1971 Motocross Pepperell Intersport - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1971 Motocross Pepperell Intersport - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, vintage magazine article.
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
This was a typical scene of
Pepperell's first turn, seconds
after the start of each event.
The starter leaps high off the
ground to give the air of
professionalism to the start of
250 Pro class.
TRIAL AND TRIBULATION MOTO CROSS
It Was Rough Row to
Hoe, But the Success
Made AH The Grief
Worth While
by John Wasser
New England's rift with the AMA
hasn't hurt the promoters one bit, and
all events so far have been resounding
successes. One example was the Pro-
fessional Motocross, hosted by Inter-
sport at their Pepperell location on April
27. Over 3,000 fans showed up to
watch more than 200 riders tear around
this popular European-style motocross
track. For the first time, 70 riders had
the added incentive of racing for prize
money. Contestants came from as far
away as Maine and Pennsylvania, and
the action was fast and furious.
The president of Intersport, who is on
the AMA congress, was pushing hard
for professional motocross and helped
set up the AMA rules for this type of
event. Now, however, the plot thickens.
The AMA crossed the New England
Sports Committee by revoking that
group's charter and by their decision
that the regional referee, NOT the
district referee, must preside at National
Championships This meant that Berkely
Baron, who has presided over 10 Na-
tional Championships, would have to
give way to Charlie Watson, whose first
"National” was the '69 Daytona fiasco.
The New England clubs, including
Intersport, voted unanimously not to
purchase AMA sanctions except for
National events. Further meetings have
been held, but the stalemate continues,
and the Intersport event was run under
AMA rules, but without AMA sanction.
This is of benefit to many riders, who are
sick of the AMA's policy of suspending
those who ride outside events. They can
now enter any event they want, and still
ride AMA-style scrambles and moto-
cross.
This also led to amusing incidents
with AMA riders from other areas who
wanted to compete in the Pepperell
event One popular short-track rider
from Pennsylvania, who dis not want his
name to appear in the results, signed up
as "Sparky Plug " His secrecy was not
necessary, however, as only the top 1 5
riders in each heat were listed, and he
failed to make it. Better luck next time.
Sparky old chap. .
There was no 125cc class at Peppe-
rell, though ' Barney'' Mayer and Charlie
Vincent were both talking about riding
one-two-fives in the 250 events. Don
Mayer didn't show up, and Charlie
scrounged an OSSA 250, on which he
finished 19th (still can't get used to
those 2-strokes), but Billy Hobbs
brought along his 120 Kawasaki and
rode the 250cc events. Looked pretty
good out there, too, for a two-week
expert, but he failed to make the top six.
at least.
The Pepperell course is a lot different
from most local courses, with two good
jumps, fast straights, both fast and slow
Continued on page 107
Jim Weinert and his CZ pass Hal
LJonquist on a Bultaco. The CZ’s
were the machines to beat in all
the races.
The winner of the open-
professional class. Bob Ismailof,
keeps his CZ close to the ground
over the jumps to maintain
speed...
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