Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

the lead pack in the second leg, but sti ll finished four th. Having jus t wrapped up the Air Tech F-ll title, Oliver rode unbridled and finished fifth, one of only two 2505 in the top 10 . Martin b a ttl ed with Sh ie r ts, White and Yode r but powered his way . to six th in the second leg. Shie rts, Yoder, Ta kah ito Mo ri on the o ther 250cc GP bike, and Williams rounded out the top 10. "Scotty Miller did a really good job of prepa r ing this b ik e, " said an el ated Klin g, as he rubbed his free zing hands togeth er on the winner's p odium. "I go t a p re tty bad s ta r t in that s econ d leg. Sadow ski's bik e was blowing water on me which made me ve ry cautious early. Fortunately, I had some motor and wa s able to ru n down the leaders and make the break at the end. " N ew F-USA Champion Graves was subdued on th e rostr u m, showing the effects of the Can-Am crash which left his lip bloodied and his lea thers covered with red Georgia clay. "I finall y made it up he re," Graves sa id, m a n ag in g a smile. "It's bee n a lon g, h ard roa d to ge t here and I just w ant to than k the people who mad e it possible." Air T ech Formula II It was all Rich Oliver at the final round. The 32-year-old Fresno, Californ ia racing veteran was in his prime at Road Atlanta and no one could touch him. Oliver not onl y won the final race, his third WERA victory in a row , he also w on the F-Il title, hi s second WERA National Championship. Tw o of Oliver's toughest op po nen ts in the series, Chris D'Aluisio and Danny Walker of Southwest Motorsports, d id not make the final round. That meant Oliver's bigge st mena ce w ould be defending WERA F-Il champ Kurt Hall. Hall had alrea dy anno unced his reti rement, so he had some in centive to go out and w in h is fi na l race on the GP b ik e. Als o com ing to for m a t Ro a d Atlan ta was Oli ver 's Performance South team ma te and p rotege, Chuck Sorensen. Fina lly, th e wild ca rd a t Road At lanta was Takahito Mori, O n any giv en d ay Mori could wi n one of th ese ra ces, if luck was w ith him. O liver won Friday's four-la p h eat race by 3.36 seconds over Mori. So rensen was second, followed by Hall and Canadian Andrew Trevitt. In Sunday's final , the race belonged to Oliver. He darted away from the rest of the field at the drop of the green flag. Mori was out with bike problems, leaving Sorensen, Hall and San Jose, California's Geep Terranova tussling over second. Once Oliver got pit signals telling him that he was 15 seconds ahead, he started backing off. "To have that kind of lead and s till race hard is a little ridiculous," said the new champ af ter wards . "It was funny, thou gh , as soon as 1 let up 1 no ticed all the little things bothering me, like the wind and th e cold." Ol iver cruised home to th e victory and the title, announcing tha t he would concen tra te on th e AMA '250cc Gr an d Prix title next year. Surensen won over H all and Terranova in the battl e for second . It was the best nati on al finis h ever for the 23-yea r-old Terranova. WERA Formula III Like th e other WERA Pro Series events, the Formula III Champio nship came down to the final race , but this one w as clos er than the rest. Tommy Hayden, 16, held a five-point lead over little br othe r N ick, 14, going in t o Road Atlanta . Also still in the hunt was Seattle winner Rodney Fee. In the final, Fee got off to a fast start and pu lled away to a