Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

w ~ ~ U Z w a: ~ :5 >a: a: :5 >- '" .... 0 O e- :I: Q. 00 ~ ....-4 ~ ~ .... Q.) ..0 8 ... Q.) 0.. Q.) tr: Joe Pittman (171) won the Open Production class at Portland wh en Craig Trinder (2) was disqualified fo r running an illegal part. Scott Russell (22) w on the B Production final at Gratton when Scott Zampach (204) crashed late in the race. Russell also won A Production. F-l : 1. Jim Knipp (Vam); 2. Denn is Martin (Vam); 3. Dan Thomson (Suz); 4 . William Boning (Suzl a swi ngarm in th e heat race, forcing th em to start in th e last row for th e fin al. After a grea t sta rt to get th em to th e front, th ey had to deal with last year's Rookie Driver of th e Year, Kevin G al e an d Mike Harteal, who were figh ting a gea rbo x that co u ld n ' t decide which gea r it wanted to be in . They fin ally held on to ge t fifth. First Ka wa sak i h ome was th e husband a nd wife team o f Mik e a nd Greta Orch ard o n th eir 900 Nin ja powered rig; th ey were closing in on fifth p lace but ran o ut of tim e. T he 17 sidecars m a tched th e number th a t race d at Laguna Seca, in 1977. Results FINAL: 1. Millard /Ernshaw; 2. Dailey/Dailey; 3. Rooney/Alley; 4 . Lovick/Falcos: 5. Gale /Hanes l; 6. Orchard/Orchard; 7. Gale/Gale; B. Doolin / Carlson; 9. Knoll lWells; 1O. Hage llWu~ . Russell wins big at Grattan RR By Larry Lawrence 40 GRATTAN, MI, AUG. 16 Atlanta, G eorgi a ' s Scott Russell travelled north to middle Michigan . an d came a way $2405 rich er for h is win s in th e A a nd B Production ra ces, wh ich were pari of th e Suzuki GSXR Series , an d hi s 'second place finish in th e Mich iganGran Prix. Russell rode h is Gri ffin Suzu ki/ Du n lo p / TsubakilCycle Mart GSXR750 a nd 1000 to victory over J ohn Eide n -. berger in both o f th e Su zuki Money . races. Top GS X R Series co ntende r Mike Harth was inj ured in th e B Production heat race on Sa turday. H arth tangl ed wit h Sco tt Zampach a nd both we nt do wn . Dan Chivingt on cou ldn' t avoi d Harth and he went down also in the first la p inci dent. H arth su ffered a broken leg and will be out of actio n for a t least six weeks. In Su nday's B Producti on final Zampach led a lmost the entire race while Russell had hi s hands full trying to sha ke off Eidenberger. With two laps left in th e ra ce Russell drafted up to Zampach. Zampach kn ew Russell wa s th ere , he tried braking late for turn one a n d crashed. " I hurt my wrist in the heat rac e cra sh yesterda y a nd I didn 't have control of the throttle. Wh en I hit the brakes I still had the throttle on, that's why I went down," explained Zampach . Russell's version of the in cident was a little differnt. " He saw m e com ing a nd th e pressure got to him, I was ri ght where I wanted to be and he knew it." Russell went on to hold off Eidenberger and Zampach again in the A -Production race to win co n vi ncingly, but Russell 's winning streak ca me to an en d in the Michi~n Gran Prix . Zampach iced hi s wrist before th at ra ce an d went o u t an d im me diatel y o pe ned .u P a large lead over th e field. Russell , startin g from th e fifth row, closed th e gap a t th e en d but Zampach 's GSXRllOO h ad too much m ot or for Russell 's GSXR750 to handle. Zampach is undefeat ed in th e Michigan G.P. Series so far this yea r. The Michigan Mo torcycle Deal er s Associa tion/ Coca-Co la 4-Hour Sta te Championsh ip Endurance was a lso h eld with Dreyer Ra cing 's Gene Burcham a nd T im Morri ssey tak ing th e narr ow victory over In ni s Racing. Ed Key and Andy Fen wich led ea rly in the race on th e Inn is Racing GS XR 750, but h ard rid in g , especially by Burch am (who ro de a ll but 45 m inutes of th e event), put the m in th e lead for good in th e seco n d h our. A bi g cro wd pl ea ser wa s th e pocket ro