Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127388
Thomas Stevens tried to catch Jamie James on the fina l lap, but couldn 't. seconds as he started clicking off lap times in the low two-mi nute, 18-second range. By the fou rth lap, he'd extended hi s lead over DuHamel to over three ' seconds and it appeared we were in for a repea t o f Lo u don - a Ru ssell runaway and a procession al race. DuHam el, too , was secur e as he led James and his AI Ludingt on -tuned Yamaha by over five seconds with five laps comp leted. James had decided he couldn' t run with th e top two, and was beginning to think ab out just being there at the fin ish. (Left to right) Stevens , James and Rich Amaiz celebrate in the winner's circle. : "I went wide in every tum for the first two laps trying to run up front," James admitted after th e race. The race for fourth was now between Spencer, Stevens, Guenette and Arnaiz, wi th Spencer pulling clear by the sixt h lap an d starting to in ch-in on Jam es. The th ree-t ime World Champion would get close to the even tual race winner, bu t hi s day woul d also end prema turely on that fatefu l n inth lap, just a few ' turn s prior to DuHame l' s demise. According to Two Broth ers Raci n g crew ch ief Mike Velasco, Spencer's RC30 may ha ve su ffered from da ma ge to the CDI box. Down some six seconds to Russell , DuHamel's H on da locked up in turn 13 with the Canadian nursing the bike back to pit lane only to have it lock u p aga in, en ding his day. Suddenl y the order sh ifted in dramatic fashion wi th James taking over second and Stevens mo ving into th ird, an d still being harrassed by Guenett e. Moments later, with Du H am el walking up pi t la ne, Ru ssell frantically pitted with a fla t front Dunl op. He was back out before losing a la p .to new-leader James, but would eventually succu mb to a blown engine on . th e last lap while desperately trying to pick up a point or two. The suspense now came from Stevens , who was gnawing into James' lead . Almost three seconds on the 12th lap becam e 2.4 seconds a lap later; 1.5 seconds on the 14th lap; and only .880of-a -secon d at th e finish . Arnaiz, meanwhile, had worked past Guenette , who was bravely circulating without a left handlebar. "It cracked when I was with (Thomas) Stevens," the 22 -year-old Guenette said later. "I tried to be a little smoo ther to save it , but it broke off three laps from the end." Guenette would upshift without the use of a clutch, but would reach down, grab the hanging handlebar and squeeze in the clutch to downshift, before grabbing th e triple clamp to negotiate the comer. A brave and rewardi ng effort, as he was able to hold off th e cha rging Clark e at the finish. "T h is pl ace is hard on the brakes , hard on th e motorcycle," James said. "If you go real fast you jeopardize th ings. I was set up to run a comfortable pace and after running wide ear ly, I started concen tra ting on being smooth. T hat's what you' re taught to do, ride smooth and fast." The top th ree finish ers each used Dunlop slicks, although each ch ose a d ifferent compou n d. Jam es h ad ga mbled somewha t, choosing a softer Dunlop than Stevens, who had picked a tire that would work best late in the ra ce. Arnaiz went th e o the r way, selecting a tire that was too hard. " I had no side grip at all ," Arnaiz said . "T hat was th e most conservative race 1 ever rod e. T he har der I tried the worse it got." The Superbike Championship is now wide open , thanks to Russell and DuHam el' s problems. The top thr ee knew they 'd had a little luck in this one: " I' ve never seen anything accelerate like that Kawasaki," James said. " Sco tt (R ussell) doesn't gi ve yo u anyt hi ng . If he's go t any advantage, he's going to bea t you." Ru ssell was surprisin gly upbeat in defeat: "I must have picked something up with the tire," he said. " Everyth ing . wasjamm in ', I was comfortable at that pace and everythi ng felt good. Elkhart's never been good to me. Seventh back on my own Suzuki in '88 is the only tim e I' ve finished here." CN Results SUPER.BIKE Q UAUFYING: I. Scou Ru ssell (2:18.523): 2. J am ie J am es (2:18.908); 3. Migu el DuHamel (2:19.550); 1. Freddie Spe ncer (2:19.786); 5. T h omas Stevens (2:19.878); 6. Ri ch Ar na iz (2:20. 160); 7. J acq ues Gue neu e, Jr .. (2:20.544); 8. T ommy L ynch (2:22.381); 9. T om Kipp (2:22.417); 10. L innley Clar ke (2:22.858); 11. Ru eben McMu rter (2:22.860); 12. Pascal Picoue (2:22.883); 13. Jimm y Adamo (2:23.177); 11. Dale ~uanerley (2:23.658); 15. Bob San dy (2:26.093); 16. Keu h Pinkstaff (2:26.510); 17. Phil Kress (2:26.698); 18. Ch ristian Ga rdn er (2: ~7 . 11 1 ); 19. J ohn Hopperstad (2:27.179); 20. Mark Chi n (2:27. 181); 21. Eri c Moe (2:27.351); 22. Mano DuH amel (2:27.645); 23. j o e Br et t Will iam s (2:28.831); 24. Rick Shaw (2:29.785); 25. Pab lo Real (2:29.847); 26. Brad Hazen (2:30.136); 27. Ra y Yoder. . jr. (32. 116); 28. Mike Wal sh (2:32.632); 29. Alan Bertagnoli (2:32.754); 30. David Hansen (2:33.774); 31. Mike Kazm (2:33.925); 32. Marcello del Giudia: (2:34.206); 33. William O . Beesch (2:34.375); 34. Kurt Li ebmann (2:37.519); 35. Bobby Franklin (2:38.109); 36. Gr e~ Kopp (2:39.8 16); Brian Westphal (2:43.260); 38. Tony De Sim one (2:43.164); Gen e Burcham (2:47.329). SUPER.BIKE NATIONAL: I. jamie james (Yam); 2. Thomas Stevens (Yam) ; 3. Rich Amair (Hon); 4. j acques Guenette. jr. (Kaw); 5. Linnley Cl a,rke (Ya m); 6. Rueben McMuner (H a n); 7. Tom Kipp (Ya m); 8. Tommy Lynch (Sur ); 9. Pascal Picotte (Due); 10. Dal e Quanerley (H a n ); II. JImmy Adam o (Due); 12. Bob Sandy (Kaw); 13. Christian Gardner (Yam) ; 14. Mazk Chin (Ya m); 15. john Hopperstad (Yam) ; 16. Keith Pi nk staf/ (Kaw); 17. Britt Turkington (SUI); 18. joe Brett Williams (Han): 19. Brad Hazen (Yam); 20. Rick Shaw (Yam); 21. Eri c Moe (H a n )' 22. Scott Russell (Kaw); 23. Mike Walsh (Yam ); 24. Alan Bertagnoli (Sur ); 25. David Hansen (SUI); 26. Will iam O'Beesch (SUI); 27. Miguel DuHam el (Ha n ); 28. Freddi e Spen cer (Hon ); 29. Phil Kress (Kaw); 30. Bobby Franklin (Sur) ; 31. Mike Kazm (Sur ); 32. Mari o DuHamel (SUI); 33, Mar celle del Giudia: (SUI). Time: ~5 min.• 4.580 sec. Distance: 15 laps, 60 miles. Avera ge Speed : 102.633 mp h. Margin of Victory : .880 sec, SU PER.Bl KE C-SH IP . POI NT ST AN DIN GS: I. jamie james (50); 2. Thomas Stevens (47); 3. Rich Arnaiz (39); 4, Migu el DuH amel (37); 5. Scott Rus sell (g l ); 6. Jacques Gu ene tte. J r. (gO): 7. Dale Q ua rler ley (30); 8. R ueben McMurter (19); 9. Tom K:ipp (17); 10. T om my Lynch (15); II. Pasca l Pi cott e (13); 12, Mark Chin (8); 13. Briu Turkington (6); 14. (TI E) john H opperstad/j immy Adamo (5). n 9