Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The finalists at the D uQuoin M ile thunder through tum four and onto the f ront straight in front of the thinly-packed grandstand. AliA Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series: Rounds 10/8 . Shob_ert sets records at DuQuoin Mile By Ty van Hooydonk Photos by Bert Shepard DUQUOIN, IL, JULY 24 Bubba Shober t became th e fastes t man In motorcycle mile racin g history as h e set a new one-lap mile dir t track oval record an d ran away with the 25-lap National final and the Camel Challenge at the Du Q u o i n State Fairgrou~ds. . ASide from not leading a few 10 laps of racing during the day, Shobert was flawless as he set the record fast time of 34.377 seconds at an average speed of 104.721 mph, won his fourth straight Camel Pro race at DuQuoin - his 36th career win, and set a new average speed record for the race . Honda's Shobert beat factory Harley-Davidson pilots Scott Parker and Chris Carr, who raced for second down to the wire with Parker getting the runner-up spot. Dan Ingram and Steve Morehead rounded out the top five in the Illinois Motorcycle Dea lers Association-promoted event. With the win, Shobert moved into sole possession of second place in the Grand National Championshi p point standings with 131 points, behmdpomtsleaderPa~ker who~as , 144, and ahead of Chns Carr. WIth 124. Shobert extended his lead in the Camel Pro Series over road racer Doug Polen. 123 to 72. Shobert also equaled the DuQuoin win record of Hank Scott. who won the race four times between 1978 and 1984. Scott, however, did not win four straight. Scott also held the old average race -speed record that Shobert beat with a speed of 101.244 mph - over two mph faster than the old standard. Shobert pocketed $5750 out of the National's $40,000 purse and $10,000 from the $17.500 Camel Challenge. "I just like the place, " said Shobert about DuQuoin. "It's kind of different. You. can ride a lot of different lines through the turns. Here, you can make different angles in the turn and get different drives off the turn." DuQuoin had not received much rain in the weeks preceding the race . But da ys before' the event, a downpour had soaked the track and filled it with ruts. After some hard work, the ground cr ew not on ly made the surface ridab le, but the fastest mi le dirt track in history. Shobert attributed the record lap to good track preparation. "Our bikes are restricted now and (yet) we went faster, " said the threetime Grand National Champion. Time Trials Shobert started his amazing performance during time trials as he set his record la p time. Despite the searing sun and high temperatures that dryed and slowed down the track, Shobert turned in the 34.377/ 104.721 lap that put him into the record books, ahead of Ricky Graham's 34.548/104.203 mark, set at Springfield in 1984. The next fastest , with a time of 34.916, was Parker, who said he doesn't worry too much about what the early docks say. "T ime trials don 't mean a whole lot," he said. "J ust because you win in time trials doesn't mean you're going to run away with it." Carr was docked in third quickest. at a time of 35.075. Carr bobbled during his qualifying lap and lost his chance to set the fastest time of the day .' Terry Poovey came nex t with a 35. 172. followed by local-hero Tim Mertens of Bellevill e, Illinois, a t 35.309. Rounding out the top six, and thus the las t man to qualify for th e $17.500 Camel Challenge, was • Dan Ingram, who docked a 35.346 on a Honda loaned to him by Bubba Shobert. The bike is usually ridden by Don Estep. but Estep is sidelined due to a fractured skull he suffered at the Parkersburg (West Virginia) National Half Mile on July 16. Ingram said it was the fastest bi ke he had ever ridden. Heats , When Shobert first faced other riders, and not only the dock, he didn't get off to a fast start. In the first heat, he lined up on the po le but went into the first tu rn in rnidpack, behind holeshot-rnan Steve Morehead, riding Mert Lawwill's spare Harley after his "half mile bike" had seized in practice. Ricky Graham also found himself in the lead temporarily, but by lap three, Shobert had caught and passed them both and easily held the leai:l for the rest of the 10-lap race. - Keith Day joined the fray between Morehead and Graham. The three fought over the second slot until the last lap. Day and Morehead finished second and third , respectively, to earn a place in the final with Shobert, while sending Graham and the next five finishers to the semis. . The closely-fought second heat showed that it wasn't going to be a runaway day for all Hondas as Parker on the Bill Werner-tuned Harley XR750 stole the lead and the win from Honda-mounted Ronnie Jones on the last la p. Parker survived a mediocre start to come from behind and race with Pete H ames and Do ug Chandler for the lead. Jones came from seemingly nowhere to head the pack on lap four and begin a battle with Parker that would last the remainder of the race. Par ker won it coming out of turn three with a surge that carried him first across the line. .Cha ndler, after dropping back for .several laps. returned to form and earned third. Hames followed, good only for a place in the semis. The

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