1957 Marlboro Maryland Motorcycle Road Race - 1-Page Vintage Article

Description

1957 Marlboro Maryland Motorcycle Road Race - 1-Page Vintage Article
Original, Vintage Magazine article
Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm)
Condition: Good
Race Day
At
Marlboro
Maryland Road Race
Course Being Groomed
For Classic Labor
Day Weekend Races
THE NEW 1.8 mile paved Marlboro
road course opened to a 65-rider
motorcycle card on Sunday, June 9,
after a few anxious moments as to
whether rain would halt proceedings.
The B races got off to a roaring
start. Bob Huntley, in the lead went
down on a hairpin turn, and was clip-
ped by the next rider, who also went
down. Then, bang, bang, two other
riders, a little further on the course,
went into a retaining wall. The race
was quickly halted by Cam Dailey—
who was doing a beautiful job at an-
nouncing.
Then, another heat, and in a left-and-
right hairpin, Jim McMurry, of Staten
Island, N. Y., went down. Jim had
plenty of pavement rash, and a cracked
rib. Big Jim is tough, tho, and insisted
that his leathers be taken off, not cut,
and despite the pain, his leathers came
off intact. Jim was discharged from the
hospital, and went on his way home,
saying he’d be ready for Laconia—the
big one.
Another B race, and the leader, lap
after lap was the winner of the Jarvis,
Canada, road race, popular Joe De-
Simone. Joe had a big lead. All of a
sudden, Joe held up his arm—trouble
with his bike. He coasted to a stop, and
was out of the race.
This left the field to Al Lewis—and
Lewis won the final, shoving his BSA
around the course in a fast time of
14:35:25. Wilfried Furlong, BSA, took
second. Al Fisher, Triumph, who had
been involved with the spill of an earli-
er heat, came in a fast third.
Tough luck hit Seed Hedgecock, two-
time winner of the Marlboro course,
when he was forced out with bent
pushrods. Four-time winner Tommy
McDermott had a sick engine, but
finished. Class A final winner Warren
Wolfe, BSA, toured the course in 14:-
00:96—a record, since it’s a new course.
Second was Eddie Fisher (he’s riding
again, and fast) on a Triumph. Tommy
McDermott, BSA, managed to have his
bike last out for a third. Warren Sher-
wood, BSA was fourth and Jack Ches-
ter, now riding a Lou Piper-tuned Tri-
umph, was fifth.
There was a good crowd, despite the
threat of rain. A feature lightweight
exhibition (looking forward to sanc-
tioned lightweight races) saw a group
of riders giving the crowd a thrill with
their little bikes. Rod Coates, Triumph
Cub; Cliff Guild, Triumph Terrier; Bill
Irwin, Maico; Bob Myers, Maico; Dale
Rhode, Triumph Cub; Walt McQueen,
Maico; Rocky Ross, Mustang; Clyde
Curtis, Mustang; Hal Burton, Jawa,
were among the lightweight expon-
ents touring a four-lap tryout. Rod
Coates and Cliff Guild recently won
their classes in the Canadian Cham-
pionship at Jarvis, Ontario.
Cam Dailey, race manager, has asked
for lightweight sanction for future
Marlboro events.
Bob Rudy, District AMA Referee,
started the practices with a crowd-
pleasing ceremony, somewhat like that
of Indianapolis. He led the riders for a
full tour of the track, using a sidecar
for a pace car, with himself astride a
beautiful BMW. It was an impressive
sight.
Ray Pitcock and Robert Markey plac-
ed second and third in the expert semi-
finals. B riders who placed were War-
ren DeLong, Charles Kuster, Bill Shel-
ly and Eddie LaBelle.
The Labor Day Tobacco Trail Classic
at Marlboro will have a full card of
experts. The June 9 preliminary race,
so to speak, had competition from the
Heidelberg dirt track — one of the
world’s fastest, hence some of the hot-
shoe boys such as Wilkins and Brig-
ance probably passed up a road race
in preference to a flat track.
Marlboro, say the boys who know,
is probably the best road race course
in North America. Even the sports car
crowd seem to agree. Uphill slopes,
lefts and rights thru trees, long
straights, a few hairpins, a fast chic-
ane, good paving, wide course, well
swept, good course marshalling — all
add up to a course to rival any there is.
Not yet with the glamor and appeal of
Laconia—Marlboro is bound to gain in
importance, owning to a far-sighted
managerial program, solid advertising,
local support of fans, and nationwide
support of expert riders.
Marlboro got radio and newspaper
publicity greater than ever seen before
in this area for a motorcycle race,
thanks to Cam Dailey and to the capi-
tal’s number one publicist, Joe Holman.
Joe Holman, by the way, was recently
awarded a testimonial dinner by the
National Press Club bigwigs, as the
top public relations man of the national
capital—and he’s a good man to have
interested in motorcycles.
The Marlboro course, on Highway
301, called the Tobacco Trail, is actual-
ly on the ground of the old tobacco
trail, where large barrels of tobacco
were rolled along to market. The course
has been fixed up with a few escape
routes, with high sand barriers for pro-
tection, with a sweeping machine, with
a new press box, and with new comfort
facilities.
The parts of the course that run
thru the trees, the long sweeping
curves, the long straights, make for
good audience interest as well as top
speed. The Labor Day 25-star event al-
ready has a large entry list, which, to-
gether with the scrambles, hill climb,
lightweight races, and drags to be held
as part of the three-day motorcycle
fair, should please all who attend.
ACTION AT MARLBORO—BSA mounted Joe De-
Simone races around the all-paved road race
course.
ROD COATES with his Triumph Cub, winner of
Jarvis, Ontario, road race two years in a row,
gets ready for exhbition race.
Also on page: Mechanical coin-operated kids motorcycle ride:
FOR JUNIOR ‘HOTSHOES’
HERE’S A coin-operated device that
should find wide acceptance among
motorcycle dealers. Not only does it al-
low “dad” to do his motorcycle shop-
ping uninterupted, but also gives the
dealer additional income. Operated by
the insertion of a dime, this scaled
down motorcycle has a speedometei'
that actually works, a siren, hand
brake, throttle control, etc. Riding time
is adjustable at intervals from 45 sec-
onds to three minutes. For further in-
formation write: Bally Manufacturing
Co., Dept. M, 2640 Belmont Ave., Chi-
cago 18, Ill.
11274-5708-02