Camel Pro Series Doing the Ditto

CAMEL PRO SERIES DOING THE DITTO

For The Second Year In A Row, Ken Roberts And Yamaha Score The Elusive Double At Laguna Seca

D. Randy Riggs

In slightly more than two months' time, Ken Roberts had run in a half-dozen monotonously tough dirt Nationals. One happened to be a searingly fast mile, three were equally expeditious half-miles, and a couple of forearm-numbing TTs were thrown in to keep things interesting. Unusual? Hardly. Just part of the normal grind expected by the professional riders who contest the Grand National Championship Series each year; a small slice of the 20-event pie with the richest payoff in motorcycle racing.

Kenny, like the others, had several thousand miles to travel, strange restau rants to sample, a mechanic as an almost constant companion, no homelife to speak of, and motorcycles to put to gether, try, take apart, put back to gether and try again. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what's going on in a racer's schedule.

Yeah, for him it's a lot like it is for all the others . . . only, contrary to what many may think. . . it's tougher. And what makes it that way is the number he carries on his machinery, his helmet, leathers and the one embossed into the surface of his plastic AMA competition license. Number One. The single digit that means far more than all the others combined; a number whose burden and weight only a few could bear.

"How could this be?" you say. Being the best means all the glory, glamour, prestige, fame and money, the best equipment. . . all the good things. And how true that is. But it also means a nearly uninterrupted schedule of racing, personal appearances, interviews and relentless pressure out on the race track from the competitors who see you as the target. And from the fans who see you as the example. And from your sponsor who sees you as its bread and butter. The pressure is never off the guy with the number, and this year, perhaps, Ken Roberts knows it and feels it more than at any time before. Because in those early-season half-dozen fire-em’ups, Roberts managed to capture only a minimal number of National points, and watched his point lead shrink, dwindle and dissolve, finding himself the chaser instead of the chased.

So it wasn’t at all hard to understand why Roberts, after having been outhorsepowered and generally outlucked in those six crucial events, was heard to mumble to no one in particular, “It sure will be nice to get back on that pavement.” And, of course, the pavement he was referring to was none other than that at Laguna Seca.

Because on the unforgiving 1.9-mi. meandering Monterey road course, ol’ Kenny knew deep down inside that he had one of the top machines, that he had the track wired (he’d swept both the Lightweight and big-bore G.P.

events last year), and that the HarleyDavidson nemesis wouldn’t be biting nearly as deeply as it had been in the dirt. There was, of course, the question of his ailing shoulder, injured in the Castle Rock TT, and the worry of Lady Luck, who hadn’t so much as given him a peck on the cheek since the middle of April.

Yamaha’s Godfather, Pete Shick (see story, page 80), had more to worry about than just Roberts. Team Yamaha also has Gene Romero and Don Castro in its road racing ranks, and they’d be taking their first shots at the pavement since the Match Races in March. Perhaps a bit rusty, but not unlike many others, some of whom hadn’t cut a lap since Daytona.

Other threats looming on the horizon for a strong chance at victory were Steve Baker on a Yamaha Motors Canada-sponsored TZ750 Monoshock, which was good for 2nd place at Daytona; a confident David Aldana on a swift and improved TR750 Suzuki; and Yvon DuHamel riding the factorybacked, water-cooled Kawasaki Triple.

With the exception of Ron Pierce on a 250 Twin for the Combined Ex./Jr. Lightweight fracas, Yvon would be burning the lone candle for Team Green in the 75-mi. G.P. and 10-mi. heat. Teammate Jim Evans, who earned himself a factory ride with strong performances in 1974, was on the mend from a high-speed crash in France. He had suffered head injuries when his machine locked up and pitched him hard through a fence; it is doubtful that he’ll be ready to go again until the end of the year.

