The Bell Ringer
THE BELL RINGER
John Hateley and Jay Springsteen Put the Rest of the Pros on the Canvas in the Houston Astrodome Ring
D. Randy Riggs
We don’t even bother going to a race unless we think we have a good shot at winning it.” Those are the words of Jack Hateley, engine builder supreme and father of John Hateley, the fellow who took a seven-year-old Triumph to his second victory in the Astrodome TT, first event on the AMA’s 1977 calendar. The first win came in 1972, aboard basically the same bike. And this time around, the Trackmaster-framed machine took top honors while battling two other British bikes, a Triumph ridden by John Gennai and an Alex Jorgensen BSA.
The win by Hateley was a continuation of the dominance of the TT by California riders and it made up for the disappointment of last year when Hateley was forced to re-start the main event after grabbing a strong early lead. When Rick Hocking headed into the spotlight on the re-start, it was all over for Hateley, who had to be content to wait for another chance until now. And he was not about to muff it despite the odds against repeat winners in the dome.
Hateley does not contest the full Camel Pro Series circuit, but he was considered by fellow riders as one of the toughest to get by in Houston’s TT. Besides John, there was much attention focused on Ken Roberts, Gary Scott and Jay Springsteen, each of whom was eager to renew the championship chase of the previous season.
Roberts’ machinery was virtually all new, debuting monoshock K-R frames, a major departure from the norm in Grand National competition. Springsteen remained with the tried and true HarleyDavidson XR-750, running the low compression and mild cam timing engine that works so well in the tight confines of the Astrodome. Scott was going with a Yamaha 500 Single mounted in a C&J chassis, not as powerful but less bulky than the 750 H-D he rode to a 4th in last year’s event. In fact, after a brief practice session for the benefit of the press, Scott was so unhappy with his machine’s performance that he had a mechanic change some of the engine’s internals in an effort to extract the kind of power he was looking for.
Heat lineups are determined by one-lap time trial clockings, with positions one through three in the heats going directly to the main event. John Gennai on the Cycle Imports/Les Edwards-tuned entry clocked a quick 26.532, a shade faster than Roberts at 26.655 and Hateley at 26.669. Gennai went on to battle Gary Scott on the Evel Knievel-sponsored entry for a number of laps until getting the upper hand and the win. Scott remained 2nd with Alex Jorgensen on the ancient but speedy BSA holding 3rd. The heat was run under a bit of controversy concerning a race favorite, Rick Hocking.
Rick ran into engine troubles, which his crew tried to rectify during the time between a re-start caused by a spill. Referee Duke Öliges decided to replace him with an alternate, much to the dismay of the crowd, many of whom were partisan to last year’s TT winner. When the alternate also came up with problems, Hocking wanted back in as his machine was now working. But it was no dice. The fifth fastest qualifier and a potential winner was on the sidelines. The following evening draped from the bleachers was a huge banner that said, “Duke Sucks.” There could be no doubt as to whose side the crowd was on.
About half the field in heat number two wound up on the penalty line, including both Roberts and Springsteen. Perhaps part of the blame could be put on the fact that the method of starting was changed just prior to the commencement of racing, and was not announced until the rider’s meeting. But AMA officials aren’t happy unless they’re experimenting with some-> thing different at Houston, so temporary chaos is expected.
Another minor tangle necessitated a restart, but once underway Jim Rawls surprised many with his smart riding, including Ken Roberts who used up a good portion of the race before getting around him. They eventually finished 1-2, with Bruce Hanlon on a Triumph 3rd. Rawls rode a Yamaha 500, Roberts the 750 monoshocker. Springsteen finished 4th, meaning a must win in the semi to get into the national final.
Favorite Hateley had no problems taking heat three, but right behind and impressive as could be was the tall and lanky Harley rookie, Ted Boody. Boody out-rode TT specialists Randy Skivver and Chuck Joyner for 2nd spot with calculated riding. Skivver held off Joyner for 3rd in what was the fastest heat of the evening, giving Hateley the pole for the national final.
