!Above left) Wes Cooley, here leading Mike Baldwin, crossed the finish line first. apparently winning the AMA Superbike crown as Eddie Lawson (right) crashed.
lawson filed a protest against Cooley's bike, though, and they must now wait for a decision by the AMA to see who's number one.
111
AMA Superbike Championship
Series: Final round
Lawson or
Cooley? Title
hangs on
protest/appeal
,
w
By Gary Van Voorhis
DAYTONA BEACH, FL, OCT. 5
(Above) Freddie Spencer was awarded the win following the protest.
(Below) Mike Spencer (173) led Mike Baldwin to the 2-3 slots.
"I can't believe it; I just can't believe it.
Whoee, is there going to be a party tonight!"
Wes Cooley could hardly contain his excitement. He had entered the final AMA Superbike Championship Series round
.
"
13 pomts behmd Eddie Lawson
and yet had beaten the odds to
come out on top of the points
race. "Realistically," said Cooley, "My
chances of beating Eddie out of the
title seemed to be slim and none when
the race staned since he had all the
cards in his hand and could sit back,
ride a conservative race and watch me.
All he had to do was finish about sixth
even if I won. "
12
Lady Luck intervened, however,
and on the second lap of the U-lap
event OVN the 5.M-mile course at
Daytona
International
Speedway
Lawson's. Team Kawasaki bike .began
to leak oil from a broken couplmg on
the oil line. Three laps later, with oil
on the tire, Lawson went down in the
chicane and with ~he crash went his
chances of the title. Lawson was
unhurt.
Yoshimura Suzuki mounted Cooley
went on to squeeze out the win by
a scant six inches over Honda's Freddie
Spencer and take the title free and
clear. However, protests were brewing.
Kawasaki's team manager Gary
Mathers had cornered Mike DiPrete of
the AMA earlier in the day to discuss
the ponion of the Superbike rules that
lItate "The frame mlllt be as on the
