Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ ROAD RACE AMA 25(kc Grand Prix Series: Round 4 e - - Doug Brauneck (46) leads Dal e Fra n klin (13). Chris D'Aluisio (I I). R ick Kirk (39) and J on Cornwell (49) early in th e final. D' Aluisio keeps his cool By Bria n Ca tt erso n P h o to by Werner Fritz ELKHARTU KE, \\'1, JULY I h ris O'Al u isio proved that he learns Irom h is m ista kes by claim in g hi s seco nd win of th e yea r, a nd seco nd ca reer win, in a nother 250cc Grand Prix battle of attri tion a t Road Am eri ca. R id in g hi s OavH ar Racing Yam aha TZ250. D'Al ui sio rod e a consist ent ra ce to ha nd ily defeat return in g vetera n Da le Fra nkli n a nd Ca nadia n J o n Corn well. T he o n ly other riders to lead th e ra ce - H a sty Ra ci n g 's Dou g Bra u neck and Oil Technol ogy Ser vices' R ick Kirk - elim ina ted th emselves in separa te cra shes , a nd ear ly cha lle nger AI Sa lave rria lost time to a n off-track exc ursio n a nd finish ed a d is tant fou rth o n hi s Ai rTec hsponsored Yam aha. " I thin k I learn ed so me th in g fro m Loudon ." sa id O'A luisio in reference to his crush two weeks ago a t New Ha m p sh ire Int erna tio nal Speedway whi ch ca me whi le he was lead ing a nd resulted in a th ird-p lace fin ish. " Yo u have to keep yo u r cool." All bu t o ne o f th e 27 entries a t Road America rod e Yamaha 's p urpose-b uilt twin-cyli nder. two-stroke road racer th e TZ250 - th e so le exception being John France. wh o rod e a H o nda RS250 to 2 1st p lace. Former class cha m p a nd peren n ia l 250cc ca mpa ig ne r Do n n ie G ree ne was a n o-sh o w a t Roa d Am er ica after further injuring th e shou lder he h u rt in hi s Brainerd en d ura nce ra cin g cras h. In a freak first-turn in cid ent during th e 250cc G P final in New Ha m p sh ire, Greene was hi t in hi s sor e shou lder by Fra n klin's bike, a nd he was si tting ou t th is race in orde r to recu perat e. Franklin's bike was bad ly damaged in th e Loudon inci de n t. and he spe nt most of practi ce with h is tuner . Stu H u tch in s, troubleshooting a n electrica l problem , D'A lu isio a lso d idn ' t get much q ua li ty pract ice p rior to hi s heat race after experi me nti ng wi th so me Da vid H aro ld -bu i lt expans io n ch a m be rs (the stoc k units worked better) and making a host o f chassis setu p a nd internal gea r ra tio cha nges. Satu rday afternoon's tw o five-lap heat races to determi ne sta rting positi o ns fo r S u n day 's ,fina l sepa ra ted ri va ls Brauneck a nd D'Alu isio , a nd eac h scored their respective hea t race C . win in co nvi nci ng fash io n . Brau neck 's hea t wa s firs t, a n d he trom ped th e field at a ra te o f nea rly th ree seco nds per la p . An ignition troub le-beset /flu ridden Salaverria fin ish ed second, 13.7 seco n ds b ehind Br aun eck, whil e Da n iel Cue rod e to a third-place fin ish over Washington 's Mike Su llivan and Ca lifo rnia's Tom Paris. J eff Fa rme r so ld iered o n to a six thp lace fin ish in heat race o ne af ter r u n n ing o u t of b rak es an d twi ce