...And In the Trans-Ama

and in the Trans-Ama

A Moral Victory For Joel, But A 1-2-3 Sweep For BSA.

Two-fifty class world champion Joel Robert, Suzuki's ebullient Belgian, wound up the Trans-AMA series with a 6-out-of-8 win record. It was an easy feat, as the pace of the American Motorcycle Association's new series was painfully slow compared to that of the Inter-Am. Strangely, Joel placed only 7th in the series, due to a narrow scoring spread between winners and runners-up.

Both Joel (17) and his riding mate, —» OI le Pettersson (24), missed the first two races. So BSA factory rider ;i Dave Nicoll (15), who competed in all eight races, gained more points and won the series. BSA's Banks (14) and Smith (11) came in 2nd and 3rd. Highest scoring American rider in the Trans-AMA was Ohioan Dick Burleson (7), shown at Carlsbad as he was being lapped by Banks. Burleson, riding a Husqvarna, finished 4th overall in the point standings and is the AMA's first national motocross champion.