Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Superbike Championship Series: Round 13 Win, title to Merkel BR AI N ERD, MN, SEPT. I Honda's Fred Merkel wrapped up his second stra ig h t Su perbike tit le with an easy start-tofinish ride at Brainerd. Merk el pulled out all the SlOpS to break away fro m th e field and quickly build up a cushion which stood a t 20 seco n ds a quarter o f th e way into th e 20-lap fin al. Starfire Raci ng 's Todd Brubaker edged away from a race long ba ttl e with Kevi n Mo nahan and h is Super T eam /Spri ng Cit y Cycl e Yamaha FZ750 o n th e fin al la p for seco nd a t the fini sh by five bikelengths. Gl enn Barry, o n the H onda o f Ba rto w-backed H o nda , wa s al one in Io u r th at th e fini sh with fifth p lace Tom Maso n a n d h is Top Line Cycle Yama ha FZ750 in fifth. Wi th o ne rou nd to go in the series. Merkel, with 132 po ints, ca n sit back a nd wa tch th e dogfi ght for posi tio ns behind h im in th e sta n di ngs. Bruba ker , with 105 points, h ol ds seco n d over John Bett enco ur t a t 95. Barr y's 88 poi nts give h im a mathematical shot a t seco nd . The fin al , or igin all y sch ed u led for Sa turda y, wa s po stponed until Sund a y. " We go t together with the promoter, " sa id A:\IA's Bill Boyce, " a nd jointl y decided in th e interest o f safety and lO give th e specta to rs a good program th at it was better to hold the race o ver until Sunday. The wea ther forecasts we had sho wed more rain moving in o n Sa turday befo re clearin g for Sunda y. If th e foreca st had been for co nt i n u ing ra i n the p rogram would have run as schedul ed ." T he postpone me nt didn't sit we ll with a ll th e riders, especia ll y th ose who had done well in th e qualifying hea ts whi ch wer e ru n in th e rai n . Super Tea m's J imm y Filice , wi th a cha nce 10 m ove up fro m seve nth in the sta ndings co u ld n ' t stay - he had lO he- d lO Springfield and th e m ile a National. " Do n't crash," sai d Merkel' s fa th er in a bit o f las t m inute ad vice as th e bike wa s rolled lO th e sta r ting line by th e "Bruise Brothers, " as tuners Mike Velasco a n d Merl yn Plumlee are kn own. " T he plan," sai d Merkel , "is to lead from sta n to fini sh a nd stay out of trouble." Merkel used a crutch to ta ke th e strai n from h is in jured left foot wh en he moved abou t th e pit area . Merk el wa s gone o n th e stan with Randy Renfrow, o n a St arf ir e Racing H onda, leading Bettenpurpl e Racing's J ohn Betten court and Barry . Renfrow was o u t o n lap two whe n " the engi ne went fro m runn in g o n four to three cylinde rs a couple of times before i t stayed sp u ttering a nd popping and o n ly ru n n ing o n three." Bet ten co urt tu rned th e wick up a nd left Ba rr y i n th ird 10 ho ld off the challenges o f Brubak er a nd Mo na ha n . With Fil ice at Springf ield. Su pe r T ea m 's Stev e McLaugh lin tried a nu mber of differen t thi ngs to get the bi ke o n the tra ck -fi na ll y settli n g o n a n en g in e swap 10 g ive Monahan a stro ng mo to r in a fa m ilia r frame. " Kevin has been rid in g good a ll year," said McLaughlin. " He deser ves a ch ance lO see wh at h e ca n do with a stro ng mot or. " Brubak er an d Mo nahan dropped Barr y to fifth, but h e wo uldn 't let go. T he bail ie for third soon became o ne for second wh en Betten cou r t parked his bi ke wit h undisclosed mechanical problems. Barry finall y lost co nt act wi th th e figh t for seco nd and settled into four th while keep ing h is eye o n