The Livonia Mile
THE LOVONIA MILE
RAYBORN WINS A DUSTY DISASTER
THE NON-NATIONAL Livonia mile held last year drew unusually tavorable comments for a track: a super cushion mile, no dust, and some of the best racing anywhere. That was last year.
This year's 20-lap national championship race was anything but satisfactory. A horse race run the night before was the excuse for the deplorable condition of the race track, which bore a resemblance to the desert in a sandstorm after only a few laps of racing. A hard groove began to form on the inside portion of the track, but that was clearly not the place to ride. The fastest way around was up in the loose, dusty cushion.
San Diego’s Cal Rayborn, aboard an XR-750 Harley-Davidson, led the time trial postings with a blistering one-lap time of 41.02 sec. Even between the beginning and end of the expert time trials, the track dried up so much that it had to be watered before the juniors could begin their qualifying.
Bart Markel looked ready to increase his number of national championship wins to 29 when he stretched out a commanding lead in the second heat race, but his Harley devoured its rear piston. Dick Mann won the heat with a slower time than Cal’s winning time in the first heat. Ronnie Rail slipped and slid his way into the winner’s spot in the third expert heat in an even slower time. The dust was getting worse.
The expert semi resulted in Don Castro, Ron Butler and Jim Odom making it to the main event.
The junior main event, run just after the track had been watered, was relatively dust-free. California’s Kenny Roberts trailed Georgia’s Carl LeBlanc just slightly for almost the entire distance. Kenny seemed to be biding his time, waiting for Carl to make a mistake. The two stretched out quite a lead over Neil Blochinger (BSA), Harry Wynns (BSA) and Jim Ziegler (H-D). Then, going into the final lap, Kenny went wide in the first corner, into the dusty cushion, and found the bite necessary to pass Le Blanc. A matter of a few feet separated the two at the finish line.
The 20-lap national was a comedy of errors from the drop of the flag. With Markel out, Cal Rayborn’s competition stretched out behind him in the dust. Dick Mann and Chuck Palmgren filled the 2nd and 3rd slots, and another group comprised of Cieñe Romero, Ronnie Rail, Eddie Mulder and Dave Sehl formed several yards back. Jim Rice was working his way up from a rather slow start when the red flag came out, halting the race after only seven laps. The dust had gotten so bad that officials stopped the race for safety reasons. Rayborn, who had built up a lead of some 30 yd., was understandably upset, but Dick Mann, who dropped out the lap before, was given some time to work on his machine while the track crew watered the track. A staggered restart found Rayborn retaining his lead, but Mann dropped back a couple of laps later, letting Chuck Palmgren into 2nd place. Ronnie Rail’s engine soured, letting Dave Sehl and Gene Romero by into 3rd and 4th positions. Jim Rice rode by himself in the dust back in 5th place.
With each lap the dust was increasing, so the AMA officials decided to call a halt to the restart after only 6 more laps. Sixth through 12th positions were filled by Larry Darr (H-D), John Weaver (Triumph), Ted Newton (Triumph), Ronnie Rail (Triumph), Larry Palmgren (Triumph), Keith Mashburn (Yamaha) and Jim Odom (Yamaha).
Most of the riders present seemed to enjoy the race track, but none liked the dust. Neither did the crowd, which made its opinion known by stamping feet, making catcalls and displaying a general restlessness throughout the entire show. r^i
RESULTS
