Round·up

ROUND·UP

JOE PARKHURST

IT IS ONE of the quirks of the International motocross calendar that when the 250 title contenders have already competed in three events toward the 1975 Championship, the 500 class has had only one. What is worse for the 500 riders is the fact that a full month passes between the first and second meetings, which is nothing less than a cruel psychological blow to riders who have built up for the first round, only to see the long wait for the second in front of them. “It’s just like having to start the season all over again,” said Brad Lackey at the opening Swiss G.P.

This 5 OOcc round at Payerne in Switzerland was held in beautiful weather on a course in perfect shape for racing. It was completely dominated by two men, the same two who disputed the title last year, Roger DeCoster (Suzuki) and Heikki Mikkola (Husqvarna). The Stars and Stripes flew proudly on 4th-place rider Brad Lackey. Lackey is, of course, the teammate of Mikkola and now very much a man to be reckoned with. “He is safe, getting faster all the time, and most important of all is a willing learner,” said exWorld Champ DeCoster.

DeCoster and Mikkola each won a race and finished 2nd in the other, so they left Payerne with equal World Championship points. The Suzuki man was declared overall winner of the meet, however, as his combined race times gave him a 34-sec. advantage. There was no disputing 3rd place; DeCoster’s Dutch teammate, Gerrit Wolsink, took 3rd in both races.

Camel cigarettes is sponsoring World 500 motocross this year with a Camel Championship based on eight Western European rounds. They’re putting up an extra $1960 in prize money at each round, and are splitting $7000 between the first three placers at the end of the series. There is also extra prize money down to 5th place at each round. It is reported that, as he received his extra bucks in Payerne, DeCoster commented, “I’ve never won on a Camel before.” Mikkola wryly added, “I thought you did all the time.”

DeCoster pretty well summed up the current state of the 500 class when he was competing at a Belgian National 500 Championship held in conjunction with the Belgian 250 World Championship round. “It seems the battle is between Mikkola and me, then there is a gap and we have Wolsink and Lackey, another gap and the rest follow.” It remains to be seen who will close any of the gaps, but that is certainly how it seems at the moment. If either DeCoster or Mikkola were put out of the running for any reason, the other would seemingly have a comparatively easy time of it.

It is nowhere near so cut and dried in the 250 class, which, at press time, had held three rounds. At the Spanish opener, Hakan Andersson (Yamaha) won the first race from Harry Everts (Puch). In the second, Adolf Weil (Maico) beat Willi Bauer (Suzuki). But that form meant nothing two weeks later in Austria, where the Czech rider Jaroslav Falta, who had a 5th and 8th in Spain, tore away to win both

races. . .the first from Joel Robert (Suzuki) and the second from Bauer.

Is Robert on a comeback trail after more than a decade of World Championship racing? The answer would surely come the following week in front of his home country crowd at Retinne. But although he was in the points (with 4th and 8th-place finishes), he hardly looked to be a title challenger in ’75.

Heading the Belgian practice times and looking very

fast and safe was Jim Pomeroy (Bultaco). He had done the same thing in Spain, but there he crashed on the third lap of the first race, putting himself out of the results for that day. He had a 6th and 5th in Austria. But Jim made no mistakes in the first race in Belgium, running out the winner after a bad start. At the wrong end of the first dozen by the end of the first> lap, Pomeroy surged through the field to take the lead from Weil on the 14th lap. It is strange how a rider can look great when coming through the field, yet appear ragged when he takes the lead, but that’s exactly how it seemed with the Bultaco ace. The win gave him 15 Championship points and a big boost to his confidence. But he couldn’t repeat the performance in the second race, for which Andersson had changed his forks and improved the Yamaha’s handling to such a degree that he was a wire-to-wire winner after his lowly 9th in the first leg. Weil seemed all set for a 2nd place, but his chain came off, relegating him to 5th behind Hans Maisch (Maico), Bauer and Pomeroy.

So, after three rounds, the title leader is Willi Bauer, or Mr. Consistency. Although he has not yet won a race, he has already accumulated 58 points, enough to establish his lead over Falta (39), Everts (38), Robert and Weil (37), and Andersson and Pomeroy (34).

O RTON -VI LLIERS

Triumph’s long struggle is over in England. The workers’ cooperative has won its battle for the Meriden Triumph factory and has begun producing 750 Twins that will be distributed by Norton/Triumph in the U.S. The British government is financing the first two years of production. Triumph Threes will continue to be made at the factory in Small Heath, Birmingham, by Norton/Triumph.

