Daytona Seventy One
DAYTONA SEVENTY ONE
THE 200 MILER:
"A FANTASTIC SCHOOL OF ROAD RACING."
He did it last year on a Honda. He did it this year on a BSA. And both times, Dick Mann's strategy was the same. Hang in there and wait for the jackrabbits to break. Which they did.
First came the opening two-lap chase after Cal Rayborn's quick accelerating factory Harley, which ended as his gearbox failed. Next leader was Gary Fisher, riding a rapid "Pop Yoshimura" kitted 750 Honda. It soon expired with a broken cam chain. Then it was Paul Smart's turn. The knee-out Englishman (12) pushed his Triumph 750 Three in front, tailed by the fabled Mike Hailwood (20), on the factory BSA. Hailwood, the former 9-times world champion, nudged in front several times, was repassed, and finally lost the chase on Lap 15 when a valve train failure put his Three onto two.
Smart led for 40 laps, Mann following a scant few feet back. Then a tell-tale trail of smoke issued from Smart's Triumph. Mann may have seen it, for he slowed, possibly thinking that his own machine, similar to Smart's, might fail if he pressed on at the English scratcher's pace.
Smart pulled out on Lap 4 I, as oil getting by his Triple's piston rings fouled the plugs. He reentered after a change to hotter plugs, but only tentatively. Mann continued on to win. In the victory circle, nursing a sore foot from an altercation with a pylon on Lap 27, the 37-year-old do-all champion said of his overseas opponents: “It was a fantastic school of road racing.” Mann's average for the distance was 104.737 mph, beating his record of 102.696 mph set last year.
250cc EXPERT/JUNIOR:
THE KEL AND CAL SHOW
They went wheel to wheel like this for most of 27 laps, Kel (73) and Cal (14). Inner Don Veseo swears that both machines were equal in power output. But 1969 world champion Kel C’arruthers weighs about 25 lb. less than Cal Rayborn. and therefore could “hang more gear" on his Yamaha. Rayborn passed Kel several times in the infield, but Kel could always get back in front on the fast oval. Cal stayed with Kel by drafting, nervously noting that the extra speed gained from Kel's draft caused him to overrev by 300 rpm. C'arruthers finally evaded Rayborn for good, when they slipped free of traffic late in the race.
750cc JUNIOR:
A KITTED HONDA WINS
h'loridian Dennis Poneleit's (2X) race-kitted Honda 750 lour wasn't the fastest bike in the Junior 100-in ¡1er. Mike Lane’s 500-cc Kawasaki IHR was. But Lane lost his early 33-sec. lead due to pit stops for partial seizure and a broken shift lever. Dave Burchard.on another kitted l our, took over the lead briefly, and then I’oneleit inherited the win as Burchard's machine expired.
250cc NOVICE:
"I POLISH IT A LOT."
l act: 36 of the first 40 machines in the Novice 250 race were Yamahas. Winner Howard Lynggard's bike was a Yamaha. But Lynggard’s jocular tuner. AI Coden, must know something that Yamaha International doesn't. The crankshaft of the TD2 he prepared for Lynggard had 12 races
on it. and Yamaha thinks it should only go three races. Codon conceded that in preparation for Daytona, he installed new pistons “because I thought the bike deserved it." l or the next AMA national, Goden will give the 11)2 only its standard preparation: “I polish it. yes. I must admit that I
polish it a lot.” And Lynggard flys it. After running off the road early in the event, he repassed three-quarters of the field and slipped into the lead seconds before getting the checkered flag.
BSA & TRIUMPH
In practice, the Threes ran well all week. Main problem: caliper
mounting point for the doubledisc front brakes ... Divided opinion, with Triumph's Doug Hele supporting the theory that differential stress on forks is less with calipers behind stanchions. Mann. Smart & Hailwood went Hole’s route. Triumph’s favorite, (iary Nixon, had his broken leg pinned, rode, but off the pace. Smart’s Triumph was fastest qualifier on the racing circuit at 105.800 mph, with straightaway trap speeds around 155 mph. It was the only Three using Amal concentrics: the rest were using the old, trusty C.P carburetors. Don Kmde’s BSA was 4th qualifier, Hailwood's 5th, Jim Rice’s 10th, Mann's I 1th, Romero's Triumph, 13th. In the race. Triumph had two bikes in the top 10: Romero, steadily moving from 5th to 2nd: Tom Rockwood in 9th. BSA’s second machine in the top 10 was that of Don Pmde, who succeeded in a late bid for 3rd place.
