Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ ·" ROAD .RACE ·: · · , ~. .AHRMA Historic Cup SerieS . Round 1: Roebling Road Hislery re (Left) Alan Carter won both the Open and Senior Expert classes on a pair of Ducatls In the Sound 01Singles division. (Above) Dave Roper was hoping to compete on this 1964 Honda RC164 In the 3SOCc GP class at Roebling Road. The 25OCc, slx-cylinder, four-stroke machine, ridden by Jim Redman and Mike Hallwood In Its heyday, was stricken by hanlcal problems and wouldn't run long enough for Roper to ride. (Below) Vlntage-class racer Roper (1), on a Matchless GSO, fi nished second to Stephen Mathews' GSO In the 500cc Premier class, but Roper came back and topped the 350 GP class aboard an AJS. By Matt Benson FAULKVILLE, GA, MAR. 4 t's too bad Roebling Road Raceway is a " non- spectator's" track, becau se AH RMA's annual pre-Da ytona w a r m-u p w as full of inte res ting machines and excitin g racing, enjoyed on ly by th e racers .them sel ves, th eir crews and event worke rs. As the opening event in AHRMA 's first full season of offering Sound of Singles and Battle of Twins racing alongsid e the usual array of vin tage classes, much attention at Roebling was on the approximately 50 singles and 50 twins mixed in wit h mor e th an 350 vintage entries . The race's proximity to Daytona a tt rac ted a n inc re dible va riety o f mach in er y, p artic u larly in SoS, with everythi ng fr om an ATK to a tr io of stunning Ducati Supermonos piloted by internationally known riders . Englishman Alan Carter, in 1984 the youngest man ever to win a GP, dominated a pair of 50S races on the Top Gun Motorcycles' Supermono, chased gamely both limes by British journalist Alan Cathcart. Th ird in SoS Sen ior Expert went to the third Supermono, piloted by Germany's Heinrich Boje, while in Open Singles Expert, Rodney Fee's strong third -place finish on a Wood-Rotax showed that the Italians don't have a lock on fast thumpers. The battling twins were highlighted by Yoshiyuki Sugai on a motorcycle that attracted as much atten tion as the Su perm o nos, the Japanese Sundan ce Harley-Davidson, wi th its alloy spaceframe and liberal use of carbon fiber. Pete Johnson on a Moto Guzzi LeMans led the first few laps, un til the Japanese 250 GP rider got pas t and opened a bit of cus hion . Seco nd went to Duca timounted David Robertson, who made a late-r ace run past Michael Myers and Johnso n. No t all of the twins and singles are b ig, boo mi ng fo u r-s trokes. Jo nny I An d ersso n and small-bi ke specialist Sven Bley put In a coup le of spiri ted rides on identical little Hondas in two SOS Two-Stroke races, with the Sw ed e, Andersson , narro wly coming out on top . In vintage racing, th e 500 Premier class lived up to its name. Lap one leaders w ere Da vid Rop er on the Tea m Ob solete Matchless G50, followed by Barber Dairy Products' Stephen Mathews on anot her G50, English classic racing champion John Cronshaw on TO's ex-works MV Agusta and Pete Johnso n on a Drixton Hond a. Crensh aw's ride soon ended, however. According to TO owner Rob Iannucci, the MV had been running rough but suddenly "chimed in," throwing Cronshaw to the grbund and banging up one of Iannucci's preciou s mu ltis. " Rid ing the MV was a d ream," Cronshaw said later. " But when I saw it there on the ground, I hop ed I'd wake up befo re I saw Rob." Th e MV wasn' t the only exotic TO machine that went down at Roebling Road. During pra ctice, Yvon Du Hamel lost the front end of a for mer factory Ducati 750. "You take your chances racing any machine. You can't get bumm ed out, " Iannucci said. The race was between Roper and Mathews, with the pair trading the lead repeatedly on the boom ing si ng les . Meanwhile, Todd Henning wa s on the move, eventually pushing his Drixton replica into third. Out in front, it was Mathews hanging onto the lead when it coun ted most- at the checkered flag. "Tha t was fun. I hope the rest of the year is like that," said an