It has been a long and hard struggle for Dennis Poore and his Manganese Bronze firm since they bought the bankrupt Associated Motor Cycles and its Matchless and Norton names.

Poore has made many remarkable changes in the British motorcycle industry since he came in. Norton grew to be the most lasting and respected brandname to survive the downfall of the British industry. He revived the old AJS name for several years with the Villiersengined AJS motocrosser. They are gone now too. I still have mine.

When Triumph was near failure, Poore again was the man waiting in the wings to save yet another British tradition. He bought Triumph, moved production to Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and planned the closure of the Meriden factory near Coventry. The workers stormed. They padlocked the factory and sat in. After almost two years of negotiation, the workers got what they wanted: to own the

plant and continue to produce machines. This despite the downward trend in sales of the Twins and a world market becoming so competitive that it would be difficult for them to survive. Poore had long recognized the superbike trend toward multi-cylinder, electricstarting, high-performance, attractive bikes.

Speculation is rampant throughout the financial and engineering circles in England as to whether the scheme will work. The 1250 workers strongly feel that a workeroperated plant can be more efficient, productive and practically operated. But, can they operate a large manufacturing plant without professional management? Time will tell.

Meanwhile, the genius of Dennis Poore continues to shape the future for NortonVilliers Triumph. He recently shocked the American motorcycle industry by hiring the key executives from Yamaha International to run the new Norton/Triumph division in the United States.

Terry Tiernan, former head of Yamaha, is now the vice president of marketing, and Jerry Bartlett, former sales manager for Yamaha, has taken a similar position with Norton/Triumph. These able, competent professionals will contribute greatly to the revitalization of Triumph motorcycles in the U.S. There are still many who prefer the styling and handling of British bikes. They will always have a mystical quality that no other country will be able to improve upon.

Roger Stange, president of Norton/Triumph in the U.S., feels that a new (or perhaps a return of the old) era for British products is upon us. For an oldtimer like myself, it has been a painful number of years. Watching British bikes like Matchless, Ariel, Royal Enfield, Velocette and many others disappear has been sad.

I have observed the power of Dennis Poore in action. He is a dynamic, intense, driving man who strives for commonsense with a strong degree of perfection. He is determined, decisive, direct. He is what the British industry always needed. Dennis has fought politics in Great Britain, looking for the simple and direct solutions to problems. I believe that he alone is the salvation of the British motorcycle industry.

The British like to expound on tradition, on their experience. After all, they almost invented the motorcycle. They certainly brought it, as a national sport, up to a level the whole world can envy. They also dropped the ball worse than any industry I have ever seen. I cannot observe the British without commenting, “Yeah, that’s great; but what have you done since then?”

We owe almost every modern development in motorcycling to the Japanese. The British will, of course, cite dozens of old bikes they built that offered the same things years before. . .but where are they now? There is really very little new around. Monoshocks, disc brakes, multi-cylinders, overhead cams, hydraulic dampening, etc., were all tried, and some developed, years ago.

The Japanese came into a market that was dominated by British bikes. It was a small market by today’s standards, but it was all theirs. Lock, stock and barrel. Several British manufacturers were working on modern, even futuristic designs at that time. But even the marvelous Triumph Trident Three was about five years too late.

If BSA had produced the light and strong type of specials that Eric Cheney, Don and Derek Rickman and Alan Clews are making today, BSA would still be around. But, this is all 20/20 hindsight.

Whether the workers’ cooperative idea will work at Meriden is purely speculative. But the Triumph should again be a reckoning force.

k MA MEMBERS have often complained, and rightfully so, about having to belong to the AMA. Now regular dues-paying members have been given several pretty good new reasons for belonging. One of these is the privilege of reduced rates at certain Howard Johnson Motor Lodges. The AMA has been placed on that major hotel chain’s national list for what they call their Preferred Guaranteed Rate program.

At participating Howard Johnson Lodges, the PGR listing assures that AMA members can take advantage of a maximum room rate similar to that extended to large corporations. Another new AMA advantage is that of receiving a 20-percent discount at National Car Rentals. Other discounts for AMA members are in the works.

OTORC YCLING’S other major association, the Motorcycle Industry Council, is also making an offer. They have two new publications that might be useful to dealers and others within the industry. One is titled, “Park Planning and Management;” it is a complete treatise on building and operating a motorcycle park. The other is called, “To the Proud New Owner of a Trail Bike.” It’s full of good advice on where to ride, good riding habits, reading the trail, keeping your bike in shape, etc. Both are excellent publications and are available in large quantities. Contact the MIC at 4100 Birch St., Suite 101, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Tell them CYCLE WORLD sent you. ra