Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ ROAD RACE AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series: Round I e -----=- Nick Ienatsch (24), Doug Brauneck (1) and Chris D'Alusio (11) exit the International Horseshoe; Ienatsch finished third. The top three celebrate. (From left to right) Suter, Eckl an d Ienatsch, 16 gea ring and jelling, especia lly the riders with the new TZ-Yamahas. "My gearing was a lit tle bit tall," Iena tsch said of hi s Steve Biganskiprepared mach ine. " I was afraid 10 chase it or juggle it half a too th or a too th. I was happy o n the infie ld, bu t o n to th e banking before th e chicane they would p ull me." Ien atsch got the jump in th e initial start of the race which was red-flagged whe n Mike Barnes hi gh- sided in th e horseshoe on the sixth lap. Scor ing reverted back to the fifth lap and the riders were re-gridded in that order . And again Ien atsch was away first and it was a move he would later find to be decisive. " I sho t through the in field on the first lap and tha t was it," he said. " I didn 't think it was at the ti me," but o nce away from the chasi ng horde of Yarna has , Ienatsch was able to la tch ont o the draft of the Aprilias when they would inevitabl y come past. "T hey towed me far enough to get away from those guys ," he said . Those " guys" were a group that included Venezuelan Jose Barresi, Tom Paris, Chris D'Alusio, defen ding series cham p Do ug Brauneck, and Luis Lavado. D'Alusio was at the point of the gr oup con testing fou rt h after the th ird lap of the re-start with Lavado, Bra uneck, and the o thers close behind. Brauneck would take over a lap la ter and on the fifth lap , Barresi would ho ld fou rt h. The posi tio ns cha nged severa l ti mes a lap with no ap pa rent advan tage. . "It seemed like we were all even ly mat ched," Paris said, even th ough the bikes were of severa l different years . D'A lusio and Par is, like Ien atsch , were on 1991 models. Brauneck was on his cha mp io n sh ip -win n ing '90 model , which he's been trying to sell , Barresi was also on a '90 and Lavado was '89mounted. " O ur's wasn 't going as good in the mid-range," D'Alusio said of his Dave H arold-tuned mount, " Going up on the banking they would lose me. I'd lose their draft an d ha ve to make up a lot through the chicane and infield ." With up 10 six riders runni ng in a pack, D'Alusio discovered th at the - draft was so great that " when you' re behind a lot of peo ple on the banking you can pass a whole group by a lo t if you pl an it right, " Bu t Paris wou ldn ' t use the draft to ta ke fourth. " Barresi were going back and fort h five or six time," he began. " I knew tha t if I cou ld be the fir st one o u t of the in field I could hold on. The bike was going rea l good down the back stra ig ht ." On the last lap the Barresi-Pari sD'Alusio trio pulled away from Brauneck with Paris taking over fourth in the infield . D'Alusio would also come by to take fifth , hi s same fin ish ing " position as last year, with Barresi seu ling for sixth. D'Alu sio hadn 't planned to be where he ended up sta rt ing th e last lap, but he had no cho ice. -- " He (Barresi) oversho t .some .turn a nd I had to pass him while th e other g uy (Paris) got away," D'Alusio said. ' " Him overshooting the tum and me not gelling away meant I lost more than I cou ld make up." Paris credi ted engine bu ilder J ohn Lassak for building the engine on the TZ, wh ich Pari s's fath er bought for ' him . "John Lassak built me one of the fast est bikes," Paris said. " I had the fastest tra p speed (du ring qualifying)." Eckl had set a new qualifying record of I minute, 59.054 seconds during timed practice wi th D'Alusio second over a second and a half slower and Brauneck th ird, just .005 seco nds behind D'Alusio. D'Alusio wasn 't without h is problems, however, only getti ng in 25 laps of practice on the new bike before qualifying. But the race would be nothing bu t trouble for Brauneck, who would finish sixth in what might be his last race for a while. Unless he can find backing, he can' t conti n ue to race, he said. "Today, number one stands for on e problem after a n o ther - brakes , gearing, ignitio n. That's it , that's all I hav e to say," Brauneck said. La vado had dropped out of th e battle for fourth three laps from th e end when his engine bri efly seized. He would finis h 12th. Fellow Venezuelan Barresi was jus t beh ind Brauneck and was said to be more effected by the wind because of his size. He said he weig hs 132 po unds. Florid ian J oe Cole was eigh th , just ahead of Ca na dian Jon Cornwell . " I ha d a great seat 10 wa tch all th e battles tha t were taki ng pl ace in front of me," Cornwell said. " I was by myself most of the race and the n moved into a grou p behi nd the ba ttle for fourth. Those guys were rea lly hammeri ng each o ther ." ClI Results 2SOGP: l .Harald Eckl (Ap r); 2. Eski ) Sut er (Axr); 3. Nick Ienatsch (Yam); 4. T om Pari, (Yam ); 5. Chris D'A lusio (Yam) ; 6. Do ug Brau neck (Yam ); 7. Jose Barr esi (Yam); 8. J oe Co le (Yam); 9. Jon Cornwell (Ya m ): 10. Markku Kivi (Yam); 11. Andrew Trevit,(Yam ); 12. L u i, Lavado (Yam); 13. Sam McDon ald (Ya m ); 14. Will ia m Himmeslbach (Ya m); 15. Marcello Del Giud ice (Yam ): 16. J o hnny wick seom (Ya m); 17. Ra ndy Swenson (Yam); 18. Mik e Su lliva n (Ya m); 19. Eduardo Alema n (Ya m) ; 20. Pierr e Desch amps (Ya m); 21. Sco tt Conaway (Yam); 22. Ji m my Mosley (Yam) ; 23. Joh n France (Hon); 24. T 'imo they O 'Conn or (Yam ); 25. Nigel Hanse n (Yam); 26. Pat O 'Leary (Ya m); 27. Ed Boro wy (H on); 28. J im Beati e (Rtx) ; 29. Do n Greene (Yam); 50. Rick Kirk (Yam ); 31. Mall Cra ne (Yam) ; 32. Mike MacNeil (Yam) ; 35.Manin Miller (Ya m ); 34. Cun Kim ble (Yam); 35. Cra ig Gleason (Ya m); 36. Rick Tripodi (Yam ); 37. Ri ck New man (Yam) ; 38. Mike Mondo (Yam ); 39. Perry Menl eci ic (Apr); 40. Dan n y Wal ker (Yam ); 41. Mike Barn es (Yam ); 42. J ohn Bickl e (Hon); 43. Kath leen Coburn (Yam ); 44. Jose Carrillo (Yam); 45. J efl Johnson (Yam ); 46. Peter Wenslo lf (Yam).

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