CMC MX at Irwindale Raceway
CMC
at
Irwindale Raceway
Friday March 21, 1975
By: Buzz Baty
Might as well get used to the name. Last week he signed up for the first time with CMC and rode with a the letter A, topping the 500 Intermediates his first time out at Irwindale. To prove it was no fluke, Mike West came back tonight with his Husky, sporting his new assigned CMC number, 29E, then proceeded to top the combined 500 Intermediate Junior field, just as he did last week. Second in the Intermediates went to Trent McGee and third to Byron Hendricks. Taking the brass for first place in the Junior was Yamaha-mounted Jack Halterman. Second and third went to David Valentine and David Thorgmorton.
As usual, the largest Pro class of the night was in the 125 class, beginning now to really be dominated by David Taylor. David would have had a sweep, but for a miscue on the last lap, just prior to the finish line. He had passed Don Bongiorno three-quarters of the way through the last lap, only to gas it too hard coming out of the last corner, getting sideways. David didn't go down, but he was out of shape long enough for Bongiomo to re-pass and take the first moto win; David came back to win rounds two and three under pressure from Bongiorno in round two, and Denton in round three. Riding steadily, if not spectatorly was Chuck Lunde, picking up third overall behind Bongiorno and Taylor. After his win last week in 125 Intermediate class, Eddie Clark is now a Pro. Eddie showed up well, riding steady and staying out of trouble with a pair of eighth and a sixth place finishes to finish seventh overall. Gary Denton will leave that group of the sweet sixteens, I don't know about never being kissed, but Tuesday-the 25th, Gary will celebrate his seventeenth birthday. Just to keep the record straight concerning Eddie Clark, Eddie had his first ride as a 125 CMC Pro last Sunday at Saddleback, but this was his first time out with the night-time sprinters at Irwindale.
All right fans of close racing, you should have been at Irwindale to watch this 500 Pro mix-master. Joe Johnston, last week's winner, had a first, a second, and a third. Bill Rubly, CMC points leader, had a first, a second, and a third. Big Luke Messer had a first, a second, and a third. And if that kind of racing doesn't hold your attention, there ain't nothing that will. Naturally your next question will be, if they all had six points, who the hell won? Why, Big Luke Messer, cause he won the last moto. Joe finished second for second overall, and Rubly third for third overall for another Maico sweep of the big bore class.
I couldn't believe my eyes. Jeff Vidic, in the first two motos, flat ran away and hid from the 250 Pro field, winning the first two motos eased up, looking back to see who was going to finish second. Each time it was Val Tamietti coming in second, followed by the man who was to play the role of spoiler, Aaron Bassett, all three mounted on Maicos. Coming out in the final go, Tamietti took the lead, followed by Vidic and Bassett. All Vidic had to do was follow Tamietti around the course for five laps and he had the win in his pocket. But in the starting line sweeper on the last lap, Vidic tried to pass Val on the outside and fell in the process. He was back up and on his way in the blink of an eyelash, but he was behind Bassett. As they came over the Steve Kurd Jump, headed for the checker, Tamietti now aware of what had happened, was looking back to see where Vidic was. Vidic was still third. Well to make this horrible story (horrible as far as Vidic is concerned) short, Tamietti took the final moto win, tieing Vidic on points when Jeff finished third behind Bassett. All of the first, second, and third place finishes went to these three riders. No one was more surprised at getting a gift victory than Tamietti, nor was anyone more disgusted with himself than Jeff Vidic. Totally happy with the results, finishing third overall, was Aaron Bassett. Dewayne Jones, who has ridden Irwindale the past few weeks on a 125 Can-Am, switched to a 250 Can-Am, and although finishing fourth overall, Dewayne improved with each moto, notching seventh, sixth, and fourth place finishes.
Rick Zamora had a good night on his Yamaha, getting first overall in the 100 Juniors with a pair of seconds and a first. Marty Desbrow's first in the last moto aboard his Suzuki gave him the second overall spot ahead of John Wilson's Suzuki. The 125 Juniors rode in three divisions again tonight. Bill McFarland took first overall in division one, and said goodbye to the Junior class. With this win, he graduated into the Intermediate ranks. Good luck, Bill! Behind Bill in division one was Louis Fernandez for second overall, with third going to Tom Peterson. In division two Kelly Carlisle won with a sweep in all three motos. Ron Spadafora and Randy Skinner took second and third overall in that order. Even though Pat Nash took a fourth in the final moto for the division three riders, his two firsts in the first two rounds insured his first overall spot. Mitch Maxwell and Danny Dorsch were tied with eight points each after the first two rounds, but Mitch's first in the last moto gave second overall to him. Danny's second place finish in the final moto put him in third overall, for a Honda sweep for the class.
Consistency paid off again. Floyd Haas took a one, two, three for the first overall for the 250 Juniors aboard his Maico. A second, fourth and sixth got second overall for Gary Beadle and his Yamaha, with third going to Bruce Jessen and his CZ.
Bobby Ott was the only Mini Expert to make the scene at Irwindale. The rest of the troops in this class were saving their highly-tuned machinery and bodies for this weekend's Mini Grand Prix at Indian Dunes. Bobby evidently felt secure in his ability to stay out of trouble and not break his machine. To say he ended up first overall in the Mini Experts would be like carrying coals to Newcastle. The Junior contingent was won by Chuck Okimoto. Chuck and his Honda besting Honda mounted Kavin Bowden, and Yamaha mounted, Gordon Hunter. Chuck even had a first overall, beating Bobby in moto one.
Steve Cross wasn't letting any such horse hockey as inconsistency mar his efforts, as he and his Honda swept the 125 Intermediates with, uncommon for this class, ease. The race then boiled down to a battle for second and third, fought out by John MacGregor and Lance Bryson. MacGregor got the place trophy, with Bryson in for the show brass.
