Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ ROAD RACE WElA Pro Serits: Round 2 e ~~ Mike Smith (1) leads eventual winner Rich Oliver (97). Scott Russell (22). Chuck Graves (24) and the F-USA pack. Willow Springs local Chuck Graves mixed it up with the Grand Prix bikes before eventually finishing third. It'sOliver at Willow Springs 'sturn By Paul Carruthers · N 18 ROSAMOND, CA, APR. 14 ick Ienatsch and Chuck Graves went into the second round of the WERA Pro Series at Willow . Springs International Raceway at opposite ends of th e handicap form . 'Ienatsch was the Formula II favorite , Grav es the F-USA underdog. . Both had successful outings at their home tra ck with Ienatsch taking his first Air T ech Formula II win of the season and Graves almost pulling off the upset of the day as he mixed it up with the heavily favored Team Marlboro Yamaha team and their mighty two-stroke V-fours. In the end, the GP bikes preva il ed with Rich Oliver holding off teammate Robbie Petersen, bu t Grav es fi n ish ed a highlyrespectable th ird in his first ride on Yoshimura's IlOOcc Suzuki superbike. Oliver rode an immaculate race on . the YZR500, ' pacing himself behind first defending class champion Mike Smith and then Graves before running off to his first win of the new season. Finishing second. 4.56 seconds behind. was Oliver's teammate Petersen, the opening round winner in Road Atlanta. Petersen fought through from a sixth-place start to eventually pass Graves for the runner-up spot. Fourth place went to Yoshimura Suzuki 's Smith, who suffered from a lack of traction after initially leading the race in his first F-USA race of the season, with Muzzy Kawasaki 's Scott Russell a disappointing fifth . Britt Turkington. Dale Quarterley, Joe Brett WilIiams, Michael Martin and Brian Bernard rounded out the top IO finishers as the series visited the high desert of southern California. After two rounds of the eight-race series, Oliver and Petersen are tied with 37 points apiece. Del Amo Yamaha-mounted Ienatsch dominated the Formula II race at a track he can rightfully call his own. The Motorcyclist magazine editor established a six-second lead over the battle behind him before slowing the pace and winning by 3.56 seconds. The duel for second eventually went to Wayne Rainey Racing's Alan Scott after a near-race long battle with his third-placed teammate Kenny Roberts. Jr.• and Michael Graves, who ended the race fourth. Fifth place went to New Englander Chris D'Aluisio, The top 12 were mounted on Yamaha TZ250s, with Brian Bernard the first 6llOcc-mounted rider in 13th on his Honda CBR600. Ienatseh's victory moved him into the series point lead over Scott. 37·32. Pre -race crashes took their toll on the F-USA field as 1989 Champion Kurt Hall eliminated himself from the race when he highsided the Team Suzuki Endurance GSXRlIOO in tum five on Sunday morning. Although the third place finisher at the opening round in Georgia escaped without serious injury. he was battered enough to withdraw from Sunday's action. Petersen also crashed. in Willow's notorious turn nine during Thursday's practice. after running off the track and into the desert on the YZR500. He seemed more concerned about injuring the bike than anything else: "I rode it as long as 1 could, but the fence was coming up and I had to lay it down." Petersen said. "I wanted to lay under it so it wouldn't get hun." Yoshimura's Smith ended up with the fastest heat race of the day, com pleting the first of two five-lap races in five minutes. 55.08 seconds after circulating "The Fastest Road In The West" in the mid 1:27 range. Smith topped Oliver by 2.52 seconds, with Petersen finishing third ahead of Quarterley. on the Bimota, and Team Suzuki Endurance's DOnald Jacks. The second heat race was restarted ' after George Wallace and Richard Stanbolt collided exiting tum six early in the race. Graves led the restart. and narrowly topped Muzzy Kawasaki's Russell and Team Suzuki Endurance's Britt Turkington. Thirty-five riders gridded for the stan of the final as the infamous high desert wind started to blow through' the facility. Oliver's confidence wasn't boosted when he ended up dropping the bike on the grid after the warmup lap. ' "Joe Williams' dad stepped forward, then stepped back ... Oliver explained. "I thought he was going to keep going forward. and I centerpunched him. There was nothing wrong with the bike. but I was worried - I thought the lever or something was going to be broken." After a lap of honor by the first-ever F-USA Champion. Earl Roloff. the nag dropped on the "ra ce with Smith taking the early lead. Smith's pace was good enough to keep him up front for three laps before Oliver turned up the wick on the Yamaha YZR500. Smith was able to stick with the Marlboro bike until the seventh lap, when he started to gradually drop back to his eventual fourth place finish. , The Georgian's Suzuki was suffering from excessive wheelspin. The Yoshimura crew would later find that the rear tire had lost air pressure, causing them to believe that the tire may have spun on the rim. The highly-partisan crowd was focused on Graves as he shot by first Smith and then Oliver as the threeway fight quickly turned into a twoway battle as Smith began his fade. By this point. Petersen. who ha d started sixth. had moved into fourth after passing a disgusted Russell. "When the wind picks up, I'm screwed," Russell said. "It's hard to beat guys that are faster in the wind. I was having big problems in tum eight. I don't care if I ever race here again. It's the worst race track in the country." , .Petersen had changed the ride height of the V-four, and initially had trouble adjusting to the -q u icker turning motorcycle. "I got a bad stan and then when I got to tum three it nearly turned around on itself," Petersen said. "After I settled down it was okay."

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