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/127133
00 00 0') ,......; Champion Scott Gray (1) returned to F-USA racing for the first time this year. defeating James Domay (151). Honda RS250-mounted Donnie Greene held off the advances of James Domay in the lightweight F-USA Series, ' WSMA Formula USA Series: Round 4 Gray returns to rule at Willow Sp~ings By Brian Catterson ROSAMOND, CA, MAY I When Scott Gray showed up for the first round of the 1988 Formula USA Unlimited Motorcycle Crand Prix Series in his street clothes, it was cause for celebration among his fellow competitors. Gray won five out of six races and I d set . a . ap recor en rout~ to claiming th e 1987 champion- 36 ship, and now th at he was off racing AMA Su perbi kes fu ll-time , h e wo uld n 't have time for clu b raci ng. T he ot her riders fig ured they'd have a cha nce. They were wro ng. In the first three rou nds th is seaso n, J am es Do may has been just as dominant as Gray was last year. But th e one thi ng , barring a crash or mech ani cal trou- bl~ t~at co uld pr event Dom ay from Winning happened. Gr ay'cam e back. At least now Domay wo u ld ha ve some competition . . . " Yea h , rig h t!" joked Domay before the race. Demay's Yosh imura race-kitted 1987 Suzu ki GSXR750 was no match for Gray's works 1988 Yoshimura Suzuki Super bike - th e sa me mach ine th at took Kevin Schwantz to Suzu ki's first-ever victor y in th e Daytona 200. During Sa turday's win dy practice, Gray turned la p times two seconds faster th an anyo ne else. In th e race, Gray won going away. It was lik e he'd never been go ne. " I thi n k I've built up a lo t of animos ity by being here," Gray said. "Some of th e guys think I'm cherry p icking." Dom ay fin ished second,' pr edictably, the len gth of th e front stra igh tawa y behind Gra y. Domay looked fast, a nd if Gra y wasn 't here it wo uld've been another runa way win for the 25-year-old Sylm ar , Californi a, resident. Racers Su p p ly em p loyee Barry Burke emerged fro m the ra nks of also-rans, grabbing th e holeshot and finishing in third p lace - his best perfor mance to date - o n a Yam ah a FZR IOOO. This is j ust the th ird sea so n o f road ra cing fo r the rnotocrosser-turned-road racer fro m Massach usetts. Pau l Voge l finished second a t the last ro und, but had to settle for fourth this week. Vogel's Suzuki GSXRIIOO features a lar ge aerodynam ic tailpi ece, bu t it wasn 't until this weekend tha t he 'no ticed wha t a differ-, ence it ma de. " In Sa turday's practice I on ly lost 50 0 r pm do wn th e s ta rt/fi nis h straigh t; 145 mph against a 50 mph headwind ! Most of the other guys had to gea r it down," he said. Earl Rol off finishe d fifth , again riding the Kawasaki 1000 Ninja that too k him to the 1986 championship. ' .Its nicknam e, "T he T erminator" is getting almos t as long-in-the-tooth as the bik e itself. The ma chine that Yamaha promised him has yet .to mat erialize, and the season is nearly half over. At the riders' meeting before the race, a rider asked how many warmup laps the y wou ld have. Chris Huth of the WSMA told them two, and asked if that would be enough. " Two is pl enty," said Roloff, "I don 't want to rid e that thing an y more th an I have to." T he For m ula USA races were held in conj unc tio n with th e Valvoline/ Machinists' Un ion Ameri can/Indy Car Series. With just a ha ndful of Indy cars present, the bikes rose from their sideshow sta tus, providing a spectacle for th e man y a uto rac mg fans present. " Re me mber, we're pu tting o n a show for the fan s," said sta rter John Rowley, " And they like to see guys up on on e wheel." "W ha t, are we go nna get bonus • points for wheelies?" asked Carry Andrew. " La st time they docked me a lapl" Rowley al so had plans for handl ing th e al oofness of th e car racers. "T he car guy s are rude, but tell me if th ey give yo u any trouble and I'll tell th em off! It so unds a lot better com ing from an official," he said. The bik es ran before the cars so they wouldn't have to run o n a track covered with oil and accumulated rubber - " marbles" as th e car guys call it. The fact that one of the cars blew its mo tor in turn one during th e race proved th e validi ty of this decision . At the drop of th e gree n flag, Gray and Dom ay sho t to the front, but it was Burke who led out of tum one. Roloff foll owed in fourth with Curtis Adams and Calvin Ra yborn III hot on his heels. Vogel got off to a bad start but was working his way through th e pack . " I co u ld n' t see th e starter," claimed Vogel. . By the end of the first lap, Gray led Domay , rel egating Burke to third. T he to p three positions would remain unchanged to the finish. Gray's second lap was a 1:27.5,just a shade off hi s record of 1:26.33, despite th e windy conditions. His third lap was even faster at 1:27.1, but th e existing record would remain intact. On lap three Vogel held seventh , but on lap four he got around Rayborn for sixth, blew past Adams in turn eight for fifth , and drafted p a st Roloff on th e sta rt / fi n ish straigh t fo r fourth. Once Vogel was in fourth , the on ly battle o n th e race track was for fifth , and Rol off, Adam s and Rayborn had a dogfight. Rayborn was riding the ragged edge o n a GSXR7 50, setu p for Suzuki Cup racing with a stock mo tor and Dunlop K591 DOT tir es. " T he tires were go ne in five laps," he said lat er. Ada ms also had tro uble, chasing the fro nt end of hi s GSXRllOO in turn three on lap nine. Ada ms' feet flew off th e pegs way up in th e air, bu t he held on without losin g hi s positi on . Yoshimura/Michelin/Kushitani/ Arail Ph illi p s 66/ Mo tuI/ Fe ro dosponsored Gray ra n away to th e win, wh eelyin g uphill out of tum three each lap for th e fan s. " I think we cou ld've go ne faster if it wasn't for the wind," said Gray in the winner's circle. Gray has been working o ut a lot , racing mountain bik es and competing in biathlons with his gi rlfriend. " I reall y enjoy it, " Gray said about racing bicycles. Yoshimura/Mich elin ICRT/ Lockhart/D r. John' s/Suzuki of Glendal e-sponsored Domay took second with as big a gap over th ird place Burke as Gray held over him. Burke is sponsored by Racers Supply, Fox, MTE and Spectro, but said that most of th e credit goes to hi s tuner J im Leonard, the service manager at Racers Supply. " I never felt lik e I was on the edge," said Burke. Running a stock motor in his Yamaha FZR I000, Burke promised to give Domay a run for his money at the next round after his modified engine is fini shed. Burke ha s no tire sponsors yet, but rid es on Mich elins. " I guess I'v e go t to beat Domay" AI's to get sponsored, " he said. Motorcycl e/G rizzl y P erformance P roducts-spon sored Vogel rod e to an uncontested fourth, whil e Roloff beat Rayborn and Adam s for fifth. Rayborn ran ou t of gas as he crossed th e fin ish lin e, causing a loud backfire which sounded like a gun shot, but he swi tched th e petcock to reserve and made it back to th e pi ts.