Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

m ou nted Stew art Rog ers in Pre-1940; No rton rid er Norm Nelso n in Cla ss C; Maico pil ot Sven Bley in 200cc GP; and Yamaha-mounted Jo~ Long in Formula 500cc. Rid ers were d isappointed that track officials deci ded, inex plicably, the nig ht before the race to use a 2.8-m ile cou rse instead of th e full3.56-mile circui t, as had been advertised for mont hs.i''The day sta rted off badly, but ended wo nderfully, " commen ted AH RMA Executive Director Jeff Smith, w ho had to cope with a the last-minute track revision. Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Results: March 7, 1994 PR E~'4D: 1. Stewart Roger s (No r); 2. O zz ie Au er (BMW); 3. Butch Baer (lnd); 4. Go rden Menzie (Tri); S. Jim Smi th (ln d ). CLASS C: 1. Nonnan Nelson (Nor); 2. Ozzie 'Auer (BMW); 3. Ma rk Samuelson (Nor); 4. Stewart Rogers (Nor); 5. Al Knapp (H-D). CLSe '60s: ~ . John Cre nshaw (Ma t); 2. Pat Moroney (Ma t); 3. Stephe Mathews (Ma t); 4. Rusty Lowry (H- D); n 5. Stewart Rogers (Nor). 200 GP: I. Sven Bley (Mai); 2. Dennis Poneleit (Hen); 3. Mike KirlJy (Bri): 4. James KirlJy (Yam); 5. Chris Jensen (H on). 2SO GP : 1. Michael Green (Due); 2. Charl es Sexton (Bul); 3. Sven Bley (Mai); 4. Reg Bolton (Aer); 5. T up pe r ROOinson (Bul). 350 C P: 1. Da vid Rop er (AJS); 2. Micha el Gr een (Du e); 3. Mark Bal dwin (Aer); 4. Neil Larsen (Aer); 5. Chris Mast (H·D). 500 PR EM: 1. Tod d Henning (Han); 2. Dav id Aldana (Ma t); 3. Stephen Mathews (MV) ; 4. Pete Johnson (Hen); 5. Don Vesco (N or). SPTMN 350 : I. Todd Henning (Hon); 2. Peter Sheppard (Hen); 3. Frank Smith (Ho n ); 4. Henry Syphers (Hon); 5. Don Fromm (Due). SPTMN sao: 1. Todd Hen ning (Hond); 2. Patric k Mooney (Du e); 3. Ralp h Auer (BMW): 4. Jason Bessey (BS 5. Jeffrey Caiazzo (Due). A); SFJ'MN 750: I.l.my Kirby (Yam): 2. Patrick Mooney (Tri); 3. Rand y Bradesku (BMW); 4. Jerry Wood (Rio·Tri): 5. Jesse Mo rris (Tri). F·25Q: 1. Todd Henning (Ya m ); 2. Richard Merhar (Yam) : 3. Alan jackson (5uz ); 4. Thomas Kesling (Yam); S. Henry Syphers (Suz). I. John Long (Yam ); 2. Dave Ro5no (Hon ); 3. Geo rge Oiega r (Yam); 4. To m Robertson (Hon); 5. Alan Jackson (5uz). F-750: 1. Jeff Gaynor (H en); 2. Jerry Wood (Due): 3. Kurt Lieb ma nn (Hon): 4. Patrick Mooney (Tri); 5. John Long (Tri). ".500: BMW BaItIe of the Legends Aldana acesthe legends By Donn Maeda Photos by Kinney Jones DAYfONA BEACH, FL, MARCH 7 T heir skin may be a tad weathered and their bones may be a bit more brittle, but one thing's for sure: the desire to go fast - faster than your rivals still bums deep within the hearts of the riders who competed aboard 10 identically-prepared BMW RllOORS sport motorcycles during the BMW Battle of the Legends, held in conjunction with round two of the AHRMA Historic Cup Road Race Series. And who was the fastest during the third annual running of the star-studded event? None other than 'Ias t year's runner-up finisher, Da vid Aldana. Th e 44-year-old veteran dirt tracker finished second behind race one winner Yvon DuHamel, and out-dueled la st year's BMW BoL Champion, Jay Springsteen, for a popular win in the all-important second race. "More than anything, I think that winning this race at Daytona is all ab out bragging rights," said Aldana, who also competed in several other classes throughout the afternoon. "I finished second here last time behind 01' Springer and had all year to think abo ut it. It may have been a while since we were racing Nationals, but our egos and our desire to win haven't shrunk over the years." (above) Winner David Aldana (13) leads t he BMW Rl 100RS-mounted pack In th e Battle of the L.egends competition. In close pursuit of Aldana is Jay Springsteen on the black-plate number-nine Beemer, and Gary Nixon, on the whlte-plate number-n ine bike. (Rig ht) Last year's Battle of the L.egends winne r Jay Spr!ngsteen fi nished th ird , behind Alda na and Yvon DuHamel . W ith 1-3 finish es, 1992 BMW BoL Champion DuHamel garnered runner-up honors, w hile Springsteen was third overall with consistent 3-2 finishes. After competin g aboard BMW R100s Roadsters during the first two runnings of th e BoL, the 10 racing legends had a special tre at to look forward to in 1994. The new BMW RllOORS would be the new weapon of choice, a bike that no t on ly delivered a sportier performance, bu t, thanks to all-new bodywork , looked " racier" as we ll. Somethingelse was differen t about the race. In the past, the legends seemed to tiptoe around the famous speedway - their stock BMWs seemed to rival the military's most sop h istica ted stealth fighters (especially in comparison to the resounding exhaust notes that the vintage machines on hand emitted.) This year, the pre-muffler was gutted of it's in ter n a ls, and the result was a more robust exhaust note. After all, should n't a race sound like a race? In addition to generating greater excitement am ongst the claimed 