Throwback Thursday: Roger DeCoster at the Carlsbad USGP (1973)

Larry Lawrence | September 12, 2024

DeCoster Battled with German racer Willy Bauer for much of the First Moto

Dale Brown photoIn this week’s Throwback we dial back the clock to June of 1973 and visit Carlsbad (Calif.) Raceway and the U.S. round of the FIM 500cc Motocross Grand Prix World Championship. This photo shows a great battle in the first moto between Suzuki’s Roger DeCoster (No. 1) and German Willy Bauer (No. 2) on his mighty factory Maico. The two battled early in the first moto, much to the delight of the reported 40,000 fans, before Bauer was able to pull ahead with a slight lead and hold it to the finish. The highly anticipated battle in the second moto never materialized since DeCoster suffered a DNF with a broken gearbox. Bauer went on to score victory in the second moto and along with it the overall. While Bauer won the battle on this day, DeCoster would go on to edge the German in the 500cc World Championship that year by just two points.

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