Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Moto tw o saw Vohland time the gate perfectly a nd gra b th e h ol eshot o n his T eam S u zu k il Yo ko/ Bie ffe- ba cke d RM. Rick R yan , Smith and T er ry Fo wler follo wed clo se behind. Keh oe quickl y began to slice th rough th e pack after a medi oc re start a nd ro u n ded the track in fourth place at the start o f lap two . U p front, Vohland had no o ne to co ntend wi th a nd began to estab lish a lead th at wou ld be qu ite sizable by th e mot e 's end. Keh oe bou nced past Smith through th e whoop sectio n a nd se t after Ryan. Kehoe o vert ook Ryan on la p five a n d went a fter Vo h la n d. Although Keh oe gaine d o n th e leader , it a ppeared as if he sett led into seco nd , knowin g th at th e overa ll win was h is. Smi th scooted into th ird p lace by th e moto' s end , which was a ll h e needed to clinch th e 125cc Pr o series cha m pionship. " No cras hes this tim e," sa id Voh land. " O nce 1 go t out front, 1 just set m y own pace. 1 felt good, a n d th e bike ran a lot better this moto ." " I didn 't ge t a grea t start," said Keh oe. " I knew 1 had th e overa ll o nc e 1 moved into seco nd p lace , 'so 1 just tri ed to stay smooth." Kell y Andris got th ings roll in g in the 250cc Pro clas s by na bbing the hol esh o i over Smi th, Fo wler a nd R ya n Ca rlis le. As th e pa ck rounded th e track to begin lap two , it was Ca rlisle out front a nd pull in g away . Second place belonged to Dennis H a w th orne, who was figh t in g o ff th e advan ces o f Su rratt. Mea nwh ile, H ea ley bega n to rage towards th e fro nt of the pack after sta rt ing 17th. By lap fo u r of the 12lap race, H ea ley had stormed into th ird p lace ab oard hi s J oe Schmoe Grap hi cs/ Ro x y/ S id i-sponso red factory KTM an d wa s breath in g down H awth orne's jersey. H eal ey made a pass in th e back section o f the track, an d set after Ca rli sle, who had esta b lished a co m mand in g lead . Li ttl e by litt le, H eal ey closed o n the lead er an d overtook Carl isle in a slip pe ry tu rn. Once into th e lead , Hea ley beg a n to pull a way , wh ile Car lisle lost co ntro l in th e back sect io n a nd went down . H ealey too k a co nvinc ing win over H a wth orne a nd Su rra tt, who padded his series poi nts lead with a th ird p lace fin ish. " I had to rea lly wo rk for th a t one," sa id H ea ley. " I was so far back a t the sta rt , I did n ' t kn o w if I could make it u p. I wa nt ed to win th ough , to p rov e th a t th ey d idn 't get -th e best of me th e las t time we raced here." " I didn 't n ccd to win ," sa id Surra tt, " I' m leading the points race, a n d I , didn 't want 10 risk crashing." An dris grabbed th e seco nd moto h ol eshot, wi th Broc G lo ver, H ea ley a n d Surra tt in hot pursu it. H ea ley wasted no time a nd by th e th ird la p h ad ta ke n over th e lead. Keh oe charged into the runner -up position after a m id p a ck sta rt, a n d a t times eve n seemed to be gai ni ng o n th e leader. Su rratt cru ised 10 a nother third place fin ish, securing h is series title. " I got a decent sta rt tha t time," sa id Healey. 'It feels good 10 win toda y, especiall y si nce I'm leavin g for Europe on Tuesda y." . " Not a bad day," sa id Keh oe, who ea rned second o vera ll for th e day. " My bikes a re working well , a n d 1 felt good." Healey jumped out o f th e gate fastest as th e first 500cc Pro mot o got under- . way. Series points leader Surratt/ was close behind and made an aggressive pass attempt in th e third turn. Healey held on to the lead, and the two riders began to pull far ahead of Carlisle, who held down third. Billy Frank sliced through the pack after a poor start and Erik Kehoe (33E) was chased by Pete Murray (I ), Terry Fowler (12) and Brian Swink (2) in the 125cc Pro class. Crashes hampered Willie Surratt's bid for the 500cc Pro class championship. Surratt (left) and Mike Healey (right) battled throughout the six-race series. Surratt won the 250cc Pro class title, but Healey stopped him in the 500cc Pro class. passed Carlisle, th en set a fter th e tw o front-ru n n ers. Surratt hounded H eal ey for hal f of the l2 -lap race, but seeme d to back o ff tow ards th e end as H eal ey crossed th e line unch allen ged over Su rra tt , Fra nk and Greg Ziuerkopf. " Su rra tt o n ly tri ed real hard in th e firs t few turns, " sa id H eal ey. "I bet he got tired. " , " I guess whoever wins th e next moto ta kes the titl e," sa id Surratt. " I' m going to keep everyo ne in sus pe nse. " Surratt plowed out o f the gate in th e co n cl u ding moto , but Healey wa s close behind , Greg Zitterk opf , Bri an Wheeler and Carlo Hulsen rounded out the top five, while Frank crashed ba ck to las t on the open ing la p. H eal ey ap p lied heav y pressure to Surra tt, a nd o n la p three Surratt lost co n tro l in a sa nd y turn a nd crashed. H eal ey barel y mi ssed th e downed rider a n d took o ver th e lead. Su rra tt quickl y re mou nted in seco n d place, but his troubles wer e not over. While n avigating a tr ick y whoop sectio n , Surratt swa p p ed a n d went down hard, allowing Ziuerk opf to snea k pa st. Healey took an easy win over Zitterkopf, Surratt, and Frank wh o had set a blistering p ace after cra sh in g. " T h is feels really great," said Healey. "Especially since Willie has been going up north to race. I beat him soundly today to win th e titl e." . "T ha t's a ll rig ht," sa id a d isap po inted Su rratt. " I still go t th e 250cc title, a n d I bet Mike d id n ' t make $2800." Broc Gl over swept both mo to s o f the Vet Pro cla ss, with R ex Stat en a close seco nd in both ' o ut ings. Dave Coupe posted a pair of th ird-place finishes, which was good en ough to wrap up the series title for the Sen co Fast eners/ Sin isa lo-backed rider. Coupe led both motos briefl y, but succ u m bed to th e ch arges of Gl over a nd Staten early on . " I' ve had a lot of fun," sa id Glover. " I like racing with th e vets , it's more enjoyable than the regular Pro classes, and 1 am a legal vet. " 7

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