Desperados At Daytona
DESPERADOS AT DAYTONA
Long before it ever happened, Daytona '74 was being billed as "The Race of the Century;" probably and unequivocally the most anticipated Daytona of them all. In part, this was due to the expected presence of a foreign rider contingent unlike any other in the event's history. Not only were there riders representing some 14 nations, but machinery speed and promise ranked higher than ever. And when intermixing the best foreign riders with the best American scratchers, the lack of consanguinity became a prominent drawing factor for the many thousands of spectators expected to be on hand. Us versus them, if you will. Saarinen's victory in the 200 miler last year served as a motivation for many of these non-resident riders; plucking away U.s. dollars has now become a game pursued with more than simple passing interest. But fat monetary aspects are not the only enticers; the Daytona spectacle still rates as one of the most prestigious events in all of motorcycling. And if a rider can return to his native land with THE race under his achievement belt, then his future is all the more promising. And what of 13-time World Road Racing Champions who have never competed at Daytona or in the United States? When they finally make up their mind to do so, it is news that shakes the foundations of the motorcycle racing world. Of course, this means none other than the man we've all heard and read so much about, the Italian Maestro, Giacomo Agostini. "Ago" would not only be at Daytona, but he would be riding one of the new highly-touted, factory-backed Yamaha TZ700 Fours, a combination most experts felt would be extremely formidable opposition. Yamaha, however, was not relying on "Ago" alone. The American side of the fortress would consist of Grand National Champ> Ken Roberts, the ever-quickening Don Castro, and veteran Gene Romero. Hideo Kanaya and Teuvo Lanssivuori teamed with Agostini, while Steve Baker and Jim Allen made up Yamaha Motor Canada. Add to this group the sheer numbers of privateer Yamaha TZ700 efforts (riders like Dick Mann, Steve McLaughlin, Gary Fisher-some thirty machines at least-and it took someone with one hell of a lot of moxie to bet against them. Then again, the other horsepower giants, Suzuki and Kawasaki, hadn't exactly been sleeping all winter either. Suzuki's awesome water-cooled Threes lost about 40 pounds of dead weight, gained a better handling chassis, and picked up a far wider power band. In addition to Paul Smart, factory riders would include Cliff Carr, Japan's Ken Araoka, Barry Sheene and none other than Gary Nixon. Though Kawasaki's racing budget had been cut drastically, their machinery was much improved, and they still went like the dickens.
Canadian Yvon DuHamel, Hurley Wilvert, and Art Baumann would fly the green colors. Qualify ing times shattered all previous records, with Paul Smart grabbing the pole position for the third year in a row. His 2.08:06 lap time averaged out to a 107.949 speed, and next to his Suzuki sat Hideo Kanaya (Yarn), Ken Roberts (Yarn), Barry Sheene (Suz) and Agostini (Yarn). Most of the remainder of the "go fast" machinery sat right behind the front row five, in the first wave of an 80-rider field. In the interest of the so-called energy crisis, the 200-mile event was shortened to 180 miles; the Lightweight Expert/Ju nior combined was dropped from 100 to 50 miles; and the 75-mile Novice go-round became a 50-rn iler. These changes made team strategies a bit different, but I heard > no complaints. Ago's shoes would have been hard to step into the day of the event; with his reputation and record the pressure must have been tremendous. But undaunted, he left the starting line first and grabbed a commanding lead by the end of lap one. Kanaya trailed, with Don Castro, Gary Nixon and Yvon DuHamel chasing. By lap four it was looking as though Agostini was motoring easily away from the field. "My God, is he really that good?" people were starting to think. But then Kanaya began catching up, with Roberts, Nixon and Castro switching places and following a short distance back. Then what happened on lap five was precisely what everybody thought would happen. Kanaya did a big banzai number in one of the fast infield corners; he cartwheeled a good distance across the infield before he came to rest with assorted injuries; the most serious of which was a broken ankle. Sheen, Nixon and Roberts passed Ago on lap 10; he wasn't so invincible after all. Pit stops started happening> near the 20th pass. . . it got downright frantic at times. Suzuki had some sort of foul-up that caused three of their team to pit on the same lap. Then the fast-fill fuel-up tank quit working for an unknown reason, and team Suzuki's pits looked for all the world like a corner gas station with its morning lineup of customers. Gary Nixon was lucky enough to miss the trouble when he pitted a lap later, so he got in and out in a hurry.
When all the sorting out and second fuel stops were over and done with, that Suzuki of Nixon's had a good edge and lead. Ago was still a smooth second, and Roberts clung to a distant third, after a slow stop and overheating trou bles.
The finish wasn't too far off when Nixon "tipped over" exiting the infield onto the banking. Gary tried in vain to get started again but the big Suzuki was bent pretty badly. Agostini then inherited a comfortable lead and crossed the finish line about 40 seconds ahead of Roberts, who was worried whether or not his machine would finish at all.
Though the American crowd was not particularly thrilled with an "Ago" victory, they saw a true champion in action, doing what he does best and proving his worth. Agostini is good. . .make no mistake about it. >
250 JUNIOR/EXPERT COMBINED Don Castro is a fine road racer, and almost always has been. Yet no one seems to think of Don as a pavement man, since an overall win in this type of event has eluded him for some time. Until now that is. Castro proved to everyone in this year's lightweight race just how good he is, in a race long dice with Ken Roberts and Gary Nixon, all on water-cooled 250 TZ Yamahas. Castro had savvy and clear determination throughout the race, and edged Roberts by inches at the finish. Nixon ended up a very close third on a bike he borrowed from Gary Fisher's dad. Now maybe we'll start thinking about Don Castro the road racer. Because he is you know....•
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