Weishaar Victor in Big Labor Day Cycle Race
Weishaar Victor in Big Labor Day Cycle Race
The Marion Daily Chronicle_September 2,1919
(Labor Day ~Day of Race~ was September 1, 1919)
International Championship Motorcycle Road Race Held Here Yesterday Was Great Event. Winner Smashes Last Year’s Record—Shrimp Burns Rides Brilliant Race, but Is Forced Out Near End
OFFICIAL TIME RECORDS
First—Ray Weishaar, Harley Davidson. Time: 2:48:37.42
Second—Leonard Buckner, Indian. Time: 2:52:47.74
Third—Jim Davis, Harley Davidson. Time: 2:56:04.20
Fourth—Warren Cropp, Excelsior. Time: 2:57:56.41
Fifth—Paul Anderson, Excelsior. Time: 3:01:50.69
Sixth—Joe Wolter, Excelsior. Time: 3:14:13.31
Seventh—Nemo Lancaster, Indian. Time: 3:19:08
Eighth—Hugh Murray, Excelsior. Flagged in thirty-eighth
Ninth—M. I.. Fredericks, Indian—Flagged in thirty-seventh lap.
Tenth—J.A. McNeill, Excelsior. Spilled at thirty-eighth lap.
Eleventh—Leslie Parkhurst, Harley Davidson. Out in thirty-fifth.
Twelfth—Maldwyn Jones, Indian. Out in thirty-fourth.
Thirteenth—Albert Burns, Indian Out in thirty-third
Fourteenth—Wald Korn, Indian. Out in twenty-fifth.
Fifteenth—Fred Ludlow, Harley Davidson. Out in the twenty-first.
Sixteenth—Roy Artley, Indian. Out in the twentieth
Ray Weishaar of Bridgeport, Conn, hurried his Harley-Davidson over the tape, winner of the second annual 200-mile International Championship Motorcycle Road Race here yesterday in just two hours, forty-nine minutes and 7.12 seconds, an average of 73.63 miles per hour. This establishes a new record for the local track, last year’s record being 66.6 miles per hour.
Weishaar finished more than a lap ahead of Leonard Buckner, the Indian rider, who took second place. It was a close race between Buckner and Jim Davis as to which one would finish in second place, but Buckner finally shot over the line ahead and Davis finished third.
If ever a day was set for a good motorcycle race, yesterday was. The sky was clear, with the sun shining at intervals. Early in the morning the crowds started gathering for the big event, some of them had stayed at the track all night, in order to get a good place in which to see the race. The track was in excellent condition and in only one or two places had the heavy rain made it rough.
Shrimp Burns, the plucky little Indian rider, was the hero of the early laps of the race. His speedy and nervy riding showed his heels to the field at the first lap and he held this lead, gradually increasing his lead until the twentieth lap, when he was forced to stop at the pits for gas and oil.
As the little rider jumped off his machine when he came in to the pits the crowd cheered him and applauded his fine riding. After his stop at the pits, Burns never regained the lead and in the thirty-third lap he was forced out by a broken chain.
Burns copped the money for the first twenty laps and Weishaar took the remaining twenty. Although it had previously been announced that only thirty-nine laps would be run, the officials decided at the last minute before the race stared that the riders should go the full forty laps.
THE PIT STORY
The story of the pits at Marion on Labor Day has one or two exciting moments but the thrills were few and far between.
One of the most exciting of these was when Albert Burns pulled into the Indian pits at the end of the twentieth lap and Ray Weishaar pulled into the Harley-Davidson pits at the same time. Burns had been leading from the very first lap with Weishaar close on his tail.
When the two came in for gas and oil at the half way post both pit crews strained, every nerve to get their man out ahead. Burns got the jump by about four seconds, but when it came time for him to cross the tape for the twenty-first lap he didn’t appear. A few seconds later Weishaar came thundering down the stretch and crossed the tape the leader in the twenty-first lap. A minute and a half later Burns flew by, tossing a broken chain into the pits as he passed. He had broken a chain soon after starting out, replaced it with an extra he was carrying and gone on with the race. The trouble cost him almost two minutes.
With this to make up he started out to burn up the track for the next twenty laps. For twelve of them he did it. A half dozen stopwatches were kept busy catching the time of the two leaders and Burns steadily gained, cutting down Weishaar’s lead by from eight to twelve seconds on a lap, but in his thirty-third lap anchor chain gave way and this time he didn’t have an extra chain with him and the race was done so far as he was concerned. Ten minutes later Burns and Hepburn came walking into the pits. Hepburn had broken a pawl at about the same place that Burns lost his chain, so they left their machines.
