Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

e·ROADRACE AMA Circle Bell Pro Twins Series: Round 2 ~ Jamie James was the cla ss of the Pro T wins fiel d. ' Using the Sunda y a ftern oon final as a p re-Superbik e wa rm- up . he ro de co nserva tively to take an easy wi n. Ducati twosome two for two By Brian Cauerson Photo by Paul Carruthers BRASELTO!\, GA, ~IAY 6 a st By Ferra cci Duca ri ri d er s . J amie James and Fabian Cortez mad e a mockery o f the co m pe titio n 10 aga in win th eir respective classes in th e second round o f the AMA Circl e Bell Pro Twins Seri es a t Road At lanta . As th ey did at Daytona eigh t weeks before, J ames do m in a ted the G P I clas s aboard h is Du cati 888 Sports Racer, whi le Co rtez d id likewise in the G P2 ranks astride hi s Du cat i 750 Sport. T he d uo won $730 an d $390, respectivel y. For J ames, th e victory co u ld h ardl y be ca lled th at , With the cu rre nt level o f co m pe ti tion (bo th in term s o f ma chinery and rid in g a bi lity), J a mes a nd h is ex-Ray mo nd R och e works Duca ti are sim p ly the class o f the Iield, Case in point: By the end o f th e first lap o f th e 16-la p fina l, J a mes a lready held a co m forta b le 2.8-second margin o ve r seco n d- p lace Ji m my Adamo . J ames was repeatedly seen looking o ver hi s sho u lde r to keep tabs o n th e co mpetitio n - no t for fear o f a n y threat from behind, but to ma ke it look li ke a race! James turned conse rva tive la p times in th e I:34-ra nge early on befo re ligh tin g the af terburners and turn in g su b- I:30s, th en backin g it off en ro u te to a n officia l 5.38-seco nd margin of victory . "We were us ing it (the P ro Twins race) as a pract ice session for the superbi kes, reall y," sa id the 29-yearo ld Prai rievill e, Louisiana, resid ent afterwa rds. Alt hough J ames doesn 't ride th e sa me mach in e in both cla sses, h is two Duca tis are essentia lly iden tica l. In addi tio n to FBF , Du cat i a nd Yo ko ha ma , J ames is sponsored by Arai , G. G . Gonza les, T subaki , Bel'Ra y, Fieldsh eer a nd Ferodo . J am es ' run was made somew ha t easier by th e non-presen ce of h is two Daytona riva ls, Randy Ren fro w a nd Dal e Q uarterley . Ren fro w's Co mmonwealth H onda mount has been o ffici a lly retired , whil e Qu arterl ey ' s Bollen bach Engin eeri n g Du ca ti 851 was ba ck a t th e Il in o is-based shop, th e F 10 owner unable 10 p ry h imself a way from hi s sho rt-ha n ded b usiness. Adamo was actua lly racin g h is new 88&c Ducati for the first tim e, the b ike hav ing broken in practi ce at Da yto na. Dou g Brauneck o n Dr. J ohn Witmer 's M oto G uzzi ra n thi rd beh in d Ada mo un til la p eigh t, when Ada mo came down the front straigh t wi th h is hand LIp. " I saw a p u ff of wat er co me o u t of it so I thought I'd co me in ( 10 the pi ts)," Ada mo sa id. " Bu t since no o ne else was ca tchi ng me, I th ought I mi gh t as well stay OUI." T he Gl en Cove, New Yorker later di scovered tha t the radiator ca p had fa lle n o ff , a llowing mu ch of its co nt ents to escape; by th e end of th e ra ce, it was bo ne-dry. Ada mo sa id that h e hadn' t had mu ch tim e 10 d o a n yth in g 10 the bi ke since Dayto na due 10 h is boom ing bu sin ess, so th e o n ly recent modification was a Gi a Ca MOIo ex h a us t sy stem with ca r bo n -fiber silencers; h e exp ressed hi s th anks 10 h is wife , Mela n ie, for a ll her hel p with the machine wo rk , Brauneck was finall y ab le 10 co mpl ete a race o n th e prototype MOIO Guui follo wing co n tin uous teet hing prob lems o ver the co u rse o f the past tw o seaso ns , an d a flat tire a t Daytona. Wi th Adamo runn in g o ff th e pace, Brauneck cru ised 10 a co mforta b le seco nd pl ace; h e then ra n o ut o f gas o n th e cool-off lap. Ru n n ing in fourth a ll th e way wa s Kevin Erion o n the Two Bro th ers Raci ng H onda H awk , no w sport ing a n 820cc Vvtwin fro m th e fort hcom ing H onda Africa d ua l-sport bike, T hough Er io