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/126524
(Top) freddie Spencer took his Formu18 One Honda to his first National win. IAbove 18ft) Fourth·plece flnl.her Bruce Hammer Iud. Thad Wolff who took thlrd.lAbove right) Spencer . . . . fast qualifier We. Cooley who DNF with mechanical troutM.. AMA Grand National Championship/Winston Pro Series: Round nine Red, white and blue day for Spencers By Gary Van Voorhis Photos by Patrick. Behar ELKHART LAKE, WI, MAY 31 Freddie Spencer notched his first National win and gave Honda their first (U.S.) Fonnula One win at the same time with a victory in the Win6 ston Pro Series event at Road America. It was a doubly satisfying day for Team Honda as Freddie's teammate Mike Spencer took second. Thad Wolff, on a Team Escargot Suzuki RG500, finished third to fill winner's circle and make it the first time in recent memory that Yamaha has been shut out of the top three places in a road race National. It was also the second four-stroke win in as many ~an at the track. Bruce Hammer and Jeff Umryu, both Yamaha mounted, finished fourth and fifth. Both Hammer and Umrysz are self-sponsored. Freddie Spencer was jubilant in win· ner's circle, especially after having lost the Superbilte win the day before to a pice of roclr. which stuck his throttle slides open. "I think there'll be some partying tonight," said Freddie with a sly grin as he looked at Honda team manaRer Ron Murakami. "You can bet on it," Muralr.ami replied. The two qualifying heat races to set the 50 rider grid were won by Freddie Spencer and Wes Cooley with Cooley, by virtue of fast time, taking the pole for the National. Road America's four mile/14 turn circuit which snakes through the east Wisconsin countryside has a reputation for taking normal gas consumption figures and throwing them out the window. Although the race was 72 miles long (18 laps), three miles short of the normal length of a National, many riden topped up after running a warm-up lap on a two mile ponion of the trad. For some even that would not be enough. The initial stan was delayed for five minutes from the two minue sign, another warm·up lap and more gassing up. Cooley, Freddie Spencer, Harry Klinzmann. Nick Richichi and Mark Homchick filled the front row of the grid, but it was Cooley and Spencer es· tablishing their superiority before the lint lap was over, leaving Mike Spencer to fend off the rest of the field from third. Klinzmann held founh ahead of Miles Baldwin while Richichi was already experiencing problems that would end his ride in another lap. "I didn't really want to be out front at the stan," said Cooley later. "I figured Freddie was just holding back a bit. Finally 1 decided to see what he had so 1 wided it up a bit. " By lap three Cooley and Spencer had put nearly eight seconds on Mike Spencer although they were less than a second apart. Attrition, which would (Continued to pcge 10)