big lead. Tommy Hayden, still bothered by a dislocated hip he suffered in a dirt track race, was content to sit back and watch his little brother run a distant second to Fee. The championship was his as long as he finished no more than two places behind his brother. . Ch arging up fro m the rear of the grid was n ew 125cc rider Thornton McPheeters . McPheeters was on a 12Sec Ap rilia which had speed to spare. In the closing la ps, Mc Pheeters got by the Haydens and clo sed in on Fee: On the fina l g o around Mc Ph eet e rs cau ght Fee, and it was a dash to the finish. The leading duo touched twice coming ou t of the last two turns and it was Fee by a half- bike length at the flag. "I was up by myself running m y ow n r a ce , " Fee said . " I g uess Thorn to n wanted to ma ke it his race. It was r eally close a t the end and that made it a lo t of fun." McPh ee ters was so u p set after the race that he wouldn't talk to the press, o r announce r Glenn Billings . Tommy Hayd en finished r ight whe re he needed to, winn in g the F-III Championship. On the winner's rostrum, Ha yden dedicated his championship to Wayne Rainey. Metzeler Fu ture Stars! Yamaha Seca II Challenge Ca n ton, Geo rgia's Scott Mouse r won h is firs t-ever ro ad race in the Yamaha Seca II No vice Ch allen ge Final. Mous er, a 25-year-old mot orcycle mechan ic, rode an excelle n t ra ce in th e wet and cold con d ition s: Mo user was bein g chased by series champ io n Steve Doo li n , but Doolin couldn't make a dent in his lead. "I though t my tires would come in but they never d id, ". Doolin said. "Plus the fact that Mouser was rid ing a great race. I wasn' t about to crash trying to catch him." Mouser was happy with his first win. "I ran third ea rly, but I feIt really confident. The con d itions didn't really bother me . I was having fun sliding the bike out of the turns." Canadian Mark Middleton finished third in the Ya maha race . Georgian Kelly Drew and Wesly Totsubo of California rounded out the top five. The Future Stars race turned sour when winner and second place rider, Jerry Evans and Ken Melville, we re disqualified for using illegal tail sections on thei r bikes. Joey Gilleland, who was third on the track, was declared the winner. c:N Results F~ U S A O VERA LL: 1. Fritz Kling (Yam): 2. David Sadowski (Ho n); 3. Chuck G raves (5uz); 4. Tray Batey (Yam) ; 5. Rich O live r (Yam); 6. Lee 5hierts (5uz ); 7. Ray Yode r (Yam); 8. Mi ke Ha rt h (Ho n); 9. Joe Brett Willia ms (Hon); 10..Tom W iLoron (Yam); 11. M ich ael Martin (Su z); 12. Dav id Klassen (Yam); 13. Ch uck Sorensen (Yam); 14. M ichael Him mels bach (Ya m); 15. Mike Sullivan (Yam ); 16. Do ug Ca rmichae l (Han ); 17. Takab ito Mori (Yam ); 18. Steve n Mor en o (Suz ); 19. Will iams Himme lsbach (Yam): 20. Bre tt Joh nst on (Suz); 21. Leon Cortes (Yam); 22. James Eric Wh ite (5 uz); 23. James Bonner (Yam); 24. Eric Sm ith (Suz); 25. Stephen Ma thews (Due); 26. Joh n Ashmead ()(a w); 27. Geep Terr an ova (Yam). F.lJSA LEG ONE: 1. Da vid Sadowski (Ho n); 2. Fri tz Kling (Yam); 3. Chuck Graves (Suz); 4. Tray Batey (Ya m); 5. Ray Yoder (Yam); 6. Lee Shierts (Suz); 7. Mike Harth (Hon ); 8. Rich Oliver (Yam); 9. Joe Brett Willia ms (Hon); 10. To m Wilson (Ya m); 11. Chuck Sorensen (Abo ve) Rich Oliver was unbeatable in F- II act ion at Road Atlanta. He beat team mate Chuck Sorenson (90) in the race and earned himself the championship. (Left) Rodney Fee won the F-I1 race. (Belowfrom left to