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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126977
Kevin Schwantz wheelies across the finish line after winning his third National of the season at Mid-Ohio. Doug Polen (23) leads Doug Chandler (10) during the National; Chandler ended up passing Polen when the Texan started suffering from the heat. AMA/Superbike Road Race Series/Camel Pro Series: Rounds 7/1.0 Schwantz masters Mid-Ohio National By Paul Carruthers . Photos by Bert Shepard LEXINGTON, OH, AUG 2 Yoshimura Suzuki's Kevin Schwantz scored his third National win of the season with a convincing 12.6-second victory over series point leader Wayne Rainey on a hot and 6 humid day at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course facility. I Schwanu passed the faststarting Rainey as the two dove into turn one to start the seventh lap, started turning times in the 1:35second range and was never headed again in the Wiseco-sponsored 25lap, 6O-mile event. A lonely third place weill to the newly-confident Jimmy Filice on his Yamaha FZR 750, placing three different manufacturers in the winner's circle. Grand National Champion Bubba Shobert bounced back from a trip on . the Ohio grass to finish fourth with another dirt tracker, Doug Chandler, rounding out the top five. SchwanlZ also won the $17,500 Camel Challenge earlier in the afternoon, taking home a cool $10,000 plus the $4170 winner's share of the $32,000 Superbike purse. SchwanlZ' win puts a little more pressure on Rainey in the Superbike points chase, but with only two rounds remaining the Honda pilot is still in firm control, 118-94. In Camel Pro points~ Shobert, by virtue of his recent hot streak, leads Rainey, 123-108. SchwanlZ moves to fourth with 92 points, four points behind the third-placed Chandler. "It was a cakewalk," the 23-yearold Schwantz said half-jokingly. "Well, it wasn) really that easy. I hit a false neutral on the second or third lap, but when I got into the 35s I managed to get away." Both SchwanlZ and Rainey's positions, however, remained unofficial at press time after World War III was started when Schwantz/Suzuki and Rainey/Honda teed 0(( with a protest battle. Schwantz got the ball rolling when he protested the legality of Rainey's Honda VFR750's valves; Rainey and Honda countered with a protest against the rods in Schwantz' Suzuki GSXR750. The 'whole matter will be settled at a later date as the rods and valves were taken to have the material analyzed. It seems an ugly can of worms has finally been opened, starting what could become a weekly protest-a-thon for the two competing manufacturers. The track condition, however, was the first matter to be addressed as riders prepared for the race. The majority were not too pleased with the slippery 2.4-mile, 15-turn MidOhio course. Thursday's practice was for n iII as the track had to be worked on; a sealer coating had made the track a traetionless nightmare, and so a grinder was put into use in an effort to make it more tractable. Although not perfect, the track was better for Friday's practice sessions. Heat race action got underway on Saturday wiih Rainey leading Shoben and Filice into tum one. The two Honda factory pilots pulled clear from Filice and the field with Rainey holding a slight advantage over his teammate. Filice held down third with Goodfellow and Kawasaki-mounted Larry Shorts rounding out the top five. The order held to the finish with Rainey winning the event in 8:06.734 for an average speed of 88.755 mph; it turned out to be the fastest heat race of the day. Rainey ended up topping Shoben by 3.086 seconds with Filice farther back in third. The second heat race saw Polen and Dan Chivington leading the fray into turn one. Schwalllz, meanwhile, was carving through tra((ic after a so-so start. Polen led the first lap before the Yoshimura Suzuki'mounted Schwantz blasted his way past into turn one to start lap number two. Chandler was closing in on Chivington and. eventually moved past the Gee Vee Performancesponsored rider to take over third. The top four stayed the same for the remainder of the heat with Schwantz lOpping Polen. Chandler became the third dirt tracker to qualify forthe fivelap I7,500 Camel Challenge, as he joined Filice and Shoben, along with road racers Rainey, Schwantz and Polen. . Schwantz' heat was a second and a half slower thali Rainey's as the Texan circulated the five laps in 8:08.309 for an average speed of 88.468 mph. Schwantz beat Polen by 4.922 seconds despite an incident in turn eight on lap four. Schwantz' Suzuki jumped out of gear as he approached the banked left-hander, causing the Texan to run up high. Camel Challen$J8 The always-excIting, five-lap dash for cash known as the Camel Challenge didn't disappoint the large crowd at the first-class Mid-Ohio racing facility. Shobert surprised Rainey and Schwantz by leading the pair off the start line and holding them off for ·two laps. Schwantz dove under Rainey going into turn one, in a move he would later duplicate in the National, to move into second on the second lap and quickly challenged Shobert. By the end of the third lap, Schwantz was leading the Shobert/ Rainey battle by more than a second. Doug Polen had the Kosar Racing Suzuki up to fourth ahead of Filice and Chandler. Rainey managed to get past his ever-improving teammate, but he couldn't catch Schwantz, although the Suzuki rider did hit another false neutral that sent him wide at one point. The win put Schwantz in-a tie with Rainey for the high earnings leader in the 1987 Camel Challenges. The Texan's $10,000 payoff brought his total to $37,500; Shobert is third with $30,000. . Shobert's Honda barely got him to the finish line in third place. "It just quit," he said. "It must have. sl,lcked something in the.carbs." Polen held off Filice and Chandler for third place in the six-rider field. Schwantz completed the five laps in 8:04.427 for an average speed of 89.177 mph. "It's going to be a close race in the National," Rainey predicted after the Challenge.