cket races which pi tted Suzuki GSXR50s agains t Yamaha YSR ."Os. The two-stroke Yamahas . dominat ed this "j ust for fun " race. Marty Miller held a n ea rly lead befor e running off th e' tra ck an d cras h ing in a big splash in a puddle of water, much to th e delight of th e crowd. T im Morri ssey won th e race with Mill er rem o un tin g to grab seco nd. Results MI GP: 1. Scon lampach (SuII; 2. Scan Russell 3. Shaw n Nicoloff (Han); 4 . Mark Tann er (SuII; 5. Gene Burcham (SUI). A PROD EX: 1. Scon Russell (SuII; 2. John Eidenberg er (SUI); 3. Scott lampach (SUI ); 4 . (SUI ~ Denn is Manin (Yam); 5. Tim M orrissey tS uz). A PROD NOV: 1. Bob Hill (SuI I; 2. Dave Hansen (SUI); 3. Ray Voder (SUI); 4 . Pete Kight (Yam); 5. Clayton Poner (SUI) . B PROD EX: 1. Scott Russell (SUI); 2. John Eidengerger (SUI ); 3. Fr itz Kling ( S U I~ 4. Dan Chivington (Suz); 5 . Shawn Nicoloff (S Ul). B PROD NOV: 1. Ray Voder ( S U I~ 2. Clayto n Potter (SUI); 3. Kurt Rev i lle (Honl; 4 . Alan Benagnoli (Hon); 5. Dave Hans en. C PROD EX: 1. Fritz Kling (Han); 2. Mark Oldham (Han); 3. Andy Fenwick (Han); 4. Mik e Gallaway (Yam); 5. Kent Riethmeller (Han). C PROD NOV: 1. Steve Ross (Han); 2. Brett Cecchin i (Han); 3. Gary Jeffries (Han); 4. Todd Stemen (Kaw ); 5. Bob Sandy (Kaw ). D PROD EX: 1. Andy Fenwick (Yam); 2. Randy Gaddey (Yam); 3. Steve Petter sen (Vam). D PROD NOV: 1. Mall Winnaker (Kaw); 2. Bren Cecchini -(Yam); 3 . Stanely Adams (Yam). A S/BK EX: 1. Mark Tann er (SuII; 2. Dennis Martin (Vam); 3. Dave Knapp (Vam). B S/BK EX: 1. Fritz Kling ; 2. Dave Barnard (SUI); 3. Dave Knapp (Vam); 4. Tim Morrissey (SUI); 5. Mark Oldham (Han). . B S/BK NOV: 1. Ray Voder (SUI); 2. Eric LaCrule (SUI); 3. Pata Kight (Vam); 4. Greg Carm (SUI); 5. Jeff Wood (SUl). • C S/BK EX: 1. Fritl Kil ing (Han); 2. Shawn Nicoloff (Han); 3. Marty Miller (SUI); 4 . Andy Fenwick (Han); 5. Mark Oldham (Han). C S/BK NOV: 1. Steve Ross (Han); 2. Todd Stemen (Kaw); 3. Bren Cecchini (Han); 4 . Bob Sandy (Kaw ~ 5. Gary Jeffries (Han). D S/BK EX: 1. Andy Fenwich (Vam); 2. Randy Gaddey (Yam); 3. Steve Panerson (Yam). D S/BK NOV: 1. Man Winnaker (Kaw ); 2. Mike Myer (Han); 3. Ed Vanno~er (Yam). F-2 EX: 1. Ralph Farmer (Vam). F·2 NOV: 1. Tom Foerch (Vam); 2. John Love (Vam); 3. Mike Schinner (Vam). F-3 EX: 1. Dave Bloom (Han); 2. Mark Weisbock (Han); 3. Howard Spitson (Kaw). F-3 NOV : 1. Tom Exinger (Kaw); 2 . Jim Fisher (Kawl; 3. Gordon Hamilton (Kaw). CLBMN EX: 1. Dale Wesener (Yam); 2. Chuck Mathis (Kaw); 3. Buzz Pritz (Han). CLBMN NOV: 1. Dan Sallon (Vam); 2. Tom Exinger (Kaw); 3. Pau l Morris (Yam). VINT 3: 1. William M itche ll. VlNT 4 : 1. Craig Morris (Yam); 2. Jay Rasmussen (Han). PR: 1. Tim Morrissey (Yam); 2. Marty Miller (Yam~ 3. John Love (Yam). ENDURANCE O/A: 1. Dreyer Racing (151 laps); 2. Innis Racing (150); 3. Free Bub Racing (149 ); 4. Team Indy (145); 5. R&W Racing (143 ). HIW PROD: 1. Dreyer Racing (SUI). HIW S/BK: 1..M irage Racing ('tam ). MIW PROD: 1. R&W Racing (Han). MIW S/BK: 1. Frae Bub Racing (Han). LIW: 1. Royale Racing (Yam). TW: 1. Team Harley (H-D). Pittman wins at Portland Road Race By Phillip J. Campagna and Tony Reiner PORTLAND, OR, AUG . 16 Bell evu e Suzu ki-sponsored J oe Pittma n was th e m ain money winner this weekend ta king home $3800 of th e Honda a nd Suzuki co ntingenc y money. The ha rd-riding Pittman led th e 600cc Production ra ce from start to fini sh , ou tlas ting hi s only threat, ren o wn ed flat tra ck racer , Dan Bennet. Kirk H oeppner took third over Doug Renfro w an d last year's Ducati racer , Eric G inn. After pocke ti ng $ 1500 of th e H onda money, Pillman proceeded to th e 750cc Production grid, Aus tralia n C ra ig Tri nder, Sha wn Rob ert i Dal e Frankl in a nd Zlock Racing 's Keith Pinkstaff knew th at P illman was to ugh to bea t. T hat p ro ved 10 be th e case