Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ R RACE AMAlCCS ERC Brakes Endurance Challenge Series: Round 5 DAD amazing rate. After six laps, he led N2 Racing by some seven seconds. All was going well for the team - the only top squad using Bridgestone tires. By this time the Team Yamaha Endurance entry was out of the race, their Yamaha FZR750 being brought behind pit wall: "It fried the clutch off the line," Larry Locklear said. " This was our first bike - the one we had going good." Locklear would later jump ship to the team's second entry, an FZRI000, with Mark Pastir, and they would' finish seventh. Meanwhile, on the race track, the race for second was one between Team America's Kling and N2 Racing's Sabin. Honda vs. Kawasaki. lenatasch was long gone on the Two Brothers Honda. The top teams all pitted at close to the halfway mark with Kling giving way to Deatherage, Sabin handing off to Ashmead, and Lynch taking over from lenatsch. Only Two Brothers changed tires, and only Two Brothers had problems. The wheel dilemma really distorting what had been an otherwise outstanding performance by lenatsch. "I pushed pretty hard, then I dogged it, then 1pushed pretty hard. again," lenatsch . said "I kinda got a second wind. Tommy (Lynch) runs a gear lower everywhere than 1 do. He hauls ass, 1 just bring it e around." FastlineIMCM Suzuki (1) led early in the 9O-minute GTO race, but the win eventually went to Team America (4). Team America takes Charlotte .By Paul Carruthers Photos by George Roberts CHARLOITE, NC, MAY 1 riar to the start of the 90-minute GTO portion of the AMA/CCS Endurance Challenge Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, you would have been hard pressed to find someone willing to bet against Two Brothers Racing. Even some of the competition seemed to cower at the thought of stopping Tommy Lynch, Nick lenatsch and their mighty Honda CBR900. Ah, but it ain't over till it's over. At the end of the 9O-minute race it was Team America's Fritz Kling and Andy Deatherage who stood at the top of the winner's rostrum with the Two Brothers squad a bitterly disappointed second. Two Brothers had been consistently faster than the rest, but a rare pit-swp blunder had for all practical purposes ruined their chance at victory. When lenatsch came in at the 45minute mark and handed off to Lynch, the crew went about the business of changing the rear wheel, topping off the gas tank and sending Lynch on his way. Then they noticed a spacer had been left off the wheel. Lynch, too, would notice the problem, quickly bringing the bike P 22 back in on the next go-around. The wheel was taken back off and the spacer replaced - but the damage Wal; done. Not even a charge by Lynch could bring them victory, though his hard-riding did bring the team back up to second at the end of the 9O-minutes. The win went instead to Team America with Kling and Deatherage doing an admirable job of turning quick, yet consistent laps aboard the team's CBR900 to take their first win of the season by 45.398 seconds. They averaged 90.445 mph while completing 60 laps (303.75 miles) of the 225-mile race track. The race for second went to the wire, with Lynch passing N2 Racing's John Asmead with only a lap to go. Dutchman Racing's Phil Kress and Christian Gardner ended the day in fourth place, the last team on the same lap as Team America while Blackhawk Racing finished fifth with Brian Kohl and Shawn Higbee at the helm of the team's Yamaha FZR1000. The Charlotte results caused a scramble at the top of the championship point standings with Two Brothers moving past Fastline/MCM Racing to take over the lead, 157-150. Fastline was hampered all weekend by an overheating Suzuki GSXRllOO, with Scott Zampach and Michael Barnes working hard just to bring the bike home in eighth place. Team America jumped to third in the standings with their win, holding off fourth-placed Dutchman Racing, 144-124. All four of the top ranked tearns have now won a race, with the fifth win going. to WERA National Champions Team Suzuki Endurance. Still winless, but nontheless holding down fifth in the point standings is Blackhawk Racing with 118 points. A rather small field of 18 bikes gridded for the start of the 9O-minute race lUlder sunny skies. The dash for the first turn saw Fastline/MCM's Zampach with the quickest reactions, but it would be the team's last hurrah. From there they would begin a steady fall backwards to finish an eventual eighth, the victim of an overheating motorcycle. The team had also entered a second 1993 Suzuki GSXRllOO, with Barnes 'starting the race on that - but it was there only for t~ting purposes and it too would overheat. "With 93 degrees being the normal operating temperature, we've seen some at 120 degrees this weekend," team owner Jeff Stern said. "We just haven't had enough time to test. We'll just try and finish - maybe it'll cool off. We may have to make a bigger radiator for it:' From the second lap on, this race appeared to be all Two Brothers Racing. lenatsch had the bike out front, and he was pulling away from the pack at an With Lynch being forced to pit again to correct the spacer problem, the read went to Team America. They would go lUlchallenged to victory. Sabin, meanwhile, was pleased with how things were going for N2 Racing: "Everything's going pretty good. 1 think we've put half a lap on Two Brothers. We have no complaints. Hopefully it'll continue, we really want to put this 750 in the winner's circle." Keystone Racing's day ended in frustration after 33 laps. John Jacob brought the team's Suzuki GSXRllOO into the pits in hopes of curing a brake problem. The crew hastily changed brake pads, but the problem would suddenly get much worse - on his .exit from pit road, the pads fell out of the calipers and when Jacob tried to slow down, he crashed. With 20 minutes to go, Team America captain Frank Slaughter seemed content "So far so good," he said. The team had 38 seconds on N2 Racing, and a lap on Two Brothers Racing. It was a lead they wouldn't relinquIsh. After handing the Dutchman Racing Yamaha off to Gardner, Kress seemed pleased at the team's effort "The bike is still basically stock,': Kress said. "We knew we'd have trouble running with Two Brothers - we'll just have to see how their tires hold up. The bike really has good brakes - that's where 1 was making time. Dave (Schlosser - team owner) will have a whole new engine for Elkhart. Fourth is pretty good for a stock motorcycle:' At the one-hour-and-2Q-minute mark, Two Brothers worked their way past Dutchman to take over third. Lynch was on a rampage, but he was slowed by a black flag. The Two Brothers exhaust system had broken, and the AMA showed the flag to Lynch, who ignored it. Then, in a move that surprised some of the other tearns, the AMA sort of ignored it as well. With only minutes remaining, Lynch moved the Two Brothers Honda past N2 Racing to take second place. "I knew it wasn't going to fall oif," Lynch said. "That (the black flag) screwed me up. 1 was ready to go for it. 1 also had trouble not understanding the pit board. I wish 1 would have known how far the first-place team were away. But 1 guess 50 seconds is a lot." "The tire worked great, but it was a little rough there at the end," said Ashmead after getting off the N2 Racing Kawasaki. "I wasn't sure if he (Lynch) was on the same lap as me or not."

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