Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

that a person could spend eight hours a day or more at the Speedway. Daytona International Speedway is unique for there is nowhere else in the global scale of road racing where riders and machinery are subjected to such stress as in the 200. (True, there will be an AMA Superbike Championship round at Daytona's sister track Talladega, but that is a sprint race compared to. the 200.) The 3.87 mile combined oval/road course deals out more than its share of torture with a track that incorporates 30 degree banking -- the resulting Gforces compress the suspension so that every variation in track surface feels like hitting a huge rock .. plus a 3,000 plus foot backstretch leading to the very quick left· right, right-left of the chicane. The highest speed on the course is reached when the riders accelerate off the oval's fourth turn banking and just as quickly have to begin scrubbing off 100 mph or more to negotiate the entrance to the infield. The infield does not give the rider a chance to rest either since constant acceleration/deceleration demands all his or her constant attention. Every rider who tackles the course encounters the same whether he is competing in the Novice event or the 200. The degree of difficulty varies only by the speed. There is no margin for error. Daytona 200 If thlnp go his wey, Kenny Roberta will be the photogrephee at Deytone, rother then the photogrepher, 16 Daytona, called The Birthplace of Speed by many, literally reverberates with the sounds of speed during Cycle Week. The high-pitched whine of the 2-strokes mixes with the throaty ,..,,,rlt t ~j{1 1di&.~'(1M:>&hCIl~'SI,I'o\uiJs! to • I JI!aU D!usicJp~:.,~~%e~~"r;i.~!~S ears. This is Daytona and no matter what event or events you've come to watch or participate in, you should head home after the racing is m= with just one thought -. next year -- and many memories. There are enough events, culminating with the 40th Annu~.~~J,~,.'R The 200 has taken on a new look since the introduction last year of a change from F750 to Formula One rules. The ballgame is now 2-stroke versus 4-stroke rather than just guessing which Yamaha will win. The Yamaha 750 riders are still favorites because the track favors the lighter machine and its acceleration, but don't be surprised if there are one or more 4-strokes in the top five. Formula One rules allow 4-strokes up to 1025cc displacement and (streamlined, any frame suspension) to run with 2·stroke 500cc GP bikes plus 750cc 2·stroke F750 carburetor machinery using restrictors. The change in ruling has created more interest in the racing and opened the door to more factory participation. This year there will be four factory squads in attendance with Yamaha being joined by 4-stroke entries from Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki (through Yoshimura). Three·time 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts heads the 140 or so entrants vying for a spot on the 80 rider starting grid. Roberts, who lapped the entire field on his way to winning the 200 in 1978, will be Yamaha's sole factory entry. Roberts' crew will have to make a quick trip of 10,000 miles from California to Yamaha's continental headquarters in Amsterdam to .pick up his 750. Updating of the machine with which Roberts set a new qualifying record last year will be the order of business. AMA Superbike Champion Wes Cooley and Tourist Trophy World Champion Graeme Crosby (the Eur0pean version of Formula One) will represent the Suzuki factory effort on bikes pr-epared by Yoshimura Racing. This year's efforts will see basically a new bike utilizing GP RG500·type Single sh!Xk suspension in a new frame with Kayaba anti·dive front forks. The engine, according to a Yoshimura Racing spokesman, is, "Basically the same as last year although horsepower has been increased. A majority of the concentration is on the suspension." Randy Mamola, who finished second to Roberts in the 500cc World Championship, would really like to give his 1981 500cc GP Suzuki a test in the 200. However, it appears at this lTt.~ thtSHukiJ.Wo~~nJ~ ~~

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