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/127578
New Englander Chris D'Aluisio (2) and Californian Rich Oliver (97) fight for the F-ll win. D'Aluisio was able-to hold off Oliver and Takahito Mori to take the victory. (Left to right) Rich Oliver, John Ashmead and Chris D'Aluisio celebrate in the FUSA winner's circle. Ashmead's 3-1 tally was good enough for the overall win. were joined by defending WERA P-I1 champ Kurt Hall, who before the race said he didn't think he'd be able to run with the two leaders. By lap seven of 14, Japanese rider Takahito Mori, riding a Mota-Liberty Yamaha, caught the lead trio. Mori brought two others to the party, Danny Walker and Chuck Sorensen. For the next seven laps the Road Atlanta crowd saw why 250 racing can be so entertaining. Mori was riding up to, and on occasion, past his limits. With two laps to go he made an impossible pass on Oliver going into turn five and the crowd on the hill overlooking the turn went nuts. Hall, who had been: chopped off by Mori and saw his pass on Oliver, later said, "I'm surprised Rich didn't force him off into the weeds. That was some of the craziest riding I've ever seen." Oliver didn't see it that way, "The guy was riding aggressively and stuffed me. When someone does that to me 1 just do it back to them - that's racing." The Hayden brothers, Tommy (9) and Nicky (69), were first and second in F-III. Tommy, the oldest of the Kentucky-based brothers, led from start to finish. Staying just inches in front of the wild fracas was the ever caim and collected D'Aluisio. "1 was just riding my own race then 1 looked back once and couldn't believe all the guys that were right with me," said D'Aluisio. D'Aluisio didn't get flustered and he was able to hold off Oliver and the rest by two-tenths of a second at the finish. WERA Formula III Last year the book on Tommy and Nicky Hayden was that the kids were so small and light that they were tough in a straight line but not very fast in the corners. Their results at the WERA Pro Series Formula III races seemed to confirm what other racers were saying. Neither of the young Haydens won a Pro Series F-III event last year. But as Tommy Hayden pointed out after winning his first ever WERA Pro race, "We've improved a lot since last year." Indeed they have. No one could even come close to the Haydens at Road Atlanta. From the drop of the green flag, J Ashmeaq~:A ne~ beginningl-o--"----:....,,ohn racers O f all the motorcycle road in the country, John Aslunead is probably' the one rider who has experienced the most extreme ups and downs. In 1989 Ashmead was at the pinnacle of the sport after winning the Daytona. 2.00, but it led to nothing- namely, no factory contra(t. The same year of his Daytona win, Ashmead was at the wheel and at fault in a highway accident that nearly killed his buddy Jimmy Filice. Filice has long since recovered to become an even better racer. The emotional scars that Aslunead carried, on the other hand, seemed to take far longer to heal After the accident, Ashmead hung around racing, turning in mostly forgettable rides. The Floridian racing veteran seemed a hollow shell of his former self, and many in the racing establishment wondered why he didn't hang up his leathers. Ashmead wondered that himself, contemplating retirement more than a few times as the guilt of the accident weighed heavy on his mind. Even though Ashmead was forgiven by most people in racing, it seemed that he could not forgive himself for what he had done to his friend. What kept Ashmead going through those dark times was encouragement and back• ing from friends like Peter Brady. In Road Atlanta's P-USA winner's circle it was Brady who Ashmead acknowledged first. Besides support from those close to him, the one . driving force that kept Ashmead coming back to race was the almost indescribable feeling of winning. "1 loved .racing and 1 wanted to get that feeling back like 1 had earlier in my career, , that feeling of winning a big race)' said the reserved Ashmead. So the P-USA National ~ at'Road Atlanta, wbile not on/ar with his Daytona tri, umph, mar.ks a milestone in 10hn Ashmead's racing career an maybe even in his life. For now the 29-year-old