THE MINT 400
A Long Dash For Big Cash
BOB SANFORD
IN A LITTLE MORE than 10 hr., J.N. Roberts and Max Switzer made $6000 gambling in Las Vegas. Not on a crap table or slot machine, or even at baccarat or 21. But on a vast expanse of Nevada desert, where, for the fourth year in a row, the Mint Hotel staged its classic 400-mile (closer to 300. actually) marathon off-road race.
Roberts and Switzer placed a $250 bet (commonly referred to as an entry fee) that they could manhandle a 400-cc Husqvarna eight times around the over35-mile course faster than any of the other 90 teams that entered the race. And that’s exactly what they did, edging out Malcolm Smith and Lars Eric Johansson by 15 min., and finishing more than 21 min. ahead of the 4thplace team of Phil Bowers and Mike Patrick. Bowers and Patrick had to be Nick the Greek’s choice, having won this race for the past two years, as well as ending atop the motorcycle heap at this year’s Mexican 1000.
The Mint 400, along with NORRA’s two Mexican races, has brought pomp and circ*mstance to the world of offroad racing in a short five-year period. Dangling a money-green carrot in front of the Hare and Hound, motocross crowd, the promoters of these events have converted sportsman racing into a Roman spectacle, where manufacturers pit their best riders and machinery against one another. This, if nothing else, gives motorcycling some longsought-for exposure in the mass media and the world of non-bikers. Of course, all of these events are primarily for four-wheelers, although race officials vehemently deny this, going to great lengths to explain in print that the motorcycle portion of the race is in no way a “Preliminary.”
Nevertheless, there was a very good motorcycle race in Las Vegas on Sunday this year, the day before the nearly 300 four-wheelers had a go on the same course. Lining up in rows of four, more than 9 0 first-loop riders nervously waited for the wrist-watch-watching starter to green-flag the first foursome into the desert. Each group would leave at one-minute intervals, cover the 35 tortuous miles in the shortest time possible, and return to the pit area, where they would turn their scooters over to the second-loop riders.
The course has been described as, and undoubtedly is, one of the “most grueling in the world.” Mile after mile of barren desert, full of ravines, pot holes, rocks, drop-offs and, worst of all, powder-fine, choking, blinding dust. It takes a hell of a good rider and machine to finish this one, much less win it.
J.N. Roberts, who won the inaugural here in l 968, was well aware of the dust problem and planned to get ahead of the pack as fast as he could. Luckily, he started in the number one position and, after the first couple hundred yards, began building up a sizeable lead, which he relinquished only briefly on the fifth lap.
Hundreds of spectators watched from the grounds of the Mint Gun Club, just outside the pit area, as group after group of riders was flagged off the line and sent out to battle the rough terrain, scorching heat and omnipresent dust. It was almost a sure bet that at least 5 to 10 bikes would not even finish the first loop, although a full-dressed Triumph chopper, complete with extended forks and a sissy bar, managed several laps, much to the dismay and delight of those in the crowd.
Roberts, however, intended to finish them all. One hour and 6 min. after leaving, the 28-year-old movie stuntman came blazing into the pits, not even looking particularly tired. Switzer took over, hoping to preserve or increase J.N.’s 5 .min. lead over the 2nd-place Husky of Gene Petty and Ken Renick.
