Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Pete Johnson (14) leads Pablo Real (29) and Robert Griffiths (99) on Daytona's high banks. Griffiths won, Johnson and Real broke. Ferracci, Duca ri/ Cagi va, Michelin, VP , Tsubaki and Bel-Ray. Adamo wasn't letting the leaders get away and frequen tly reminded them of his presence by sticking a wheel in here and there, all the time wa itin g to make a last-ditch effort. A mere three laps from the en d, Adamo encountered la pped traffic in the chicane and lost some grou nd to the leaders. And tho ugh it appeared th a t he was within striking distance o n the last la p , it was too little, too la te. . "I guess I waited too long," the Long Island, New Yorker, said. " I needed another lap." Adamo, who p icked up $1590, is sponsored by Arai , Michelin, F&L, GioCaMoto, Autolite, Agip and Engine Guard. In fourth place, 20.24 seconds behind Adamo, was Randy Shemwell with John Long fifth and Frenchman Bernard Andre sixth, all Ducati-mounted. Seventh place went to Enzinger on the BMW , which was sporting a "new fuel tank after an earlier practice crash. Adamo's Team Leoni teammate Pablo Rea l scored an eighth and Dr. David Kieffer a ninth, both also on Ducatis. Former 250cc National Champion David Emde rounded out the top 10 on the second of the two German H&M BMWs. • Results PRO TW GP: 1. Dale Quanertey (Due); 2. Paul Lewis (Hon); 3. James Adamo (Due); 4 . Randy Shemwell (Due); 5. John Long (Due); 6. Berna rd And re (Due); 7. Herben Enzinger (BMW); 8. Pablo Real (Duet 9. David Kieffe r (Due); 10. David Emde (BMW) ; , 11. Sei go Kikuchi (BMW); 12. Roger Reim an (H·D ): 13. Roben Griffith s (M -G); 14. Britt Turkington (Vam); 15. James Emory (Due); 16. Kevin Stasny (Due); 17. Doug Brauneck (M ·G ); 18. Hilton Van Staden (Due); 19. John Virg adano (Due); 20. Frank Shockley (Due). PRO TW GP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Quan erley (20); 2. Lew is (16t 3. Adamo (13); 4. Shemwe ll (ltt 5. Long (10 ); 6. Bern ard Andre (9); 7. Erwnger (8t 8. Real (7); 9. Kieff er (6t 10. Emde (5); 11. Kikuchi (4t 12. Reiman (3): 13. Griffiths (2t 14. Turkington (1). AMA Pro Twins Modified G'riffiths douses runner-up Craig Shambaugh with cha!'1pagne in the winner's circle while third-p lace finisher James Emory grimaces. Griffiths wins at last of lap one. George Roc kett and Pablo Real tangled in tum one and went down as did Gary Stas in tum five. Real and Stas bo th made the restart, but Rockett was transported to the hospital with a fractured righ t leg, collarbone, shoulder blade a nd two ribs. T he restart saw Shambaugh assume the early lead, fo llowed closely by Jo hnson, GriHiths, Ducati-mounted Fra nk Shockley and Honda Hawk rider Ed Abdo. Shockley led lap one, with Shambaugh moving to the fore for the next three laps and Johnson taking over on lap five. Real was moving up through the pack while recovenng from his spill, and occupied the second position by lap five. The six-rider freight tra in th en included Johnson, Real, Shambaugh , Gri££iths , Abdo a n d Sh ockley . . On lap seven of 15, Real laid down a smoke screen in tum four, ending hi s race. Abdo also began to slow, and would retire' on lap 13 out of fuel despite the fact that he'd started with a full tank. Hard-riding Griffiths got around Johnson on lap eight, .and though Johnson would regain the lead brie£ly on laps II and 12, his ra ce would end with suspected electrical problems on lap 13. "I never did feel comfortable," said Johnson. "The ' tires were skinnier than I'm used to . Griffitns was riding real hard, so I just let him have the infield. I had an acceleration advantage but he had the top speed. ': Johnson's departure left Gri££iths all alone out front, and he would cruise to a 33.08-second margin of Production Series: Round 1 By Brian Catterson • Photos by Henny R. Abrams DAYTONA BEACH , FL, MAR. 10 . ' Pennsylvania 's Rob ert Griffiths, riding the same Mota Guzzi that Dr. J ohn Wittner on ce ca m paigned in endurance races, finally stood atop the rostrum after coming close a few times when he won the P ro Twins Modified Pro duction race at Daytona International Speedway. Craig Shambaugh finished second and James Emory third, both on Ducatis. All three were survivors of a fierce six-way battle for the lead that raged until mechanical problems sent most of the players to the showers. Drama unfolded even before th e green flag £lew. Class Champion Kevin Erion had practiced with " For Sale". painted on the windscreen of his Two Brothers Racing Ducati FI a nd 1987 champ Pete Johnson had taken notice. Erion, who reportedly wants, to campaign a Honda Hawk in this class (elder brother Craig rode one to II th p lace here), had tned to convince Johnson to buy the bike and when Johnson had trou b le getting his F-I to work well on the morning of the race, he deci ded to go ahead and make ' the purchase. Joh nson agreed to let Erion ride his old bike just th is once, but the champ would log only three laps of the race before retiring, Johnson immediately put his new acquistion to the test as he led the start of the race, but the red flag reared its ugly head before the end victory at an average speed of 96.379 mph. " I feel like the Maytag man," said Griffiths, who won $1715 of the $6125 purse. "That thing just goes and goes ." " I ca n't believe it," added Dr. Joh n, explai ning that th e bike had accumulated 14,000 racing miles before he turned it over to Griffiths. "It still has the crankshaft it came from the factory with." Griffiths is sponsored by Dan Do yle and Autolite. " It was fun in the beginning," said Shambaugh, who finished second . with a broken exhaust pipe. "We were all running so close that one time Johnson went by and he brought four of them with him." Shambaugh is sponsored by Tsubaki and Fast By Ferracci. Third place went to Competition Plus/FBF/Burger Chef-sponsored Emory, with Dennis Liebrecht, Shockley, Eric Phillippe, Joseph Wallace, Mark Mercadante, ' James Whitaker and R ick Ranno rounding out the top 10. All but Griffiths and Kawasaki EXSOO-mounted Whitaker rode Ducatis. • Results PRO TW MOD PROD: 1. Roben Griffiths (MG); 2. Craig Shambaugh (Due); 2. Jam es Emory (Due); 4 . Dennis Liebrecht (Due); 5. Frank Shockl ey (Due); 6. Eric Philli ppe (Due); 7. Jose ph Wallace (Du e); B. M ark M ercadant e (Due); 9. Ja mes Whitaker (Kaw ); 10. Rick Ranno (Duct 11. CraIg Erion (Hon); 12. Marcu. Dey (Kew); 13 . Brian Morrow (Kaw); 14. James McNu lty (Hon); 15. Pete Johnson (Due); 16. Edward Abdo (Hon); 17. Chris Scott (Nor); 18. M ichael Reill y (Vam); 19. Blaine Paulus (M -G); 20 . Ronald Sarvis (Due). PRO TW MO D PROD POINT STANDING S: 1. Griffiths (20); 2. Shambeugh (16); 2. Emory (13); 4 . Liebrecht (11); 5. Shockley (10); 6. Phillippe (9); 7. Wallace ( B~ 8. Mercadante (7); 9. Whitaker (6); 10. Ranno(5t 11. Erion (4t 12. Day (3); 13. Morrow (2 ~ 14. McNulty (n 19

• Cover