Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

AMA/llofo World U.S. Endurance Road Racing Series: Round 7 Paul Revere 250 ambushed by rain By Randy Marrs DA YTO A, BEACH, FL, JULY 3-4 The Paul Revere 250 at Daytona International Speedway was officially called off at 4:00 p.m. Friday, July 4, due to continu- E,:,glan~'s Ste.ve. Saunders kept his World Championship-winning hopes alive WIth a Win In West Germany; he trails Eddy Lejeune by 10 points. World Championship Trials: Round 8 Saunders scores in West Germany By John Dickinson WILDBERG-SUU, WEST GERMANY, JUNE 29 For the second year in a row, Steve Saunders came out on top in the West German round of the World Trials Championship on his ROlhmans Honda. The win leaves the Englishman with a chance of taking the world crown with four rounds remainin~ .after closing to within 10 points of his teammate Eddy Lejeune, who fin· ished second. Saunders beat the three-time World Champion by 10 marks. Fantic team leader Thierry Michaud got himself excluded from the tinal results, and now falls to a further seven points behind aunders in the championship race. The West German round was held at Wild berg Sulz overa three-lap, 16· section course, although the first section was actually used four times as it was utilized (0 wind up the event on the last lap. Many of the sections were man-made, constructed out of large mounds of dumped rock, as were the hazard when this venue was last used back in 1982. The majority of the hazards were very tightly marked out and equally tightly.observed. The officials had been briefed to observe by the rules and this is exactly what they did. It was severe, but fair and no one could complain. The first section, a true arena-type hazard over large rocks and ridden in blistering, sunny conditions amazingly defeated Spani h trick-riding ace JOTdi Tarres twice.,The Beta rider had been magic in the big continental arena events early in the year and his failures here were remarkable. Another.rider to struggle on this was Gilles Burgat the 1981 World Champion, who took a three, a five and a one on a section that he would urely have revelled in five years ago. Saunders revelled in the condition though and after keeping up the required pace with the leaders over the first two laps, put in a fantastic final lap which absolutely paralized his rivals. Michaud completed the course only to be excluded, although Saunders would still have beaten the World Champion fair and square. But the Fantic ace would actually have squeezed Lejeune down to third. American Bernie Schreiber cracked the top 10 in points with his eighth place finish after dropping 102 marks. Results • OVERALL: 1, Steve Saunders (Han); 2. Eddy Lejeune fHen); 3. Jordi Tarres (Bet); 4. Diego Basis IMon); 5, Philippe Berlatier (Apr); 6, Donato Miglio (Gar); 7. Renate Chiabeno (Fan); 8. Bernie Schrieber (Yam); 9. Andreu Codina (Mon); 10. Tony Scarlett (Vam); 11. Pascal Couturier (JCMI; 12. Louis Gallach (Man): 13. Peter Jahn (Gar): 14. John Lampkin (Fan); 15. Eric Lejeune (Han). WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1. Eddy Le)eune (132); 2. Steve Saunders (122); 3. Theirry Michaud (115); 4. Jordi Tarres (89); 5. Philippe 8er· 'atier (88); 6. Diego Basis (86); 7. Renata Chiabarto (53); 8. Pascal Couturier (49); 9. Gilles Burgat (48); 10. Bernie Schreiber (481. ing rain. The race had already been delayed from the scheduled 10:00 p.m. tart on July 3. With agridof790f North America' best endurance teams, rain began to fall around 8:00 p.m. July 3 and in the next 45 minutes d'umped almost four inches· on the speedway, preventing the start of the night-time classic; the Paul Revere 250 has run for 20 years in conj unction with' the July 4 NASCAR Firecracker 400 stock car race and was convened to a motorcycle race in 1985 and 1986. A riders' meeting was held with an eye towards getting started at 1:00 a.m. July 4. At I:00 a.m. another meeting was held and seven riders were selected to test the track, which is notoriously slick when wet or damp. The group of designated riders didn't make it Onto the track until 4:00 a.m. with the fastest of the group turning a 2:42 lap, way off the 2:05s turned in the GTO heat race. The even riders met with AMA's Roger Edmond on and speedway officials and six of the seven voted to not race due to the conditions. The track was still wet in many places, the riders were very tired from staying up all night, and those factors, combined with the high speeds at Daytona would make it too risky. The event wa put off until the next afternoon, with a tarting time of 2:00 p.m. Following more delays and the running of the NASCAR event, the race was again delayed to 3:30 p.m., July 4. But as the bikes assembled on the grid - minus polesitting Team Hammer, which left at 5:00a.m. for a July 5 WERA/EBC National Endurance Series race in Michigan - it started to rain again