Crussell, on the #1 Kawasaki Bighorn, is riding around the outside of me on #7, Kerry Beriont's Suzuki X-6, in turn#3. I comment to Dave that I never noticed that sign before and Dave said he hadn't either. In the photo, it's hard to believe one could not notice it, but it's not where one is looking while racing. It makes the photo, though. I don't know where Dave got the photo or who took it.
Then, Jason Roberts sent me a photo he says Allan Engel took that he found on superbikeplanet.com. I search superbikeplanet.com and found plenty of other Allan Engel photos, but not this one.
This is Cal Rayborn with the H-D 350 Sprint I currently own and campaign. The scene is Daytona in 1970. That's clearly Mert Lawill on the left. That could be Roger Reiman sitting on the bike, but what is he doing? He could be plugging in the battery or tickling the carb, but why is Rayborn holding the bars then? This was the first time Rayborn raced the bike. The AMA had just changed the rules to allow 360 four stoke and two stroke singles race against the 250 two stroke twins in the Lightweight class. Rayborn finished 10th in his heat. In the final, the Cycle News report on the race says: "Cal Rayborn (350 Sprint) ran 7th until a rubber grommet in one shock absorber split. 'It made things pretty shaky up on the banks,' Cal said, dropping out of the chase." The June, 1970 issue of Cycle World reported that "Cal Rayborn pitted at the end of Lap 5--to find an empty pit. Apparently the mechanics were more concerned with finding more horsepower from the big machines for the Sunday race." This was the first year of the iron XR-750 and they were all melting pistons.
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