Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

IDirt Track Marlboro Kenny Roberts American sliders thrill Spaniards by Henny Ray Abrams JEREZ, SPAIN, MAY 1 t was billed as the I Dirt Track Marlboro Kenny Roberts, as former Grand National Champion and multitime SOOcc World Champion Kenny Roberts lent his name to the inaugural short track at Chapin Olympic Stadium, held the night before the Spanish Grand . Prix at Jerez. But the night belonged to another former Grand National Champion, Jay Springsteen, who gave the Sacramento Mile a miss so that he could bring American-style dirt track racing to a new and enthusiastic audience in the sherry country of southern Spain. "When he was on, there was nobody better to watch," said three-time SOOcc World Champion Wayne Rainey as he watched Springsteen take to the track for his heat race, where he thrilled the crowd with feet-up slides and full-straightaway wheelies. . But Springsteen's most popular move didn't come in the corners, but at the starting line before a planned exhibition race against Roberts and Morehead. Springsteen offered his Cummings Harley-Davidson XR60Q short tracker to Roberts, after Roberts blew up the Sparky Edmondson-built, C & J-framed Rotax 600 when he took an extra practice lap before the race. Morehead, also, was on an unfamiliar machine as he broke a piston on his borrowed Garvis Honda XR600. Spaniard Xavi Riba loaned Morehead his lightlymodified KTM 610 motocrosser which Morehead promptly crashed on the practice lap in turn three, though he did no damage to himself or the machine. So it became Roberts on the #9 Harley against Morehead on the KTM, and it was the best show of the night. "I told him to drift wide and square the comers and I'd stick to the bottom," said Morehead just after the exhibition, which went exactly according to script. For those who had seen Roberts in his prime, it was eery to see the 41-year-old clad in his one-piece Marlboro road race leathers and Shoei helmet with the trademark dead chicken graphics - drifting deep into the comers, squaring them off and shooting through the exit with both wheels dancing on the rough and rutted I circuit. . "He's backing it in there pretty good," said Rainey as he watched his boss win the race. "Being back here with Jay brings back a lot of memories," said a smiling Roberts, whose last dirt track win was at the Houston IT in 1980. "The people here can see it's very physical. If you don't have the strength, you're not going to be able to hang on." "It was strictly a show. That's what brings people back. That's what will bring me back, I hope," said Morehead. And judging from the reaction of the fans, they'll be back; both Morehead and the crowd, which was estimated at 6,000, or twice what the organizers expected. European interest in dirt track has gotten so big that events are being considered in Italy and Greece. But what the organizers realized, is they need more Americans and better luck. Of the three American short track machines, two of them -Morehead's and Roberts'-blew up, knocking Kenny Roberts Jr., who was sharing the Rotax with his dad, out of the program after he had fast time in qualifying and won his heat. The Rotax snapped its timing belt, bending the valves and knocking it out of commission. Roberts' tuner-for-a-day, Sparky Edmondson, had been told by another veteran dirt-track tunerjo adjust the timing belt to six miliimeters, but Tom Cummings, whose machine Springsteen was riding, told him it should be at least one-quarter inch and that the stock belt should be discarded in favor of one made by PireIli. That was the first piece of bad luck. The second was the weather. Normally bright and sunny, with only thirty days of rainfall per year, the Andalusian region had been under a cloud for a number of days and was soaked with a steady downpour the day before the race.1erry Stansbury, the track specialist v.;ho had been imported to help prepare the surface, worked throughout the day to get it in racing order. By race time it was, though it was hard to eliminate the bumps and ruts entirely. During the qualifying and practice sessions, the track was slick and dangerous. There wasn't much of run-off in the comers that were sparsely populated with hay bales. One wrong move out of tum four, and you'd be in a chain-link fence topped by barbed wire. It didn't help that tum four was home to some of the track's deepest ruts. Preparation continued through the night, inclu~g more watering, and by the time the heats were gridded the surface was becoming race-ready. "After they watered the track down, the moisture started coming up and it was real tacky," Springsteen said. "I'm just trying to stay out of the holes." Springsteen, who had raced in Spain once before, found out that he'd be making his return engagement only three weeks earlier and had to get permission from his main sponsor, Bill Bartels of Bartels' Harley-Davidson, who was only too willing to grant it. At the last minute, the bike was provided by Cummings, and was easily prepped. "Tom put some bits and pieces on the bike. But we did nothing but change gearing, put a little air in the tires, and put gas in it. This track's getting faster and faster," said Springsteen before the start of the evening's events. . Springsteen had qualified third fastest behind fast-qualifier Roberts Jr. and Ignacio Bulto, the grandson of Don Paco Bulto, founder of Bultaco motorcycles. Morehead, on the unfamiliar singleshocked KTM, was 13th. The first eight-lap heat went to Morehead, who was adapting well to the long-legged motocrosser. The track was already getting quicker - Morehead's fastest lap was nearly two seconds faster than in qualifying.. "I have to thank Xavi Riba. He went on the sidelines so that 1 could keep going. It's really something for me to come over and borrow a motorcycle from a Spaniard who knows dam well that the Americans are going to spank them," said . Morehead. Roberts Jr., riding like a .carbon copy of his dad, quickly took control of the second heat, but ran wide out of turns three and four and hit the hay bales lining the front straight. Roberts exploded one of the bales, and temporarily dropped back. "That was part of the show," Roberts Jr. joked later. Roberts Jr. quickly re-took the lead and won by about four seconds. Springer topped the third heat, and backed it up with a win in the Marlboro Challenge, a six-lap sprint for the six DIRTTRACK ~ e Kenny Roberts (KR) and Jay Springsteen (9) were the crowd favorites in Jerez. (LefUe right) Steve Morehead, Jay Springsteen and Kenny Roberts were introduced to the enthusiastic crowd before the start of events. Kenny Roberts Jr. (25) easily won his heal, but Roberts Sr. broke the bike that they shared in the exhibition and sidelined his son before the main. - fastest qualifiers. Roberts Jr. was already sidelined after Roberts Sr. had lunched the motor. Morehead won the first and faster semi, while Springer won the second and set the stage for the main. At the drop of the starter's flag, Springsteen grabbed the holeshot and headed for the hay bales, high on the track and away from the ruts and dips down low. "I was staying out of the holes," said Springsteen. It wasn't long before Springsteen began lapping riders, and he would go on to lap all but second, third, and fourth. Morehead bounced around in second, chased much of the time by Carlos Checa, who fell, then by v~teran rallyist Carlos Mas. While Springsteen was able to stay low, the rest of the field, Morehead included, had to stick to the groove, crouched over the front end to keep it from washing out and hopping down the straights. There is no question that dirt track racing will be back in Jerez next year. The fans were ecstatic, the Spanish riders were respectable, and the Americans did what was expected. If, as the organizers hope, there is no conflict with the AMA dirt track series next year, look for more Americans, better racing, and bigger crowds. Now, if the weather would only cooper~. m 29 '

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