Arizona republican., 1914-03-16
JOHNS |S ID RACE INDIAN
 RIDER BAKER
Word is Received That EX- celsior Exponent Expects to Show Local Champ Way Round Phoenix Track in Century Grind

When they all line up for the lO0- mile motorcycle race on the Phoenix | oval two weeks from yesterday after ! noon about 2:30, Donald Johns, the :! kingpin of the Coast Excelsior team l will be in the group, ready to dispute with his rival, Baker, the title to the championship. Whoever else may happen to enter that race, whatever local favorites, or outside champions, the contest will really lie between Baker and Johns It is with the calm spoken intention of beating Baker that Johns is coming here, ac- cording to what was learned yester day at motorcycle headquarters.
 The quarrel that Johns has with Baker dates from so far back that not even the principals can recollect the exact details. It started probably with some race in which Baker beat Johns, for the latter has ever since been the role of the challenger Per fectly willing to meet Mr Johns, in any sort of d race, Baker still pre- fers a match event, in which the lines will be sharply drawn. When, a few months ago, Baker received challenges from Johns, he replied with an agreement to do a three century stunt with the Excelsior man. Johns has never answered that letter. though to be real charitable, one must admit that perhaps Johns was not in place to come through all Baker demanded. Everybody has cer- | tain limitations of time and place. Now. Johns is coming to Phoenix, 1 placing himself on an equality with l Baker for the one century circuit. | That he will force the Indian rider to put the old buzz battleship around the course at a killing pace is cer- 1 tain. The limit of speed, possible in a long race, will be the pace for each successive mile. If any round drops l below a mile-a- minute clip it will be because of compulsory stops. The 1 remainder of the riders-noW esti- l mated to be about ten in number will not be entirely negligible. Annals of the Phoenix track include some recent performances in which Baker l starred, but in which a tire change | ei petb NftlNt, Ci eIllN SOi u ol Ilinpi ] trouble for the Indian expert would 1 have given the race to d Phoenix
 boy, who was, following so closely upon the back wheel of the inter-
 ntaional rider that he could easily have taken advantage of a little mis-
 hap.
 The committee of the Phoenix Mo-
 torcyle Club, appointed a week ago
 tomorrow, is confident of a smashing
 big crowd at the races on March 20.
 It is not for the mere sport of the
 matter that the club is holding this event, but in order to feather the nest against the matching of the Los 1 Angeles San Diego-Phoenix desert
 motorcycle race that will be a big
 feature of the gasoline gayety of the
 coming State Fair Nearly S1000
 must be lifted by one means or
 another before that race can be a
 success. Not all of this can be raised
 by promoting track races here, but
 liminaries the less will have to be
 contributed out of hand by the riders
 and their friends in Phoenix.
 Phoenix now having an F. A. M
 club here, it will be necessary to
 make some new marks in the way ot
 stunt pulling. With at least two fac
 tions scrapping, the Phoenix two
 wheelers have placed the city on sev- eral sport maps already, but now that
 the :'little brothers" of the automo-
 billsts are all united, there is nc , measure for their possible success