DuHamel had two promising 750s to try at Seca. One was basically conventional but well-refined compared to the ones ridden at Daytona earlier in the year. The other had a radical new rear suspension arrangement, dubbed the “Foo-Bar” by Kawasaki, an item it’s been experimenting with for some time. The parallelogram system is novel in that it keeps the front end down during hard acceleration and yet forces the rear wheel downward for better traction. Kawasaki riders who have tried it say that it’s impossible to wheelie the machine, usually a severe problem with the 100-horsepower monsters, and handling is quite good at lower speeds and on rough surfaces. The only problem facing them now is a slight wobble in high-speed situations, which becomes less of a problem all the time as spring rates are experimented with on the Boge rear shocks.

Team Suzuki had two machines entered; besides Aldana, Pat Hennen was mounted on a white and blue beauty.

This would be the first race in which the new six-speed gearbox could be used to full advantage; and the oddsmakers had their eyes on the Suzy-Qs.

Big news from the Harley-Davidson camp was the 500 two-stroke Twin prepped for National point leader Gary Scott. The trouble was, H-D received the machine from Italy very late, and there was little time to work out the bugs and shape the bike for Gary. And at that moment, full effort was being concentrated on the dirt track equipment, so, realistically speaking, H-D’s chances of a high placing were a bit on the slim side. Naturally, Scott had a 250 for the Combined Lightweight race, as did promising rookie Greg Sassaman, who is classed as a Junior in AMA road racing. For the Junior race, Greg would be riding the much-loved 750 V-Twin four-stroke, with the very same chassis the late Cal Rayborn rode to win the > inaugural Laguna Seca event in 1972. “Big Bertha” lives!

The privateer contingent had several strong representatives, any one of whom could pull off an upset over the factory boys if things went their way. Ron Pierce destroyed his Boston Cycles Yamaha in a crash at Riverside just a week prior to Seca, so Steve McLaughlin loaned him his spare minus the engine. Hurley Wilvert was aboard a Yamaha, as well, as were Randy Cleek and Phil McDonald. New Zealander John Boote had ridden here before and intended to put that track time to work for him.

Four-stroke lovers in the big-bike Expert race could only listen to the sounds of the two Butler & Smith BMWs in the hands of Reg Pridmore and Gary Fisher. Fisher’s machine from the East sported a Monoshock-type rear suspension unit, while Pridmore’s remained standard. Though neither could begin to compete in the battle of the leaders, due to a lack of raw horsepower, their crowd-pleasing ability was still very sensational.

Monterey was to be the hosting event for the new AMA road race system; a two-day event as opposed to the old three-day method. While the new setup makes things more hectic for many of the riders and mechanics running in different classes, it works out far better in the long run. Dragging a multi-event program out over a number of days costs the promoters and everyone con cerned extra money; for the promoters it can make the difference between making money or losing money at an event. That's been a contributing factor to the decrease in National Champion ship road racing events. With the new system, spectators get to witness far more meaningful races for their money, which keeps them coming back and keeps the race on the calendar the fol lowing year.

A few of the luckier riders got in some tuneup time on the demanding track during a press day for local TV stations a week prior to the Superbike meet. Others had to wait for early Saturday morning to begin circulating the course, and they couldn’t be all day about it.

One major factor that would effect all the riders was a kind of heat wave for the usually cool area, so decisions concerning tire compounds and jetting had many perplexed. Guesswork ran amok throughout the pits. It was interesting to watch a rider who had the chore of running in the 250 Combined, Heavyweight Production, and the 75-mi.

National. Talk about a busy practice session!

Novice riders, of course, are usually a bit overstressed just coping with a track that’s as challenging as this one. Sports car racing keeps the surface in a state of ripples and bumps and lays down lots of oily rubber. Couple hazards like these with off-camber corners and no run-off area to speak of, and one can see why they call Seca a rider’s track. Mistakes can be costly, as more than one rider has found out.