p it sig na ls abo u t th e p rog ress of T om Mason. Ma so n had won th e pole for th e fi na l by bl isteri ng the BIR track in th e rain o n Sa turday and took th e cha nge to Su nday and a d ry track in stride. " My eq ua lizer went away," sa id Ma son. " I was d ial ed in for th e ra in an d I kn o w th is track." Wi th two laps to go, Brubaker and Monahan were still in a hea ted bau le for seco nd wh ile Barry had closed in o n the two. Mason was trailing in fift h while H onda ride r L arry Sh orts a nd J ames Tri bou, o n a Yamaha , were duel in g for six th . Although the positions remained th e sa me, th e fin a l lap was the decid er . Mo naha n led ac ross the stan/fin ish line, but Bru baker to o k ov er going into turn o ne an d held 10 th e fini sh by five bik elen gths . Barry had no cha llen gers for founh and n either did Ma so n in fifth whil e Sh or ts had 10 use a dra ft and pass maneuver a t th e fini sh to snatch sixth. While a ll thi s wa s going on , win ner Merkel was sal uti ng the fa ns o n hi s coo l-o ff lap. " Ever yth ing wo rked o ut j ust th e wa y I wanted it 10," sa id Merkel. "M y only problem was a bump 1 was hitti ng exiting tu rn 10. T h e firs t few times I hit it m y foo t accide ntally bumped th e shi fter and I wheelied a nd wobbled a co u p le o f times." • -... . CU .D E CU .... 0.. CU CF) (Above) M erk el and crew celebrate another championship. (Below) To d d Brubaker (3 99) leads Kevin Mon,!han (8 9) in their battle for second . Results 1, Fred M erkel (Hon); 2 . Todd Br ubaker (Hon); 3 . Kevi n Monana n (Yam); 4 . Glen n Bar ry {Ho n}; 5 . Tom M aso n (Yam ); 6. Larry Sho rt s (Ho n); 7. J ames Tri bou (Yaml; 8. Phil Schmidt (Yam); 9 . M itch M arq u i (Yam); 10 . St eve Kluge (Yam ); 11 . Dave Harris(Suzl; 12. Jesse Doering (Yam ); 13 . John J acob (Hon) ; 14 . John Bettencourt (Hon); 15 . Sam M cD onald (Ya m); 16 . Randy Ren frow (Hon) ; 17. Da le Quart erley (Yaml . TIM E; 3 5 m ins.. 49.14 sees. AVERAGE SPEED: 100.50 5 mph . POIN TSTANDINGS : 1. Fred Me rk el p 32); 2. Todd Br uba ker (105); 3 . John Bett encoun (95); 4 . Glen n Barry (BB); 5. Jo hn Ashmead (65t. 6 . KeVIn Schwanu (60) ; 7 . J im my Fi lice (4 B); 8 . Sam McDona ld (4 3 ); 9 . Ruebon M cMun er (4 2); 10 . Ricky Orl ando (3 9). Formula Two Kocinski's showtime BRAI NERD , MN , SE PT. I J ohn Kocinski, a tal en ted a n d very fas t yo u ngster in th e m ol d of Freddie Sp en cer , showed just how tough he is a t age 17 by handl in g th e heal fro m Wayn e Ra iney early in the race before charging to victory when th e engine in Rain ey's bike broke. T he bike Koc inski wa s givi ng Rainey fi ts o n was th e same Yamaha Ra in ey had ridde n to victory in th e 1984 Cycle Week Form ul a T wo race a t Dayto na . The m o unt belo ngs to Kocinski's sponsors, C ycl e T ech . Don Green e recei ved a p resent he wasn't expecting wh en he p ulled in to th e w inners circle with seco nd p lace. G ree ne, th e defendin g series ti tl ist, ca me into th e race six points shy of Rich Sch lac h ter in th e poi nts baule fo r the cro wn . Upon lea rni ng riv al Schl ac h ter di dn 't fin ish and he wa s n ow IO-points ahead a t the to p o f the sta ndi ngs, Greene was ecstat ic as was the crew o f spo nsor Eurocycle. Dav id C urt is, the third pl ace finish er . ce le bra ted hi s fir st tri p to winn er 's circle. H e was a boa rd a n Aavon Enterp rises-spo nsored H onda . Green e h ead s to th e fin al rou nd at Da yt on a wi th 14 7 po i n ts w hi le Sch lac h ter holds 