Ashmead finally seems to have shed the burden of that fateful day over three years ago that changed his and Jimmy Filice's lives forever. " . "Jimmy and 1 were never really close again and that still makes me sad," Ashmead said. "But 1 finally realized that 1 have to get on with my life and let the past be the past." So when Ashmead took his fIrst place F-USA trophy and gazed nostalgically up into 'the blue Georgia skies you could tell something special was happening inside. He had that magical feeling once more - the feeling of winning. the brothers from Owensboro, Kentucky, ran off and hid. Tatsuhiko lino crashed trying to keep pace, and West Coast 125cc specialist Rodney Fee (who is hoping to gain a wild-card in the 125cc class for the U.S. GP) had to settle for a distant ·third. Elder brother Tommy was chased down by Nicky in the late stages of the race, but Tommy held on to win by a bike length at the finish. Vanson Superstock The Superstock races were the one bright spot for the Valvoline Suzuki team at Road Atlanta. Team rider Kurt Hall easily won the 750cc Superstock race by nearly 20 seconds over Kevin RentzelL In 600cc Superstock, Hall's teammate Stevie Patterson won over local rider Aaron Yates. Patterson won despite riding in pain after crashing in the 750cc Superstock race and injuring his wrist. WERA Southeast region veteran Billy Eisenacher was third. Rentzell continued his impressive return from the injuries that sidelined him for a year. In the best Superstock race of the day, Rentzell battled with Valvoline Suzuki support rider David Stanton. Rentzell and Stanton traded the lead a couple of times. Tray Batey was a distant third on his Hall 'N Still Yamaha at the halfway point. But Batey, riding with a broken wrist, didn't put a wheel wrong during the last half of the race. On the last lap Stanton had to be wide-eyed as Batey zipped by on the back slraightaway to steal second away. Rentzell and his Red Line Oil Suzuki crossed the line 1.29 seconds ahead of Batey. Metzeler 600cc Future Stars Canton, Georgia's Joey Gilleland was inspired by friend and factory Honda road racer Mike Smith to go road racing. Gilleland, 21, was doing great in ATV races and Smith told him he ought to try his hand on the pavement. So Gilleland went out and bought a Honda CBR600. It was the first street bike that Gilleland had ever ridden. Four rilces into his road racing career, Gilleland won a hard-fought Future Stars race over Chris Haldeman and Tim Shaver. "1 don't know what I'm going to do now," said a perplexed Gilleland. "My parents kicked me out of the house for going road racing and 1 promised' my girlfriend 1 would quit after this race." When Gilleland said that about his girlfriend, a person listening to the interview stated the obvious, "Time for a new girlfriend." Metzeler Yamaha Seca II Challenge The inaugural Seca II Challenge turned out to be a great race. Rood Burr of Atlanta squeezed out a half bike length victory over Louisville's Steve Doolin and Canadian Mark Middleton. Lap after lap the leading trio ran three abreast down Road Atlanta's back straightaway. At one point, Middleton, trying to make up for a slight power deficit, tried to pass in the grass coming out from the Goodyear Bridge, bringing the crowd to their feet. But it was Burr who won out in the end. (:N Results F·USA LEG 1: Rich Oliver (Yam); 2. Chris D'AJuisio (Yarn); 3. John Ashmead (Kaw); 4. Joe Brett Williams (Han); 5. Takahito Mori (Yam); 6. Danny Wallter (Yam); 7. Lee Shierts (Suz); 8. Tray Batey (Yam); 9. Chuck Sorensen (Yam); 10. Jay Bartlow (Yam); 11. Chris Taylor (Yam); 12. Kevin Rentzell (Suz); 13. William Himmelsbach (Yam); 14. Michael Himmelshach (yam), 15. Steve Patterson (Suz); 16. Pat Hernon (Hon); 17. Keith Code (Yam); 18. Craig Gaver (Yam); 19. Darrell Clingerman (Yam); 20. Kevin Hunt (Hon); 21. Keith Badger (Han); 22. Robert Meister (Yam); 23. Nevil AJ~e (Yam); 24. James Bonner (Yam); 25. James Eric White (Suz); 26. Michael Krynock (Kaw), 27. Brett Delay Johnston (Suz); 28. Thomas Barber (Han); 29. Michael Fitzpatric.k (Hon): 30. William Shuptrine (Yam); 31. Chuck Graves (Suz); 32. David Sadowski (Suz); 33. Jeff Hagan (Han). lame: 17:00.66 11