HARLY-DAVIDSON
The XR750s were surprising. Cal Rayborn and Mark Brelsford qualified 2nd and 3rd fastest at 105.678 mph and 105.613 mph. They must have been doing it in the infield because they were running only 146-148 mph through the speed traps. Acceleration, if not top speed, had been greatly improved by using 36mm-boredto-37mm Mikuni carburetors. Rayborn commented: "Power right now . . . instant torque . . . smooth!” The bikes are heavy (340 lb.), but low c.g. gave Cal the handling edge in the infield. A rare gearbox failure, the selector mechanism, denied Cal his chance at a win, and he was pitted for 28 minutes during the race. Brelsford's blew up early. Mert Lawwill suffered a Hat tire, crashed and fractured an elbow. And Roger Reiman, on an XR he built himself, finished 4th in the 200, although he had only qualified in 27th spot.
THE BIG RACE: HOW \THE FACTORIES FARED
NON-FACTORY HONDA
Everyone may tliink that Paul Smart's bike was the fastest. Not so. The fastest, a dark horse, was (¡ary Fisher's Honda 750 Four, which led the 200 for a few laps before destroying the cam drive chain. The engine was provided by Japanese super-tuner “Pop” Yoshimura, and slipped into the Honda racing-kitted frame with double-disc front brake. Ibis bomb had a short fuse, and pumped oil like a tanker, but it was fast. Fisher, the former protege of (¡ary Nixon, started off his first year as Fxpert by qualifying 6th fastest at 105.039 mph. Rumors have it that more of these engines, with stronger cam chains, will be in the country soon.
KAWASAKI
Walt Fulton (17), qualifying 8th fastest at 104.674 mph, had the fastest 500-ec HIR three-cylinder. Those of Texan Rusty Bradley, who cleaned up in Amateur competition last year. Ralph White, and Yvon Dullamcl were also in the top 20 qualifying slots to determine starting grid position. But the bikes were struck with full or partial seizures, and l)uHamel lost a full minute on the field with a reluctantly starting machine. Bradley, an extremely hot prospect, suffered fatal head injuries in a high speed crash at Turn I: the racing fraternity will greatly miss this young college student road racer, always personable, cheerful and a credit to the game.
SUZUKI
Suzuki had their worst year ever. The lighter, lower new 500-cc Twins were slower than last year’s. The engines, fitted with a new CDI ignition identical to that on the championship motocross machines, started easy, but gave false spark plug readings. Result: continued seizures, rich-feeling carburetion, yet melted pistons. The bikes were down on rpm. Jody Nicholas’ machine (23) qualified the fastest in 9th spot at 104.534 mph. Ron Pierce’s Suzuki went the farthest in the race27 laps. Suzuki’sonly consolation was Miss Suzuki. Their taste was impeccable.
YAMAHA
The undersized 350-cc Yamaha Twins were basically a concerted show of private and dealer sponsored machines. The Vesco-tuned machine for Aussie Kel Carruthers qualified quite well-7th fastest at 104.678 mph-most of this speed being in the infield. During the 200, Kel’s bike began pumping oil from the transmission breather pipe, and he had to pit for a replacement, dropping back from an early 5th place position. But he made up time after the stop and finished 10th. Best Yamaha finisher was Jimmy Odom (18) in 5th spot, shown here running with Suzuki's Ron Cirant (42).
THE STATISTICS
200-MILE NATIONAL
T une of race 1 In.. 54 mm., 55.67 sec. Average speed: 104.737 mph for a new record. OUI record was set in 1970 by Dick Mann on a Honda at 102.697 mph.
JUNIOR 100 MILE
Time of race: 1 hr., 58.27 sec. Lap leaders: No. 24, laps 1 through 16; No. 45, laps 17 through 23, No. 28, laps 24 through 27. Race speed was no record. Record was set in 1970 by Rusty Bradley on a Kawasaki at 100.732 mph.
EXPERT JUNIOR 2!50cc 100 MILE
Time of race: 1 hr., 06.87 sec. Average speed: 101.366 mph.
76 MILE NOVICE
Time of race: 49 mm., 13.27 sec. Average speed 95.934 mph.