venturing o ff th e track; he'd cha nge brake pad brands before th e final. Wisconsin 's own Bill y Graef cra she d hi s ex-J o h n Kocin ski Yam aha whi le ru n n ing six th on lap five a nd he was th ro ugh for th e weekend. T he second heat was mo re exci ting as D'Al ui sio battl ed wit h Fra nk li n throughout. Fra n kl in led ai th e start , and aga in on la p four, but wh en it ' co u nt ed 0 ' Aluisio took th e chec ke red flag first by a ha lf-seco nd . Co rnwell rod e a lonel y ra ce to finish th ird , wit h Kirk a reserved fourth a nd Will iam H immelsbach fifth . D'Aluisio 's hea t race was. 77 seco nds quicker than Bra uneck 's, so he would start Sunday's 13-lap final from th e o u tside pole position. Tires, as a lways, were a factor in th e co rnering-cr it ica l q uarter- liter ca rego ry, and the weekend sa w veter an Braun eck return in g to h is u su al Mich elin s aft er sw itching to Ounlops for th e Loudon races a nd tr yin g th e En glish co m pa ny 's rubber a ga in in practi ce a t Road Am eri ca . Brauneck expe rime nted with a narrow er rear Dunl o p d u ring pract ice, filli ng a tire mad e for a n '89 mod el TZ's -l.5- inc h wid e rim o n h is '90 model's five-i nch ' wheel. " I wanted a tir e th at had a low er profi le, closer to what I was used to . and that o ne (the narrow er Du nl op) d id." Bra u neck exp lai ned . Ho wever. Brauneck fou nd th a t he favored the Mich el in s a nd returned 10 , the Fren ch-built tires for th e races, em p loy ing a slight ly used Gra nd P rixspec rear left over from th e U.S. G P. Meanwhil e, Cornwell chose to run the narrower rear Du n lo p in the fin a l, along wi th a used front (ta ken from T homas Steve ns ' super b ike) whi ch Co rnwell used throughout p ra ctice. h is heat race, and the fina l. Asked about th e narro wer tire. Cornwell offered a slightl y differ ent exp la na tion: " T he bik e accelera tes harder with th e sma lle r tire beca use it doesn 't have as much rubber to turn . Also, a t a track lik e th is where yo u 're stra ig h t up a nd dow n so lo ng , th e edges ge t cool a nd th e first thing they want to do when yo u turn is slide. It 's n o t as bad with th e narro wer tire," As for the other fro nt-run n ers, D'A luisio a nd Fra nklin us ed Dun lo p tires whi le Kirk em p loye d Mich elins. T he sta rt o f the fi na l left lilli e to th e ima gin at ion a s O'Alu isio a n d Bra u n eck led th e fi eld. Sa la verr ia followed in third, leading a tightlyknit pack wh ich in cl uded Kirk, Fra nklin and Cornwell. A la p la ter , Franklin had m oved past Kirk, bu t the order wo u ld be sh u ffled befo re th e race was ov er. Lap two saw th e dem ise o f Danny Co e, who fo r the seco nd race in a row was kn ocked down from behind. This time, Cue wa s sq ueezed to th e edge o f the tra ck by Tom Pa ris and th en hit fro m beh in d by Ma rt in Mill er , who a lso ran o ff th e track but d id n' t fa ll do wn . " I got a bad start so I was try in g to pi ck them off o ne at a time, but he (Mille r) was trying to get th em five at a time," sa id a downtrodden Co