As usual, more than 100 riders were on hand to contest the Novice class in hopes of making the 60-rider final, but things didn’t go smoothly. Since there were so many riders in each of the two heats, the wise decision was made to start the machines in two waves per heat. Unfortunately, in the second heat, a spill dumped a few riders and bikes in the very fast sweeper between turns two and three. The second wave of riders was on its way at a high rate of speed, but the flagmen, who supposedly were competent according to the SCRAMP people, never showed a yellow flag until it was too late for Steve Souter. He was getting up and attempting to leave the track when he was struck by a rider in the second wave and killed instantly. In the horrible confusion that followed, the red flag was displayed for a short time, then retracted, and the race ran to the end. Later, after the Junior events had been run, the second Novice heat was re-run for the full five laps. In all, it was an inexcusable melee that could have been prevented if a few people had taken their heavy responsibility seriously. But the young racer, Souter, won’t ever get that second chance.

The Novice final was nearly as chaotic as the infamous heat two. Several crashes brought the yellow and red flags out more quickly this time; eventually they were restarted in single file. At the end, Mike Baeder held off a very determined Vince Mead, both on TZ250 Yamahas; 3rd place went to none other than super rookie Jay Springsteen, the red hot Expert dirt tracker, on an H-D 250. Jay came from well back in the pack to grab 3rd, no doubt a road racer to watch in the years ahead.

Junior racing had some added appeal in the form of the sound of Greg Sassaman’s V-Twin, four-stroke Harley; the fans really perked up when they heard it coming, and watched an inspired ride by Sassaman, who started in the second wave and worked his way past TZ700s and 350s into 11th place by the race’s end. Way up front Dale Singleton had cruised to the victory, followed by Skip Aksland and Fred Walti, all riding four-cylinder Yamahas.

One event with mucho promise of excitement was the 250 Combined.

Close racing was bound to be the order of the day with the factory teams of Kawasaki, Yamaha and Harley-Davidson all fielding competitive and fairly equal equipment and top riders. Top Junior and privateer riders wouldn’t slow down the tussle one bit either, but the odds-on favorite was our National Champion.

When the starting shot was taken, Steve Baker grabbed an immediate and helpful lead, followed by the green machine of DuHamel, then Gary Scott, Ron Pierce, Roberts, Wes Cooley and Don Castro. Gary Scott looked to be out of the winner’s circle roundup early, as either he or the machine slowed slightly. Roberts, of course, was picking off his foes, DuHamel on lap six, then finally Baker’s Yamaha on the tenth go-round. From then on, the race was his.

Farther behind, the scuffle continued. Baker held 2nd, DuHamel happily kept the Kawasaki in 3rd. The Kaw 250s were showing a big horsepower increase, part of which was attributable to a new exhaust pipe design. Whatever the reason, it was nice to see Pierce, who grabbed 4th, and DuHamel competitive on the stillteething bikes, which are now a strong threat in the class at Ontario. Don Castro and Scott battled for 5th and 6th, respectively, at the finish. A good race, and a boost for Roberts’ downtrodden ego.

Just under 40,000 spectators showed up to witness the best of the racing on Sunday; many of them had ridden in from all over on motorcycles. Ed Fisher, the dad of racer Gary, makes it an annual trek from Pennsylvania. Last year he rode a TX500 Yamaha; this time he roughed it less on a new GL1000 Honda. It’s this kind of machine-oriented spectator that goes wild over the Production racing, most especially the Open class.

The battle between the Kawasaki and BMW 900s was bound to renew itself, and things in the 750 class would be equally interesting, since a Ducati, Triumph and several Hondas were entered. Lightweight Production was heavily dominated by 350 Yamahas.

The Butler & Smith BMW contingent was represented by Reg Pridmore and Gary Fisher on R90S models; Dale Starr Engineering had Yvon DuHamel and David Aldana on Zls, and Ron Pierce and Marty Lunde also rode BeeEms. In the same race, but going for the 750 class win, were Cook Neilson on a Ducati and Dale Singleton riding a new Triumph Triple.