137. T he two will deci de th e titl e th ere. Ra in ey. o n the T ea m Ma cLea n Honda a n d G reen won th e two heats ru n in Sat urday 's rain and were joined by H asty Racin g 's Doug Bra uneck , se lf-spo n so red J ames Stephen s o n a Spondon wi th Rent o n Yamaha 's Dale Franklin to fill o u t the front row o f the 21-rider grid. Spo ndo n rider Brauneck' s ri de came to a n end o n his second wa rm -up la p wh en h e crashe d in tu rn one. H e was shaken u p . Whil e the riders wer e o n th ei r wa rm-up laps. Kocinski was frantica lly trying to ge t hi s bike sta rte d a fte r floodin g the eng ine. Brauneck 's cras h gave h im time to cu re th e problem. Kocinski , with un characteri stic cool, left the start like a rocket with G ree ne an d Ra iney in to w. Rainey q u ickly moved arou nd Green e an d set o u t for a duel with Kocinsk i. " I to ld the crew I felt th e engine wo u ld n' t la st th e ra ce, but th at I was goi n g to run up front a s long as I co ul d," sa id Ra in ey a fterw ard. " I rode with my fingers ready to pull th e clu tch in a t any instant ." Schlach ter, a fte r slo wi ng in th e first few la ps, parked h is bike with a seized engi ne . " Losing th e poi nts lead on th e tra ck I ca n tak e," sa id a n o bvio usly-dej ected Sch lach ter , " bu t 10 lose it in th e pits is a real bummer. " Kocinski and Ra i ney o r Rai ney a nd Kocinski , dependin g o n yo ur SPO I a ro und the track , tra ded th e lead in a fa n-pleas in g sho w unti l la p 12 o f the l6- lap fina l wh en Ra iney's en gine ca lled it quits. . T he fina l la ps sa w Koci nski r un flaw lessly to th e checkered flag with Greene a nd Curtis a good di stance back and u nc ha lle nged . " I g ue ss wh en I get back to sch oo l o n T uesday I'll have to spend a lo t o f my ti m e telli ng the g uys what happene d ," sa id Kocin sk i. He is a pupi l a t a n all-ma le Ca tholic high schoo l. " A place where yo u wear a suit and tie and keep yo u hair cu t sho rt ," was how Kocinsk i descr ibed the school in h i s h om etown o f Lilli e R o c k , Arkansas. " T h e bike sta r ted to sh ift even if I just nudged th e lever," sa id Green e. " I backed o ff when it began to do th at," " T h in gs worked o ut well," sai d Curtis of his third pl a ce finish. "I go t a sig n from m y crew we were in th ird a nd I just kept th ings steady. " • Results 1. John Koc inski (Yam ); 2. Don Green e (Hon ); 3 . David Cun is (Hon); 4 . Brad Holman (Yam ); 5 . Jeff He ino (Hon); 6 . Dale Franklin (Yam ); 7. James Stephens (Spo); B. Joe Lachniet (Yam t. 9. Andy Price (Yamt. 10. John France (Yam); 11 . Andy Edwards (Rtx t. 12. Wayne Rainey (Hon t. 13 . Rich Schlachler (Hont 14 . Tim Knutson (Yam ); 15 . Dan Guglielmo (yam); 16 . M iles Baldwin (Hont. 17. Ralph Murphy (Yam); 18. Roben Lugliani (Arm); 19 . Doug Brau· neck (Spo). TIM E; 2B mins~3.50 sees. AVERAGE SPEED: 100.261 mph. POINT STANDING S; 1. Don Greene (147 1;2. Rich Schlachter (1371; 3 . Wayne Rainey (10 3); 4 . Miles Baldwin (77t. 5 . Jeff Heino(691; 6 . James Stephens (60) ; 7 . (TIE) Doug Brauneck/Brad Holman (48 ); 9 . Dav e Sadowsk i (4 7); 10. Robo n Lugl ian i (4 5). Battle 01 The Twins Church slick in SIR rain BRAINE RD , MN , AUG . 3 1 Gen e Ch urch turned in a startto-finish ride on th e rain-dampened Brain erd Internati on al Raceway co urse to "easily" take the ove ra ll and G P class victories. Ch urch , o n the Harley O wners Groupbacked " L ucifer' s Hammer, " gave 7

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