as "S moki n Joe" too k o ver wi th hi s Suzu ki GSX750R, bes ti ng Insulate Industr ies a n d H ighl in e Suzu ki-sponsored Trinder. Shawn Rob erti, Frankl in a n d P inkstaff ro u nded out the top five. The Suzuki peopl e h ad one m ore chec k to fill o u t for th e Open P roduct ion ra ce. As yo u would expect, P illman was th e favorite with T rin der a nd Pinkstaff being th e main cha lle ngers. Bu t to everybody's su rp rise th e first heat's leader wa s Aussie Trinder. The Au stralian was dueling with Pillman a ll th e way to th e fin ish , wi th Trinder o u tlas ting Pi ttman. The two left th e rest of th e pack with Pinkstaff, hampered by an injury at Laguna Seca, foll owing in third. . All eyes were now wa iting for the Open Producti on seco nd heat, which is scored higher than th e first h eat. Wh en the gree n n ag dropped, it was P illman gr abb ing th e lead with T rinder close at hi s heels. These two pulled out ahead of th e pack and were th e ones to watch. As eac h lap went by, Trinder wa s gaining on Pillman, finally ca tch in g h im in the final laps. In a last chance desperate move to regain the lead, Pillman , tried, bu t as lu ck would have it, he . was stuc k behind a backmark er on the last tum, and had to settle for second. Pinkstaff and Dave Riggert followed with third and fourth. After th e com p le tio n of th e hardfought h ea t, Trinder 's bike was protested by Pillman and wa s found not legal under th e Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Associatio n' s Producti on rules. An a fterm arket spar k ad va ncer wa s the cu lp r i t. T rinder th en lost hi s first place finish which put P it tm an on top and ahead of Pinkstaff a nd Riggert. .:l Results 450 PROD: 1. Mike Given (Vam); 2. Brad Fairbanks (Vam~ 3. Roger Green (Yam). 600 PROD: 1. Joe Pittman (Hon~ 2. Dan Bennett (Han); 3. Kirk Hoeppner (Han). 750 PROD: 1. Joe Pittman (SUI); 2. Craig Trinder (SUI); 3. Shawn Roben i (SUI). OPEN PROD: 1. Joe Pinman (SUI); 2. Keith Pinkstaff (SUI); 3. Dan Riggen (SUI). 450 CAFE: 1. M ike Giv en (Vam); 2. Gary Crenshaw (Vam); 3. Don Horn (RlX). 600 CAFE: 1. Gene Brown (Han); 2. Shawn ' McDonald; 3. Gary Crenshaw (Vam). 750 ·CAFE: 1. Keith Pinkstaff (SUl); 2. Steve Linleiohn (Vam); 3. Doug Renfrow (SUl). 650 BOn: 1. Greg Froberg (Kaw); 2. Don Peters (Kaw); 3. George Schwen (Kaw). OPEN BOn: 1. Randy Shemwell (Duc); 2. Larry Vevig (BMW); 3. Brian Wynne (MG). OPENSGL: 1. Mike Meagher (Kaw); 2. Ken Brynn (Han); 3. Jerry Jones (Vam). F-1 : 1. Doug Renfrow (Suz); 2. Craig Trinder (SUl) ; 3. Steve Lirtl ejotm (Vam). F-2 : 1. Mike Sullivan (Han); 2. Eric Ginn (Han); 3. Kirk Hoeppner (Han). F-3 : 1. Cliff Baker (HVH); 2. Andy Crane (Han); 3. Sam Schwanz (Duc). 250 VINT: 1. Ron Johnson (Nor); 2. Toni Rivell i (Duc~ 3. J im Rivelli (Duc). 500 VINT: 1. Murry Neibal(Nor); 2. Tony Howarrd (Han); 3. Tim Marek (BSA). NOV : 1. Dave Booth; 2. And rew Fraser; 3. Troy Ne lick. Costa Mesa Speedway wins to Schwartz, Hicks By Scott Daloisio COSTA MESA , CA, AU G . 14 Bobby Schwartz en ded a two-week vacation fro m victo ry circle at the Orange County Fairgrounds when he ca p tu red hi s second Scratch main in 24 hours on Friday nigh t. Fresh off hi s w in a t Ascot, l Sch wartz made h is way to th e famed Costa Mesa oval. Rain durin~ the previous n ight, had track officials busy packing the tra ck all day long: Consequently it was as hard as a rock , on Friday but th e racing action was l as .hot as ever. Friday also saw Mike Faria return from his injured sh ou lder and he placed second to Schwartz in th Scratch main an d took fourth in th e eigh t lap Handicap main. , Faria and Schwartz met one time on the night and that wa s in the ~ Scratch main. Both riders had scored ' wins in their respective heats and

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