AMC MX at O.C.I.R.
AMC
at
Orange County International Raceway
Friday April 4, 1975
By: Tom Corley
By just driving along the entrance road you could see the apparent track change tonight. Farout! The OCIR people really flowered up the track by adding a couple of new fast straight-aways behind the grandstands. They cut out the sweeper after the Moby Dick jumps and made a straight-away which goes directly behind the stands, winds back around and then you make a left hand turn and fly over the Diving Board jump.
Everyone who I talked to dug it, so come out next Friday and try the radically modified track. The speedway track is now the place to burnout your machine before the racing action and It was lighted up the whole night long so everyone could get in tune.One couldn't very well cover the night's race appropriately without giving Jeff Ward some credit. The Jeff Ward Racing Products star was snuffing both the Mini and 100 Expert classes and easily ended up with the wins. Kurt Sofka of Harry's flew on a YZ Monosocker and came closest to Jeff with a 2-2-3 finish over Jeff Hewitt and Brad Schwan. The jet like XR-75 of Jeff Ward's earned him to the 100 Expert win over the pack of full scaled machines as well John Gless from Harry's was also mounted on a Mmj-Cycle but was on a Bamt and John hooked three consistent thirds over Pete Hillebrecht, Steve Gauvin and Bill Taylor who is back on his ole Yamaha just after having some excellent races on his new Elsinore.
The bike that was really coming unglued in the 125 Intermediate class yet still won it's battle was the Elsinore of Torrance Cycle Parts, Dave Bush. In the first moto Dave had it made in the shade even though things were unloading left and right. His left shock shocked off and then his €53 side panel kicked off. Now you ask how he won against a fast line-up of riders with those problems? Well it was pretty incredible! And Russell Stark of Southland Cycle was in back for a change and captured second overall over Brad Sherrill, Conrad Weber and Arnold White.
Now the top Pro turnout all over the Southland was sapped and this was naturally because everyone was chasing bucks up in Hangtown. This was true at OCIR this evening too so the Expert contests weren't as great as they could of been. Scot Clifton was rubbed out of contention last Friday when he broke early but the 125 Pro class was in his hands tonight as he whipped Arden Hadley who was also on a hot Honda.
It was an extremely hard fought battle between Mark Marinez of Competition Cycle Products and John Estes for the first place title of the 250 Pro class. In the second moto this was especially true as Estes would be leading but then Mark would make a super pass somewhere along the track. As it turned out Marinez won all but the first moto in which Estes claimed so those two finished 1-2. Both of those guys I should add were on the Maico muscle machines. Brian Baugher was the first Yamaha YZ to the finish in all three cases so that named his final position for the evening as he hussled it ahead of Terry Smith, Tony Moceri (CZ) of Southland Cycle and Dana Nelson of Yamaha of El Monte.
So if your going to do some racing next weekend come on out to AMC at OCIR race next Friday and give the new track a try. More people are coming out all of the time and things are really beginning to cook!