Barcelona Motocross Gp

Barcelona Motocross GP

Suzuki Dominates Opening World Championship Round

VOLKER RAUCH

IN SPITE OF the competition of a national football match, a Formula I race and a golf tournament, a record crowd of 30,000 watched the opening round of the 250cc World Motocross Championships in Sabadell, near Barcelona.

The Husqvarna factory prepared allnew bikes for Torlief Hansen, Heikki Mikkola, and Bryan Wade in an effort to regain the championship lost to Suzuki last year. The frame is now made from ultra-lightweight alloy tubes, and the swinging arm is about 35 percent lighter.

The engine is also new and now sports a six-speed gearbox which will yield greater adaptability for all types of terrain. The cylinder head is similar to the one on their normal series engine, but it must be a little special, as the 36-mm Bing carburetor is quite large for a 250. Husqvarna only claims 30 bhp at 7200 rpm for the engine, but the useable powerband is from 3500 to 8500 rpm.

All three works riders spoke enthusiastically about the new Husky, only Wade couldn’t ride it in Spain because the gear lever and brake pedal were still on the wrong side for him.

Suzuki also appeared with improved machines, the main improvement being still more power. There was also a new Wankel-powered motocross bike being developed back in Hamamatsu; Suzuki hopes this prototype will weigh only 165 lb.

The internal battle within the Suzuki team between Robert and Geboers will not be continued this year because Geboers crashed in Belgium and suffered a complicated knee break. Unfortunately, he will be out of action for at least half the season.

To replace Geboers, Suzuki has signed Taichi Yoshimura, the 125 and 250cc Japanese motocross champion for the first six rounds. Yoshimura also held the Japanese title in 1966, but a bad crash put him out for three years.

Because Roger DeCoster has left CZ this year to ride Suzuki in the 500cc class, the Czechoslovakian factory’s main hopes lie with a four-man Russian team that will compete in all rounds. The Belgian, Gaston Rahier, is the only other CZ factory rider at this time.

Maico is concentrating on the 500 class and did not field a 250 team this year at Barcelona. Spanish factories, however, appeared in force with one Ossa, five Bultacos, and six Montesas.

In all, 30 riders started the event. On Friday, the Russian rider Gennadij Moiseev (CZ) surprised everyone with the fastest practice time ot 2:36.5. Close behind was the Swede Uno Palm (Husqvarna) at 2:37.0. World Champion Joel Robert (Suzuki) was 3rd fastest at 2:37.9.

On Saturday, Robert fared even worse. His Suzuki refused to start for a required qualification run, necessary to determine starting places. To make matters worse for Suzuki, Ole Pettersson’s condensor failed after a few laps. Neither man actually qualified until Sunday morning, just before the race.

During the first six laps of the first moto, the Japanese did not display their usual smiles. Torleif Hansen (Husqvarna) took the lead and was way ahead of Robert and the following field. Robert, though, was working his way up and took over the lead on Tap 6. Three laps later, Hansen regained the lead briefly, but a crash on the 12th lap forced him into 5th position. Robert lead the remainder of the first moto.

After Hansen’s crash, the Soviet Moiseev (CZ) moved into 2nd position and held it to the finish. Moiseev, in the beginning, could keep up with Hansen and Robert, but late in the moto dropped back because of fatigue. Rahier (CZ) finished 3rd.

The Soviet Vladimir Kavinov (CZ) lead the first three laps of the 2nd moto. Rahier (CZ), Wade (Husqvarna), Robert (Suzuki), Palm (Husqvarna) and Mandritchenko (CZ) followed. On Lap 4, Rahier took the lead and Robert began closing the gap. Robert took the lead from Rahier on Lap 5.

For a time, Pettersson (Suzuki) had a hard time getting by Moiseev (CZ) tor 3rd, until engine failure ended the Soviet’s effort. On Lap 7, Rahier began to drop back, letting Pettersson into 2nd.

With Robert’s two lst-place finishes, and Pettersson’s two 2nds, Suzuki clearly dominated the first world championship round. Suzuki is well on their way to winning their 2nd motocross title in a

row.

BARCELONA 250 RESULTS

1. J. ROBERT .................Suzuki

2. O. PETTERSSON ............Suzuki

3. H. ANDERSSON..........Husqvarna

4. G. RAHIER....................CZ

5. V. KAVINOV ..................CZ

6. M. WIERTZ ................ Bultaco

7. B. WADE................Husqvarna

8. F. MINNE ....................Ossa

9. G. HOUSSOLONGE .........Montesa

10. L. FORSBERG .............Montesa