and the race was cancelled. The Paul Revere 250 will be held as Lhe final series endurance round on October 19 with the 500K event already scheduled for October to be moved to a date and track not yet determined. "We will pay the balance of the Paul Revere purse minus the heat race purse, which has been paid, and give the same grid positions to the qualified teams," said Edmondson. "Those who don't make it back will be scratched and the teams behind them will be moved up. There are no approved rain tires for Daytona and not enough DOT tires to go around, plus all the other contributing factors. All involved felt this was the best decision." Had the Paul Revere been run Friday afternoon, the estimated 30,000 spectators still on hand following the NASCAR race could have witnessed one of the best endurance races run to date. Every team in the nation that has won a 1986 National endurance round in both the AMA/MotoWorld series and the WERA/EBCseries(with the exception of North Shore Racing, first-round AMA winners) was on hand. The front row was a 'study in speed itself as the front five all sat on GSXR 1100 Suzukis and all five had taTted back in the pack in the qualifier. Taking the pole by virtue of a w.in in the seven-lap GTO qualifier was Team Hammer, with riders Doug Toland and Dave Sadowski on their Vance & Hines Suzuki. Next to Hammer sat the Team Lockhart Suzuki of Wendell Phillips and Lynn Miller. Si tting in the middle of the front row was Eatherley Racing with riders Jeff Heinoand Dave Schlosser. Next came the Cycle Tech RacingGSXR !IOOof Dan Chivington and Joey Osowski and on the outside of the front row came the Cycle-Pro GSXR ridden by Dean Swim and Ron Ewerth. The GTO heat, run Wednesday night, had Doug Chancey on the Escargot Racing G XR II 00 lead the first lap and Toland came from the third row to put the Hammer uzuki in front on lap two. On this lap Chancey and Toland made contact entering turn twO with Chancey going down. Toland would later point to where Chan ey's front tire had hit his exhaust pipe and say, "He just came in too hot trying to pass me. That's twice in three days I've been hit." Chancey said of the incident, "I was going in the corner but he had the line. I just made a slight error in j udgemen t. " Lap three saw Wendell Phillips running Lhird after starting in the sixth row, behind the Cycle Tech entry ridden by Chivington. Heino held fourth and Ewerth fifth after starting from the seventh row. Phillips moved into second on lap five, while Toland raced lapped riders Dale Quarterley on his Eagle Racing FZ750 Yamaha and Kevin RenLzell on lew Haven Suzuki's GSXR 1100; both had had fuel petcock problems and started late. Toland di posed of Quarterley and RenLzell and his margin of victory was about three econds at the checkered flag. "I really ran a conservative race," aid Toland. "The lighting on the back section of the track was a little weird. I lapped Rentzell and Quarterley but they were trying to race me instead of letting me by. But once I got by, I was okay." Last year's Paul Revere winners, Dr. John's Mobil Team Moto Guzzi, were not a factor in the heat, finishing 13th to grid in the middle of the third row. The GTU heat was won by California's Team Sunset (winners of the GTU class at three rounds in the AMA series) followed closely by last year's GTU winners, Team Up. Team Up, consisting of Greg Tysor and Doug Whelen aboard a Yamaha FZ600, led the first three laps before the Team Sunset Kawasaki Ninja 600R ridden by Peter Carroll (partner Terry Statum) moved in front. The race for third through eighth was between New Haven Kawasaki, Jam' Up Racing, Stockline Racing, Paul Smith Racing, Team VISA and Out & Out Racing. Team Sunset and Team Up soon began to motor away from the GTU pack as the battle for third-througheighth continued around, hooked up in a tight draft. At the flag, Sunset got the heat win and the GTU pole, with Team Up second, New Haven Kawasaki in the middle of the front row Jam-Up Racing fourth with Stock: line filling out the row. • Results GTO HEAT: 1. Team Hammer (SUl); 2. Team Lockhart (Suz); 3. Eatherly Racing (Suz); 4. Cycle Tech Racing (Su.); 5. Cycle Pro (Su.); 6. Super Team (Yam); 7: Norwegian Carrib Ln~ I (Yam); 8. Schwing Roadracmg (Vam); 9. West FlOrida Racing (Han); 10. Cobare Racing (SUl); 11. PO Folks (Kaw); 12. Head Racing (Vam); 13. Dr. John's Team (M·G); 14. Team Daytona (Hon); 15. Never Ready Racing (Hon). GTU HEAT: 1. Team Sunset (Kawl; 2. Team Up (Yaf!1); 3. New Haven K~wasaki (Kaw); 4. Jam·Up RaCing (Yam); 5. Stockhne Racing (Yam); 6. Paul Smith Racing (Yam); 7. Team Vista (Yam); 8. Out & Out Racing (Yam); 9. Team Gonzo (Yam); 10. Sport Cycle Racing (Yam); 11. Team Island Boys (Yam); 12. Team Road Runner (Yam); 1J. Team Scream (Yam); 14. Jam Up Racing II (Yam); 15. Rapid Transit Racing (Kow).

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