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RESULTS OF THE MINT "400" MOTORCYCLE RACE 1. Max Switzer, Las Vegas. Nev. Husqvarna 400 9:54:05 S6000 J.N. Roberts, Sun Valley. Calif. 2. Malcolm Smith. Riverside, Calif. Husqvarna 250 10:11:47 $3000 Lars Eric Johansson, Skoude, Sweden 3, Gary Jones, Hacienda Heights. Calif. Yamaha 250 10:14:04 51600 Duane Jones, Hacienda Heights, Calif. 4. Philip Bowers, Chino. Calif. Yamaha 360 10:21:26 $ 800 Mike Patrick. Corona. Calif. 5. Tom Muto, Redondo Beach, Calif. Husqvarna 400 10:28:17 $ 650 Bruce Dunford, Downey. Calif. 6. Don Fuller, Salt Lake City, Utah Yamaha 360 10:37:24 $ 350 Steve Burgess, Salt Lake City, Utah 7. Ken Renick, San Diego, Calif. Husqvarna 405 10:38:52 $ 300 Gene Fetty, El Cajon. Calif. 8. Jack Froelick, Pasadena, Calif. Bultaco 250 1O:43:OR S 500 Gary Griffin, El Monte, Calif. 9. Ronald J. Stacy. El Cajon, Calif. C2 360 10:50:58 $ 200 Curt Smith, San Diego, Calif. 10. Jim Fishback, Etewanda, Calif. CZ 380 10:53:18 $ 150 Jim Clurg, Fontana, Calif. 11. Ron Bishop. Escondido, Calif. Kawasaki 350 10:55:54 $ 100 Howard Utse, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 12. Tom Smith, Bakersfield, Calif. Husqvarna 400 10:58:37 $ 100 Arthur Knapp, Van Nuys, Calif. 13. Casey E. Folks Jr., Las Vegas, Nev. Husqvarna 250 10:59:20 S 100 Tom W. Scales, No. Las Vegas, Nev. 14. Marty Dahlquist, Canoga Park, Calif. Husqvarna 400 11:08:04 $ 100 Mickey W. Freeny, Arleta, Calif. 15. Cordis Brooks, Pasadena, Calif. Carabela 125 11:29:52 $ 100 Tommy Brooks, Pasadena, Calif. 16. Bruce R. Lewellyn, Garden Grove, Calif. Montesa 250 11:34:01 Charles Curnutt, Torrance, Calif. 17. Dusty Coppage, Chatsworth, Calif. Yamaha 250 11:36:38 George Zuber, Corona, Calif. 18. Larry Bergquist, Duarte, Calif. Bultaco 250 11:36:47 Gary Preston, West Covina, Calif. 19. George Walker, Goleta, Calif. AJS 250 11:41:39 Morris Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif. 20. Mickey Quade, Escondido, Calif. Kawasaki 250 11:44:29 Dick Hansen, La Mesa, Calif.
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Switzer did the deed, and Roberts was off again, jumping over and riding through the horrendous obstacles that the Nevada desert has to offer. With each lap, the Roberts-Switzer team increased their lead, as the course began to take a heavy toll in broken bikes and bodies. Steve Hurd, a top-notch Southern California long distance rider, was out with a broken swinging arm on his DKW almost before he started. And Big John DeSoto, the CZ factory rider, holed a piston at the first checkpoint of the 2nd loop, which delayed him for more than an hour before repairs could be made. To add frosting to the cake, DeSoto suffered a pair of flat tires before completing the loop.
At the end of Lap 4, Roberts-Switzer had built up an l 1-min. lead over Fatrick-Bowers, who had replaced Fetty-Renick in the number two position. On Lap 5, however, there were some critical developments. Roberts endoed, cutting up his hack rather severely. Shortly afterwards, he pulled over with a broken ignition wire, just as Phil Bowers came whizzing by. Fixing the wire, J.N. took after the Yamahariding schoolteacher and repassed, just before Bowers went flying over the handlebars. Dazed, Bowers was barely able to fight his bike back into the pits, where Patrick took over. Although not seriously injured, a doctor declared Bowers unable to go on with the race, and his brother, Don, was allowed to substitute.
And that's just about the way it ended, with Las Vegas native Max Switzer bringing in the winning machine at 6:54 p.m., nearly an hour after
sunset. Smith-Johansson followed 15 min. later on another Husky, to become the 250cc class winner ($3000), while a pair of teenage brothers from California, Gary and Duane Jones, piloted their 250-cc Yamaha in for 3rd-place honors ($1600).
Heartbreak of the race had to belong to Bob Grossi and Mark Blackwell, who were running 3rd or 4th (S800-S1600) when their 250-cc Husky, with Grossi aboard, gave out just 10 miles from the finish ($0.00).
