race as when it started. There is little doubt that a machine built specifically for Daytona would have searing performance. But American Honda has always shown a reluctance to race in this country, and it is possible that there would be a negative vote, even if they were guaranteed machines that would win. It is a shame really, because there will be private owners and dealers at Daytona with Fours, and without some technological help from the factory they stand little chance of doing well.
Norton, American Eagle and Enfield have decided not to do anything officially, although there may be some help to a couple of individuals. So, at least thus far, the primary intent of the 750 rule (that it would encourage more factories to participate in AMA racing) seems to have had little effect on the brands at Daytona. Even so, this year’s race will certainly be one for the record books, that’s for sure.
