Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Three-time Champion Jay Springsteen. concentrating before quali,tying on his 660. (Above) Shobert (67). Ch~nd!er (1 0): Jorgensen (44). Eklund and Springsteen on the first lap. (Below) Jorgensen made up for power by gOing ImposSIbly deep. Honda's Ricky Graham missed the race with injuries and Harley-Davidson's Randy Goss, who was tied with Graham for the Camel Pro Series poims lead before this race, finished fourth. There was no doubt from the beginning that the Hondas of Shobert and Chandler had the most power. The wonder was that jorgensen could get-and stay-as dose as he did, simply by charging imo the comers harder and deeper. Over 70 riders entered the Expert class, a record turnout observers aLUibute to the availability and relative economy of the new single-cylinder racebikes featuring Rotax engines. "An XR756 capable of winning a National costs about $11,000 or $12,000 to build." poimed out Parra O'Siocain, a popular free-lance engine builder, "and a competitive Rotax single costs $6,500 or $7,000." Qualifying AMA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series: Round 4 , Chandler s Ascot TT- win By John 'Ulrich Photos by Dan Mahony, Rex Wessels and Lori Tyson GARDENA, CA, APR. 7 Doug Chandler won the Ascot TT, a race dominated ~y new single-cylinders, an event marked by Honda's assertion of horsepower superiority. Chandler, riding a 600cc 6 Honda with a radial valve cylinder head, took the lead when fast qualifier Bubba Shoben's Honda broke on the fifth lap. Chandler led from there umilthe finish, challenged but never passed by Alex jorgensen on a 560cc WoodRotax powered machine. Team Harley's ScOll Parker was third. Of those 70 or so, Shobert qualified fastest, turning one lap of the Ascot 'IT course in 46.05 seconds on what was visibly the fastest machine on the track. Shobert's bike showed tbe results of several weeks of work devoted to the Single since the Houston 'IT by Rob Muzzy and American Honda engine R&D staff. Chandler, ~iding a similar machine developed _ mdependently by jerry Griffiths with Honda support. qualified second fastest at 46.23 seconds. Three-time Camel Pro Series Champion jay Springsteen of Team Harley was third fastest at 46.~6, like jorgensen using the newlyavaIlable 560cc Wood-Rolax engine for the first time. jorgensen was fourth fastest at 46.29. Time trials ended with miscalculations for two comenders. ScOll Pear~on waved off his first timed lap, giv109 up what would have been 12th fastest time for a shot at a beller lap. But his second qualifying allernpt ended with a broken coil wire and Pearson sat out the race. Pete Hames also waved off his first allempt, crashed during his second, and wem to the sidelines. Heats If qualjfying wasn't enough to serve notice of Honda's new potency, Shobert demonstrated serious horsepower in the first heat race. Beginning the second lap, Shobert literally blew past early heat leader Steve Morehead at.the end of the straightaway. _ Shobert quickly pulled out a threesecond lead as Randy Goss worked past Morehead. Keith Day charged Morehead and slipped inside to take third in turn three on the fourth lap, but Morehead repassed on the oval portion of the course. Maybe the thought of Day's pass spurred Morehead a bit too much, because he lowsided in turn three on the last lap of the heat. Day ran off the track after clipping Morehead's bike, then turned and cominued on his way as Morehead scrambled to pick up his mount before Randy Green caught up. But although Morehead left his crash site still in fourth, he finished fifth: Green passed him. It was the start of a long night for Morehead. Chandler led the second heat from the start; Garth Brow was second initially before problems sent him on a march toward the rear; Rich Arnaiz third. As Brow worked back toward a sixth-place finish, former Camel Pro Champion Steve Eklund bulled his Gardner Racing, Harry Lillie-tuned 560cc Rotax in a C-4 C&:j frame forward. Eklund fought off challenges by Ronnie jones (H-D) and passed Arnaiz. Eklund pulled dear of Arnail, who battled jones and was passed. By this time, Chandler was three and a half seconds in the lead. Worse than simply being relegated to fourth, Arnaiz became the victim of a freak accident and didn't finish the heat: the bolt holding his ~ tank QI!. sheared and the tank fell off. Arnaiz never looked down and concentrated on riding hard, although he would say later that the bike suddenly felt lighter going into the turns. He made it halfway through the infield without a gas tank, running on the float bowl, before his bike quiL Chandler won with a five-second lead, while Eklund was second just ahead of jones. . Eklund was not happy. The 560 had tremendous punch coming off the turns but not enough top end for the relatively large Ascot 'IT track. Tuner Lillie said he tried a new cam he thought would work; itdidn'L He needed more time to find out what the engine wanted for top end power, Lillie said. The bike should work better on shorter 'IT tracks, but that didn't help Eklund tonight at Ascot, and the former champ brooded. Springsteen won the third heat, never got passed, never got challenged. But the big news, perhaps the ride of the night, was Gary Scott's hardfought battle from last to second place, passing two and three riders at a time or one after another, depending upon who he passed, where. It had started differently, Scott near the

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