Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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(Above) Fred Merkel blasts through the chicane at Daytona on his way to the Superbike win. Daytona's highspeed banking favored the Interceptor-based Hondas. (Below) Merkel celebrates the win with his crew. AMA Superbike Championship Series: Final Round Merkel edges Rainey at Daytona By Gary Van Voorhis Photos by George Hoffman and Van Voorhis DAYTONA BEACH, FL, OCT. 2 Honda's Fred Merkel, in an exciting duel which went right to the checkered flag, edged Kawasaki's Wayne Rainey for the victory in the 5th Annual Daytona Pro-Am Superbike round. The two gave the crowd their money's worth with a rousing battle for superiority on Daytona International Speedway's 3.84 mile combined oval/ road course. Third went to Honda Support rider Sam ,Mc.:I;)onald, who was involved in the thick of battle during a good portion of the race. John Bettencourt, after a nearly racelong fight with fellow Honda Support rider Roberto Pietri and Rainey's teammate, Wes Cooley, collected fourth. Pietri held off Cooley for fifth. Ricky Orlando realized his dream I • _. • of becoming the top privateer rider of the season by clinching eighth in the final point standings via his ninthplace finish. Orlando pilots a Honda sponsored by Motorcycle Performance Center in Boulder, Colorado. The mood in both the Kawasaki and Honda camps was tension-free. Rainey had locked up the Superbike Championship title at the Willow Springs round and he was at Daytona to race, rather than indulge in the strategy session which would have evolved had the title still been up for grabs. Merkel. with the knowledge the Daytona track favored his Honda's horsepower, was looking for his second Superbike win o[ the season and to break Rainey's string o[ four straight wins. McDonald turned in his best showing o[ the season by posti ng the [astest heat win and earning the pole for the final. Merkel won the second heat. Rainey, Bettencourt and Pietri rounded out the front row. On the start, McDonald bogged his engine and Cooley, in a maneuver to avoid hitting McDonald, ended up pulling a wheelie and then having his transmission get knocked out of gear when the front wheel came down hard. Both riders ended up around mid-pack in the ~8-rider field. Rainey streaked through the infield, but once onto the oval portion of the track it was Merkel taking over. Deeper braking into the chicane earned Rainey the lead back with the horsepower of Merkel's Honda quickhshowing the way on the high-speed portion of the track leading to the start/finish line at the end of lap one. McDonaJd had blasted his way through traffic and was into third halfway into the second lap. Two laps later, McDonald joined Merkel and Rainey in their high-speed ballet. The scene was nearly the same on each successive lap-Rainey had the edge in the infield and entering the chicane, while it was Merkel and McDonald gobbling up ground everytime the bikes hit the high-speed portions of the track. Meanwhile, Cooley had blitzed his way through traffic and was fourth blj lap five p~ thtt·~5-lap, 5~-m.ile.race. Pietri and 8ettencourt were right behind and a second infield/oval battle took shape. McDonald led at the start/finish line on laps five, six and -seven with Rainey di ving deeper going into turn one to grab the advan tage in the infield. Cooley was also using a late braking maneuver to claim his edge in the infield. On lap eighllhe advantage went to Merkel, with McDonald at the front on lap nine. The 10th and 11th laps belonged to Merkel where it counted. McDonald's engine began to overheat on lap J2 and the race for the win became a two-rider battle. Merkel continued to hold his edge at the start/ finish line. "The strategy for the last lap was to stay as close to Fred as I could," said Rainey afterward. "I got into turn one too fast, but he apparently lost his drive so we were even. He got away from me on the banking, burl caught him in the chicane when he got balked by a slower rider. I knew if I was right on his tail exiting the chicane I might have a chance to draft him forthe win. I could get alongside, but I couldn't get past. "The braking and handling of my bike is what enabled me to stay right with Fred. There was no doubt he had power so I would just wait for him and Sam to blast by and then tuck into their draft." "I needed all the top-end speed I could get to compensate for Wayne's edge in the infield," said a smiling Merkel after his victory. "If I had tried to stay with Wayne on braking I'm sure I would've crashed. It was a great race." "My bike was like a rocketship before it began overheating," said McDonald. "If only we had discovered the combination we had here earlier in the season things might have been a bit more interesting." Results SUPERBIKE: 1. Fred MerkellHonl; 2. Wayne Rai· ney(Kaw); 3. Sam McDonal.d IHonl; 4. John Betten· court IHon); 5. Roberto Pietri IHon); 6. Wes Cooley (Kawl; 7. Jimmy Adamo (Duel; 8. Rich Chambers (Han); 9. RickV Orlando (Hon); 10. Luther Wikle IHon); 11. Larry Shorts IHon); 12, Joey Mills IDuc); 13. Dan Nolan ISUl); 14. Glen Barry (Hon). SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES FINAL POINT STANDINGS: 1. Wayne Rainey 12101; 2. Mike Baldwin 1169); 3. Fred Merkel (135); 4, Sam McDonald (132); 5. John Bettencourt (1171; 6. Roberto Pietr; 1112); 7, Wes Cooley 1104); 8. Rick Orlando(71); 9. Joey Mills (56); 10. Jimmy Adamo (52). Formula Two Brunson rolls to victory DAYTONA BEACH, FL, OCT. 2 Kevin Brunson took advantage of the misfortune of Alan Labrosse to grab and hold the lead in the final laps of the Formula Two final for the win. Brunson had been trailing Labrosse as the field began the eighth of 10 laps when Labrosse's bike snapped a master link in the drive chain, leaving Labrosse to spectate in the final laps. Brunson took it easy in the final laps and was almost caught by newJy crowned Formula Two Champion Randy Renfrow at the finish line. Boonie KnOll rounded out the top three finishers. Brunson, aboard a AA Harperv' Circle H Racing-sponsored Can-Am, and KnOll, riding a TTFN/Knott Custom-sponsored Can-Am, put 3' sandwich on the Sure-Fire/Bi-Star/ Cycle Sport Yamaha of Renfrow. Doug Brauneck, on the John Hasty Racing/White Bearing Companysponsored Can-Am made it three of four places at the top of the taU y for the brand. J .ahrosse jVo(on /l).e quaiif¥ing ·heaa.