August 7-8, 1965 - AMA National
More than 150 entries are expected for the national championship motorcycle races at Greenwood Roadway Saturday and Sunday.
The six-event program will open with lightweight competition at 1 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's schedule will feature 200 miles of racing, including a 40-mile event for novices, a 50-miler for amateurs and the 110-mile national for professionals.
Dick Mann of Pinole, Calif., will defend his title. Other top entries include Roger Reiman of Kewaunee, Ill., Gary Nixon of Baltimore, Md., Ralph White of Bakersfield, Calif., and George Roeder of Monroesville, Ohio.
- From the July 30, 1965 Des Moines Register
Enter 150 Cycles At Greenwood
- From the August 1, 1965 Des Moines Register
Greenwood's Races Draw Best in U.S.
Between 150 and 200 of the nation's top motorcycle riders will compete next Saturday and Sunday at Greenwood Roadway, near Indianola.
Heading the list of professionals is three-time U.S. American Motorcycle Association champion, Roger Reiman of Kewaunee, Ill.
Dick Mann, of Crockett, Calif., present U.S. point leader, will defend the Greenwood title. Twelve other entrants are National A.M.A. class champions.
They include Joey Nicholas, Schenectady, N.Y., Buddy Elmore, El Paso, Tex., Bart Markel, Flint, Mich., Gary Nixon, Baltimore, Md., Skip Van Luevween, Bellflower, Calif., John Tibben, Villa Park, Ill., and George Roeder of Monroeville, Ohio.
Time trials for the 110-mile main event are scheduled Saturday at 1 p.m. Starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, amateur and novice drivers will compete in 40 and 50-mile races. The 110-mile race will follow.
- From the August 8, 1965 Des Moines Register
Beginners Open Heavy Cycle Card
Indianola, Ia. - The beginners open the American Motorcycle Association's two-day program at Greenwood Roadway near here this afternoon at 1 o'clock.
They will compete in two 10-mile qualifying heats and a 25-mile final in the Sportsman class. More than 100 entries in stripped-down street machines will compete for trophies.
The professionals also start wheeling this afternoon in time trials for Sunday's 40-mile Novice event, 50-mile Amateur class race and a 110-miler in the Expert division.
Top Riders
Most of the top riders in motorcycle racing will be here. This includes the first 12 in the Expert class as well as leaders in the Amateur and Novice classes.
All six top finishers in last year's rain-swept 175-miler are on hand, headed by defending champ Dick Mann.
Mann, currently No. 1 in the A.M.A.'s ratings and a 1963 Grand National champion, is paired with Ralph White as the Matchless team and is among the favorites here. He averaged 78.232 miles per hour for the distance here a year ago.
Roger Reiman, three-time winner of the Daytona 200 classic, and Mert Lawwill of San Francisco make up the Harley Davidson team. Lawwill is second to Mann in the rankings. In the past two weeks he has picked up more than $600 in Wisconsin meets.
Reiman is from Kewaunee, Ill. He is sixth in the latest rankings.
Gary Nixon, of Baltimore, Md., who blew a magneto in last year's race after running third, will be on the Triumph team with Dick Hammer, reportedly driving one of the fastest TR's in the nation. Hammer is from Lakewood, Calif.
Nixon, formerly No. 3 in the ratings, is now fourth after failing to make the Ascot TT 500-mile steeplechase two weeks ago. Bart Markel, of Flint, Mich., is No. 3.
Led Last Year
Jody Nicholas, who spilled on the final lap here a year ago permitting both Mann and White to pass him, is the BSA team's top contender. He was leading the race last year before stopping for gas 75 miles from the finish.
This year the gas stop, mandatory under A.M.A. rules, may decide the 110-miler, officials say. However, pits stops are much faster with the cycles than cars. The record is eight seconds for taking on fuel, which is restricted to gas pump octane.
The nation's No. 1 Amateur rider, Chris Draayer of Salt Lake City, Utah; Wayne Cook of Richmond, Va., and Robert Winters of Fort Smith, Ark., head the second-year contenders in that class. Des Moines' Larry Dey is the lone Iowan in this field.
Draayer, in succession, has won at Hagerstown, Md., and Pittsburg and a 75-mile road race at St. Louis, Mo.
Top riders in the first-year Novice class are Richard Yeager, Sedalia, Mo., now No. 1; Torello Tacchi, Chicago on an Indian Ducati and ranking No. 2; and Gabriel Rudavicius, Cicero, Ill., No. 5. Both Yeager and Rudavicius wheel Harley Davidsons.
Virtually all makes of cycles are included here. Among them are several Yamahas, 250 cc outfits in the novice class watched over carefully by special crew of mechanics from Japan.
- From the August 8, 1965 Des Moines Register
Indianapolis Cyclist Wins Title in His Racing Debut
Indianola, Ia. - Robert Wakefield, brawny-shouldered Indianapolis, Ind., machine shop employee, captured the Sportsmen championship Saturday at Greenwood Roadway near here to launch a two-day motorcycle race program over the three-mile course.
The race, limited to three classes of machines of 250 cubic centimeters and under, marked Wakefield's debut in road racing.
He started his afternoon with a second-place finish in a nine-mile placing heat, then in succession won the 18 and 27-mile features by a wide margin over his competitors, the bulk of them non-professionals.
The 24-year-old Wakefield, a first-year professional in the Novice class, had a 2-minute 42.11 second time trial on his Yamaha production speed model to land the No. 2 spot in today's 40-mile Novice feature.
There were at lot faster riders on the track Saturday, but all of them were more experienced competitors.
