Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(a uertisement) ~~ 1 st row: Fred Merkel. Team Hammer, Kevin Schwantz and Wes Cooley. 2nd row: Sam McDonald. Rueben McMurter and Jeff Haney . 3rd row: Scott Gray. Jimmy Filice . Todd Brubaker and Sam McDonald's Factory Yamaha . AMA Superbike National: Round 2 KERKER 100 AT WILLOWSPRINGS APR'IL' 27,28 The Champions vs. the Kids; Honda vs. Suzuki and Yamaha Honda's Fred Merk el a nd h is VF750F dom in at ed AMA Superbike racing in 1984 but th is is a new year and Merkel will meet h is stronges t cha lle nge yet a t th e first West Coast AMA S upe rbik e Nati onal - Th e Kerk er 100. The big showdown co u ld have come a t Daytona , but mech anical p robl ems took o u t Merk el a n d hi s H o nd a , new young cha lle nger Kevin Schwa n tz an d hi s Yosh imu ra Suzu ki, a nd former Formu la Two C ha m pion Sam McDonald and his factory-ba cked Yamaha FZ750. T he rem a tch is a t Willow Springs Racewa y. Added into th e shootout is two tim e S u per b ike C ha mp io n Wes Cool ey, a man with a po int to m ake, th e man wh o bro ugh t g lory to Yoshimura a n d S uzu ki for yea rs bu t wa s replaced by 20-year-ol d Sch wa ntz for 1985. Coo ley's back on 'the Starfire Racing VF750F H onda tuned by La rry Wo rrel l. H e hau led a t Daytona, fin ish e seco n d beh in d Freddie Spence r, d a nd wants to win a t Willow Springs. " I have to bea t th em a t Willow," says Cool ey. " I have to . T ha t's a ll there is to it." Merk el wants to blow away everybod y, to prove he's th e best Superbi ke pilo t in Amer ica. Sch wantz wa n ts h is shot a t big -tim e racing fame a nd Iotune, a n d is o ut to p ro ve h im self in hi s first season o f Superbi ke raci ng. McDo nald desperatel y wants to win the Su perbi ke title for Yam aha a nd sees th a t as h is key to a lucra tive, long career as a fa cto ry rid er. T here' s loca l tal ent, men wh o know Wi ll ow 's twist y 2.5-mi les as well as th ey kn ow their own driveways; an d any body wh o a ims to win th e Kerk er 100 has to bea t th em : Todd Brubak er, 21, on ano ther Starfir e Racin g VF750F H onda : J im Vreeke, 24, on th e Kerkersponsored FZ750 Yamaha; Sco tt Gray. a har d -rid in g 24-yea r-o ld o n a Suzuk i fitt ed with a full -on Yoshimura eng me . T ha t's no t a ll - th e list o f in credi ble , hard-chargi ng ta lent goes on : J eff H aney, third at Dayto na on th e Ent ro py Ra cin g VF750F H onda sponsored by Dr. Mac Archer; J imm y Fi liceon the T om T ucker-sponsored, Super Tea m Yam aha FZ750 he ro de to sixth in the Daytona 200 w ith a stoc k engine. Now with more pow er in the bike p repped by P alo Alto Yam aha' s Lou Vall erga (h imself a . former AFM cha mpion), di rt-t ra cker Fi lice will be a force to be reckoned with . T he n th ere' s Tea m Am eri ca . Dave Busbv a nd Ro ber to P iet ri o n th eir co lorfu l H on das, hot to win th e o n ly Superbike race held in Sou thern Ca liforn ia; Ka wasaki ' pr ivateers R ich O liver (fifth in 1984 po ints) o n his KZ750 a nd Dal e Quarterl ey on th e Eagle Racin g G Pz750. It 's an incredi b le field, a mass of men a n d ma ch in es determin ed to ~ bea t eac h othe r into th e firs t turn arid across th e finish line, not o nce, but tw ice - in two 16-lap segments of th e Ker ker 1001 Do n't m iss th e best riders, o n th e . best bikes, at the best race of th e year - . T he Kerker Su pe rb ike 100! Be there! ND Fonnula II See th e new H o nda RS250Rs vs. the T Z250N Yamaha s in the ND Form u la U AMA C ha mpions hip race. Joh n G lo ver, last year's wi n ner a t W illow Spri ngs wi ll be back to ta ke o n two -ti m e U .S. For m u la One C ha mp io n Ri ch Sc h lach ter an d AAMRR Formula Two C ha m p ion J oey So m me rs on th e MacLean Racing H ondas tuned by Stuart T oo mey. Defending 1984 Formu la T wo Champi on Don G reen e will be th ere on hi s Honda, read y to keep hi s tit le. And they'll a ll be facin g th e hottest loca l ta lent in thi s ultra-competi tive even t. Lockhart 600cc Super Street Race Be sure a nd catch thi s race, as local Al'M cl u b racers co mpe te to win th e ' most p res tig io us 600cc Supe r Stree t race o f th e year . . . Motorcycle Vintage Race T h is event has been added to th e Kerk er 100 weekend for the first ti me. All race fans tha t have a ro mance with motorcycle h isto ry sho u ld be in a tte n da nce o n Satu rd a y mo rnin g April 27 to ca tch th e Vint age bike race . Th e Vintage bik es will be on display all day S un day in th e Kerk er 100 paddo ck a rea. Kerker Fou r- Hour Mar k down the Kerk er Four-H our AMA/Championsh ip C up Enduran ce Ra ce as the en d u ra nce sh ow- down o f th e yea r! See AMA/CCS 1984 C ha m. p io ns Team O ntario on th eir new H onda VF IO OOR meet W ERA 1983 a nd 1984 Cha m pi ons and 24-hour mileage record hold ers Team Hammer o n their brand new G SXR 1150 Suzu ki. T hese two great tea ms battl ed ' head -to -head in 1983 in a seaso nlon g race-to-th e-fin ish ; th ey met twice in 1984, with H ammer winning o nce an d Ontario wi n ni ng once. Their -=-.. _._- r iva lry is unma tch ed - every time Ham mer mee ts Ontario, spa rks fly a nd lap tim es dro p . Wi th both team s o n ne w bikes fo r th e first time, there's th e ex tra suspense of new-m ach inebu gs-and -worries. And faci ng Team O nta rio and Team H ammer are ot her team s looking to beat th e big boys a nd mak e th eir n am e in end urance racing Tea m Lockha rt on their fast Ka wa sa ki N inj a , Q uester/ Sullivan R acing o n th eir FJl lOO Yamaha a nd T eam Cycle T ech o n th eir new Suzu ki. You 'll recogn ize rid er na mes too: J ohn Ashmead and L ynn Miller for Ontari o; Russ Pau lk a nd Irish man Ti m O 'Kenned y for H am mer; Wen dall Ph ilips and Jim Vreeke Ior T eam Lockhart; David Aldana and David Emde for Tea m Cycle T ech . KERN COUNTY Gates Open 8 ;30 A. M . Saturday and Sunday. Pract ice starts 9:00 Both Days . Saturday. - Vintage Bike Race. A.M.". Kerker 4-Hour Endurance. 1:00 P.M . • Sunday. Castro I Oil Super Kart Cup. 11 :30 • Kerker 100 First Leg. 1:00 P.M . • ND Spark Plug F-2. 2:00 P.M . • Lockhart 600cc Super Street, 2:45 P.M . • Kerker 100 Final Leg, 3:30 P.M . . Saturday Pass $5-Sunday $10. Overnight Camping- $5 Per Veh icle.

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