Surprisingly, DuHamel and Aldana got poor starts; Neilson’s Duck Desmo dropped out very early with mechanical woes. In fact, mechanical problems sidelined several as the 29-mi. race progressed. Early leader Bob Endicott disappeared in the pits, as did his Action Fours teammate Wes Cooley, both on Kawasakis. Aldana did the same, but not for mechanical troubles. His poor start meant that he’d have to really hang things out to catch up, and he didn’t want to risk a spill and possible injury that might keep him out of the National final to follow a short time later. The Suzuki people probably breathed easier after he pulled in, since he was their biggest hope for the National.

The quiet machines averaged nearly 86 mph for the event. In comparison, the 250 Combined race was faster at just under 90 mph. DuHamel took the win, the second National for Dale Starr bikes this year. The BMWs of Ron Pierce and Gary Fisher filled in for 2nd and 3rd. These big machines prove that racing can be just as exciting with a lot less noise, because the enthusiastic crowd went haywire over this race. And they liked seeing the Triumph of Dale Singleton come home as the first 750. Lightweight Production was a Yamaha sweep, with Loren McCreary taking the win.

Time for the big battle. Two five-mi. heats would determine grid positions for the National. Aldana showed just how serious he was and how competitive the TR750 Suzuki was when he took the first heat from Yamaha’s Gene Romero. Pat Evans chased for 3rd.

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On the warmup lap for the second heat, Gary Scott’s new H-D 500 broke a clamp on a carburetor hose, forcing him to wait two laps for repairs after being pulled off the starting grid. But Roberts and DuHamel kept up the crowd’s interest with a battle and preview of what was to come in the 75-mi. final. Kenny edged Yvon at the end, with Steve Baker in next.

DuHamel won yet another startingline drag race with Roberts tailing very close behind; the others were madly sorting themselves out. There was no question that the Suzukis and Kawasakis were right in there horsepowerwise with the best of the Yamahas, as Dave Aldana was attempting to prove when his Suzuki ate a spark plug and seized a cylinder.

On lap six, Roberts edged by DuHamel in a fast sweeper, calmed down after his near high-side crash in the tight turn nine on the second lap. But Kenny was discovering the extreme heat buildup in his tires on the hot race track, wishing he’d chosen a different compound. So, not wishing to risk hurting himself again, he backed off slightly and let DuHamel by on the 17th lap. Kawasaki was ecstatic, and so were the fans.

Behind the battle for the lead were Steve McLaughlin on an Armor-Allsponsored TZ750, Steve Baker, Pat Hennen, Ron Pierce and John Boote. There was an incredible amount of position changing going on, after a 3rd-place Romero dropped out with an engine seizure. With a little more than 10 laps remaining, DuHamel unloaded hard in the corkscrew turn six, handing the lead (and race) over to Roberts. Apparently, Yvon’s seat base had broken, breaking either the oil tank or oil line located in the tail section, and dumping the slippery stuff all over the rear tire. Exit DuHamel in one swift instant.

All the while Roberts was figuring that Yvon was going to throw it away, assuming DuHamel was running the same tire compound. “I just, couldn’t see how he was going that fast with the same tires I had.” Though the tires were similar, they were not identical, but Yamaha and Kenny Roberts were in first place regardless.

Steve Baker ran off the track once in his battle with John Boote for 2nd place; he wound up one mistake ahead and one position behind Boote when the checkered came out. Ron Pierce was 4th, Pat Hennen on the Suzuki 5th and McLaughlin, with an ailing gearbox, 6th. Lots of races within a race; and a Champion finally gets that kiss from Lady Luck after a long dry spell.

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Roberts the thinker, the guy with the computer-like reflexes and uncanny natural ability on a motorcycle, bears the burden of the big Number One like the Champion he is. But ol’ Lady Luck is fickle, and it’s a long “dirty” season .... EB