Ralph White, a cement contractor from Lawndale, Calif., led a field of more than 150 pros with a time trial of 2:19.66, slightly over 77 miles per hour over the hilly, twisting course.
White will be on the pole in the first row of six for the 110-mile feature, restricted to riders in the Expert class.
A veteran of eight years of racing, White was third in the 17-miler here a year ago. He won the Laconia, N.H., 100-mile title last season. The Matchless team captain also won the Daytona 200 in 1963.
Alongside White in the front row today will be George Roeder, the Monroeville, Ohio, farmer who nearly was killed in a practice session here a year ago on his Harley Davidson; and Gary Nixon of Baltimore, Md., last year's qualifying leader on a Triumph.
Next are Jody Nicholas of Schenectady, N.Y., on a BSA, with the nation's top two riders next, Mert Lawwill, No. 2 in the current rankings; and last year's winner here, Dick Mann.
Mann, the point leader now, rides a Matchless, a British built machine. Lawwill is on a Harley Davidson.
An Iowan
Iowa will have a representative in today's 50-miler for the second-year competitors in the Amateur class.
Larry Dey of Des Moines squeezed into the front row aboard his Triumph, fifth from the pole. Chris Draayer of Salt Lake City, Utah, has the No. 1 spot. He rides a Harley Davidson.
One other Iowan, Dennis Stone of Ames, took first in the Sportsmen's 200 cc-and-under class aboard his Bultaco.
Several others were dumped in minor spills during competition for the lighter bikes. They included Roger Carpenter of Mason City and Mike Thomas of Des Moines. Neither was injured seriously.
Roger Ferguson of Canton, Mo., was the only casualty when he suffered a fractured collar bone after spilling on a turn. He was treated at Wilden Hospital in Des Moines.
Today's competition gets under way at 1 o'clock.
Results
Sportsmen
First Heat (9 miles) - 1. Carl Brown, Ewing, Mo., Honda; 2. Robert Wakefield, Indianapolis, Ind., Yamaha; 3. Larry Gaus, Canton, Mo., Ducati; 4. Tom Fitch, Des Moines, Ducati; 5. Dave Jorgensen, Des Moines, Des Moines, Ducati (no time).
Second Heat (18 miles) - 1. Robert Wakefield; 2. Larry Gaus; 3. Carl Brown; 4. James Deehan, Hollywood, Calif., Yamaha; 5. D. F. MacFadyen, Addison, Ill., Ducati; 15:54.50
Final (27 miles) - 1. Wakefield; 2. Gaus; 3. Fitch; 4. Robert Temple, Bloomington, Ill., Harley Davidson; 5. Bob Ferguson, Canton, Mo., Honda; 23:41.75 (average 68.40 miles per hour)
Class winners: 250 cc and under, Wakefield; 200 cc and under, Dennis Stones, Ames, Bultaco; 175 cc and under Dale Galliher, Austin, Minn., Yamaha.
Time Trials
Novice - 1. Jim Deehan, Hollywood, Calif., Yamaha, 2:39.27; 2. Robert Wakefield, Indianapolis, Ind., Yamaha, 2:42.11; 3. Richard Yeager, Sedalia, Mo., Harley Davidson, 2:42.29; 4. Torello Tacchi, Chicago, Ducati, 2:42.60; 5. James Foster, Madison, Wisc., Bultaco, 2:42.62.
Amateur - 1. Chris Draayer, Salt Lake City, Utah, Harley Davidson, 2:24.17; 2. Wayne Cook, Richmond, Va., Harley Davidson, 2:27.49; 3. Ron Widman, St. Louis, Mo., Harley Davidson, 2:30.30; 4. Douglas Parish, overland, Mo., Harley Davidson, 2:37.03; 5. Larry Dey, Des Moines, Triumph, 2:40.17.
Expert - 1. Ralph White, Lawndale, Calif., Matchless, 2:19.66; 2. George Roeder, Monroeville, Ohio, Harley Davidson, 2:20.65; 3. Gary Nixon, Baltimore, Md., Triumph, 2:20.72; 4. Jody Nicholas, Schenectady, N.Y., BSA, 2:21.28; 5. Mert Lawwill, San Francisco, Calif., Harley Davidson, 2:21.93; 6. Dick Mann, San Francisco, Calif., Matchless, 2:24.21; 7. Buddy Elmore, El Paso, Tex., Triumph, 2:25.29; 8. Dan Haaby, Covina, Calif., Matchless, 2:25.66; 9. Bart Markel, Flint, Mich., Harley Davidson, 2:28.49; 10. George Montgomery, Bladensburg, Md., Triumph, 2:29.22; 11. Larry Schafer, Arlington, Va., Harley Davidson, 2:30.33; 12. Jim Koplinski, Milwaukee, Wisc., Triumph, 2:32.02; 13. Jess Thomas, Rotterdam, N.Y., BSA, 2:33.90; 14. Anson Holley, Baton Rouge, La., Harley Davidson, 2:33.92; 15. Arnold Long, Champaign, Ill., Harley Davidson, 2:35.92; 16. Denny Adler, Sioux Falls, S.D., Triumph, 2:36.66; 17. Earl Widman, St. Louis, Mo., Harley Davidson, 2:39.57; 18. John Ribben, Villa Park, Ill., Harley Davidson, 2:40.63; 19. Dave Epkins, Pekin, Ill., Harley Davidson, 2:44.09; 20. Charles Feken, LeRoy, Ill., Harley Davidson, 2:44.09; 21. Harley Phillips, Hutchinson, Kan., Harley Davidson, 2:59.40.