Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126416
Steve MclAlughlin passed Wes Cooley for the Superbike lead on lap five, MclAlughlin was passed by Mike Baldwin before being taken out in a crash, Superbike Production Schlachter survives shortened Superbike race By Gary Van Voorhis LOUDON. NH,JUNE 17 Rich Schlachter won the shortened Superbike Production race in what could be considered a hollow victory for the Connecticut rider. When the red flag came out on lap 21 of the 25 lap event, Schlachter, aboard the George Vincensi-sponsored and t ed Du t' h d r ' un , ca I, a a s 1Tn margIn of breathing room over the KawaSOld Motors Corporation entry of Mike Baldwin. To make matten more interesting. the Yoshimura R&D of America Suzuki of Wes Cooley was in a similar position with Freddie Spencer and the American Berliner Corp/Reno Leoni Ducati right behind. What was the race strategy of the above quartet? We'll never know. The accident that brought out the red flag happened on lap II and involved Steve McLaughlin and his Racecrafter's International Kawasaki and Dan Chivington, aboard his Chivington Honda sponsored Honda. Chivington was. the fint rider down and it appears that McLaughlin, with no place to go, hit the downed rider and also went down hard. The area of the accident - a very fast high speed sweeper - did not have an ambulance in it and after examination by medics on the scene it was decided to stop the race SO that Chivington could receive further attention. Chivington was being attended to by a neurosurgeon at presstime and no further information was available. The first of two qualifying heats fell to Baldwin with Harry Klinzmann second followed by Schlachter. Steve McLaughlin added a third Kawasaki to the pack with Suzuki-mounted John Bettencourt fifth. The second heat appeared to be a runaway by Cooley over Spencer although it was a full three seconds slower than heat one making Cooley the only rider from heat two on the front row of the final grid. Roberto Pietri and Dennis Smith Suzuki'ed their way to third and fourth with Keith Code, on a Kawasaki, fifth. Wes Cooley blasted off the line to grab the lead as the green flag waved, with McLaughlin, Baldwin, Klinzmann, Reg Pridmore, Bettencourt. Schlachter, Code and Spencer very close behind. Daytona Superbike race winner Ron Pierce had to start at the rear of the second wave after an all night session to replace a broken crank in his Yoshimura R&D of America Suzuki which happened on the final lap of the final practice session prior to the qualifying heats. "It's a stock crank," said Pierce before the start. "We'll have to see how it runs." Pierce was already through the second wave by the end of lap one and working on catching the tail end riders on the first wave who had had a 10second lead by virtue of the starting procedure. Cooley saw his lead shrink on each of the first four laps until McLaughlin powered around on lap five. "1 was_ having trouble with the rear tire," Cooley would say later. "It just wouldn't stick." Baldwin, in third, was feeling the pressure of Klinzmann as Spencer held off a pack led by Bettencourt and Pridmore, and it was shaping up to be one helluva fight with everyone looking for openings around the rider in front. Baldwin powered his way around Cooley on lap eight and began to close on McLaughlin while Klinzmann tried to move on Cooley. Schlachter and Bettencourt had moved in to join the party while Pierce was making short work of the traffic in front of him and had worked his way to 14th. Klinzmann snapped off his shift lever on the next lap and began to drop back before pulling into the pits six laps later. Meanwhile. Schlachter moved around Cooley while Baldwin was setting up McLaughlin for a pass into the lead on lap 10. Baldwin dropped McLaughlin to second as the pair swept through tum one on lap 10. As they moved into slower traffic, the pair set up to pass Chivington and the accidents happened. On the same lap, Pridmore came into the pits complaining of no rear brake. He came right back out. Schlachter moved quickly to cut Baldwin's lead. "My rear tire was working really well," said Schlacher who had chosen a softer compound with a different contour to those riders in front and behind him, and it was paying off. On lap 15, things really started getting tight. Schlachter was putting a wheel on Baldwin wherever and whenever he could, testing and probing. On lap 17 it paid off as Schlachter took over exiting the lefthand sweeper coming onto the pit straight. Cooley had been shadowing Spencer since lap 12 looking for a way back into third. On lap 18 he found it and opened up a little room while Baldwin stalked Schlachter apparently waiting for the right moment. It never came. Race strategy or no. the red flag in the hand of starter Mike Anthony put an end to the suspense of a last lap duel to the finish. • SUPERBIKE PRODUCTION FINAL: 1. Richard Schlachter IDucl; 2. Mike Baldwin IKaw); 3. Woo Cooley ISuzl; 4. Freddie Spencer IDuc); 5. Chuck Palmgren IKawI; 6. Dwight Roy ISuzl; 7. Denni. Smith ISuz); 8. Ron Pierce ISuzl; 9. John long IBMW); 10. Keith Coda IKawl; 11. Corl Smith; 12. John Fuch (Honl; 13. Kurt Liebmann lHan); 14. Malcolm Tunstall (Duel; 15. Ken Groene ISuzl.. TIME: 13 min. 56 sec. SPEED: 79.534 mph. 9