Mickey Fay, a rookie expert from the state of Washington, broke into the expert ranks with a win in heat four over the likes of Steve Eklund and Randy Scott. Fay rode a BSA, giving British bike fans three wins out of four. Someone once said something about there always being an England!
Semis are do-or-dies for the rest of the hopeful pack of riders. Because of it, the racing can get ferocious. Springsteen knew that points at Houston may well make the difference as the season moves along. That’s why the Springer made no mistakes getting past rookie Randy Goss for the allimportant semi win. Chuck Joyner did the same in his event, which only became his when he displaced Scott Pearson for the lead.
Riders finishing 2nd through 6th in the Semis go directly to the trophy final, for that one last chance to save face. And saving face can mean something to a rider that has traveled long distances and spent much money and time to get out on that track. Another rookie, Ted Davidson, the west coast regional Junior champion in 1976, fought with Guy McClure for a good portion of the 12-lap event. To say that the trophy final is as hotly dueled as the national is truth. The winner, Davidson, on a Yamaha, knows that very well.
The nationals in the Astrodome have always been noted for creating a special arena in which a variety of equipment can successfully be raced. Last year the introduction of the Yamaha 500 Single brought a special touch to national caliber competition. And, of course, when Rick Hocking rode his to victory, there was quite a scramble among many of thejâders to get 500 Yammys ready for the next indoor TT at Pontiac Stadium. But Steve Eklund sort of put a lid on the success story when he trounced all comers in that event riding his Yamaha 750 Twin, meaning that this time around in the Astrodome there weren’t nearly as many Singles running as one might have expected considering what happened last year.
Ken Roberts sums up the non-acceptance of the 500 by many of the riders quite simply. “Those things just don’t have enough power against the 750s. If we were all running them it would be a different story, but we’re not.” But in 1976 Rick Hocking made believers out of many.
Three TT500s filled national starting slots along with two Yamaha 750s, five Triumphs, two BSAs and the two factory Harley-Davidson XR-750s. Who said variety isn’t the spice of racing?
For two and a half hours the crowd of some 30,000 had been right on the edge of their upholstered seats. But there was still a 14-rider, 25-lap points-paying national to be run, with about $3700 plus contingencies going to the winner. And since anything can happen in AMA Grand National racing, winners are hard to bet on. One just doesn’t know how things will turn out.
On came the green light and Mickey Fay bounded into an immediate lead, hounded by Gary Scott and those hounding him. That kind of pressure on a rookie takes its toll and on lap four things happened so fast it was hard to keep track of it all.
Scott started things off by coasting to a stop just over the jump, victim of a thrown chain. Then at about the same time, Ted Boody skidded his H-D down in the right hand corner just past the jump, with Ken Roberts unable to miss the spill. Steve Eklund squeezed by the trouble; Roberts and then Boody were up and underway again quickly. Bruce Hanlon managed to zing past the leaders but only briefly. He caught a neutral in his gearbox and slid down, starting again at the rear of the pack.
Gary Scott’s chain managed to find its way back on the sprockets but it cost him slightly more than a lap in the process. He was impressive in his effort to regain the lost ground once his thumper was back in action. He was anything but through.
The spills were not yet over. Jay Springsteen was coming strong from a back row start when he bit the turf on the entrance turn to the infield and in picking the bike up executed an amusing 360-degree turn with the throttle cracked open. Then Randy Skivver began scattering infield personnel as he began mowing down haybales at inopportune times.
Fay ever so briefly put himself back into contention on lap eight, but allowed Hateley and Gennai to slip past and his glory run was over. The two Triumphs were changing positions too often to count. It was definitely one of Gennai’s better performances, looking even better than his old self. Behind the 1-2 melee, Alex Jorgensen, Steve Eklund and Billy Oliver were fighting it out as if there was no one in front of them.
