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/127184
Phil Tannery (center right) and his crew collect the rewards for winning the Gatornationals. Tannery (far lane) jumped off the line ahead of Barry Kogut and was several bike lengths ahead at the finish. NHRA Castro. GTX Championship Drag Race Series: Round 2 Tannery wins Gatornationals By John Brasseaux GAINESVILLE, FL, MAR. 17-19 Vance & Hines rider Phil Tannery won his first National Hot Rod Association race when he beat Barry Kogut in the final of the Motorcraft Quality Parts Gatornation8 also In only his second race aboard the Vance & Hines machine, Tannery guided the Byron Hines-tuned Suzuki Katana LO the winner' circle with a string of seven-second times and correspondingly impressive reaction timeS. Since gelling the nod at the I beginning of this year, Tannery, a resident of Hemet, California, is picking up very handily where Terry Vance left of[. Over a 17-year drag racing motorcycle career, Vance won 27 NHRA National events. Once qualifying was over, John Myers was in the number one position, followed by John Mararo and Tannery in the number two and three spots, respectively. Myers' 7.87 second 167.16 mph run was the lowest elapsed time of the meet for the Pro Stock bikes. Mafaro, winner of the Supernationals one week earlier where he set a new NHRA National record at 7.82/170.90, was close behind Myers with a 7.91/ 169.71 time. That speed counted as the top time for the class. Tannery was hot on the heels of Mafaro with a 7.93/166.94 clocking. Two other riders in the 7s, Dave Schultz -.7.98/ 166.26 - and Lance Boyer - 7.99/ 165.99 - made NHRA history. That was the first time five bikes had qualified in the seven-second zone for a NHRA National. Taonery began the four rounas of elimination b.y putting out Russ Olmstead with a 7.98/165.01 to Olmstead's 8.15/160.82. Tannery cut an excellent .473 reaction time (.400 is perfect; anything quicker than that is a foul start). Things were looking very good for the Val)ce & Hines team at that point. However, near disaster struck in the second stanza of racing. Tannery bogged the mOLOr off the starting line and would have surely lost had it not been for opponent Charlie Gressman's red-light start. Tannery admitted giving the bike too much clutch and not enough throttle when the green light Dashed, which caused the mechanical miscue. Mafaro, who had the best number in round one with 7.95/168.28, was not so lucky. He had just shifted inLO third gear while racing Kogut when the transmission sli pped back inLO second. That sent the engine LO 17,000 rpm, trashing his Suzuki mill. An inspection in the pits revealed that every rocker arm was fractured and two intake valves disappeared into a cylinder. Pieces of the valves were found in the carb float bowl. Additionally, the camshaft and the crankshaft were damaged beyond repair. Going into the semi final, Tannery faced Myers, and Kogut was up against reigning Castrol GTX champ Schultz. The Tannery/Myers contest looked very even. Myers ran an 8.00/165.86 in the second round while Tannery stumbled to a 10.51/ 166.47 time in the same stanza. Going back to the first round, Myers had a 7.98/164.80 winning time, the same as Tannery. George Bryce, former rider and now team owner of the Star Racing bike, decided to switch lanes before the race, which he admitted was a major mistake. Lane choice in NHRA competition is determined by who had the better elapsed time from the previous round. The lane that Bryce switched to proved to be not as good as the . other and it cost his rider the race. Myers' rear tire went through excessive tire spin in second and third gear and he lost, 8.04/162.68 LO Tannery's 7.99/163.87. What's more, Tannery recorded his best reaction time of the day, a sterling .409. Kogut advanced LO the final when Schultz red-lighted, due to a clutch that pulled him through the staging beams as he brought the rpm up. The Pro Stock bikes leave about 6000 rpm, and at that clutch speed it is difficult to prevent the bikes from creeping forward. The distance from the last staging beam to the guard beam that triggers a red-light start is seven inches, so maintaining a stationary position is critical. Kogut's time was an 8.20/158.56 while Schultz sped to a meannothing 8.10/163.13. The outcome of the final was never much in doubt. Kogut, ironically a Vance & Hines team rider in 1987, was at least a 10th of a second behind in performance, and Tannery was having a field day with the "Christmas tree." After the burn-outs and staging were over, the tree flashed green and Tannery was out'of the gate first with a great .415 reaction time while Kogut followed with a .498. For the rest of the way down the quarter mile, Kogut had a good view of the rear tire of the Vance & Hines machine. Tannery crossed the finish line several bike lengths ahead of Kogut and reGorded a 7.96/164.80 to 8.12/159.91 win. The next stop on the eight-race Castrol GTX Championship tour is the Southern Nationals in late April. There, Schultz will debut a radically new Ninja and Myers will be aboard a 4-valve Suzuki that will deliver more power. Look for them to challepge Tannery and Mafaro for a spot in a NHRA winner's circle.•