obvio us ly pleased Mathews. Another good vintage race was the battle betw een the Nortons of Stewa rt Rogers and Norm an Nelson. With Blake Wilson and his hand-shifting Indian Vtwin watching from the third-place slot, Rogers and Nelson swapped the front position, until Rogers, a British Norton specialist, took ove r for good with two laps remaining. Amo ng othe r w in ners: Ch ri s LaCruze and his '67 Bultaco 175 took a big 200 Grand Prix victory; Stan Lipe rt and his Honda CB350 mad e a late-race run for the lead over the Honda of Russell Foard ; Yam a ha -mo u n te d Yoshi Kosaka took the wi n in Formu la 250; Michael Green in the 250 GP ; Ralph Auer in Sportsman 500; David Roper in 350 GP; John Cronshaw in Classic Sixties; Kurt Mund in F-7S0; Henning in F500; and Larry Kirby in the large Sportsman 750 class. a Roebli ng Road Faulkville, GeOrgia Resu lts : Marc h 4, 1994 VINTAGE 200 C PO I. Chris LaCruze (Bul); 2. Sven B1ey (Ma i); 3. George DeCamp (Hon); 4. James Kirby (yam); 5. Mike Kirby (Bri). 2SO GP : 1. Michael Green (Due); 2. Sven Bley (Mai) ; 3. Jo hn St ephen s; 4. Doug Pedrick. (Duc); S. Chris LaCruze (Bul). 350 CP: 1. David Roper (AJS); 2. Michael Gr een (Due); 3. Mark Baldwin (Aer); 4. Pat Moroney (AJS); 5. Johnny DeM oisey [Tri }, sao PREM : 1. Stephen Mathew s (Ma t); 2. David Roper (Mat); 3. Todd Henning (Ho n); 4. Pete Johnson (H on); 5. La rry Poons (See-Mat). F-2SQ 1. Yoshi Kosaka (Yam); 2. Tho mas Keating : (Yam); 3. Norbert Nickel (Yam); 4. Henry Sypher> (S02); 5. John Louck OML-Rok). F·SOO: I. Todd Henn ing (Yam) ; 2. Ric k y Sales (Yam); 3. Geo rge Oieger (Yam); 5. Stephen DeCamp (Han). F·7S0: 1. Kurt Mund (BMW); 2. Kurt Liebmann (Han); 3. Doug Staddon (Han); 4. Broce Allen (Nor); 5. Robert Goodpaster (Nor). SPTMN 350: t . Stanley Lieert (Han); 2. Russell Foard (Ho n); 3 . Don Fromm (Due); 4. Frank Smith (Hon); 5. Willi.un Sisco(Due). SPTMN 500 : I. Ral p h A ue r ( BM W ); 2. T e d H ubba rd (BSA); 3. Bob Di.nnewcth (Hon); 4. TIm Stancil (Hon); 5. Jeff Ca iazzo (Due). SPTMN 750 : 1. Larr y Kirb y (Yam): 2. Ra n d y Bradesku (BMW); 3. Mik< Eil.1 (yam); 4. C. Stobaugh nd erri); 5. R. Oswald er ri). PRE· '4lk Virgil Elings (Vel); 2. Ozzie Auer (BMW); 3. Doc Batsleer (Ind); 4. Gordon Menne erri); 5. 8eno Rodi(Nor). CLASS C: 1. Stewart Rogers (Nor); 2. N orm a n Nelso n (Nor); 3. Bla ke Wilson (Ind); .l, Go rdon Menzie erri) ; 5. Oilford Gobeli (Nor). CLASS 605: 1. Joh n Cronsha w (Mat); 2. Stephen Ma th e w s (Mat); 3. Rusty Lowry (H- D);.4. Norman Nelson (BSA); 5. J ohn Cooper (BSA) . SOUND O F SING LES JR EX: 1. Mi chael Green (Du e); 2. Malcolme Tunstall (Due). . I R NOV: I . Earl Minkler (Due); 2. Rich Fawcett (H a n). S R EX: 1. Alan Carter (DUe); 2. Alan Cathcart (Due); 3. Heinrich Iloje (Due ); 4. Allen Willis (Wood· Rot) ; 5. Erich Frahm (A TI<). SR NOV: I. Chuck C ampbell (Ya m ); 2. Dave Goldstein; 3. Dave Hodge (Rot); 4. Bob Weaver (yam). t · STRJ( IJW EX: 1. lonny Ander>on (Hon); 2. Sven Bley (Han); 3. Chris LaCruze; 4. EriI: Myhre (Hon). 2· STRK HJW EX: 1. Jonny And ersson (H on); 2. Sven Bley (Hon). OPEN EX: I. AI.1n Carter (Du e); 2. Alan Cathcart (Due); 3. Rodney Fee (Wood-Rot); 4. Heinrich Boje (Due) ; 5. Lex Van Dijk (Yam) . BATTLE O F TW INS 1'-1 EX: 1. leff Reeves (Due~ 2. Malcolme Tunstall (Due) ; 3. Tommy Koch (Due); 4. David Robertson (Due) ; 5. Dave Russell (Bim). F· t EX: I. Yoshiyukl Sugai (H ·D); 2. David Robertson (Due); 3. Michael Myers; 4. Peter Johnson (MG); 5. Randy Bradesku (Kaw) . F-2 NOV : 1. Martyn Harding (Kaw); 2. Mark Mitchel l (BMW). F-3 EX: 1. Pa t Conroy (H·D); 2. Bro ce Allen (Nor); 3. James McMitt y; 4. Robert Goodpaster (Nor); S. Bob Wilkins (Hon). F·3 N OV: 1. Martyn Harding (Kaw); 2. Frank Stroman (Kaw) ; 3. Mark Mitchell (BMW). 2-STR EX: 1. Ricky Soles (Yam); 2. Paul Carland (Yam) . OPEN EX: 1. Stephen Mathrws (Due); 2. Willia m While (Due); 3. Michael Myers; 4. Albert Charles (Due ); S. Tommy Koch (Due).

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