Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

z Endurance Challenge Series. Their ' Team Lockhart Suzuki GSX R750-J a: was sponsored by Lockhart, Kalw Gard, AGV, Michelin, Suzuki, Per~ formance Machine, RK Chain, NGK U Z Spark Plugs, Cam-2 and P BI ~ a: Sprockets. The '88 Suzuki which co Quarterley refers to as the "Seven> co Eleven" is a standard 750-J model o complete with stock 750cc engine o cases, transmission and clutch J: ll. basket. It is also equipped with crankshaft, pistons, rods , cylinder head and cam chain from the II OOcc motor which is a legitimate modification under the AMA rules. (Endurance class rules also permit full Il000c-based motorcycles). The AMA rules do state, however, that engine cases must remain stock with the original chassis. This is the rule which was called into question following Team Lockhart's victory at Sears Point. The Quarterley/Brauneck endurance win' at Sears extended their point lead over second-place Dutchman Racing 121 to 107. with Carry Andrew's Hyper-Cycle in third with 96 points. Andrew protested Lockhart's victory, claiming that they were running engine cases from an 1I00cc motor, a violation of the ru les. At first examination the AMA dismissed the protest when it appeared that the engine cases were interchangeable. The protest was later upheld when Andrew proved that the two cases held separate part numbers. Quarterley describes the events surrounding the protest as follows: " At Atlanta we broke the transmission and ordered a new set of cases from Suzuki. They sent us the cases, we put them in and went racing. The (\ 100) cases are exactly the same (as 750 cases ) except for where the serial number is stamped . . . that's the only difference, period. They protested us on a visual inspection. There are eight or nine part numbers that Suzuki considers the same case. One they bead blast, another has a rounded comer instead of a square edge, and each gets a new part number. Andrew claims that if the public orders a specific part number, Suzuki will not supercede that part Grand Prix number one plate ona Ducafi. for the public. When we order a part, we're pretty much ordering it from the factory. If they don't have that specific part number they' ll superQuarterley, who finished with a cede it for us because we're a sup port 51-point advantage over secondfact ory team. Suzuki knows that p lace J oh n Long, made the Pro we're racing and need (parts) in a Twins GP Championship look like hurry. Nobody's right and nobody's a leisurely Sunday ride. How comwro ng - that's the problem with petitive does he feel this class really this case (no pun intended?)." is? "A few years ago there were only How does Quarterley feel about two or three guys running up front. the Hyper-Cycle protest? " I don't Adamo had the field beat because he really care," he answers." I think he had- the motor. Gene Church also (Andrew) had a legitimate comhad mega-motor there for a while. plaint. We got protested, we were But these past few years it's become found quilty, we're guilty. We a real animal fight because four or proved our case and they thought his five bikes could win it. Now I feel case was better. I'm not really it takes both rider ability and the mad ... I think it did him good machine to win a (T w i n s) because he ended up with the championship. " championship. " . From riding a variety of equipThe AMAlCCS Endurance Chalment, Quarterley has developed a lenge Series was decided in the final smooth riding style which he adjusts round at Daytona. To clinch the title accordingly to suit a particular track for their second consecutive year, or handling problem. Some imply Quarterley and Brauneck needed to that he uses these abilities to control finish first with Dutchman third or the Twins competition by keeping worse. H yper-Cycl e's Carry Andrew a tight line instead of using full and James Domay inherited the throttle. championship when both Dutch"That's just part of my riding man and Lockhart failed to finish. style," he said. "Why ride at 100 "Someone blew a motor and I was percent when you could ride at 95 the firs t one through," recalls Q uarpercent? It saves on machinery and ter ley, "I remember flying th rough helps keep the motor together. th e fast left-hand infield Earlier in my career I wou ld do whatever it took to get the lead and kink ... and felt the front wheel start to push. I started, to let go of then just kept on going because I the handlebars thinking it was up didn't have the equipment. Now on the fairing. I tried picking it up when I get the lead, I'd rather slow but it wouldn't move. I remember them down." looking down at the tar and seeing Along with Brauneck, Quarterley also ran the AMAlCCS EBC Brakes (Continued to p age 12) o CIl ~ Riding his own line By John J. Sc hiavone J 30 u s t when vagueness and double-talk are becoming fashionable, it's refreshing to encounter the straightforwardness of Dale Quarterley. The Rockland, Massachusetts, native continues in the New England road racing tradition of Mike Baldwin, Rich Schlachter and John Bettencourt. He is alert, witty and extremely confident. Whether a motorcycle, go-kart, stock car , or bulldozer, Quarterley knows he can master it , and master it proficiently. He is also well aware of racing's limitations and knows that without money and motor you can't win races. In 1988, Quarterley successfully blended his own racing abilities, a strong group of prominent sponsors, and Eraldo Ferracci's engine building talent to produce his best-ever racing season. Quarterley aggressively contested three AMA classes with impressive results. He won the AMA/Circle Bell Pro Twins GP Series aboard a Ferracci-prepared Ducati 851 with first-place finishes at Loudon, Elkhart Lake, Laguna Seca and Sears Point. The ride was fully supported by Ferracci and sponsored by Cagiva/Ducati, Michelin, Tsubaki, BeIRay and VP Racing Fuels. Under Ferracci's watchful eye the Ducati 851 was extremely consistent, finishing in all the Pro Twins GP rounds. "When we got it here (from Italy) it was fast enough to run up front," admits Quarterley, "It was the same bike Stephano Carrachi rode at Daytona, so it already had some factory tricks done to it. All Ferracci Dale Quarterle, dindtedthe Pro Twins tried to do was refine it. He took about 30 pounds off it and modified the porting and valves. We didn't change any of the computer chips, alter the fuel injection, advance the timing or change the exhaust system. We just refined it." How much of that "refinement" came directly from Italy? "We really didn't need that much," he responds. "They'll talk all day with technical advice. Performance parts we couldn't get , but nobody got th em . We pretty much stayed the same all year wi th top speed." Quarterley was extremely pleased with the 851's personality. " It really handles well, it does whatever you want it to do, and it doesn 't break," he says. "If I want to do big swooping turns to hold people off - it will do it. Motor-wise, it runs down low and it runs up high. It doesn't run much past IO grand (10,000 rpm) so ' you 're not screaming the hell out of it. 11 will also run down at 5500 (rp m) perfectly. So, if I gel stuc k . j n traffi c, I don't h ave to sh ift it. I just get on the gas and it vveeerrrr's right out of the turn. " It doesn't have any demons behind it either," he continues. "Many bikes handle well but when you get them into certain situations, you can't get them out - like (Doug) Brauneck's Moto Guzzi. My Ducati doesn't do that. Not only does it handle well, but you can get it 'in and out of anything."

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