right) Chuck Graves, Fritz Kli ng an d Da ve Sadow sk i cele brate in the winner's circl e. 199B METZELER "J'~ ( IiRAND NATIOl\lA L (Ya m ); 12. Da ve Klas sen (Ya m ); 13 . M ik e SuJlivan (Yam); 14. Michael Hi mme lsbach (Yam ); 15. Stephen M ath ew s (D u e) ; 16. Doug Carmichael (Hon); 17. M ichael Martin (Suz); 18. Ste ven Moreno (Suz); 19. William Himmelsbach (Yam); 20. Brett Johnston (Suz) . Average Speeds 106.209 mph Margin of Victory: 0.13 seconds F·USA LEG lWO, I. Fritz Kling; (Yam) ; 2. Chuck G ra ves (Suz); 3. David Sadowski (Hon); 4. Tray Batey (Yam); 5. Rich Oliver (Yam); 6. Michael Martin (Suz); 7. Le-e Shierts (Suz); 8. Ray Yoder (Yam); 9. Takahito Mori (Yam ); 10. Joe Brett Williams (Hon) ; 11. Mike Harth (Hon ); 12. Tom Wilson (Yam); 13. David Klassen (Yam) ; 14. Chuck Sorensen (Yam) ; 15. Doug Carmichael (Hon); 16. Michael Himmelsbach (Yam); 17. Mike Sullivan (Yam) ; 18 . Steven M or e no (Suz); 19 . William Himmelsbach (Yam) ; 20. Jam es Eric White (Suz). Avera ge Speed: 106.877 mph Marg in of V idory: 2.42 seconds F· US A FINAL C-SH IP POINT ST ANDI NG S: 1. Chuck Gra ves (78); 2. Rich Oliver (61); 3. Michael Martin (59); 4. (TIE) Lee Shl ert a/Ioe Brett Willi am s (47); 6. Da vid Sadowski (45) ; 7. Chris D'Aluisi o (43); 8 . (TIE) Tray Batey /Fritz Klin g (40); 10. C h uc k So re nsen (39); It . Da nny Wal ker (37); 12. John As hmead (31); 13. Mich ael Bames (20); 14. (TIE) Pa u l Ha rrell /Mike Harth (18); 16. Keven Ren tzell (15); 17. Joe Pittman (13); 18. Chris Taylor (12); 19 . Je ff H a gan (11 ); 20 . M ich eal Himmeisbach (10). F.II FINA L: 1. Rich Oliver (Ya m); 2. C huck Sorensen (Yam); 3. Kurt Ha ll (Yam); 4. Geep Terranov a (Ya m); 5. A nd r e w T rev itt (Ya m ); 6. Mi ch ael Himmelsbach (Yam); 7. Mike Sullivan (Yam); 8. Do ug Carmichael (H o n); 9. j aso n Pad en (Ya m) ; 10. Leon Cortes (Ya m); 11. Tommy Ha yden (Ya m ); 12. James Bonner (Yam); 13. Jam es Williams (Yam). Average Speed: 104.830 mph Ma rgin of Victory: 16.74 seconds F· II FI NAL CSHIP POINT S TANDING S: 1. Rkh Oliver (95); 2. Kurt Hall (SO) 3. Chuck So rensen (64); 4. ; Danny Walker (56); 5. Chris D' Alu isio (52); 6. Michael Himmelsbach (47); 7. Jason Paden (29); 8. Chri Taylo r s (27); 9. Mike Sullivan (24); 10. Geep Terranova (21); 11. (TIE) Andrew Trevitt/Michael Barnes (20); 13. Williams Himmelsbach (19); 14. Adam Faussett (17); 15. Takahito Mori (15); 16. Edward Sedvar (13); 17. Leon Cortes (12); 18. (TIE) James Bonner/Bobby Keith (11); 20. (TIE) Greg Esser yjames Willia ms / Bru ce Lind (10). F~ I II FINAL: Rod ney Fee (Han) ; 2. T hornton Mcf'heetera (Apr); 3. Nick Hayden (Han) ; 4. Tom m y Hayden (Han) ; 5. Jim Struke (Han); 6. Cra ig Wa ug h (Han); 7. Pete Sne ll (Han); 8. Fred Bakke r (Han); 9. jofin Br ill (Ho n) ; 10. Nancy Dewa r (Han) ; 11. To d d Cleve land (Hon). Average Speed: 94.5 11 mp h Margin of Victory: 0.21 seco nds F· lII FINAL C-SH IP POINT ST ANDI NG S: 1. To mmy Hayden (90); 2. Rod ney Fee (87); 3. Nic k Hayden (87); 4. Nancy Delgado (58); 5. Kevi n Murray (43); 6. Marcello d el G uid ice (31); 7. Jim Struke (22); 8. Arnold C.A. van Kempe n (20); 9 . C hris RO rs ( ); 10. (TI E) G re g j;e Esser /Pete Snell (18); 12. (TIE) Billy Abudal u / Th o m ton McPheet ers (17); 14. John Long (15); IS. Lee Parks (14); 16. (TIE) Taka h ito Mori / Cr a il' Waugh/Kurt Hall (13); . 19. Nic k Jena tsch (II); 20. (TIE) John H od gki ss /Ritchie Thorup (10). 11

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