One of the rules of the race was that o rider should have assistance other than a push off at any place on the course except at the pits. Otto Walker was the only rider to run foul of this rule. Just after passing the pits at the beginning of his fourteenth lap he blew a tire. Some one ran down and helped to fix it and Referee McConnell immediately disqualified the rider.
Fred Ludlow was the only other rider to require a tire change. He rolled into the pits on the rear rim after forty-five minutes of riding.
The race was remarkable for the small number of pit stops. Most of them were for gas and oil.
The record as kept by the official pit checkers is as follows:
Otto Walker, Harley-Davidson, stopped outside the pits at 12:52. Had assistance to repair a tire and was ruled out by the referee.
Ray Weishaar, Harley-Davidson, stopped at 1:07 for gas and oil, lost a minute and ten seconds. Made no other stops.
Jim Davis, Harley-Davidson, stopped at 1:06 for gas and oil, lost two minutes. Stopped at 1:21 with motor trouble and lost a minute and forty-five seconds. Total time in pits, forty-five seconds.
Ralph Hepburn, Harley-Davidson, went out on the backstretch in the seventeenth lap with a broken pawl.
Fred Ludlow, Harley-Davidson, stopped at 12:00 for a new chain. He lost a minute and forty-five seconds. At 12:18 he stopped for a new tire and took gas and oil. He lost a minute and ten seconds. Total loss, two minutes and fifty-five seconds.
Maldwyn Jones, Harley-Davidson, stopped at 1:16 for gas and oil and changed plugs. He lost two minutes. He stopped again at 1:27 for another change of plugs and some motor trouble. It cost him three minutes and thirty-one seconds. At 1:43 he came in and adjusted the carburetor and changed plugs once more. It took two minutes and ten seconds. Total time lost eight minutes, twenty-six seconds.
Red Parkhurst, Harley-Davidson, stopped at 12:07 for a new key in the motor sprocket. He lost six minutes at 1:23 he came in for gas and oil and lost a minute and one second. Total time lost, seven minutes and one second.
Albert Burns, Indian, stopped at 1:07 for gas and oil. He got it in 50 seconds, which was some record. This was the only trip Burns made at the pits. His other trouble occurred on the course. The first time he broke a chain he replaced it with an extra that he carried but next time he had no extra and was out of the race.
Leonard Buckner, Indian, stopped at 1:05 for gas, oil and a short chain. It cost him a minute and twenty seconds. He stopped the second time at 2 o’clock for gas and oil and was out in thirty seconds, beating the Burns record by twenty seconds. Total time lost, one minute twenty seconds.
Roy Artey, Indian, stopped for gas and oil at 1:05 and lost a minute and ten seconds. This was his only pit stop.
M. L. Fredericks, Indian, stopped the first time around for a new front plug. At 1:05 he stopped again for gas and oil and some adjustments, which cost him three minutes forty-five seconds. At 1:21 he was back with a loose spark plug wire, which cost him a minute, and at 2:20 he donated thirty seconds to gas and oil. Total time lost, five minutes forty-five seconds.
Nemo Lancaster, Indian, stopped at 12:11 for gas and oil. Fifty seconds. Stopped again at 2:01 for gas and oil. Forty seconds lost. Total time lost, one minutes thirty seconds.
Wald. Korn, Indian, stopped at 1:05 for gas and oil. Lost a minute and forty seconds.
Paul Anderson, Excelsior, stopped at 12:57 for gas and oil. Lost a minute. Stopped at 1:57 for another supply and lost half a minute. Total time lost, a minute and a half.
Hugh Murray, Excelsior, stopped at 11:52 for a rear plug. Lost one minute. Again at 12:10 for a front plug. Lost two minutes. Took gas and oil at 1:54 and made adjustments. Lost four minutes. Stopped again at 2:06 for gas and oil and lost a minute. Total time lost, eight minutes.
Joe Wolter, Excelsior, stopped at 12:55 for gas and oil. Two minutes. More gas and oil at 1:55. One minute. Total time lost, three minutes.
Warren Cropp, Excelsior, Stopped at 12:51 for gas and oil and lost one minute. At 1:50 he put in another half minute for ammunition. Total time lost, one minute and a half.
The official start was at 11:44:46.
How the Money Went
Ray Weishaar–$1000 and M. and A. T. A. Dimond Medal.
Leonard Buckner–$500 and M. and A.T.A. Gold Medal.
Jim Davis–$300 and M. and A.T.A. Silver Medal
Warren Cropp–$200 and M. and A.T.A Bronze Medal
In addition Weishaar got $190 lap prize money and Albert Burns got $200 in lap prize money.
