A series of (silent) home movies from January 1972 by Bert Tolbert, courtesy of his daughter, Sharon (Tolbert) Divis. Sharon writes:
Indian Dunes, January 1972: Bert Tolbert is using his 8mm movie camera to film his son, Dennis Tolbert (1955-1977), then a junior at Hart High School, and his friends during races and warmups. Some of the racers were Frank Giardina, Randy Whiteaker, Larry Watkins, Fred Mathews and Larry Conner.
The film was brittle and fragile and even burned during the process of converting it to a digital format.
There were several different racetracks at Indian Dunes, and they would vary the terrain weekly, if I remember correctly. The guys who raced there knew each of the tracks by name. I did not race there, so I did not know the names. Before I got my license, I rode my 10-speed bicycle all over this valley — yes, even to Hart from our home in Saugus. Then when I got my learner's permit, I got the Suzuki, and it was legal on streets, so that is what I drove (even to Hart). By the time I hit 16, I got a Chevy Malibu. Dennis had totaled the Suzuki by then, so that was the end of my motorcycle days.
Opened in 1970 by The Newhall Land and Farming Co. to compliment its other attractions that put Valencia on the map —
a public golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones and a magical amusement park that was under contruction — Indian Dunes
was a 600-acre motocross park that featured two motocross tracks ("International" in the front and "Shadow Glen"
in back along the Santa Clara River), as well as
a flat track and a mini bike track. Frequented by Steve McQueen,
it was located west of the new Interstate 5 and south of Highway 126. It closed in February 1985.
