Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126954
Vance & Hines rider Terry Vance jumps out ahead of Kawasaki-mounted Earl Timmons during Pro Stock action at the NHRA opener. motorcycle racing at its national events Vance has been Vance won despite nagging mechanical gremlins; his worst problem was· a too-tall second gear which took too long to shift. NHRA National Championship Pro Stock Series: Round 1 Vance scorches Gatornationals By John Dunlap/Fast Graphic Service Photos by J. C. Taylor GAINESVILLE, FL, MAJ3.. 19-22 JUS t as I £1vis Presley was cot:lsidered the King of Rock 'n Roll in the 1950, Terry Vance has settled into his role as Prince of the Pro Stock bike domain in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) action. I Ever since NHRA introduced a fixture in Lhe number one position. Like Presley he must contend with a number of pretenders to the throne. Like Lhe King, Vance finds ways to Lhwart his adversaries. So it was at the 1987 Motorcraft Gatomationals, as NHRA Pro Stock competition opened a new season with the same old Lheme - "Terry is Lhe man to beat." Thanks to a record-shattering performance and a win over a solid field of competitors, Lhe two-time NHRA points champion took an immediate lead in the '87 point chase. No surprise there. But with an expanded NHRA National event schedule of seven Pro Stock races (up from last year's total of five) and an ever more hungry bunch of racers yearning for the title, Vance may find the goin~ harder than ever this year. Racers like John Mafaro, George Bryce, Dave Schultz and Phil Tannery all appear to have legitimate chances of dethroning Vance. Such was not the case, Lhough, throu~h four perfect days of weather and utanic crowds at Gainesville Raceway as Vance did his part to keep the competition at bay. In fact, the La Palma, California, racer established Lhe tone of Lhe Gatomationals in qualifying wiLh an eyepopping best of 8.092 seconds at 165.04 mph. All of which must have been hard for Mafaro and company to swallow. Pizza John, Lhe 1985 Gatornationals champion and 1986 runner-up, looked solid with a best qualifying time of 8.15 seconds at l6~.6~ mph, while Tannery was hard on Mafaro's heels wiLh a bestof8.l8/l61.4~. That time was nearly duplicated by Bryce, as he posted a best of 8.l85/16l1.4~. All four of Lhe top qualifiers rode Suzukis, but the space between Vance's '86 GSl150 and the oLher machines must have seemed like many miles to the racers. At least a quarter-mile. The confident, cocky Vance treated his record-breaking elapsed time as if it were just another day at the races. "We knew going into Lhe Gatornationals that the bike was a reliable piece," Vance said. "Plus, the weight breaks were lowered by 20 pounds, so Lhe bike was much faster. In fact, Lhe entire field was much faster. Since I hadn't raced at all and had done very little testing since the Winston World Finals, I really didn't know what to expect. Obviously, the bike still had plenty of power." Vance's 8.092-second run topped the previous NHRA mark of 8.14 seconds, set by Vance, of course. But Vance was also right about his competition, which was, indeed, much faster and a great deal more competitive. In truth, Vance came very dose to losing to defending Gatornational's champ Rick Stetson in the first round, and had to storm from behind to top Bryce in the finals. Vance's achilles heel all weekend was a troublesome second gear that took too long to shift. That he was able to overcome Lhe problem and win Lhe race is an obvious tribute to Vance and his crew. Stetson, who had qualified ninth, put a tremendous holeshot on Vance and led nearly the entire quarter-mile stretch. But once Vance was able to get out of second gear he Lhundered by Stetson, winning by just a foot. Vance's elapsed time of 8.16 seconds at 16~.10 mph was ultimately necessary to overcome Stetson's 10th-ofa-second jump at Lhe starting line. Stetson finished with an e. t. of 8.29 seconds at 158.5~ mph. The oLher major surprise of the first round was Lhe upset loss of Dave Schultz, the leader of the Kawasaki pack. Schultz committed a red li~ht start and immediate loss against Rick Gero when he actually rolled his bike back out of Lhe lights. It was Lhe first time the Floridian 'could ever