April 9, 1975
Vol. 3  Issue 13
    










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High School MX at Ascot Park


Gary Pendleton gets muddy while racing on Saturday at Ascot. Now, S.A.M. High School racing is going on Monday night. Mahony photo.
Gary Pendleton gets muddy while racing on Saturday at Ascot. Now, S.A.M. High School racing is going on Monday night. Mahony photo.

SAM at Ascot Park
Saturday March 29, 1975
By: Tom
Blattler

After nearly a month layoff due to the rain, the S.A.M. High School Motocross competition at Ascot Park finally resumed it's qualifiers for the Coliseum High School Motocross Championship which will be held on Friday, July 18th in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In last Saturday's competition. El Monte's David Taylor, the hottest 125cc professional rider in Southern California, scored his sixth consecutive overall win in the high school competition. However, last Saturday was Taylor's roughest test yet, as Upland High's Tim Hoover gave Taylor all he could handle on the 3/4-mile course.

In the opening moto in the 125cc Expert class, Taylor and Hoover battled throughout the 10-lap distance with Taylor, who rides for Arroyo High, holding off Hoover for the win. Hoover then returned in the second moto to battle Taylor, as Taylor took the lead at the start. But Hoover was not to be denied, as Tim passed Dave on the fifth lap, and Hoover ran away with the win. It was the first time this season at Ascot that Taylor had been defeated in a moto without a mechanical difficulty.

Entering the third moto, both Taylor and Hoover were tied in the overall points, as each had collected a first and a second place finish. At the start, Hoover got the jump on Taylor, but Dave was not about to have a newcomer beat him, and just flew by Hoover to capture the top spot. From that point, Taylor pulled away from the rest of the field to take an easy victory in the final moto, and the overall class honors for the sixth straight time. Hoover finished second overall with Vince Van Hook of South Hills High taking third.

Ascot racing for S.A.M. points will soon turn to Monday nights.  Don't forget to mark that on your calendar so you won't be late.  Mahony photo.
Ascot racing for S.A.M. points will soon turn to Monday nights. Don't forget to mark that on your calendar so you won't be late. Mahony photo.

In the 125cc Juniors, Steve Moore of Long Beach Jordan High scored his fourth straight overall win, as the Honda rider has proven by far to be the superior rider in the 125 Juniors, and Moore could be moved up to the Expert class shortly. Moore took the top positions in two of the three 10-lap motos, and also collected a second place finish in the final moto. In the opening race, Moore grabbed the lead early and was never headed with second going to Wilson High's Jim Carlson and third to Artesia's Marty Smith.

The second moto was almost a carboncopy of the first, as Moore was just too quick for the rest of the lineup, and he took the easy victory. Jim Gallagher of Carson High placed second with Honda-mounted Don Miller, a ninth-grader at Hamilton Junior High in Long Beach, taking third. In the final moto, Gallagher took the top spot with Moore in the second notch and Miller third.

In the overall points for all three motos, Moore was the easy winner followed by Carlson, Gallagher, Marty Smith, and Pete Murillo, also of Carson High.

West Torrance High's Danny Westergaard held the number one slot in the Superbowl points in the 100 Juniors, as he captured the top position over his teammates Jerry Lawson and Rummy Cobbs.

In other classes, Dave Garner of Los Altos High took the win in the 100 Expert division with Rye Hefley of Carson taking his third straight win in the 125 Beginner class.