n ro de well . ihe co u ld n 't mak e a n im p ress io n o n th e a il ing Ada mo, sa ying la ter th at he felt th e " lill ie" H a wk wa s down o n power in co m pa riso n 10 th e bigger Duca tis a nd th e MOIO G uzzi (tu ne r Mik e Velasco ha s promised bigger pisto ns. ) Eri on co nfessed that Brauneck and Adamo rod e better than he ex pec ted th em to. Neverth eless, he said, " We 'll be th ere soo n ," Nobles defends home turf T he 24-year-o ld Maco n , Georgia. reside nt, who wo n four Novice Cha mpi o ns hips here at last fall 's WERA Grand Nationa l Fin al s, won th e race by taking adva nt age of a m ista ke by th e early leader, defending U .S. Twin Sports cha m p Nigel Ga le. Gale had sta rted the rac e in fourth p lac e and tak en th e lead goi ng down the ba ck str a ight on la p o ne, bu t on lap two he ra n off int o th e dirt ou tside tu rn five a t th e to p o f th e famous Road At lanta esses. " It was a majo r case of brain fade," adm itted th e Bartels' H arley-Davidson rider later . G ale kept it o n two wh eel s, reenteri ng the race in seven th p lace, a nd then having 10 work his wa y through a tight cluster o f rider s including dirt tracker Randy T ext er , Ran dy Kirnec, Darrell J ones, vintage Harley racer Pa t Mo roney an d Matthew Wi nnacker. Winna cker sim p lified ma tters for Ga le by cras h ing in tu rn o ne to beg in la p th ree, bu t a no the r tw o la ps went by before G a le co u ld ge t clear of the o the rs. By th en , Nobles had o pe ned up a seven-s econd adva n tage. And though G ale whittled tha t do wn to a mere 2.6 seco nds by th e fini sh, the win bel onged to Nobles. " I hurl m y elb ow when I crashed a t Wil low Spri ngs last weeken d, and it's st ill ki nd o f swo lle n ," Nobles said aft er the race. "My doct or dra ined some fluid out o f it - before that, I co u ld hardl y ge t m y leat hers on." Nobles is sponsored by Do wn stag in g, Ph il Flack Racing, Dunlop, 0 & D, Bell , EBC a nd Lav ery & Co. " It 's good that Tripp won here at hi s home track in front of his fami ly a nd a ll hi s fri ends," said G a le, adding that be " may have taught him too m u ch " when th e Georgia n visite d the so u thern Ca li fornia n recentl y a t hi s home o n the West Coast. T h e race for th ird was a barnbumer wi th T exter, Kirnec a n d Moroney swa p p ing posi tions back a nd forth , a ll th e whi le nipping at Gal e 's heels. The three-wa y d ice lasted until the final la p , when Kirnec lo st the front en d a nd cra shed in tu rn o ne , for cing Moroney into th e d irt . T ext er fin ish ed a sudden ly lonel y third , w ith Mo roney reco veri ng 10 tak e fo urth . Bruce Ni eld add ed a n 883 10 hi s stab le of raci ng mo torcycles (wh ich a lso incl udes an Du ca ti 851, H onda R C30 a n d an ex-H R C H onda YF750 su perb ike) a nd co lle cted fifth . J ones ba ckpeda led to s ixth , w ith Shawn H igbee a nd Cla rke Ohrstro m sevent h a nd eigh th , respective ly . Desp it e cra sh ing, Kirnec was credited wit h ninth p lac e. having la p ped a n umber o f riders. Bla in e Pa ul u s, who in addition to riding a n 883 campaigns a Mo to G uui in the P ro Tw ins ra n ks, ro unded o u t the 101' 10, the first of th ose who were listed as bein g o ne lap down. U.S. Twin Sports has not yet been esta b lished as a n o fficia l National Championship Ser ies, b u t . wi th th e interest being sh ow n by co m petitors, p romot ers a nd spectators a like, th e sa nc tion in g bod y h as sai d that th ey wi ll look into th a t possi bi li ty shortly. If it were a series , Nob les a nd Gal e wo u ld no w be tied for th e points lead, Gale having defea ted Nobles in th e previous ro u nd a t Da ytona . CN By Brian Ca tterson R esul ts BRASELTOt\', GA, MAY 5 id ing in pai n fro m a cra sh th e p revious weekend, ro okie sensa tion Andrew " T ripp" Nob les III scored th e win in the U.S. Twin Sports fin al for H a rl ey-D a vid son 883 cc Sportsters a t Road Atla nta. U.S. T W SPRT : l. And rew Nobl es I II; 2. Ni gel Ga le; 3. Randy Texter: 4. Pa l Moro ney; 5. Bru ce Nield : 6. Darr ell j o nes: 7. Sha wn H igbee: 8. Cla rk e O hrs tro m; 9. Rand y Kirn ec; 10. Bla ine Pa ulus; I I. Brock RiHan ; 12. Jon Stau ffer: 13. Sia n Key" ; 14. Do nald G eOJKer ; 15. Ma tthew w tnnacker: 16. Christop her w atson . T im e: 17 m in.