Hateley made a minor slip, which took a small amount of immediate pressure off of Gennai, but Gennai’s slight relaxation must have taken the fine edge off his concentration and he went down with three laps remaining. The fall permitted both Hateley and Jorgy to slip past, with Hateley grinning and nodding his head> toward Gennai as he passed. Gennai was up quickly but on the nervous side and there was no way at that point that he could have gotten by the then hungry Hateley.
A beautiful wheelie across the finish line put the capper on Hateley’s run for the money, the second rider to score more than one victory in 10 years of Astrodome racing. Jorgy stayed put in 2nd, and Gennai held 3rd for a Britannia sweep.
If variety in equipment was the rule rather than the exception in the TT, then it was just as true for the short track crowd. With a reduction in the amount of displacement allowed from 360 cc to 250 cc, just about every brand was represented including Bultaco, Ossa, Montesa, Yamaha, Can-Am, Carabela, Suzuki and Harley-Davidson.
And if there seems to be a predominate west coast ruling of TT racing, the tables are turned for short track competition, where easterners tend to hold the cards. Hank Scott, fast qualifier with a 14.857 sec. clocking, rode a Shell Thuett Yamaha for the honors. Springsteen was 2nd fastest, Roberts 6th, Gary Scott 16th. Five different brands of engines found their way into the qualifying top 10 list, with the 131 entries trimmed to 60 finalists.
After the six heat races were run, the H-D crew was all smiles as the three factory riders each went away with a heat victory. Both Springsteen and Corky Keener rode aggressively and were impressive with their wins, but the checkered flag run of Ted Boody, H-D’s young new star, really wowed ’em.
Boody grabbed the lead in the sixth and final heat of the evening, with Roberts, on the special monoshock Yamaha, making attempt after attempt to squeeze past the less experienced 18-year old. And Boody was masterful in his method of holding Roberts at bay, reading his mind and his line at the same time. Coming off the last turn on the last lap Roberts fans were thinking, “Here comes his move, this’ll be where he gets by,” only they didn’t figure on the young Boody to slam the door in Roberts’ face in such an artful way. Kenny had closed to within a foot of getting a wheel past Ted . . . close, but no cigar.
Former national champ Gary Scott couldn’t seem to break his Houston short track nemesis. He didn’t finish high enough in either the heat or the semi to transfer to the main event, and scratched himself from the trophy race, which Skip Aksland won riding a K-R-framed Yamaha.
Harold Murrell’s track preparation worked particularity well this time around, as the groove was good and wide, allowing for lots of passing. The Harley guys elected to go with a Pirelli/Carlisle tire arrangement while Roberts stuck with Goodyears. Roberts’ big disadvantage was having to make a go of it from row two.
Steve Morehead, a rider who on occasion looks downright serious, got that way once again when the starting light went green. Morehead led polesitter Springsteen into Turn One and for the remainder of the lap. But Number Ones ain’t Number Ones for nuthin’, and Jay, running a wide groove on the Trackmaster H-D, got around on lap two and was never headed. The Harley was really getting what it had on the race track, while Morehead’s gearing wasn’t suited to the track conditions as they changed. Hank Scott’s early charge faded while Ted Boody and Mike Kidd went toward the head of the pack. It was amazing that Kidd was racing at all, since shortly before the national he got a severe attack of stomach flu which left him feeling like he’d rather be in a bed somewhere.
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Kidd rode an ultra-sanitary Penton tracker set up in a K-R chassis with a Lectron carb. The combination seemed to work better than the other factory KTM entry with John Hateley riding. Kidd stayed put in 3rd, Boody in 2nd for a 1-2 H-D sweep. Corky Keener’s 6th place finish was a good way for him to get 1977 underway, but the best ride of the night besides the Springer’s was Steve Eklund’s, coming from a win in the semi to a row three starting slot, to 4th overall. Eklund left quite a few others behind him wondering where he came from. If the race had been longer, he would’ve finished better yet.
Jay Springsteen’s short track victory was the first in that type of competition since 1970 for H-D, and in the words of Jay’s mechanic, Bill Werner, “What a neat way to start the year!” Yup, two down and 26 to go. @