25,000 spectators on hand , the louder machines warned the ever-present seagull population of their approach. Last year, several of the race rs reported close encounters wi th ina ttentive birds . When the first five-lap race got underway, it quickly became app a ren t who were th e most competitive amongst the eld erly statesm en of racing. Aldana, form er Gran d Natio nal Champions Ga ry Nixon and Springsteen, three-time AMA Superbike National Champion Reg Prid more and Du H am el ri p ped o u t of the starting area and commenced an all-out battle for the lead . " I'm about a stone a n d a half (21 pounds) heavier than the others; I think we need to handicap th e o thers a bit," joked Prid more, w h o appeared to be puttin g fo rth a grea t deal of effort in order to stay wi th the leaders . DuHamel appeared to have con trol on the opening lap, but suddenly dropped to fifth which allowed Alda na and the two number nines - Springsteen an d Nixon to control the lead during the early laps. But as the race wound do wn, DuHamel su ddenly carne to life and rees tablished himself as a threat for the win. . "I was trying to find the draft an d see what these new bikes could do - they are a lot faster and we were being a bit careful out there," said DuHamel. "The draft is very important at Daytona - yo u can go much faster if you have someo ne ahead of you . The fairing on these bikes is so wide that it's fairly easy to catch the draft: ' As the pack raced towards the checkered fla g, Du Hamel tucked in behind leader Aldana and waited for th e right moment to pass, while Springsteen went for the low line in an attemp t to "shorten" the dash to the finish. DuHamel's stra tegy proved to be the better, as he slipstreamed past Aldana and on to the win with a bikelength to spare. Springsteen finished a close third , w hi le Nixon and former Daytona 200 winner Don Emde filled th e top five. Pridm ore slip ped to fift h, w h ile Ro ge r Reiman, Kurt Lei bmann, Don Castro and Don Vesro rounded out the field at a distance. . UI thought I had enough of a lead on DuHamel coming out of the chicane, but he drafted me," said Aldana. "He actually passed me going up the banking, and that surprised me." DuHamel was deli gh ted with his win, saying: "This is the first win of the week for the DuHamel family - it wo uld be nice if more (wins) will follow ." DuH am el was obviously referring to the an ticipated perform ance of his son, Miguel, who will co m p e te ab oar d the factory HarleyDavidson VR1000 in the Daytona 200. "I was hoping to beat them all across the finish line," said Springsteen, jovial as ever. "I th ou ght if I could get a shorter run at the finish, I could beat them :' Determin ed to secure his first BMW BoL crown, Aldana raced off th e line in race two like a man on a miss ion. Thou gh he mixed it up wi th Springsteen, Nixon and Pridmore, Aldana succeeded in leading each lap across the sta rt/finish line. When the white flag fl ew , it became app a ren t th a t it would bec ome a duel be tween the two dirt trackers - Aldana and Springsteen. '1 tried to get into tum one really hot on the last lap and got right on David's butt," said Springsteen. " I think I could have passed him on the back straightaway, bun figu red that I'd let him tow me down the backstretch: ' True to his dirt track instincts, Springsteen tucked in behind Aldana and wait. ed for the perfect mom ent to pull out of the draft and slip past. Aldana, however, had different ideas. As the duo raced for the finish, Aldana began to zig-zag across the track, hoping to break the draft and spoil Springsteen's plans. '1 thought I had a pretty good lead on the la s t la p , but Springsteen ran m e down," said Aldana. U thought, 'You're I not gonna get me - no way!' and I started Zig -z agging. I had to do everything I could - besid es putting on my training wheels and sticki ng ou t m y arms - to keep him back there: ' Aldana raced across the fin ish line . with roo m to spare over Springsteen and DuHamel. Pr id m o re, Reiman, N ixo n , Emde, Leibmann and Vesco finished fourth through ninth, respectively, w hile Cas tro dropped out early in the race with mechanicm w~. a Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona International Speedway Results : March 7. 1994 BMW BAlTLE OF THE LEG ENDS RACE ONE: 1. Yvo n DuHamel; 2. Da vid Aldana; 3. Jay Sp ringsteen; 4. Gary Ni xon; 5. Do n Emde ; 6. Reg Prid more; 7. Roger Reiman;8. Kurt Leibman; 9. Don u.tro; 10. Don Vesco. BMW BAlTLE OF THE LEGENDS RACE TWO: 1. David Aldana; 2. Jay Springsreen; 3. Yvon DuHamel; 4. RA:g Pridmore; 5. Roger Reima n; 6. Cary Ni xon; 7. Don Emde; 8. Kurt l.cibman; 9. Don Vesco; 10. Don Castro, BMW BAlTLE O F THE LEGENDS OIA: I. Dav id Ald ana; 2. Yvon DuHamel; 3. Jay Spri ngsteen; 4. Reg Pridmore; 5. Cary Nixon; 6. Roger Reiman; 7. Don Emde; 8. Kurt Leibman; 9. Don Vesco; 10. Don Castro.

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