l', w h o was u n in j u red . Coe thought a bo u t resta rting the race. but a brok en Iootpeg and bent sh ift lever a n d clip o n ha ndleb ar preve nted him from doi ng so. On lap three. Kirk drafted h is wa y up to third pl ace. a nd began to pressure O'A luisioand Bra u neck. Bra uneck got by D'Alui sio o n la p four, and the trio th en p layed a h igh -speed ga me of fo llow th e lea de r un ti l Br aun eck cras hed o u t in tu rn 14 o n la p seven. " I wa s a tte m p ting to modify m y a p p roach to that fin al co rner so th a t no o ne co u ld go under me," sa id Brauneck, "but it didn 't work. I lost th e back end a nd it highsided me. " Bra uneck grou nd h is righ t elbo w a nd hand in th e tracks ide gravel pi t, bu t wa s ot herw ise u n injured. ' Br a un ec k 's mis tak e promot ed D'Aluisio to th e lea d , but Kirk was right o n D'Alu isio 's ta il, and o n lap 10 Kirk turned th e race's quickest la p ( I:25.5, acco rd in g to Tracy H agen 's La pTime co m p u ter) a nd o u tbraked D'Alu isio going downhill in to turn five 10 ta ke the lea d. H ow ever , Kirk's lead was a lso ill-fated, a s o ne la p lat er h e cras he d in th e le ft- h a n d turn lead ing into th e fam ed Carousel. " I went to sh u t o ff and it d idn 't sh u t o ff," said Kirk, who was unhurt. " I j us t rode it off into the grass a nd lai d it dow n." Kirk tried to res ta rt th e bike, but th a t proved im p ossib le, When th e bik e was returned 10 the pits, a pebb le 'wa s d iscov ered holding th e slide o pe n in th e left carbo Kir k 's cra sh ga ve D' Aluisio a virtu a lly u n cha llen ged lead, with Fra nklin circu la tin g co mfortab ly to finish just over two seco nds beh ind, O'Alu isio was hi s usual quietly sh y (b u t in creasin gl y co n fide nt ) sel f in th e wi nner's circle. dutifu ll y thankin g h is sponsors Dunl o p , Da vha r Ra cin g , Ca strol a nd Va nson Leathers . a nd praisi ng Frank lin 's riding. But Fran k li n w a s eve n more impressed wi th D'Al ui sio 's abi li ties : " I to ld m yself th a t next ti me I came back here I'd win , but he was j us t too fas t." said Frank lin , who 's sponsored b y Team Cycle Sport, Lynwood Yamaha , Ohlins, Kal -G ard a nd P uget Sound Precisio n. The Bell evue, Wash ing to n based rider sa t o ut th e last two seas ons, b u t hi s b u d d ies talk ed hi m int o return in g to racin g. Cornwe ll fin i sh ed third , whi le Sa lav erria recov ered from an o ff-track exc u rsio n o n lap six to finish fourth. " It was eithe r take Kirk o u t, take m yself alit , or ru n off th e tra ck, " sa id Sal averria, no t enti rely co nvi nc ed h e'd made th e righ t decision , Mike Su llivan got the best- of h is race-lo ng di ce with J eff Fa rm er to claim fifth o n hi s Ins ul a te Ind ustr ies/ West Co ast Oil-backed Yam aha , while Himmelsb ach held off Mill er (who recovered fro m h is ea rlier tang le with COl') a nd Par is for sevent h. Ca nad ian An drew Trevitt got th e best of hi s three-way di ce with R ick T ripodi a nd Lee Shierts to ro und out th e top 10. C o rnwell wa s ecstati c in th