Throwback Thursday: Dutch Master of Carlsbad
Larry Lawrence | January 30, 2020
Throwback Thursday: Dutch Master of Carlsbad
In this week’s Throwback we wind back the clock 46 years ago to 1974 and the Hang Ten 500cc U.S. Motocross Grand Prix at Carlsbad Raceway. These photos show Gerrit Wolsink, the Dutch rider who almost owned the race at Carlsbad during the 1970s, winning his first U.S. 500cc MXGP in July of 1974.
A crowd of 35,000 watched Wolsink’s fellow Suzuki rider Roger DeCoster win the first moto. Then Wolsink, known as the Flying Dentist, scored an exciting second moto win and the overall victory, crashing just as he crossed the finish line, hitting a steep dirt embankment under pressure from Finnish rider Heikki Mikkola.
Wolsink was absolutely dominant during the 1970s at the Carlsbad 500cc MXGP. In all he would win the event five times.
The photo on the left is Wolsink in action at Carlsbad and on the right, the podium celebration alongside “Miss Hang Ten” Sue Brookins.
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