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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126515
Terry Vance heel a remarkable day on his Byron Hines tuned Suzuki GS1100 and set a new world Pro Stock record at 8.6251153.32. AfW it was over Vance (left) tDId Stave Evans how it felt to trlIVel the ~ mile at a world record pace. Privateers are stili a force to be reckoned with and Mike Keyte proved. it. chasing Vance all the way to the final and running a 8.691/144.92. John Mafaro brought the Kawasaki that Bob carpenter and Ru.. Collins ran last seaaon. He got c:rosaecHp in round one and packed it In. Vance blasts to world record in Gatornationals Drags A pair of Suzuki's were next up when Greg Sornrners brought his GS 1000 up to face Terry Vance's GS BOO. In the duel of Suzukis, Vance left on Sommers and thOllgh Greg ran better than his previous personal best, it was nOl good enough to stop Terry's record performa.nce. Sommers ran a 9.184/145.76 but Vance backed up his 15~.80 with a 151.77 and ran the first 8.6 in the history of Pro Stock. His 8.68 second pass astounded everyone, especially the riders that had to face him the rest of the meet. Next. joe Folgore, on his Suzuki. got a clean stan while john Mafaro skated off the line_ Even though Folgore was way off the pace he was able to defeat the crossed·up Mafaro. Mafaro's Kawasaki was put on the trailer when he could only muster a 9.606/145.06. Folgore advanced to the next round, and to Vance. with a 9.467/141.06. Leading the second round was the lone Kawasaki of Keyte versus the R.C. Suzuki of Bob Carpenter. Carpenter' got away first and Keyte was forced to play catch up. Keyte earned his way into the final by running a fine 8.81/151.00 to CaJpcmeI-'s losing 8.954/149.00. Car· penter was pretty obviously down. on power aU weekend as the best he could muster was his semi 6naI149.00 mph. On the other end of the ladder was the race that everyone was waiting for. Perhaps the race was not as imponant as the single pass that would be made by Vance. When Vance staged up Folgore took. the only advantage the number eight qualifier could take -- he tried to anticipate the green light. joe's anticipation led to a big red eye. When the ~ did hit, Vance was already cogiiiAnt of the fact that he had won the race and now it was just By Greg GuarineUo GAINESVILLE, FL, MAR. 18 Terry Vance took an early season stranglehold on the Pro Stock class when he grabbed the win and both ends of the National record in the 12th Annual NHRA Gatornationals. Competing with a Byron Hines prepared 1981 Suzuki GSllOO, the Santa Fe Springs duo left no doubt as to their intentions for 10 the season. Saturday's qualifying session staned off with 1l! entrants trying to make the 8 bike field of elimination competitors. Superbike Mike Keyte surprised all when he nabbed the number one spot with an out of the van 8.789 seconds at 151.l!6 mph. The ET was Keyte's best run ever and the mph matched exactly the National record held by Terry Vance. The number two spot fell to Vance and Hines. Vance ran a strong 8.811 at a record breaking 152.80 mph. The number three rung was occupied by the R.C. Enginee.ring sponsored Suzuki of Bob Carpenter. Carpenter's numbers read 8.955 at 149. Rolinding out the top half of the field was a newcomer to the Pro Stock wars, john Mafaro. Mafaro purchased the Kawasaki machine that both Bob Carpenter and Russ Collins .ran at different times last season and took it to a 9.185/145.65 clocking. Th~ opening pairing of round one saw the Kawasakis of Keyte and Cedric johnson square off. Keyte took a quick lead and held on for an easy win, running an 8.87l!115l!.54 to johnson's 9.487/147.78. Keyte's 15l!.54 coupled with his qualifying 151.l!6 set the new mile-per-hour pass and signaled the kind of afternoon the defending Gatomationals champ was hoping to have. Next up was Bob Carpenter on his Suzuki and the Kawasaki of Marc Walker and Gary Pena. Walker left the line first but Carpenter was able to catch and pass him in the mid-range. Walker stopped the timers with an 8.9l!5/148.0l! while Carpenter ran an 8.967/151.00 for the win. him against the clocks. Vance waited until ~hing felt just right to leave. The rear tire bit . down and launched him like no Pro Stock machine had ever been launched before. With every gear change you could almost feel Vance becoming faster and faster as he jetted down the Florida quaner mile. At last Vance lit the win beam and all in attendance waited for the scoreboard readout system to register his numbers. 8.6l!5 ... 155.5l! ... incredible! Vance and Hines had done it again. The new world's record, not ~ the old one, was to reside in Santa Fe Springs, Califomia. With all the excitement Vance's pass generated it was easy to lose track of the fact that this was only the semi finals. When Keyte staged up his Kawasaki he knew that he would need the run of his career to dethrone Vance. When the -green light registered Vance left the line .004 seconds ahead of Keyte and twisted the throttle for all it was wonh. Vance was well aware that if he made a mistake he would not be able to hold off the charging Kawasaki. Keyte tried with all he had but when the win light was lit, the Gatomational crown had changed heads. Vance was the winner with an 8.691/144.9l! (missed high gear) to Keyte's losing 8.916/150.75. The two final round racers both proved themselves early in the year. Vance let it be known just how hard it will be to wrestle his Number One plate away in 1981. Keyte, on the other hand, showed just how well an unsponsored racer could compete with the factory boys. In a time when Suzuki has proven their basic superiority, Keyte has given Kawasaki riders all over the country new hope. •