• 18.71 sec. Distance 10 laps. 25.20 mil es Margin o r "ictory: 2.60 St"C. A>era go S peed. 87.337 mph Behind Er io n , veteran ra cer Dr. David Kieffer ' ball led with Su mmit Poi nt speci a list Bruce Ni eld , both aboard Du cari 85 1s; th e Virginian got the best o f th e orthopedic su rgeo n 10 claim fift h. This was the first race to be ru n under th e new format which co m bines th e G PI a nd G P2 (fo rm erly kn own as the Gra nd Prix and Modified Prod uction ) classes in a two-wave sta rt, a n d not o n ly did Co rtez win th e G P2 d ivisi on ha nd il y, he a lso placed severu h overa ll. " T he bik e was ca pable o f goi ng faster, " sa id th e soon- ro-be-zu-yea r-o ld Phi lad elphia , Pen n sylva n ia , reside nt, " I was ho ping 10 be ab le to race wi th so me g uys. but I just rela xed . a nd wa ited for th e race to be over." Li ke James, Cortez is sponsor ed by FBF, Ducati, Yoko ha ma, Bel-Ra y, T subaki a nd Fieldsheer. Second in the G P2 cla ss wen t to h ard -c h a rgi n g R o bi so n H a rl eyDavidson rider Rand y Kirnec, who managed to get past Cortez on the first la p o n th e back stra ig h t, but ended up sett li ng [or seco nd. Kirn ec was fo llo w ed b y D u ca t i-rnou u ted C rai g Sh ambaugh, wh o said th at he at first th o ught he co u ld stay wi th th e H a rley rid er. but inst ead mad e a mi stak e whi le la p ping hi s friend Blaine Pa ul u s a nd ran o ff th e track. In th e end. Shambaugh just mi ssed bein g nipped by fellow Ducati rider Frank hockley. Ka wa sa k i -m o u nt ed Ca liforn ian Curt Kim ble fini shed fifth foll owed by Du cal i-rn ounted Paul Kell y, wh il e :'\10 10 Guzzi-moun ted Bob Griffiths survived a harro win g front stra ig h t co ll isio n with Pa blo Rea l (who 'd a lso c ras h ed in pra cti ce ) 10 f in is h sevent h . (~ R esults P RO T\\o' C P t: I. j amie j am es (Due): 2. Dou g Br•ru neck (M·G) : 3. J a mn Ada mo ( Duc); ... Kevin Erion tH on ]: 5', Bru er Nield (Duc): 6. Dav id Kit"££ er (Duc); 7. Warre-n Elli ot (Due): 8. Alan Hi ppenstea! (Yam) : 9. J o hn virgada mo (Due); 10. Pablo Real (Due); II. Wa lter Sa kows ki (D ue). T im e: 24 m in .• 46.0S sec. Distance: J 6 I ap~ . -10.32 m iles ~fa rgin of victo rve 5.38 ,,("C. Aver alite speed: 97.676 m ph PR O T W GP2: l. Fabian Co rtez (Due): 2. Ra nd y Kim e (H -D); 3. Cra ig Shamba ug h (Due); 4. Frank c Shoc k ley (Due): 5. Cu rt Kimble (H u n ): 6. Paul Kelly (Due): 7. Robert Griffilhs eM-G); 8. Kevin Sla!) y n (Due ): 9. Ed war d AlxJo ( Hon ); 10. Ru ss Ma ttson (Hon ); I I. Ch ris Hell an d (Due); 12. j ussi Hau taui em i ( Due); I ~ . T om H in es (Due) : 1'1 . Blaine Pau lu s ( ~l - G ); 15. Eric Phillipp" 1M-G); 16. Loya l Ream Ii. David Kanen (8M \\'): Itt Ely Sch iess (T ri]: 19. i\'i ~d C a k (H· D); 20. Ro na ld.Sa rvis (Due). PRO TW GPt POINT STANDI NGS : I. Jam ie james ('10); 2. Kevin Erin n ( 19); 3. (T IE) Doug Bra uneck/ Ra ndy Renfro w (16); 5. I :'mes Ada mo (3 ); 6. Dal e Quancrley ( I I); 7. (TIE ) Bruce I\'id d / Pa blo Rea l (10); 9. Da vid Kin rer (9); 10. Warren Elli n ll (8); I I. (T I E) Alan H ip pen st ea l/ G a r y Goodfello w (7); 13. John Virgadamo (6 ); 14. (TIE) \\'a llt'l Sa kowski/ Ro bbie Peter sen (4). PRO TW G P2 POINT STANDlSGS: I. Fabian C.ort t"l (40): 2. Frank Shockley (22); 3. Rober t G ri H i l h~ (2 1); 4. Pa ul Kell y ( 18); 5. Kevin Susn)' ( t 7); 6. (T IE) Kevin Erion/ Randy Kirnec (16); 8. Cun Kimble (1· ); 9. m E) Crai~ Sha mb augh /Edward 1 Abdo ( 13); II. M ikt' T ibe rio (8 ); 12.. (T I E) Blaine Paulu wRich Pa ison (6 ); 14. R uss Ma u son (5); 15. Chli.. Helland (4). ( SU1); AMA/CCS U.S.Twin Sports Series: Round 2 R

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