Of the four IPS tour events in Japan in 1979, Mark Richards won the opener, Wayne Bartholomew took the third event, and Shaun Tomson rode to victory in the fourth. No surprises. These were the three headlining stars from Free Ride, which was still playing to full houses in beach towns everywhere. Tomson had won a world title two years earlier, Bartholomew was defending champ, and Richards was a few months away from winning the first of his four world titles.
There were other exceedingly talen...