e winn er 's ci rcle. having cured what h e ca lle d a "con fide nce problem " resulting fro m crashes in h is last two o u tin gs at L oudon a nd a t Sch u be nacadie, Nova Sco tia , Ca nada . T h is was Corn we ll 's first a ppeara nce a t Road Am erica, and he fo u nd the circu it very much to his liking. _ " Wow! I' ve never seen anything like th at before. " sa id Cornwe ll, wh o 's sp o nso red by MOIOT ec h . P e te McK enna , S hoei , Cent ra l O nta rio Cycl e a n d Da in ese, " I' ve never been here (o n the ros tru m ) befor e, so I th in k I' ll borrow thi s from (d i rt track cha m p io n ) Scott y Pa r ke r Yeeooww!" R esul ts HEAT 1: I. Doug Brau n eck (Ya m) ; 2. AISalaverria (Yam) ; 3. Da ni el e ,( M' (Yam); 1. Mike Su IIiva n (Yam ): 5. T o m Pa ris (Ya m ); 6. Jd£ Far mer (Yarn]: 7. Marl in ~ I ill t'r (Ya m); 8. Brad L owe (Ya m ): 9. R ick T ripodi (Ya m ); 10. Lee Shierrs (Ya m); I I. J im Bon ner (Ya m ); 12. Jd frey j o h nson (Ya m) ; IS. Do nn Lew is (Ya m); I·t. Rilh Gr.u·r ( \'.u n) . Time : 12 min.. :50.760 we. Distan ce: 5 la ps. 20 mi1~ Anrage Speeds 95.903 mph Marg in o(Vinory: 13.700 !>( 'C HE AT 2: I. C h ris D' Alu isio (Yam) ; 2. n a lt, Fran kl in ( \':1111 ); 3. J on a tha n Cornwell (Ya m ); .1. Rid.. Kill (Y<.I In ); 5. Will iam H im mel sba ch (Ya m): 6. An dr ew Trevi u (Ya m) : 7. G n'g' Esse-r (Ya m) : 8. ~tl r l.. L Oll I';" ( Ya m); 9, M .nl.. · Sl'h ilbt'r1 (\'.,I n ): 10. l Davi d An'q ' (Ya m); II. J o h n Fran ce (Ya m) : 12. ~1 i dla d H UIlIt"r (\'; 1111). T im r. 12 m in., ~ .990 ....'C . '9 D ij, la n('r:~)\ . 20 m ile, :; 1:..1 Averag e S : % .001 m p h ~larg in 0 Victory : .550 'lee, 250 G P FlS AL: I. Ollis D'Al ui sio (Y;.IIn); 2. n ,ll(' Fran kl in (Yam) : 3. jou.nha u Co rnw e-l l (Ya m) ; 4. AI Salavenia (Ya m ); ;1 M ike Su lliva n (Ya tn]: 6. Jeff . Fanner (Ya m): 7. Willia m Himmelcb.n-h (Ya m ); 8 ~I an in Millt '" (Ya m) : 9. T om Par illo (Ya m ): 10. And rew Trevi u (Yam): II. Rid Tripodi (Ya m): 12. Ln." Sh it'n s ( Ya m) ; 1:4 Jim Bonner (Ya mt; H . G r ~ . f.lloM"f (Yam) ; 15. ~bl k Lon g (Ya m); 16. 7\l r L a Schubert (Ya m); 17. Do nn Lewi .. (Ya m): 18. J d rrt,~ Jo hmcm ( Yarn ); 19. Dav id An ' ry ( Y.III1); 20. ~ I ic ·h.al'l - H u n ter (Yam l; 2 1. J o hn Frau o - (H o n}; 22. Ricl l\.il L ( Yarn ): 23. Ri c k PU( ' 1/ ( Y am): 21. Do u g Brau nee k ( Yal11 ); 2:). Brad I. n wt" (Y am); 26 . Il.. ie-l GM ' ( Y am ): m 27. Mik e Lavulk-e (Y.lln ). T im e: 32 m in .. .9·10 ..(' C Distan ce; 13 la p... 52 m ilt"> A"erage Speed: 97.452 mph ~fa rgi n of \"icto l1': 2. IHO !ol'C. 250 G P POIST ST A S D I SGS: I. Ch r i!lo lJ 'Alu i, io (6.1 ); 2. [)ou J( Brau lln:L (-15 ); 3. Al Sal a verr i... (39, : I. Ri t l KilL t:!.l}); ;,. j o na rha u Co rn well (23 ); ti. Richa rd O fivet (201; i :Alld u"w'T rt"\,ill ( 19 ); 8. (T IE! Dani el C.cJt' !\Iikc" Sulfi va n ( 18 ); 10. (T I E) I.t·c· Shi t'lIS Will i.lln Himmelsbach I }t'H F;nmt"r /[)a ll' Frankl i n ( 16); H . (T IE) n on GIt'rn t'/R obh ic' Pl'u.'r M·11 ( I:i).

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